19 Goldene Hits - Berlin Pop Compilation

Here are some information about this 1994 Compilation- CD on our Tape- /Fanzine- Label SMUF. All of these bands were from Berlin. We pressed 500 copies, some are left and can be ordered from FST.

SAINTLY SNAILS - The Rumble ( Surf- Instrumental – a perfect opener)

MOST WANTED MEN - The Glass Menagerie ( pre- GROOVY CELLAR, compilation CD on Marsh Marigold)

ABRAMCZYK – Grungemädchen ( Noise- Pop with myself on the mic)

TUMBLING HEARTS - V.I.P. Treatment (Country- Pop out of the TWANG TONE- scene)

ELEKTRO IM BUS - Ich Liebe Dich ( later DIE ELEKTROS, with smash- hit „Kämpferin in S- Bahnzügen“)

THORN - The Best Part Of Being With You ( Uwe’s own band, feat. Members of SAINTLY SNAILS)

CUBAN REBEL GIRLS - Sixteen Days ( Sixties- Pop)

GOING DOWN WITH BRILLIANCE - Only Place ( song by ex- FST- member Jan, “produced” by myself)

SAINTLY SNAILS - Amuck In My Head ( friends of the family)

WESTWAY – Shine ( Electro, first Band from BLOCHIN 81 and LATO- singer Des Squire)

PLEASURE - Shut Up ( Shoegazer - singer Sascha formed JAKETHIVE two years later)

CRACK A WHEAT - It's About time ( great Popabilly)

PROFANES - Too Late To Leave ( another band from the sixties- scene)

RECKLESS PRESSURE - And Suddenly The River ( another band from “the scene that celebrates itself”)

GROOVY CELLAR - You Make Me Feel Younger Than I Am ( 15 years later on Firestation Records)

MILCHBLUMEN FC - Auf Dem Halensee ( I know nothing about them ;-) )

PHONETIC RELATIONS - Girl With No Name ( another great Sixties- tune)

ELEKTRO IM BUS – Popstar ( second track by the Berlin- Popstars)

THE ANSWER - Sun Won't Shine Anymore ( my favourite track on this CD, great organ- sound)

THE 1 EURO SHOP

Please notice, about 30 releases from our catalogue are now available for only 1 EURO each. Tell your friends that this is the chance to complete their collection for a small amount of money. Releases by Lato, Arvidson, Cinnamon, The 05, Ambitious Beggars, Tribeca or Vermont Sugar House are some of the offers. Please check our website for the full list.

As you see there, www.firestation-records.de is under construction. I need some time to re- organize the website- structure, a total chaos welcomed me last tuesday. In the meantime enjoy this blog or check our myspace- pages.

THE BIG GUN

“Heard About Love“ - When people asked me about how the perfect indiepopsong should sound like i always reply these three words. Full of the greatest jangly guitarsound i ever heard this 2.58 minutes long song makes my day since nearly 20 years. I still remember the day when i bought the 7“ from record and tape exchange in camden town. “Heard About Love“ was released on the band's (i believe) own “Hi-Fibre“ label back in 1987. A year before the band shared a flexi disc with Basil Pieroni. “You'll Always Give Your Best“ was nearly as brilliant as the singletrack. When we started the Sound Of Leamington Spa serie back in 1998 one of the first bands we were looking for was the Big Gun. I remember that it took me ages to locate them. They came by by in 2000 and i was more than happy to include their song on Sound Of Leamington Spa 2. As member Andy Crone once said the band never called it the day, they just went separate ways. Beside the 7“ and the flexidisc the band recorded at least one three track demo tape back in 1986.
It contains the following tracks:

-Happiest Day
-Now That You Gone
-Where I Want To Go

Needless to say that all those songs are brilliant as well !

In 1989 members of the Big Gun founded short-lived band Cincinnati. A demotape was recorded but no proper records were released. I have to think on band's as The Great Leap Forward or Drop while listening to their songs. Especially “About You“ is a great song. Hopefully there will be a chance to include this tune on Sound Of Leamington Spa 8.
Andy and Keith Martin teamed up together again in the late 90s to form another band which name was Stagger Lee. We included their song “Four Families“ on FST 045 – These Are The Songs We Always Wanted To Hear. I have to say honest, that this tune is still my favourite track from that compilation. The band recorded a couple of fine demos before broke up soon after.
Recently i talked to Andy about the possibilty to release a Big Gun compilation CD, so finger crossed for it !!!

