Close Lobsters - Janice Long Session 15.07.86, John Peel Session 04.01.88 and Radio Clyde Session March 1989

by Dixie Ernill

published: 29 / 10 / 2024

Close Lobsters - Janice Long Session 15.07.86, John Peel Session 04.01.88 and Radio Clyde Session March 1989

In our Re:View section, in which we look at recordings from the past, Dixie Ernill looks at the recent release on 10 inch vinyl by Precious Recordings of London of three radio sessions by Scottish indiepop band The Close Lobsters.

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The Close Lobsters had formed in Paisley in the early 80’s and gradually honed their craft before their track ‘Firestation Towers’ (a song so good that a cool German record label was named after it) appeared on the now much revered C86 cassette released by the NME in the May 1986. The interest generated helped them to secure a record deal with Fire Records and a radio session with Janice Long. They enjoyed decent indie success with a string of singles and a couple of great albums, before going into hibernation for over 20 years at the end of the 80’s. In the middle of those active years they also recorded a session for John Peel as well as a less well–known session for Radio Clyde. Whilst singles and albums can take weeks and even months to record in the studio, radio sessions are recorded and mixed in a day, leaving little time to dwell over the minutiae of a mistimed snare or fumbled lyric and as such capture a band practically ‘live’, providing a thrilling and unique document. These three sessions are no different and are another welcome instalment in the wonderful catalogue of sessions collated by Precious Recordings of London. The first session captures the band working through two songs in their infancy (the indie classic ‘Heaven…Rains’ and the more throwaway ‘Pathetic Trivia’) that would be re-recorded later to feature on their debut single, together with a great version of what would become their third single ‘Never Seen Before’. The fourth song recorded for the session, ‘Nothing Really Matters’ would surprisingly remain unreleased as the band quickly moved on to writing and recording their debut album. By the time of the John Peel session, the band was established in indie circles, had already released a fine debut album and was no stranger to the live circuit. As such, some of the naïve charm of the Janice Long session had been replaced with a more confident sound and assured song-writing. Three of the four tracks, the brilliant ‘Loopholes’ and ‘What Is There To Smile About’ along with ‘From This Day On’ would resurface on an excellent EP later in the year. The fourth track was a decent cover of The Mob’s ‘The Mirror Breaks’, given a Close Lobsters’ makeover. The Clyde Radio session was recorded not long before the band’s second album and as such contains three songs that would appear on it. All worthy of a listen, but it is the cover of Soft Cell’s best single ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’, that is of most interest. Three ace slices of 10” vinyl offering a window into the development of one of Scotland’s best indie bands of the 80’s and beyond (sporadic gigs, one –off singles and a worth the wait third album over the last 10 years have kept the flame alive). Time to invest.