Five Year Plan - Peacetime Broadcast

by Dixie Ernill

published: 2 / 3 / 2014

Label: Breaking Dawn Recordings
Format: CD

Excellent compilation from under-rated 1980's Bristol-based indie pop act, the Five Year Plan

Review

In the mid 1980s, inspired by the DIY attitude of punk a few years earlier, indie bands began to spring up all over the UK. While London, Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester certainly had activity, maybe it was Bristol that became the indie-pop capital. Fanzines, flexi-discs and singles in wraparound sleeves became the norm among this alternative movement and of course there were the gigs, seemingly every night of the week. In Bristol places like the Tropic Club and the Thekla played host to their fair share. By the time the Five Year Plan arrived on the Bristol scene, the likes of the Brilliant Corners, the Chesterfields and the Flatmates were already getting into their stride and making inroads in the national music press, Subway Records was just starting and Sarah Records was not a million miles away from being launched either. Influenced not only by the scene around them, but also unfashionable (at the time) bands such as the Go Betweens and Josef K, the Five Year Plan released a couple of singles, appeared on a few compilations, recorded some additional tracks and demos that never (until now) saw the light of day. They also performed several gigs, most notably alongside chart sensations the Housemartins in 1986. Maybe it was because the band lacked a distinct identity by having vocal duties shared between Tim Rippington and Katy West or more probably down to being unlucky that they never quite made it onto the next level. Indeed they fell short of achieving a ‘five year plan’ by disbanding under geographical pressures (it certainly beats musical differences!) in 1989 just four years after forming. The quality of the music was certainly present (as this compilation testifies – especially 'See You in Heaven', 'Jill’s Hip' and 'Martin Bramah') and the fact that both Rippington (in The Beatnik Filmstars) and Rob Pursey (alongside future partner, Amelia Fletcher, in Heavenly and Tender Trap) went onto greater success confirms that the Five Year Plan deserve more than a mere footnote in the indie-pop history of Bristol.

Track Listing:-

1 Nothing Will Go Wrong
2 Brand New Car
3 Give Me A Lifetime
4 Hit The Bottle (7" Version)
5 Swallow Your Pride
6 Tall Trees
7 See You In Heaven
8 Battered Old Ford
9 Martin Bramah
10 Jill's Hip
11 Something To Make You Laugh
12 Wildcountry Lane (Demo)
13 Everything I Ask For (Demo)
14 Hit The Bottle (Demo Version)
15 Peacetime Broadcast (Demo)
16 I Want You (Demo)
17 My Heart Is A Train (Demo)
18 All About Christ (Demo)
19 Useless (Demo)
20 In Camera (Live)
21 Wiser Older But Wiser (Live)
22 A Religion With Me (Live)
23 Six Feet Under (Live)