A band whose name may not initially ring any bells, but certain key people involved do. The Tourists were a short-lived Punk/Post-Punk band featuring singer Annie Lennox and guitarist Dave Stewart. Together from 1977 until 1980 (just after this concert, by the way), The Tourists were moderately successful, but nowhere nearly as successful as The Eurythmics who emerged when the former band dissolved.

Here is one of their concerts, recorded by The BBC in 1980, and one of the last the band would perform together before splitting. The voice of Annie Lennox is unmistakable and it's interesting to hear in this early stage of her career.

The Tourists were a good band. Guided by the excellent and forward-thinking production of Conny Plank (whose work in the early 70's was closely associated with many of the ground-breaking German Progressive bands a the time), they were a cut above a lot of what was going on at the time and, in retrospect would be considered overlooked, had it not been for the remarkable success of Lennox and Stewart as the powerhouse Eurythmics in the early 1980's.

But that's another story. For now, it's The Tourists live in concert.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the concert we originally planned this weekend just wasn't happening technically. So as a substitute, here is a Talking Heads concert from Milwaukee recorded in 1984.

One of those bands that skirted New Wave, Post-Punk, Experimental and Avant Garde without actually being labeled one of those specifically, Talking Heads were a breath of fresh air and a change in direction for a lot of contemporary music at the time. Inventive while also having large appeal with the mainstream, they managed to bridge several camps at the same time, and achieved a huge amount of success in the process.

1984 was a good year for the band and this is an exceptionally good concert from that period.

Enjoy - play loud . . .you know the drill.

Something a bit more recent in vintage. Wire recorded this past May 9th live in Paris by Radio France.

It's really good to hear this band still together and still performing. They were such a pivotal force in the initial Punk movement in the mid-70's and their growth into Experimental and Alternative just proves how versatile and far-reaching Wire actually are. That they haven't achieved massive commercial success is really a good thing since their music doesn't adhere to flights of fancy and gimmicks - that it is, indeed timeless.

For that reason they have been one of my favorite bands of the last forty years. Always a pleasure to visit and always an experience worth having.

No matter when.

(In 1978 radio was changing)

KROQ was one of those radio stations that, in the 1970s, had numerous brushes with disaster before coming up with a formula that worked. Resurrected from the ashes of free-form KPPC, KROQ sought to become a serious top-40 FM station and quickly went bankrupt in the process. By the time it hit on its mixture of Punk, New Wave and Hard Rock, disc jockies were forced to bring in their own records and dig up their own ads (a bit like the free-form days of the mid-1960s). Because the station was too broke to make demands, the DJ's had pretty much free reign and an audience was born. Typical of the on-air talent at KROQ during the period of the late 1970s was Frazer Smith, whose gleeful insanity captured a huge radio audience and helped established KROQ as an off-the-wall cutting edge station with an adventuresome playlist.

Here is a one-hour excerpt of his show from December 1, 1978.

Yes, radio was different - even in the 70's.

(The Damned in 1976 - Officially released the first Punk 45 ever)

A documentary from BBC Radio 2 first aired in 2006, "Is She Really Going With Him?: The Story Of The Damned" traces the beginnings of what became known as the seminal punk band releasing the first known Punk single. New Rose was first issued in the UK on October 22, 1976 and the movement was christened. Quickly followed by The Sex Pistols and the fracas surrounding "Anarchy In The UK" and The Clash, The Damned didn't achieve the notoriety the other two bands did, but they were a pioneering band responsible for changing the face of music for a number of years.

And you get to hear how it all happened from the people who made it happen.

And Music was never the same.

(The Style Council - sly political sendup)

Since we at Newstalgia take requests, I've had several over the past few weeks for some 80's bands. Needless to say, I ran across this concert from the BBC featuring 80's icons The Style Council and I didn't think twice.

A great band that didn't have the same appeal over here as they did in the UK, probably having more to do with the Thatcher Years and political statements germane to the UK than the U.S. - the whole concept behind The Style Council was taking the Punk/Mod ethos that was The Jam (Paul Weller's previous group) and weaving it into a highly conservative appearing setting, adapting that wonderful concept known as "taking the piss".

The result was wildly successful, but mostly misunderstood over here. Like I said, we didn't have Thatcher and our idea of class consciousness isn't the same. So it fell largely on perplexed ears.

But in 1984, Style Council were riding the crest of a wave and this concert captures them right there.

Enjoy.

Slowly inching upwards, so your donations are more than appreciated now. Please give what you can. It means a lot to us and hopefully, with any luck, we can keep this site going. It's up to you.

Another familiar name on the Roundtable tonight. It's actually the first session Elvis Costello (and The Attractions) recorded for the BBC in July, 1977.

Here's what you can look forward to:

1.Red Shoes
2. Mystery Dance
3. Blame It On Cain
4. Less than Zero.

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.

The 80's tonight (if you couldn't already tell). Strawberry Switchblade were a Scottish Punk Duo consisting of Rose McDowell and Jill Bryson. Forming in 1981, the duo drifted away from the rough-edge of Punk and, taking a wardrobe nod from the New Romantic movement, dove into what would come to be known as Alternative/Dream Pop.

Sadly, they were commercially considered something of a one-hit wonder for a while and were largely overlooked for their contribution to an emerging genre. But the music business is vague enough and they have weathered a few storms and broke out of that singular hit stereotype with a hit cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene.

Tonight it's a session they recorded early on for the John Peel Program at The BBC. Recorded on October 4, 1982, it features the duo with additional backup musicians for a very nice and atmospheric batch of tracks.

They are:

1. 10 James Orr Street
2. The Little River
3. Secrets
4. Trees And Flowers

Taking the noise level down a bit further this evening.

Punk/Post-Punk/Experimental icons Wire tonight. From a series of sessions they recorded at The BBC for the John Peel Program on January 18, 1978.

One of the truly inventive and atmospheric bands to come out of the 70's, they've continued and have lost none of their edge.

Tonight it's looking back on the early days and here's what's on the player:

1. Practice Makes Perfect
2. I Am The Fly
3. Culture Vultures.
4. 106 Beats That

I have a hard time imagining this was recorded 34 years ago.