C86is acassettecompilation released by the British music magazineNMEin 1986, featuring new bands licensed from Britishindependent record labelsof the time.[1]As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-basedmusic genrecharacterized byjanglingguitars and melodicpower popsong structures, although other musical styles were represented on the tape. In its time, it became apejorativeterm for its associations with so-called "shambling" (aJohn Peel-coined description celebrating the self-conscious primitive approach of some of the music[2]) andunderachievement.TheC86scene is now recognized as a pivotal moment forindependent musicin the UK,[3]as was recognized in the subtitle of the compilation's 2006 CD issue:CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop.In 2014, the original compilation was reissued in a 3CD expanded edition fromCherry Red Records;[4]the 2014 box-set came with an 11,500-word book of sleevenotes by one of the tape's original curators, formerNMEjournalistNeil Taylor.
| C86 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation albumby various artists | ||||
| Released | May 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1985/86 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop,post-punk,indie rock,jangle pop,alternative rock | |||
| Label | Rough Trade,NME | |||
| Compiler | Neil Taylor, Adrian Thrills, Roy Carr | |||
| Various artists chronology | ||||
| ||||
TheC86name was a play on the labelling and length of blank compactcassette,commonly C60, C90 and C120, combined with 1986.
The C86 cassette
editThe tape was a belated follow-up toC81,a more eclectic collection of new bands, released by theNMEin 1981 in conjunction withRough Trade.C86was similarly designed to reflect the new music scene of the time. It was compiled byNMEwritersRoy Carr,Neil Taylorand Adrian Thrills, who licensed tracks from labels includingCreation,Subway,Probe Plus,Dan Treacy's Dreamworld Records,Jeff Barrett's Head Records, Pink, andRon Johnson.Readers had to pay for the tape via mail order, although anLPwas subsequently released onRough Tradeon 24 November 1986.[5]The UK music press was in this period highly competitive, with four weekly papers documenting new bands and trends. There was a tendency to create and "discover" new musical subgenres artificially in order to heighten reader interest.NMEjournalists of the period subsequently agreed thatC86was an example of this, but also a byproduct ofNME's "hip hop wars"[6]- a schism in the paper (and among readers) between enthusiasts of contemporary progressive black music (for example, byPublic EnemyandMantronix), and fans of guitar-based music, as represented onC86.
NMEpromoted the tape in conjunction with London'sInstitute of Contemporary Arts,who staged a week of gigs,[7]in July 1986 which featured most of the acts on the compilation.
The tape included tracks by some more abrasive bands atypical of the perceivedC86jangle popaesthetic:Stump,Bogshed,A Witness,The Mackenzies,Big FlameandThe Shrubs.
C86was the twenty-thirdNMEtape, although its catalogue number was NME022 (C81had been dubbed COPY001). The rest of the tapes were compilations promoting labels' back catalogues and dedicated toR&B,Northern soul,jazzorreggae.C86was followed up with aBillie Holidaycompilation,Holiday Romance.[8]
Legacy
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Drowned in Sound | (9/10)[10] |
| Stewart Lee | (favourable)[11] |
| The Line of Best Fit | (8/10)[12] |
| Pitchfork | (9.2/10)[13] |
| PopMatters | (7/10)[14] |
| The Quietus | (positive)[15] |
Ex-NMEwriterAndrew Collinssummed upC86by dubbing it "the most indie thing to have ever existed".[16]Bob Stanley,aMelody Makerjournalist in the late 1980s and founding member of pop bandSaint Etienne,similarly said in a 2006 interview thatC86represented:
[the] beginning of indie music… It's hard to remember how underground guitar music and fanzines were in the mid-'80s;DIYethics and any residual punk attitudes were in isolated pockets around the country and theC86comp and gigs brought them together in an explosion of new groups.[17]
Martin Whitehead, who ranSubwayin the late 1980s, added a new political dimension to the importance ofC86."BeforeC86,women could only be eye-candy in a band; I thinkC86changed that - there were women promoting gigs, writing fanzines and running labels. "[18]
Some are more ambivalent about the tape's influence.Everett True,a writer forNMEin 1986 under the name "The Legend!",[19]called it "unrepresentative of its times... and even unrepresentative of the small narrow strata of music it thought it was representing." Alastair Fitchett, editor of the music site Tangents (and a fan of many of the bands on the tape), takes a polemical line: "(TheNME) laid the foundations for the desolate wastelands of what we came to know by that vile term 'Indie'. What more reason do you need to hate it? "[20]The Guardianpublished an article in 2014 debunking some of the negative myths about the cassette.[21]
In 2022, journalist Nige Tassell published the bookWhatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey,based on interviews with members of all 22 bands that had appeared on the cassette. It outlines the "many and varied paths through life" these musicians took over a period of more than three decades.[22]
Follow-ups
editIn 1996,NMEcontinued the tradition of compiling a new band album (this time aCD) by releasingC96.This had little impact, withMogwaiandBroadcastbeing the only acts on the compilation to subsequently enjoy mainstream success.[23]Three other bands on the compilation -Babybird,The DelgadosandUrusei Yatsura- had brief success in the United Kingdom after the compilation's release.