Firestation Records - Pre-Releases (1991 - 1994)

I first met Olaf back in september 1990 at a Soup Dragons concert. A couple of months later we released our first fanzine which was called “SMUF“. Although i never found out cleary why it was called so, Olaf should know for sure. Can't remember how many copies we've done of it, but most of them were sold with a flexi-disc by then Sarah Records artist BRIGHTER. Not so sure anymore how the deal was, but Bernd Kabs of Blam A Bit-fame passed over copies of it for letting us giving it away with the magazine. The fanzine has an interwiew with our flexistars among stories and live reviews on such bands as ACTION PAINTING, AZTEC CAMERA, GOLDSTEIN CIRCUS or THE PARIAHS. It was sold mostly through Mind The Gap mailorder.
Soon after we compiled a compilation tape which was called “It's All About Love“. Released in the year 1992 it has some fine bands on it in the likes of THE AURBISONS, JESTERBELLS or THE SUGARGLIDERS. The next tape we released was a compilation by Greece-based indiepopbands. I think it was some kind of “licensing“ as it was released in Greece also. “In Those Happy Days“
sold not much more than 50 copies back then, so i was surprised that it is a good seller on ebay these days.
Without having a job back in 1993 i decided to start an fanzine on my own. I named it “Happy To Be Sad“ after an unreleased song by alltime faves The Servants. I done a couple of numbers on my own before Annikki and Jan came by. I still wrote it when Firestation Records was found in 1998. There should be no more than 50 copies of the first numbers but last two numbers were an good seller on concerts so i decided to re-press it again. “Happy To Be Sad“ Number 3 lists english indiepopbands from the 80s from letter A – D. Although there was the plan to have a follow-up on it, not much happens.
The most important release in pre-Firestation days saw the light of day back in 1994. Olaf and me put together an compilation CD by Berlin-based Indiepop-bands which were around these days. The title of it was “19 Goldene Hits“ and we pressed 500 copies of it without having any distributer on our own. Beside tracks by the labelowners bands (Abramczyk, Going Down With Brilliance, Milchblumen FC and Thorn) it contains such wonderful bands as Most Wanted Men, Westway (pre Blochin 81/Lato) or Elektro Im Bus (later called Die Elektros). The releaseparty for it took it's place in oktober 1994 at then famous berlin club Die Insel. More than 300 people went by and we sold lot's of copies of the record. Although i have to say honest that i can't remember not the half of that night, i still have wonderful memories of it. After great gigs from bands as The Groovy Cellar or Milchblumen FC things went wrong when myself found his place on the stage to sang some songs with my band Thorn. Falling from stage, loosing my T-Shirt and breaking young girl's hearts.
It took another four years then before Firestation Records was found at a warm sunday afternoon around the Nollendorfplatz.

Firestation Records - Withdrawn & Unreleased

People asked me recently what's the story behind the “lost“ cataloguenumbers from Firestation Records. Back in the early years (1998 – 2001) there were three records which never made into the pressing plant.
First up we have FST 010. We started the Sound Of Leamington Spa serie back in 1998. One of the first band's we've been in touch with back then were Manchester based ASIA FIELDS. The band just released their third single a couple of months earlier, so it was no bigger problem to contact them. After a couple of e-mails the group agreed to include “Dazed“ on the compilation serie. Beside this they sent over three demo-tapes full of amazing songs. We offers a 7“ release and everythings seems to work well until the day we lost contact to the band some months later. What a shame ! Believe me, it would have made an brilliant release ! Listen to the songs again makes my day ! Full of jangly guitars and funky rhythms, how wonderful ! This band was so special and i feel sad this moment again that the release never happens.
Please find the demo tapes tracklists as follows:

Demo 1:

Know Who You Are
Chances
Waking Up

Demo 2:

Know Who You Are
Sneakin
Chances

Demo 3:

That Feelin
Humming Bird
Bluke

As far as i know all these tracks remain unreleased elsewhere.

Next up we have FST 022 which was reserved for London-based indiepopstars BOB. It was in the plan to co-release an compilation-album by the band with Clarendon Records (then still called TweeNet). Peter met the band a couple of times back in 2000 and things looks good for an great release. I have to say honest that i can't remember why this release remains to be unreleased.

