The mystery of the John Peel Frankie Goes To Hollywood tape

Peel tape box
Recently I was lucky enough to accompany my friend Eilon Paz of Dust & Grooves to Peel Acres – John Peel‘s family home and site of his incredible record collection. We’d been granted a visit by Tom Ravenscroft, one of John and wife Sheila‘s four children and renown BBC 6 Music DJ in his own right. We were getting an exclusive look into his archive for the follow up to Eilon’s 2013 book on vinyl collecting, Dust & Grooves – due out next year. This piece isn’t about the whole visit though – for that you’ll have to buy the book and see all the amazing treasures we found – but about something that was discovered before we arrived that I took a special interest in. On the drive up from the station Tom revealed that the week before they’d uncovered a huge stash of tapes from a hidden cavity in the floor below John’s studio, previously some sort of sunken sitting space that had been covered over decades before for space and safety reasons. In amongst the hundreds of cassettes were demos and submissions from hundreds of bands, some unknown and unsigned at the time and one name sprang out at me from the list he reeled off – Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

Readers of this blog will know that I’m a huge fan of both the band and their label, ZTT so an early demo from them was of interest despite having heard pretty much everything that’s ever come to light from their recorded history (plus plenty of material yet to be officially released). Even better was that there was a personal letter enclosed as with many of the things we found that day. Once in the house and faced with the mammoth task of even knowing where to begin, Tom kicked things off by retrieving the tape from a small pile of the more interesting finds he’d pulled from the boxes. Extracting the letter, he began to read and by the time he’d finished I was more confused than when he started. See for yourself, most Frankie fans will be similarly scratching their heads.

FGTH John Peel letter web
Three things that instantly jump out are: who was A.K. Reynolds? There was no one of that name in the band. The track titles – I’d never heard of any of them – and the time frame – recorded ’77 – 80? The Frankie that became world famous didn’t form until 1982 but this letter was from a Liverpool address and the writer a bassist, as was Holly Johnson originally, the band’s vocalist, when he was a member of Big In Japan. Maybe this was a pseudonym and he’s sent some solo material to John in the hope of getting airplay? There couldn’t be two Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s, the name was too unique, taken from a page of Guy Peellaert‘s 1973 book, ‘Rock Dreams’ which Holly had then adapted.

GuyPeellaert Frank Sinatra I decided to consult Holly’s 1994 autobiography, ‘A Bone In My Flute’, as his recall of the early Liverpool years is extremely detailed, hoping I’d find a reference to the name or address on the letter. Eventually my patience was rewarded on page 132 with first, the writer’s name, and simultaneously the origin of the band’s moniker.

P132
P133
The band Holly formed with Ambrose Reynolds – the A.K. Reynolds who wrote the letter, also a bassist – were Frankie Goes To Hollywood mk1. Steve Lovell and BF Tin were also members and I’d say that the time frame here was about 1979/80 although it doesn’t explicitly say in the book. Ten pages later there’s another clue as to those sessions as Holly meets and starts writing songs with Peter Gill, Brian Nash and Mark O’Toole in the embryonic stages of what we now know as Frankie, when they were part of a band called The Dancing Girls and later, Sons and Egypt.

P142
As nothing came of Frankie mk1 I’d hazard a guess that Ambrose sent the recordings (or some of his own maybe?) to John and used the name? Holly released at least one solo single between Frankie mk1 and 2 so there was a gap, it’s a pity I didn’t see if there was a date on the letter. Looking up Reynolds on Wikipedia shows that he was pretty active on the music scene around Liverpool, later teaming up with ex-Big In Japan vocalist Jayne Casey to form Pink Industry and starting Zulu Records together, but one paragraph stood out:
“In 1980, Reynolds formed a new band, Frankie Goes To Hollywood with Holly Johnson, BF Tin and Steve Lovell. The name is a matter of contention; Johnson wanted to call the band Hollycaust, Reynolds disagreed, Johnson responded “we could call it anything”; his eyes then drifted to a poster on the wall of Frank Sinatra (from a book called Rock Dreams) as he read out the caption, saying disparagingly, “we could even call it Frankie goes to Hollywood, it doesn’t matter”, at which point Reynolds said, “yes, that’s what we SHOULD call it, it’s original and different”. The band split up soon after that, and Reynolds continued to work under that name until 1981, when Johnson began using the name for his more successful band of the same name a few years later.”

