Update: Ending up the first week of our emergency drive still halfway there. Absolutely grateful beyond description for the donations in the past few hours. You got us to the 50% mark, and that's a hopeful sign. I know it's a pain, hearing about this with every post, but I can't stress how much I need your help. At it stands, there is a very good chance of losing the Archive, which will mean all the recordings you've been hearing and would hear will be gone. When that happens there's no point in continuing with Newstalgia, as the whole reason for having this website was to make those recordings available to you, for free, for learning, for broadening your horizons. If you feel that's worth a buck or two (or as much as you can), please consider making a donation in order to keep this site up and keep the archives a vital source of history at your disposal. We can do it - I swear we can.

Keeping going with our spotlight on the homegrown; tonight it's The Pixies and a session they recorded for John Peel at the BBC Maida Vale Studios in 1988.

Here's the rundown from that session, recorded on October 9, 1988:

1. Dead
2. There goes My Gun
3. Manta Ray

And it officially starts the weekend!

Update: Still inching along slowly, with your help and your donations. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it and all the kind words that have gone with it. You're making a difference and it's huge. And that's why we can't stop now, a little less than halfway to our goal. It's crucial that every penny counts in chipping away at the potential disaster. Without your help, this whole site could go away and the archive could be lost. I don't want either of those things to happen and that's why I'm making this appeal. Any amount you're willing to donate will be deeply appreciated. We can do this, and we can make it happen. Just a little more way to go. Please help keep Newstalgia from disaster; consider any amount - but please consider an amount. We need you!

Staying with some of the "bad boys" of The British Invasion. Wildly popular and influential in their native UK, The Pretty Things were relegated to the more-or-less/ also-ran category. And it stuck with them for the better part of their careers - which was a shame because it wasn't true. The Pretty Things were true originals and, as legend has it, The Pretty Things and The Rolling Stones were very much in competition with each other even to the point of members crossing over briefly into each others bands.

With all that in mind - here is the rundown of what's up on the player tonight.

The Pretty Things - BBC Saturday Club - Jan. 8, 1966

1. Sitting All Alone
2. Midnight To Six Man
3. Buzz The Jerk
4. L.S.D.

The end of the week is coming. Play this one loud and get ready for Friday Night.

We're slowly getting there; about 10% of our goal so far. Thanks to the amazing outpouring of donations from all of you to keep Newstalgia from extinction. Keep it going. Anything you can do will be unbelievably appreciated. You're making a difference!

David Bowie tonight. Someone I haven't played, I don't think, ever on The Roundtable. I ran across this session recorded on May 23, 1972 for the John Peel Program at The BBC and had to include it.

Vintage Bowie from the classic period, turning the Music world Glam in the process.

Here's what's up tonight:

1. White Heat, White Light
2. Hang On To Yourself
3. Suffragette City
4. Moonage Daydream
5. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust

Not that you're going to want to break out the day-glo eyeliner or Platform boots and cover yourself in glitter or anything. But it IS Friday night, and I suppose you could. . .

Or just turn it up and let the music do it for you.

I would say that, without stretching the point too much, had the Moody Blues not stumbled across an obscure sound effects gadget used by the BBC for their radio shows and realized it had tons of musical possibilities, the world may never had the opportunity to hear a Mellotron to the extent the Moody Blues used it.

Initially part of the British Invasion of the early 60's, the Moodies (as they were known, for short) slowly morphed out of the Beat Group niche and into a cross between Art-Rock and Symphonic-Rock. Their biggest album, and one that just about every one "of a certain age" knows the words to from start to finish, was Days Of Future Past, released in 1967. It touted the first-ever collaboration between Symphony Orchestra and Rock Band, with the extra added bonus of The Mellotron, for good, ethereal measure.

Tonight's tracks come by way of two BBC Sessions - the first from early 1967 (just before Days was released) and the other from November of 1967, (after Days was released).

Here's the rundown:

BBC Early 1967
1.Leave The Man Alone

BBC "Top Gear" November 13, 1967
2. Peak Hour
3. Nights In White Satin

Now you get to hear why every band on the planet had to have a Mellotron, or at least record with one.

And some still do.

Hopefully, our servers are up and working and are in the mood for some 70's Headbanging in the form of Scottish rockers Nazareth.

This is from a series of sessions the band did at The BBC in 1973 and comes around the time their first A&M (U.S.) album, Razamanaz came out. Nazareth had been together since 1968 and really didn't get to the top of their game (audience-wise) until Hair Of The Dog was released in 1975. With Hard Rock gaining a huge popularity in the States, Nazareth were in a perpetual state of criss-crossing the U.S. - and the hard work paid off. At last report they're still together (with several personnel changes over the years, naturally) and still touring.

