The Pale Fountains - Thank You (1983)

The Pale Fountains formed in Liverpool in 1981, and were led by singer/songwriter and guitarist Michael Head, along with bassist Chris McCaffrey, drummer Thomas Whelan and former Dislocation Dance trumpeter Andy Diagram. They were at the forefront of the new 'quiet pop' movement, and inspired by 1960's music such as Love, Burt Bacharach and the Beatles, they released their debut single '(There's Always) Something on My Mind' on the Operation Twilght label in 1982, which generated such a positive buzz that they were immediately signed by Virgin for the then-staggering sum of £150,000. However, their debut single for the label, the lavish 'Thank You', failed to crack the U.K. Top 40, despite a heavy promotional push, and after an intense year in the studio, the band's first LP, the bossa nova-inflected 'Pacific Street', finally appeared in 1984. After such a relatively long absence from the limelight, however, the group had lost its status as media darlings, and the record fared poorly. Producer Ian Broudie was brought in to helm 1985's '...From Across The Kitchen Table', which was more unified than its predecessor as it was recorded over a shorter period of time, and lead single 'Jean's Not Happening' is one of the great lost indie gems of the 80's, complete with a powerful string arrangement, but again success was not forthcoming. In the wake of considerable acrimony amongst the band and their label, The Pale Fountains soon split, with Head returning to Liverpool to form Shack with his brother John, while Andy Diagram had already left the band in 1984 to join James. As a reminder of of the beginnings of Michael Head's critically-acclaimed career, here are all the non-album singles and b-sides recorded by the band, plus a couple of rare compilation contributions, an unreleased single, as well as a John Peel session recording and two songs recorded for the Old Grey Whistle Test, none of which made it into the studio.  

Track listing

01 Thank You (single 1982)
02 Meadow Of Love (b-side of 'Thank You')
03 Just A Girl (b-side of '(There's Always) Something On My Mind' 1982)
04 Lavinia's Dream (b-side of '(There's Always) Something On My Mind' 1982)
05 Palm Of My Hand (single 1983)
06 Love's A Beautiful Place (b-side of 'Palm Of My Hand')
07 (I'm A) Longshot For Your Love (unreleased single 1982)
08 Love Situation (b-side of '(Don't Let Your Love) Start A War' 1984)
09 Walk On By (hidden track on b-side of '(Don't Let Your Love) Start A War' 1984)
10 Benoit's Christmas (from 'Ghosts Of Christmas Past (Remake)' compilation album 1982)
11 The Norfolk Broads (from John Peel session 1982)
12 We Have All The Time In The World (from the 'Moving Soundtracks (Volume One)'

                                                                                                          compilation album 1982)

13 Free (from The Old Grey Whistle Test 1983)

14 Hey There Fred (from The Old Grey Whistle Test 1983)

Shack - Extra Extra (2006)

Shack formed in Liverpool in 1987, and originally consisted of Mick Head (vocals/guitar), his brother John Head (guitar), Justin Smith (bass) and Mick Hurst (drums). Before founding Shack, Michael and John Head were in the cult 1980's band The Pale Fountains, and released two albums, 'Pacific Street' in March 1984 and '...From Across The Kitchen Table' in March 1985. Although critically acclaimed, the albums only reached Numbers 85 and 94 in the UK Albums Chart, and the group ended around 1986 and returned from London to their home town of Liverpool. The Head brothers soon re-emerged as Shack, signing to the Ghetto Recording Company, home of record producer Ian Broudie's solo project The Lightning Seeds, and British soul band Distant Cousins. The band's first album 'Zilch' was released in 1988, but was neither critically nor commercially successful, being a victim of the production tecniques of the time, and it was to be a few years before they attempted to follow it with a new album. 'Waterpistol' was recorded in 1991 at London's Star Street Studio and Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire, but shortly after the recording was complete, the Star Street studio burnt down and most of the tapes were destroyed. The only remaining DAT of the album was in the possession of producer Chris Allison, who at the time was in Los Angeles, and when he returned, it transpired that he had left the copy in his hire car. It was only found weeks later after a frenzied search, but by this point Ghetto had folded so the record was without a distributor. Not surprisingly, this led to the disolussion of the band, with Wilkinson joining fellow Liverpudlian John Power (formerly of The La's) to form the successful Britpop band Cast, and the Head brothers accompanied Love for a few touring dates in 1992. 