So there we have it, the contents of the tape are from the little known – and I suspect even lesser heard – Frankie Goes To Hollywood mk1 although whether any of the recordings include Holly’s contributions we may never know. Thanks to Tom for bringing it to light and Eilon for inviting me along, we found some great stuff but you’ll have to wait for the book next year to see and read about that. Thanks also to Tom’s mum, Sheila for her hospitality, here we are together with a John Lennon promo pack, shot by Eilon (can you tell by the superior quality?).
Take a look at the Dust & Grooves website and give Eilon a follow on Instagram as he continues his Vinyl Nomad tour (inc more photos) – he’s off to Japan next week!
This has been another DJ Food digging mystery solved…

DJ Food & Sheila Ravenscroft
PS: There was also a nice additional passage in Frankie member Brian Nash‘s autobiography remembering John:

Nasher 1
Nasher 2

Artifacts #25: Matchbox Adventure 2000 flyer

Adventure 2000 flyer

Adults of a certain age (ie. over 50) might remember this little promotional flyer for the Matchbox Adventure 2000 line of die-cast toys from the 70s. I found this flyer in Gosh Comics a few years back but remember seeing it in some comics possibly way back and wanting to get this poster so badly. I think I may have even sent off for one to have my name printed on but never received anything back (but that could be the mind playing tricks). I know that I definitely copied the robot in the poster in my sketchbook and wanted there to be a film so badly. I still have a (Land) Raider Command vehicle in its box and my brother and I had the other two vehicles pictured as well, they were well and truly played with until they broke. Did anyone actually get a poster with their name on it?

Adventure 2000 flyer detailAdventure 2000 flyer back

Artifacts #24: Negativland – Zapped! Over The Edge tapes

Zapped covers

Just found these today, sent off for from Negativland around 2000 – their Zapped! (Zappa tribute) Over The Edge 5 hr radio show, personally dubbed, written & stickered on 3 TDK cassettes – not on any discography, I think they’d dub any show for you for a fee back then via their website. Luckily, through the power of the internet, you can listen to this and many more shows from their huge run (1981-2015 I believe) via the Internet Archive.
Seriously, there are so many show up there you many never need to listen to anything else ever again.

Zapped back Zapped x3 closeZapped writing
Actually, I think that’s my handwriting on that edge

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Artifact #23: DJ Food vintage record box

DJFoodRecordBoxFrontMy first flight cased record box – long retired. This has seen some places, miles and times. I used this throughout the 90’s on the early Ninja Tune DJ package tours around the world. I would pack a Line 6 FX pedal, needles, leads, slipmats and headphones inside as well. It was heavy as you like when full and this was before trolleys or record bags with wheels. The stickers tell the times it was used in, see how many you recognise. Made a nice seat too! These days it’s packed with archive materials, sketchbooks, artwork, all protected until needed. See the last pic for a flat pack, make-your-own version.

DJFoodRecordBoxLSide DJFoodRecordBoxBack DJFoodRecordBoxRSide DJFoodRecordBoxBottom DJFoodRecordBoxTop Record box flat

Beyond 2000AD exhibition glimpse

Beyond2000_poster Beyond2000_progs Beyond2000_records1 Beyond2000_records2 Beyond2000_TimeOutI finally got time to pop into Orbital Comics and see their small but packed exhibition of 2000AD offshoots, tie-ins, cash-ins, memorabilia, music, magazines, toys and so much more. Not having an opening party because it would clash with the comic’s own 40th celebration a couple of weekends ago they’ve decided to have a closing party on Friday March 10th where there will be a podcast recording and music by yours truly among others.
I also just guested on the Big Mouth podcast pre-record, talking about the comic’s legacy which will be available online this coming Sunday. More details as I have it.

Beyond2000_art Beyond2000_badges Beyond2000_badges2 Beyond2000_game Beyond2000_mags Beyond2000_mags2

Artifacts #22: DJ Krush @ The Custard Factory, 09.07.94 Mo Wax Headz Tour

DJ Krush Headz Tour 94 cover web
A rip of a limited edition cassette of DJ Krush‘s performance at The Custard Factory, Birmingham, UK on the Mo Wax Headz Tour 9th July 1994. No playlist available, feel free to make one and post it in the comments. There is a similar companion cassette of a DJ Shadow set at The Cockpit, Leeds from the same tour out there too.

Artifacts #21: 7″ invite to Vinyl’s first birthday

Vinyl 1st Birthday 45 record
Here’s an oddity I picked up in a South London charity recently, a one-sided 7″ invite to a club called Vinyl‘s first birthday party. I don’t remember the club personally but it appears to have had a home at The Dogstar in Brixton. Unlike several invites to parties I’ve found on vinyl over the years (old random 7″s with new labels pasted on) this one actually has music pressed on one side and the track isn’t bad. A vocodered voice gives details of the date, DJs and aural delights to be expected with an opening line cribbed from an Orb song title.

Vinyl 1st Birthday 45 label

Oddly the date has been pasted over on the label, underneath it says the 14th and on the front of the sleeve was a post-it note exclaiming, “Check with Joan if any phogs(?) we know are going”. Maybe ‘phogs’ is short for photographers and this was sent to a music magazine who may have wanted to cover it?

