Rare material takes a deep look into the psyche of a British post-punk band that combined mod music and psychedelic pop into an iconic low-fi mix.
Over forty years ago, a smart young Londoner made fun of part-time punks. He wondered where TV presenter Bill Grundy had gone after his scandalous interview with the Sex Pistols and supposedly knew where Syd Barrett lived. We’re talking about Daniel Treacy, the driving force behind Television Personalities. John Peel was one of the very first to notice the band and played “Part Time Punks” on his radio show.
The brittle charm of these low-fi pearls is still convincing today
It was also the DJ who invited the TV personalities to one of his famous sessions, with which TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP OUT now begins. They recorded the four songs in London, all from their debut …AND DON’T THE KIDS JUST LOVE IT. In 1986, former Billy Bragg roadie and successful BBC DJ Andy Kershaw invited people to a session. At the time, TVP were a live band without a record deal. Under rather adverse circumstances they recorded four songs again, which remained unreleased until 1989.
At the beginning of the 1990s, US college radio WMBR asked, and this time the Brits served up a generous ten songs, including cover versions of the Buzzcocks and Raincoats. Because this material already fills a double LP, a download code with half a dozen recordings for the New Jersey station WFMU is also included. Now you might think that the long period of time – 13 years after all – and the many line-up changes between the first and last song make TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP OUT a less stringent album. Not true. The brittle charm of these low-fi pearls is still convincing today.
You can find out which albums will be released in January 2025 via our monthly release list.