The name of Neil Davidge is more familiar for his seminal work with Massive Attack, the link with the dance grooves and adjustments of DNA and for film and TV music credits. By contrast the first half of the 1980's Bristol band Big Outdoor Type was an earlier pop-tinged project with a planet of rhythm thrown in.

Neil and his writing partner, vocalist Tracey Fuller, had managed to come up with something a little more sophisticated than much of the local fare usually on offer. Music journalist Dave Massey picked up on the band and reviewed them to a national readership for Sounds. After that, well nothing much happened. Fast forward some four decades and Massey was able to compile the 'Blue Eyed Boy' album for Bristol Archive Records, saying:
'I was hearing terrific tracks I'd not come across before. The overall quality was so high it was too good not to see the light of day. These tracks, along with a whole mass of home, four-track and Bristol demo studio produced works, have come together in a rather wonderful collection that was a delight to compile.'

Opening track 'Don't be a Stranger' is a beautiful blast of summery warmth. The next tracks are a blissful cross between Swing Out Sister's 'Breakout' and the woozy sway of Associates in 'Sulk' mode on 'Winters Cold', the jive swing of 'The Spell', while the haunting 'Incredible Shrinking Girl' and the later 'Follow Love' are songs that echo the classic Postcard era of Sound of Young Scotland with some southern sweetening. The more jangly angles of 'City of Hell' and spacious, sub psychedelic Latin lusciousness of 'Our Last Man in Brazil' take that process several dance steps further. There is also a hint of the filmic element that would later inform Neil Davidge's future career.

This album collection was for so long a lost possible classic that never was. That's not the case any longer. Dive right in, breathe the refreshing air, enjoy the view and feel the benefit of the great outdoors.

TRACK LISTING

1. Don't Be A Stranger
2. Winters Cold
3. The Spell
4. Incredible Shrinking Girl
5. The Secret
6. Casseybottom Stomp
7. Giants
8. Terrible Friend
9. City Of Hell
10. Follow Love
11. What Happens (Boy)
12. Blue Eyed Boy 

The beginning of the 1980s wasn't a great time to be young. Between 1979 and 1981 youth unemployment more than doubled to over 900,000. Many approaches were tried to tackle the problem and one of the more innovative was the Arts Opportunity Theatre a charity founded in Bristol by Reynold Duncan and Yvonne Deutschman. Financed by assorted public bodies, it aimed to train young people in a range of performing arts as well as the multiple skills needed to produce, organise and put on shows.

Over a seven year period the Arts Opportunity Theatre put on a succession of shows not only locally, but travelling as far as the Continent and trained hundreds of young people in everything from music to book keeping. People who passed through the collective would go on to form the core of many local bands and be involved in a large proportion of Bristol music releases, especially reggae.

The first show put on in 1981 and 1982 was "Freedom City" which prominently featured Zion Band. In May 1982 the Zion Band musicians from the show went into Right Track Studio in Bristol and recorded four vocals and two dubs that would be released the following January on a 12" single.

Back in 2011 Bristol Archive Records included 'Twelve Tribes' on a compilation and would later also compile 'Babylon Fire/Babylon Dub', but the other three tracks could only be found on the scarce original 12" which in recent years has rocketed in price fetching in excess of £150. We believe music should be affordable and available so 2026 will see Bristol Archive Records reissue the Zion Band 'Freedom City' 12" in it's entirety, complete with its original picture sleeve and insert with a limited pressing of 300 copies on black vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

1. Freedom City
2. Babylon Fire / Babylon Dub
3. Twelve Tribes / Twelve Tribes Dub
4. To See You Smile

Some bands come and go, others leave an impression so strong that even decades later, their songs feel like old friends you've just rediscovered. Crashland are one of those bands.Formed in the mid - 90s and quickly touted by NME as "Britain's best new band,"Crashland had everything: killer songs, a compelling live energy, and a frontman in Alex Troup whose melodic instincts and lyrical heart made him one of the most quietly gifted songwriters of his generation.

In the annals of Bristol music history Glaxo Babies could have a book and a zone of greatness all of their own. Singles and EP's such as 'Christine Keeler' and 'This Is Your Life', along with the seminal 'Avon Calling' compilation John Peel recorded session version of 'It's Irrational', stormed the zeitgeist of late 70's, early 80's UK post punk.

Four decades on, in 2025, another great leap forward brings the story to a stunning new destination with the vinyl and digital release on Bristol Archive Records in conjunction with their own imprint Liberated Sound Development of 'Men of Stone', the band's first new album in some forty years.It's a major chapter telling of reinvention, restructuring and in no way taking stock. For this missive the Glaxo's use not one, but two new vocalists adding their own voice to a collection of songs mainly written by long-time Glaxonian and original guitarist, Dan Catsis. Dan was also a massive part of nationally recognised Bristol luminaries, The Pop Group and Maximum Joy.

Other Bristol notables come into the new material's mix with Steve Bush, main-man of former NME faves Essential Bop, contributing lyrics to the darkness descends vibe of second side opener 'I Don't Want to be Loved', while Massive Attack producer and collaborator Neil Davidge adds a sonic sound-bed sheen to the track. Two of the new band members have an important Bristol back story. Bassist Steve Street was a centre-piece of studio recording at his SAM set-up in the city, and drummer Jamie Hill played with early Nellee Hooper/later Roni Size drummer linked percussion powerhouse outfit Mouth and later with ex Pop Group/Cortinas/Clash driven Virgin 80's act Head.