NME have also collaborated withRough Trade Recordsto releaseC09in 2009 forRecord Store Day[24]and withBose Corporationto releaseC23in 2023 forSouth by Southwest.[25]
The significance ofC86was recognized by several events marking the 20th anniversary of the compilation's release in 2006:
- Sanctuary RecordsreleasedCD86,[26]a double-CD set compiled byBob Stanley.
- The ICAhosted "C86- Still Doing It For Fun ",[27]an exhibition and two nights of gigs celebrating the rise of Britishindependent music.
Cherry Red's 2014 expanded reissue was marked by anNME C86show on 14 June 2014 at Venue 229, London W1; acts from the original compilation includedThe Wedding Present,David WestlakeofThe Servants,The WolfhoundsandA Witness.[28]
The 30-year anniversary ofC86saw the original compilation issued in a deluxegatefoldsleeved double-LPedition forRecord Store Day2016.[29]
Cherry Red Recordsissued an imaginedsequelcompilation titledC87in 2016, followed byC88,C89,C90,C91and the prequelC85.[30]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Contributing artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Velocity Girl" | Primal Scream | 1:21 |
| 2. | "Happy Head" | The Mighty Lemon Drops | 2:43 |
| 3. | "Pleasantly Surprised" | The Soup Dragons | 2:05 |
| 4. | "Feeling So Strange Again" | The Wolfhounds | 1:42 |
| 5. | "Therese" | The Bodines | 3:03 |
| 6. | "Law" | Mighty Mighty | 3:39 |
| 7. | "Buffalo" | Stump | 4:27 |
| 8. | "Run to the Temple" | Bogshed | 3:30 |
| 9. | "Sharpened Sticks" | A Witness | 2:30 |
| 10. | "Breaking Lines" | The Pastels | 2:58 |
| 11. | "From Now On, This Will Be Your God" | Age of Chance | 3:17 |
| No. | Title | Contributing artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "It's Up to You" | Shop Assistants | 2:36 |
| 13. | "Firestation Towers" | Close Lobsters | 1:46 |
| 14. | "Sport Most Royal" | Miaow | 2:55 |
| 15. | "I Hate Nerys Hughes (From the Heart)" | Half Man Half Biscuit | 3:43 |
| 16. | "Transparent" | The Servants | 2:33 |
| 17. | "Big Jim (There's No Pubs in Heaven)" | The Mackenzies | 2:36 |
| 18. | "New Way (Quick Wash and Brush Up with Liberation Theology)" | Big Flame | 1:38 |
| 19. | "Console Me" | We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It | 1:25 |
| 20. | "Celestial City" | McCarthy | 3:00 |
| 21. | "Bullfighter's Bones" | The Shrubs | 3:45 |
| 22. | "This Boy Can Wait" | The Wedding Present | 3:59 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Hann, Michael (14 June 2011)."NME releases a cassette that codifies music".The Guardian.Retrieved28 October2014.
