BEATFOR110 - February Singles Weekender II

The mid 80's saw a renaissance of guitar music, which echoed throughout the world. Bands such as Rain Parade, Green On Red in the U.S.A. to The Hoodoo Gurus, and Scientist in Australia plus many more from all points in between. Sweden is one of this places where guitar pop music have been always top of the class.
Cod Lovers formed in late ‘88 in Norrköping, a seaport city of Sweden. After a few explosive gigs they soon gained the interest of their friend Ola Hermanson and his record label Ceilidh Productions. The single Best Friend was released, media coverage was soaring and the band played the Hultsfred festival in 1990. Two albums and the last single Kill The Time in 1991. Six years after their glorious beginnings at Yule-tide, they gallantly disbanded, after a final awesome show at a Christmas party.

Cod Lovers - Kill The Time [7" Celidh Productions 1991]

One of the great lost pop singles of the decade. One of the great lost band of the decade. The Chairs are a group to rediscover for all pop guitar aficionados. Formed in 1986 from the nucleus of Essex psychedelic feedback farmers The Gene Tryp, The Chairs began as a three piece before engaging the services of roadie Dave Read, whose organ stylings soon became central to the band's sound. They released a string of independently produced singles between 1987 and 1990, difficult to tell which was best. Factor in a Radio One session, Single Of The Week in the NME, and lavish praise from the likes of Steve Lamacq and Elvis Costello.
Paul Sullivan (singer, guitarist, composer) following making pop gems under the moniker The Liberty Takers. (Beatfor30).

The Chairs - Honey I Need A Girl Of A Different Stripe [7" Pink Halo Records 1988]

The Leatherwoods were a loose duo comprised of Kansas-to-Minneapolis transplants Todd Newman and Tim O'Reagan, with assistance from utility man "Pablo Louseorama" (aka Paul Westerberg, who co-wrote songs while contributing guitar, bass and keyboards).
Minneapolitan Todd Newman has made records for a variety of labels including Medium Cool, the Bus Stop Label, and Barber's Itch, sometimes using the Leatherwoods moniker, sometimes not, playing with such bands as Lions and Dog, The Swingin' Dicks, Rocky and the Bluelighters, Curtiss A, The Hayley Mills Brothers, The Beatifics, Grant Hart, Lori Wray, and The Hang Ups.
O'Reagan went on to play drums with Joe Henry and the Jayhawks, and piecing together a solo album.

Todd Newman & The Leatherwoods - To Win You Back [7' Reverb Jr 1988]

Seattle power-pop pioneer Jim Basnight led the Moberlys visibly in the late '70s and nearly out of sight for another decade, creating a body of work dripping with quality and excitement, garage rock meets pop sound. This was their second single after the high collected Live In The Sun released in 1977. Flipside is a outrage cover of The Sonics’ Cinderella.

Jim Basnight & The Moberlys - I Want To Be Yours [7" Precedent Records 1983]

BEATFOR109 - February Singles Weekender I

Great mod-punk single that is not very well known, with amazing fast primitive mod songs. Three English piece band, like The Jam, but more garage sixties influences. Any info beatfortwo readers-listeners is welcome.
The Starlings - Plastic Cards [7" Ruffin Records 197?]


The Last first single echoing the exciting reverberated sounds of the classic real punk bands of the 60's: The Standells, Shadows of Knight, Electric Prunes, etc. Not particularly a 'big bucks' production (they did it themselves), sounding as if it could have come out of any garage in 1966 with its cheesy organ, slightly off-base guitars and crude vocals. A punkadelic classic with shaded of the Lollipop Shoppe, Love and the Strawberry Alarm Clock.


The Last - She Don't Know Why I'm Here [7" Bomp Records 1978]



Kiderian Records was out of Chicago. The label was launched somewhere in the mid 60s and released some authentic garage 45s. The Boyz were the Oak Park band on Kiderian Records, contemporaries/friends of Pezband. This band dates back to the mid 60s, with two releases on Destination and an earlier issue of this beatlesque Laughs On Me on I.R.C. Genuine pre-cursor to punk-power pop. They were supposedly born out of The Phaetons and from The Boyz went on to Grim Reaper, Fuse and eventually Cheap Trick. Pretty good disc. These guys had more tracks available on the label-sampler Goodbye Dolores – A Kiderian Records Sampler. The comp is none too spectacular, some nice enough 70s pop, but the two songs from the Boyz 45 are the only stand-outs.

The Boyz - Laughs On Me [7" Kiderian Records 1975]


Talented guy Marc Thor, first appeared is on Live At The Ratz compilation. Trak was his second and last record for Indy label. Stomper rock’n’roll. (Beatfor78)
Marc Thor - Trak [7" Indy Records 1979]