Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?: An Indie Odyssey

Product Information

Comprised of various labels we know and love at Rough Trade (Bella Union, ATO, Speedy Wunderground, Phantasy, Heavenly, Mute and more) PIAS [Recordings] filter through some of the most diverse artistry to our racks, which we greatly enjoy digging into. Over its 40 years in business, PIAS has grown to be one of the largest independently-owned music groups in the world, carving out its own in-house recorded music division PIAS [Recordings]. Despite never having heard the original tape (I was a Melody Maker reader, and at the time I was mainly listening to pop), this was an interesting tour of life on the edges of the music industry.

I started reading NME in the late ‘90s, so this era of bands is before my time, but this book is just brilliant.This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. RICHARD OSMAN Shortlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize A Rough Trade Book of the Year A Resident Book of the Year A Monorail Book of the Year A Virgin Radio Book of the Year In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. The C86 scene is now recognized as a pivotal moment for independent music in 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.

Over a quarter-of-a-century on, pressing play on the C86 mixtape still has that transporting impact – it opens up a portal to a different world.The insight into the different record labels Inc Creation, Rough Trade etc was magic and the whole book was just a great read about cool people! C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. Some didn’t even want to speak of their experience, whilst others were only too happy to reflect and then there were those who are no longer here.

Others still have a link to the music industry however most are now firmly to be found on Civvy Street doing something unrelated. The C86 comp is a legendary document in indie history, more influential as a one-off than most of the featured bands individually.It would not be the first – or last – time that the magazine’s staff would seek to manufacture scenes to boost their readership.

So it’s important to not let too much revisionism creep in or try to simplify a more complex history of things. Now, for the first time, music journalist Nige Tassell tracks down the class of C86 and recounts their stories, both tragic and uplifting. Nige Tassell tracks down band members from the 22 groups featured on the the NME's 1986 compilation tape C86. Tassell's style is effortlessly easygoing; he's like your best and most interesting friend telling you down the boozer how you'll never guess what happened to that kid from your sixth form.Tassell has done a fine job, his informal and relaxed style works really well and this makes for a great trip down memory lane for fans of the era or an ideal introduction to newcomers, into one of the most important Indie albums to be released in the UK in the 80s. In 1986, along with many other dedicated NME readers, I sent off for their latest cassette compilation. But, thankfully, a fair proportion of the class of C86 had gone to ground, requiring an old-fashioned means of detection: trawling through phone directories.