- ^Reynolds, Simon (2006-10-23)."The C86 indie scene is back!".Timeout. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-10-02.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^Bob Stanley,sleevenotes toCD86
- ^Sean Michaels (14 March 2014)."NME's C86 compilation to be reissued with previously unheard tracks | Music".Theguardian.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^"Record News".NME.IPC Media: 43. 15 November 1986.
- ^"MUSIC | NME: Still rocking at 50".News.bbc.co.uk. 2002-02-24.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^"Indie music and festivals - C86 review of c86 week".Indie-mp3.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-09-08.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^[1][dead link]
- ^"C86 - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards".AllMusic.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^Gourlay, Dom (2014-06-13)."Album Review: Various - C86: Deluxe Edition / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound".Drownedinsound. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-09-06.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^"Various Artists – C86 Deluxe 3 CD Edition: Stewart Lee - 41st Best Standup Ever!".
- ^"Album Review: Various Artists -C86".Thelineofbestfit. 2014-06-16.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^Heller, Jason (10 June 2014)."Various Artists:C86".Pitchfork Media.
- ^"Various Artists: C86 (Deluxe 3CD Edition)".PopMatters.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^"Reviews | Various Artists".Thequietus. 2014-07-15.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^Andrew Collins, Wan Love, Indie RIP; Word Magazine, October 2006
- ^Bob Stanley,Uncutmagazine, February 2006.
- ^[2]ArchivedJuly 15, 2006, at theWayback Machine
- ^[3]ArchivedMay 1, 2007, at theWayback Machine
- ^"Tangents fun'n'frenzy filled web site".Tangents.co.uk.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^Michael Hann (14 March 2014)."C86: The myths about the NME's indie cassette debunked".The Guardian.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^Nige Tassell (8 August 2022)."Reel lives: how I tracked down the class of NME's C86 album".The Guardian.Retrieved2023-04-30.
- ^"Tangents fun'n'frenzy filled web site".Tangents.co.uk.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^"Jarvis Cocker, Jeffrey Lewis give away new tracks on Record Store Day release".NME. 17 April 2009.Retrieved2023-03-23.
- ^"Bose X NME C23".NME.Retrieved2023-03-23.
- ^"Featured Content on Myspace".Myspace.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^"Home | Institute of Contemporary Arts".Ica.org.uk. 2015-04-22. Archived fromthe originalon 2006-12-03.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^"NME C86: The Wedding Present + more".Timeout. 2013-12-11.Retrieved2015-06-11.
- ^"Various Artists (26) - C86".BBC Music.2016. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-05-13.Retrieved2016-07-04.
- ^"C (4) Label".Discogs.Retrieved2023-03-23.
External sources
editThis article'suse ofexternal linksmay not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines.(June 2015) |
- Bladh, KristerEverything went Pop!, C86 and more, A wave and its rise and wake(pdf) 2005
- "Fire Escape Talking","Anoraky in the UK,C86, the punk that refuses to die"( "Fire Escape Talking blog", July 7, 2006)
- Fitchett, Alastair,C86(Tangents Blog,July 25, 2005)
- Hann, MichaelFey City Rollers(The Guardian,13 October 2004)
- Hasted, Nick"How an NME cassette launched indie music"( "The Independent", October 27, 2006)
- Pearce, KevinA Different Story; The Ballad of the June Brides(Tangents,March 2001)
- Reynolds, SimonRip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984(Faber and Faber, 2005)ISBN0-571-21569-6
- Reynolds, SimonThe C86 Indie Scene is back(Time Out, October 23, 2006)
- Stanley, Bob,Where were you in C86?(The TimesOctober 20, 2006)
- True, EverettC86 Q&A(Plan B BlogJuly 22, 2005)
- Wire, NickyThe Birth of Uncool(The Guardian,October 25, 2006)
- C86 Profile "Indie MP3-Keeping C86 alive" blog