sound of the suburbs

So why go to the bother ? Quite simple really , having been bitten by the music bug at a rather young age , I now find myself wishing to share some of my thoughts , feelings , impressions ....... Regarding what I listen or as the case maybe listen to . I would like to add in my defense that my decision to go live has been encouraged by the pleasure certain other music blogs have given me , though I certainly don't think my modest blog will be up to their standards , maybe one day ?

So why call it sound of the suburbs' ? I must confess that despite liking the song , by the Members , it is far from one of my favorites . So a little bit of history will help you to understand . I was born in 1960 in London , to be more exact part of the east end called Forest Gate , only a stones throw from Stratford ( where they are to build the Olympic village ) . My teenage years where spent living in the borough of Redbridge , part of London's sprawling suburbs . It was indeed from Gants Hill underground station that my many nocturnal trips to see bands was launched as was the working day for thousands of suburban commuters . It was of course my geographical position that gave me the chance to see so many of those bands , and yes helped to form the man that I am today . So in my search for a title and not wanting any thing too clever , I thought that sound of the suburbs summed thing up very well . The Smarter ones among you will have realised that I'm both older than Beth Orton and younger than Keith Richards , random examples . Despite my age I still follow very closely the differing music scenes , and according to my spouse still spend too much of my money and time on it . All this to say that the music and artists found here might as easily be from 1966 as from 2006 , but what they have in common is giving my ears some pleasure . I intend posting music to Illustrate my posts , if you like these mp3s please support the artists and buy their work . I can't over emphasise the importance of buying music , it is not to make the multinationals richer , but to support young artists and talent so that you , I and our children will be able to experience the pleasure of listening to new music in years to come . I tend to use Amazon when buying music as their prices are reasonable their catalogue is extensive and their delivery charges non existent ( depending on order value ) , so for the Brits , and the Yanks , and not forgetting my French friends you can find your music here . Why on earth mention the French ? Quite simple really 18 years ago I came to France and still live here .

So a little bit about the Members . One of many bands formed in the later half of the 70s under the influence of punk . As their Biggest hit Sound of the suburbs would suggest they indeed came from the suburbs , Camberley in the county of Surrey not far from Londons Gatwick Airport . A classic line up of 2 guitars , bass , drums and vocals , and some very smart social commentary and observation courtesy of vocalist Nicky Tesco . Their debut single 'solitary Confinement' , the story of a young mans sad life in a London bedsit , was released by Stiff Records in 1978 . The media interest in the band and success of their single led to them being signed to Virgin and the release of their debut LP 'Live At A Chelsea Nightclub' , Which was very much a studio affair produced by the drummer Adrian Lillywhite's brother , Steve , the same Steve Lillywhite that went on to produce the first U2 albums as well as classic LPs by his then wife Kirsty MacColl . As with many of the more interesting bands from this period the Members evolved from their original pop punk origins to a sound taking on board reggae influences as displayed on the second long player 'The Choice Is Yours' . Despite this further chart success was to elude them . After releasing a 3rd and final album 'Going West' the Band called it a day in 1984 . For those wishing to listen to more their are numerous compilations available , for my money the best one being called Sound of the Suburbs .

Well I think that's enough for today , as I'm feeling rather tired after a days work and my first post , guess it will get easier with time . Hope to be back tomorrow with something leading on from today's post.