'Waterpistol' was finally released in 1995 on the German independent record label, Marina, and it prompted the NME to describe Mick Head as "a lost genius and among the most gifted British songwriters of his generation". Instead of reforming Shack to capitalise on the album's success, Head formed Michael Head And The Strands with his brother John, releasing one album and one single in 1998. 'The Magical World Of The Strands' was a superb album, rightly garnering Head further critical acclaim, and as their sole single had an exlusive b-side I've included that here. With the addition of Ren Parry on Bass, The Strands regrouped as a new incarnation of Shack, and released the outstanding 'HMS Fable' in 1999, reaching the Top 25 on the UK albums chart. By the time of the next album '... Here's Tom With the Weather', Parry had been replaced by Guy Rigby, before Wilkinson rejoined in 2005, replacing the departed Rigby. This line-up then signed to Noel Gallagher's Sour Mash record label, and in May 2006 they released the album '...The Corner Of Miles And Gil', which is named after two of the Head brothers' heroes, Miles Davis and Gil Evans. Both of these later albums contain more examples of the excellent songwriting of Michael Head, and are prime examples of indie/rock of the period. The band toured briefly in England in October and November 2007 with Martyn Campbell on bass, and then in February 2008 they re-formed The Pale Fountains for two critically acclaimed live shows in Liverpool and London, with the Head brothers being joined by Martyn Campbell, Andy Diagram, Thomas 'Jock' Whelan and Iain Templeton. Since 2008, John Head has pursued a solo career playing live shows with his band The Streams, and had recently launched a new project called Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band on his own label Violette Records, who hope to have their debut album released soon. If you're a fan of the band then you'll already know how great their albums are, and every one of these songs would have been a worthy addition to any one of them.  

Track listing

Disc One
01 Liberation (b-side of 'Emergency' 1988)
02 Faith (b-side of 'Emergency' 1988)
02 I Know You Well (single 1990)
03 Feel No Way (b-side of 'I Know You Well')
04 Elizabethan Radio Star (from the 'Starstreet' compilation album 1990)
05 Al's Vacation (single 1991)
06 Irish (b-side of 'Al's Vacation')
07 Up (from 'Unearthed - Liverpool Cult Classics Volume 3' compilation album, recorded 1991)
08 Green Velvet Jacket (b-side of 'Somethin' Like You' by The Strands 1998)
09 Flannery (b-side of 'Natalie's Party' 1999)
10 Extra Extra (b-side of 'Natalie's Party' 1999)
11 Too Late For Me Now (b-side of 'Natalie's Party' 1999)
12 Miss Christine (b-side of 'Natalie's Party' 1999)

Disc Two
01 Uncle Delaney (b-side of 'Comedy' 1999)
02 Petroleum (b-side of 'Comedy' 1999)
03 24 Hours (b-side of 'Comedy' 1999)
04 Solid Gold (b-side of 'Comedy' 1999)
05 Oscar (single 2000)
06 Queen Matilda (b-side of 'Oscar')
07 Not Afraid Of Loving You (b-side of 'Byrds Turn To Stone' 2003)
08 Lizzie Mallaly (b-side of 'Cup Of Tea' 2006)
09 Uncle Smaegel's Cardigan (b-side of 'Tie Me Down' 2006)
10 Working Family (bonus track on Japanese edition of '...The Corner Of Miles And Gil' 2006)
11 Holiday Abroad (previously unreleased, from the 'Time Machine' compilation 2007)
12 Wanda (previously unreleased, from the 'Time Machine' compilation 2007)