The tracklist for that unreleased album looks as follows:

Extension Bob Please
Groove
It Was Kevin
Kirsty
What A Performance
Come Winter
You To Me
Tour Song
Who You Are
Bloodline
STP
Say You're Alone
Queen Of Sheba
You Can't Stop For A Start
On Your Side
Plastered In Paris
Coquette
Don't Know

All of these songs were recorded in Banwell as the band wrote on the tape sleeve's. Without a doubt this collection feat. some of the finest tracks the band has written in their career. Highlights including an early version of “Leave The Straight Life Behind“ (then called “Was It Kevin“), the acoustic based “Come Winter“ or the mighty “Queen Of Sheeba“. Hopefully the band will include all these songs on their website soon, so look out for it !

Back in the early days of the year 2001 i heard some tracks by spain-based band FINE. The group released a wonderful 4 track EP in 2000 on spanish label Strange Ones. Beside this EP the label provides us with an live-tape which i believe was recorded at the band's hometown Barcelona. My heart was beats fast and faster while listening to all these great tunes. I was thinking about about early Cardigans or songs by my alltime faves Cloudberry Jam, so i put on my computer and wrote over a mail to the label before the tape was finished. There was no doubt, i wanted to release a record by them as fast as possible. The label's owner shows interested in our plans, so we decided on a two track 7“ release. I told my designer to create a cover and the work was done within a week or so. Not much happens after, simple because i found out that the label did not want us to sell copies of the records to Japan. So it was clear for us to withdrawn this release, although we already gave it the cataloguenumber FST 025. It would have made one of the few records i would have agreed on even without hearing studioversions of the songs. I can't remember which track we had in mind for side B, but the titletrack for this unreleased release was called “The Ones That Smoke Are Fool“.

Please find the live-tape tracklist as follows:

Equipage
Barcelona
Summer Revisited
The Big Issue
Seyman
He Smile Sometimes
Fishing For Birds
The One That Smoke Are Fool
Both
Philippe

Although there is no cataloguenumber given for it, there was a plan back in 2001 to release a compilation by Kent-based NEWSFLASH. Conversation went down soon after The Sound Of Leamington Spa 2 came out. No working title was given to this release as well, but the tracklist would have looked as follows:

An Englishman
Help
Wherever I Go
The Hand That Stangles
Sam The Bland
Mundane Me And You
Nobody's Home
The Tale Of Nothing In Particular
Real Horror Show
Brought To Light

Although the album would have contain the band's flexi and 7“ singles tracks, the songs from their sole 12“ release would have been missing. Hopefully the band will come by one day again, as i still would love to put out these great tunes !