UPDATE: – Turns out it was an old college friend, Jem Panufnik with Martin Moveya...
Jem:Yes indeed! Can’t remember what order it all happened but of course this became our first Soul of Man track and first Finger Lickin‘ release a few months later, I guess we’d just finished it and used it for this party invite celebrating a year of Bar Vinyl with Vinyl Addiction record shop downstairs (where of course Mr Moveya was selector extraordinaire). I guess we got the date wrong on the artwork! Martin – was this party in a very sweaty low ceiling basement in Kentish Town? The Dogstar connection was our Finger Lickin ‘ nights we did every Thursday a year or so later. Don’t know who’s notes about phogs are, I know it went to a lot of music mags. Think we did 250 so not many around…”

Vinyl 1st Birthday 45

Artifacts #19 – Copying Robert Williams

GnR-AppForDest
Back in early 1989 – aged 18 – I was going out with a girl who loved Guns n’ Roses‘ debut album with a passion. Wanting to make something personal for her as a present before her birthday I decided to paint a version of Robert Williams’ cover image from the original album cover (it was later replaced when the group blew up commercially). What I was thinking I don’t know what with the very dodgy subject matter it contained but that’s the fog of love for you.

I’d discovered Williams’ work a few years before via Zap Comix and loved this painting, despite the sexually assaulted woman (lord knows what she’d have thought of it, had it been finished). I set about copying it as accurately as possible in acrylics on a large piece of thick card, primed and gridded out to get the proportions correct. Below are a couple of in-progress shots I found from ’89 and you can see that I was enjoying painting the orange monster to start with. The chrome elements were incredibly difficult (and boring) to paint given the small reproduction I was working from (an LP cover borrowed from a friend, that I still have, sorry whoever has a sleeveless copy from back then).

Appetite_copy_progress1 March89 Appetite_copy_progress2 March89I’d covered up the lower part of the image, partly to stop it getting dirty as I was generally leaning on the bottom half but mostly because I was still living with my parents and I was embarrassed about the subject matter of the assaulted woman. I wasn’t looking forward to painting that part at all if truth be told but it was integral to the original. As it turned out I never got to because she dumped me about a month before her birthday, any impetus to finish it vanished instantly and it was filed away in an old portfolio.

Appetite_copy_detail6 Appetite_copy_detail2 Appetite_copy_detail3 Appetite_copy_detail4Appetite_copy_detail5Appetite_copy_detail7Over the years I’ve spotted it whilst rifling through the folder, pulled it out a few times and admired the level of dedication I must have had to go to such lengths. I recently shot details of some of the more finished bits to share here, you can see the layers of acrylic paint in parts and I was working with totally inadequate brushes, some with only a few hairs for tiny details.

Appetite_copy_detail8Appetite_copy_detail1 Appetite_copy_detail9Appetite_copy_detail10
One day I’ll have to finish it, just so all that work doesn’t go to waste but I’ve no desire to include the stricken woman so maybe I’ll paint something else in her place. As much as I admire Williams’ work – and copying this gave me a next level appreciation of the techniques he used – his depiction of the woman in this piece is the only thing I’m not a fan of.

Appetite_copy_full2
Appetite_copy_full

Terry Lee Miall’s old kick drum cover

Seen this morning in Spitalfields Market, East London: part of Terry Lee Miall‘s bass drum from his time playing with Adam & the Ants.

The seller was apparently a neighbour of Terry’s and did a house clearance for him when he moved. I did a quick search online and it appears to be the same as the one in this picture.

I was wavering as to whether to buy it but it was absolutely knackered and quite large so I didn’t pursue a price. It was still there when I left…

DJ Shadow’s D.N.A.P. site

DJ Shadow has started a tumblr to showcase pieces from his collection called D.N.A.P., short for ‘Does Not Affect Play’ – a term record buyers will recognise as a description on some used discs when marks are visible on the wax. It’s a collector’s wet dream with not only records but also promo photos, badges, 8-Track tapes, flyers, customised covers and even James Brown cookies. Check it out here.

Artifacts #11 – Home made cassette covers

We’ve all done it – made cassette tape ‘covers’ for our taped compilations of yesteryear. I first got a tape recorder around the 1980 mark and here are some of my designs from the following decade. Note the attention to detail with the backwards ‘D’ on the ‘Adam’ :)

This Frankie compilation was supposed to reflect the different singles left to right: Relax, Two Tribes, Power of Love, Welcome to the Pleasuredome.
You can see how much I was into the design work of XL back then and, subsequently Accident (the same team under a different name) for 808 State later.


I loved Sigue Sigue Sputnik‘s info-overload graphics, the Hockney-esque polaroids and the futuristic sense of it all, something The Designers Republic took to another level later.

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