Some of the bands, like Primal Scream, went on to achieve global stardom; others, such as Half Man Half Biscuit and the Wedding Present, cultivated lifelong fanbases that still sustain their careers thirty-five years later. Then there were the rest, who ultimately imploded in a riot of paisley shirts, bad drugs and general indifference from the record-buying public. The 30-year anniversary of C86 saw the original compilation issued in a deluxe gatefold sleeved double- LP edition for Record Store Day 2016. [29] So much for that old punk/new wave/alternative ethic. Same old, same old ‘f*** the public’ approach to doing commerce. In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which 'indie' was born.

Italia 90 – Magdalene – Records I Like

Hitting play on a piece of music is an act of magic. The noise may be entering your own space and filling up your ears, but in fact it’s the other way around; it drags you, willing or otherwise, to a world usually much more interesting than your own. Over a quarter-of-a-century on, pressing play on the C86 mixtape still has that transporting impact – it opens up a portal to a different world.Reggae and early hiphop. Roxanne Roxanne etc. Certainly was played on Peel so counts as alternative if not indie as genre. One by one they agreed to be interviewed. Invariably, they would ask who else had confirmed. If, say, members of the Pastels or Age of Chance or the Mighty Lemon Drops were on board, that was enough for them. Some would tender old phone numbers of their former bandmates, keen for each of these missing persons cases to be solved. In the end, no band wanted to be left out, for their story not to be told. When I secured an interview with the drummer from the 22nd and last band to respond, I punched the air in delight. Relief, too. In fairness, "forgotten" is a rather relative and loose term when there is no qualifier as to who the forgetters are.What he said. The significance of C86 was recognized by several events marking the 20th anniversary of the compilation's release in 2006:

C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey

In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which ‘indie’ was born. You're right of course MSD, no offence meant. Just took a stab in the dark as to my untrained eye I wondered if any other than the Slits might fail in your ballpark. I also though "Indie" was pretty inaccurate. By 1986, however, the politics of the magazine had changed dramatically. C86 was used as a weapon not only in the civil war within the paper, in but in the war between it and other music magazines. There was heavy competition around this time between music publications, with four weekly music mags competing for sales, each trying to pique reader interest by writing about new bands and trends. C86 aimed to create a new genre for NME to profit off, hoping to generate attention by ‘discovering’ and promoting a new genre. In achieving this purpose, the tape was a success. To this day, C86 is recognised as its own legitimate subgenre on RateYourMusic.com. But C86 was also used as a pawn in the so-called ‘Hip-Hop Wars’ going on in NME in the 1980s, a schism between fans of hip hop and guitar music enthusiasts. C86 was a tactic devised to reinvigorate interest in the indie scene, taking attention away from the burgeoning rap game. It was designed to be, as Ex-NME staffer Andrew Collins put it, “the most indie thing ever to have existed”. “The most indie thing that ever existed” Some ended up in the arts and academia others found themselves in retail or the corporate world, and a few are still playing to this day. Some are embarrassed by their connection and others incredibly proud. Some didn’t even want to speak of their experience, whilst others were only too happy to reflect and then there were those who are no longer here.Gourlay, Dom (2014-06-13). "Album Review: Various - C86: Deluxe Edition / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06 . Retrieved 2015-06-11. THAT PETROL EMOTION - Mine 22.THE TURNCOATS - One Breath * 23.A RIOT OF COLOUR - Skink (Flexi Version) * C86 & All That: The Creation of Indie In Difficult Times comprehensively documents the rise of indie during the socially-divisive 1980s, tracing its ancestry out of Post Punk, Neo Psychedelia, Anarcho Punk, Garage, Trash and Goth and on to the landmark compilation C86 in the spring of 1986. I’m guessing the book had a fairly niche audience but I found it hugely enjoyable and also it led me to explore some of the bands that I didn’t know so well, with the help of Spotify.

C86 - Wikipedia C86 - Wikipedia

Neil Taylor co-compiled C86 and is the author of Document & Eyewitness: An Intimate History Of Rough Trade. Since the 1990s he has worked in publishing. ABOUT USLouder Than War is a music, culture and media publication headed by The Membranes & Goldblade frontman John Robb. Online since 2010 it is one of the fastest-growing and most respected music-related publications on the net. In 1986, along with many other dedicated NME readers, I sent off for their latest cassette compilation. I had them all. Every one. Didn't matter what the genre, I was all in. This one, C86, went on to define an era and probably marks the moment "indie" music was born. The independent chart had been going for some time but indie the genre ultimately became synonymous with white guitar pop. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.I went to see The Flatmates on Saturday night, supported by Helen McCookerybook of proto C86 act The Chefs. Indie never forgets (but The Flatmates have got a different singer since they reformed five or so years ago). Post Punk is where the action was when the generation of youth who had their minds scorched by Punk started to apply their own interpretation to music and culture. In this creative free for all barriers were broken and a fervent underground existed way beyond the mainstream. Neil Taylor has taken a dive into this bricolage culture and come up trumps as he tries to make sense of the senseless when a generation thought that music could change the world’ Fire Escape Talking", "Anoraky in the UK,C86, the punk that refuses to die" ("Fire Escape Talking blog", July 7, 2006) This is a book for those of us, now in our late 50s or early 60s, who grew up devouring the NME as a means of nurturing our music tastes as well as broader cultural interests. It may also help to be male, perhaps? NME promoted the tape in conjunction with London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, who staged a week of gigs, [7] in July 1986 which featured most of the acts on the compilation.