The Sound Of Leamington Spa 7

Believe it or not, we're still working on the artwork for it. The good news is that we have done the master a couple of weeks ago. I have to say honest that i'm very proud about the result. If everythings goes as planed The Sound Of Leamington Spa 7should be ready at the beginning of june.
I have compiled the tracks for it between early 2007 – late 2008, so it took more than two years finish work on it. I can't remember that any other release on Firestation took such a long time.
Ala Pana Fuzo's “Friend“ became an alltime favourite the first time i heard this special song some years ago, so the choice became easy to start the new part of the serie with it.
Not much is known about Huge Big Massive (see picture). This great short-lived band was around the early 90s and put out two 12“ singles.
“Here To Stay“ was taken from the band's “Out Of My Mind“ EP released back in 1992. Needless to look out for it, 'cos it never comes by !
Whirpool Guest House has just released a compilation album on always wonderful Summerhouse Records. “The Plumber's Daughter“ was the first song on their sole album which was released in 1988.
“Same Old Story“ by Screaming Silence became a favourite among collectors over the last years. Check out their Myspace for more wonderful songs.
Wee Cherubs “Dreaming“ makes it's CD-debut on Spa 7. Without a doubt one of the greatest songs in indiepop-history ever written !
I was wondering a lot once i found out about Endless Bob Brown a couple of years ago. Why the hell have i never heard about them before ? Their music is so special and i was surprised even more to find out that they never put out any records while they were around. What a shame ! Believe me, they would have made it on many people's favourite lists ! I heard a rumour that there are plans for a compilation, so finger crossed !!
Not so sure what should i write about Mighty Mighty. This band is one of my alltime faves and became a lifetime friend since more than 20 years. They are one of the few bands all of my friends agree on. My mates and me played their songs to death at the Ship Shape Club. They should be the most played band at our club beside The Smiths. Would you believe ? I just love them and i have to say thank you for all the great songs ! Needless to say that i'm the most happiest
man around to have them on the compilation. “Emile“ remains unreleased until now.
Home And Abroad released some fine singles around the late 80s which should made it to any serious indiepop-collector's home. We're hope that their unreleased album will be see the light of day soon !
Another collectors-fave comes from Fire Hydrant Men. “Baby I'm A U-Boot“ was taken from the band's split 12“ singles which they once shared with the Railway Children and Screen 3.
I bought The Dadas 12“ back in 1992 for 10 p from Record and Tape Exchange. It became a big favourite of mine, so i was glad to find out about them finally. “Mercy Mercy“ was released on Mickey Rourkes Fridge (home of Hey Paulette) back in 1992 and it's still relative unknown among collectors.
The Irony Board were around the early 90s and recorded some wonderful songs. Members of the band are now based in such cool bands as Broken Down Lorry or Charlie Big Time. More then worth to check them out both !
Have to say honest that i was blown away the first time i heard songs by The Gits. Their music makes my day and let me think of alltimes faves as The Close Lobsters or The Aurbisons. Only one 7“ was released but lot's of songs were recorded. I should ask them to release their backcatalogue. This would make the perfect pop-record !
I remember the day when i first the EP by Reflection AOB at a friends place. It took me ages to find it finally in a shop nearby. “Only In My Dreams“ was produced by Ed Ball of The Times fame and was taken from the band's sole record released back the late 80s. It's still an amazing seller on ebay.
My friends from Borgine released some wonderful music with various bands since the early 80s. The band's members are familiar with our compilation serie, pre Borgnine bands, The Shrew Kings and The Clamheads can be found on earlier parts of the serie.
Hookline & Silverfish released one fantastic 7“ single back in 1986 which became a regular on many wantlists over the years. Bandmembers once appeard one the legendary C86-Compilation LP “Beyond The Fence Begins The Sky“. They called themself The Thin Line back then.
Next up we have some wonderful female vocal indiepop from Feline Jive. The band released one 7“ single around 20 years ago.
The Ferrymen just released their compilation album on Firestation Records a couple of weeks ago. “Summertime“ is another exclusive to this compilation !
Hailed from Sailsbury, Don't Feed The Animals released one superb piece of vinyl in 1985. “Wealthy Man“ can be also heard on the band's 7“ single, although it's nearly impossible to locate a copy of it these days.
Another's collector's dream is the first 12“ release by Penelope's Web. “The Gap“ EP was self-released back in the mid 80's and shows the band on the highest level. The band recorded a second
superb EP for Cherry Red in 1990 before call it the day.
It took me ages to track down the members of Elephant Noise. The band's sole EP became one the most-after records in indiepop-history over the last couple of years. What a great band ! “New Town Tom“ is a demo and remains unreleased until today !
We close the compilation with the great Kevin McGrother who just released his debut album. I can recommend this record to anyone ! There is also a split EP out now on Cloudberry Records which contains an new version of the old Tickety-Boo classic “Riverside Heaven“. Tickety-Boo are another story and i will make sure to tell you some facts about them soon !

Ala Pana Fuzo – Friend

Huge Big Massive – Here To Stay

Whirlpool Guest House – The Plumber’s Daughter

Screaming Silence – Same Old Story

Wee Cherubs – Dreaming

Endless Bob Brown - Be Good To Your Blood

Mighty Mighty – Emile

Home & Abroad – Back Were I Belong

Fire Hydrant Men – Baby I’m A U-Boat

The Dadas – Mercy Mercy

Irony Board – No Ties

The Gits – JK Rent

Reflection AOB – Only In My Dreams

Borgnine – Everything You Need

Hookling & Silverfish – Christine

Feline Jive – Blue Dawn

The Ferrymen – Summertime

Don’t Feed The Animals – Wealthy Man

Penelope’s Web – The Gap

Elephant Noise – New Town Tom

Kevin McGrother – You'll Never Know

First steps into the music biz..

This is me (left) buying 50% of Firestation Records. Annikki and Jan are now very rich.

the new one

Hey, hello, I am the new 2nd man at Firestation Records. Today I bought me a new turntable system including an USB port, great thing! Altough I have no time I will record some of the old stuff in the next weeks to enjoy the music on my walkman. I started with the Bodines “Played” and “This is our art” from the Soup Dragons, great album (haven’t heard for years).

OK, enough of these things. In the future you will read here some news about our releases on FST, some stories from the so called “good old days” of Indie-Pop and some other things and thoughts.

Ahh, Side A is finished, I have to turn the record…