But for tonight it's the band during their upward climb phase. Here's what they play:

1. Broken Down Angel
2. Vigilante Man
3. Shapes Of Things

Shapes of Things is their take on the Yardbirds classic. They would go on to score huge interpreting other bands song, most notably Love Hurts, which was their breakthrough International hit.

As a precursor to Heavy Metal, Nazareth typified the 70's evolution of Hard Rock and more than justified the inducement to "play loud".

And of course, that wouldn't hurt with tonight's tracks.

One more look at a BBC session this week. This time it's The Yardbirds and three tracks from some of their final appearances at the BBC before breaking up . . .or morphing into The New Yardbirds (aka: Led Zeppelin).

Here's what they play:

1. Little Games (Recorded, March 17, 1967)
2. Goodnight Sweet Josephine (Recorded, March 16, 1968)
3. Think About It (Recorded, March 16, 1968)

The Yardbirds as we knew them during the ealier 60's finally packed it in on July 7, 1968 before re-invention and re-emergence as The New Yardbirds (aka: Led Zeppelin) shortly after. Since their inception, The Yardbirds were one of the truly innovative bands to come along. Having weathered the first phases of The British Invasion pretty well, they went on to record a string of highly acclaimed songs which have earned them their place in Rolling Stone's Hundred Greatest Rock n' Roll Bands of all time.

For once, they were right.

Another set of BBC sessions tonight - this time from The Who. It's part of a 2-CD set issued some time back by Universal, so I don't imagine there is anything any of the Who fans won't already have.

But if you haven't, here are five tracks covering the period 1965-1967. All great stuff.

Here's the breakdown:

1. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (session of May 24, 1965)
2. Substitute - (session of March 15, 1966)
3, Disguises - (session of September 13, 1966)
4. I'm A Boy - (session of September 13, 1966)
5. I Can See For Miles (session of October 10, 1967)

Crank it up and get ready for the week.

Update: We're still at 30% of our goal. We need your help. Donate whatever you can. A huge debt of gratitude to those of you who have donated today and so far this week. Your help is crucial and my thanks, never ending.

Tonight it's early Rolling Stones, the 1964 period. This session (actually live radio appearance) comes by way of the BBC radio series The Joe Loss Show, recorded on July 17,1964. Unlike a lot of live appearances of this vintage, the screaming doesn't drown the band out and the audience doesn't drown the band out.

Everyone has a favorite period of the Rolling Stones - I confess, this is mine. Still very much entrenched in Chicago Blues, The Stones were getting huge at this point.

Here's the lineup of what's on the player:

The Joe Loss Show, July 17, 1964

1. It's All Over Now
2. If You Need Me
3. Confessin' The Blues
4. Carol
5. Mona

The sound is okay for the period. This is mostly likely one of those BBC sessions that didn't escape the eraser and we've had to rely on private enthusiasts who were hovering over their tape recorders at home in order to get this piece of history preserved. Thank god they did, otherwise a massive chunk of musical history would be missing. The irony is, during these early years of the British Invasion, it was deemed illegal by the British government to record anything off the air, even as a hobbyist. So the idea that someone would have faced jail time if they recorded this program seems a bit strange. But the cause of history is glad they did.

A huge thanks to those who have chipped in so far. With a nice start, we're inching closer to our $5,000.00 goal - with any luck, and with your amazing help, we can get there.

In the meantime, here is a live session from the inimitable and legendary Buzzcocks recorded for the John Peel Program at the BBC. This one is from May 21, 1979 and features song mostly from the A Different Kind Of Tension album released that September.

1. I Don't Know What To Do With My Life
2. Mad Mad Judy
3. Hollow Inside
4. ESP

Stay tuned for a Levon Helm tribute with a concert by The Band, coming up this Saturday on Backstage Weekend. Just sayin' - and don't forget to make any kind of donation you can.

I realize I've been a little lax in my Bob Marley postings of late. Not for any good reason. Things just get buried under other things and they slowly fade from view after a while.

Well, hopefully to try and remedy that, I'm posting a live session they did for the BBC on November 26, 1973.

Here's what they play:

1. Kinky Reggae
2. You Can't Blame The Youth
3. Get Up Stand Up

In the odd event you aren't in the mood for anti-road rage and a little Satie to go along with the evening, here is something that should shake it all loose for you.

You just never know.