'Men of Stone' is a record that nestles right in there with Glaxo's earlier classics. It distils their past and present with plenty of other new goodies and angles to appreciate. You know it's going to play a blinder from the full on, visceral thrill guitar attack of opening track 'Living the Dream'. This is side-bar alt-rock heaven, a heady blend of classic LA howling blackout in a red room street love and hate meeting grunge in a dark alleyway. This album is so relevant that the pleasure of it almost hurts. Let it bleed into you.

TRACK LISTING

1. Living The Dream
2. Waiting For Something
3. Give Me
4. Anymore
5. Drifting
6. I Don't Want To Be Loved (Remix)
7. Stop Me Now
8. Men Of Stone
9. Change Is Forever

This album is pure, concentrated, 100% vintage Bristol Sound at its best. For those of us who were here, and even for those who weren't, it's a time portal back to those lazy days of late eighties Bristol when this music was radical and new, and we had the joy of hearing each of these tunes for the very first time. You reach a certain age and it's easy to reminisce through rose-tinted glasses. That's not the case here - we knew these were special the first time we heard them. Nearly forty years later, many, many people have followed their blueprint, and these originals have only grown in stature.

It's now six decades since Dionne Warwick went into a New York studio to record her million-selling versions of "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "Walk On By". Demonstrating admirable confidence, our Bristolian heroes tackled the brace of Bacharach and David classics - only instead of the luxury surrounding of New York's Bell Sound Studios; populated with the cream of New York session musicians, they had a tiny studio on Ashley Road with basic equipment and no budget. They may have been short of funds and equipment, but they had an abundance of ideas and talent. "Walk On" starts off pretty straight, Jackie Jackson singing the hook over for 22 seconds then everything changes as the beats and bass line usher in the future of Bristol music. Just listen to all the ideas that are crammed into just over four minutes as Dionne's beloved pop/soul classic, is turned inside out and reinvented as cutting-edge dance music.

The first of the pair that was released is even more direct, "Anyone" jumps straight into reshaping expectations and the future of music with an instant assault of beats and bass line. "This Is The Time" takes "Anyone" and turns it into a raw hip hop outing; hip hop with a British, Bristolian twist. We close out Side A with "Mix Me Down Maestro" another more polished hip hop outing showcasing the lyrical talents of M.C. Kelz and the scratching talents of Lynx, it also features the reggae influence, so synonymous with Bristol's music.

If side A focuses on vocals, Side B kicks off all about the beats, and bass with vocals reduced to snippets and samples, sharp, hard repetitive beats with bass lines that will swallow you up like a tsunami depositing you on a strange new shore a few minutes later. "Clash Of The Beats," Killa," and "Different Chapter", tough tunes then and tough tunes now. Rob's former bandmate in Restriction, Eric "The General" McCarthy gives us the most obviously reggae-influenced selection, complete with "No, No, No" vocal sample with "Time To Rhyme", a nice change of pace before rounding things off and travelling almost full circle with the always popular "Walk On (Mellow Mix)".

With money tight Three Stripe focussed on releasing singles that could recoup costs quickly, yet both this title and our previous album of unreleased material "Connected Sequences" amply demonstrate how easily Smith and Mighty could have pre-empted both their peers and the many who followed in their footsteps with a strong, coherent, and cutting-edge album as early as 1989. It's intriguing to speculate what may have happened if that path had been taken, for now we present this as both a compilation of essential singles that have more than stood the test of time and a "what if" album that could have been released in 1989.

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1. Walk On
2. Anyone
3. This Is The Time
4. Mix Me Down Maestro
5. Brain Scan
Side B:
1. Clash Of The Beats (Instrumental)
2. Killa
3. Different Chapter
4. Time To Rhyme Featuring The General
5. Walk On (Mellow Mix)

It takes something special to change someone's life and plot a course for it. It was a new age for an 18 year old Alan Griffiths when he experienced the Television and Blondie gig at Bristol's then Colston Hall in 1978. He even gave his first 'serious' band an American style name - Apartment. It would link into the motives behind this and his second group, also based in Bristol. This was to be The Escape. That escape through his music was away from suburban mundanity and that of his day job.

Bristol Archive Records have decided to celebrate his musical life, seven years on from his death in 2017. This is in the form of a 'Sound Clash' between the two bands which shows an artistic journey starting in the era of punk, through new Wave and into the early 80's post-punk period.

In keeping with the punk/New Wave ethos that drove the three-piece Apartment, their featured tracks on the Clash have some rawness and edge. All of the songs show off a lyrical directness and vivacity which is backed up by the playing. 'New Age' blasts out of the blocks in a flurry of angled attack that viscerally thrills. 'Living Like This' has that similar energy, in this case from the adrenalin of a scorching live show. This is a glorious snapshot in time of a band on very much top form.

Alan's absorption of the Nuggets anthologies of late 60's and early 70's American psychedelia and general out there weirdness found their way into a song like 'Distractions'. This fused with a shot by both sides shake of New York explorations of the likes of Television, as the ringing guitar lines zing their way into your ears. Poison is a narcotic dream but without the drug taking - the band was never into that. But there is a lysergic launch that hits when the mid-section soars away taking the listener with it.

'Broken Glass' is a true epic and one of the centre-pieces of an Apartment gig. Alan recorded more than one version of this song, but this take replete with slashing Verlaine and Lloyd flavoured guitar, the Billy Ficca feel drumming and the full range of teenage angst in Alan's voice tells the full melodrama brilliantly. The whole vibe is of CBGB's in New York, a club that Alan had never been to and would only get to visit many years later. But he had been there 'in his head'. 'Broken Glass' was Apartment's very own Marquee Moon.

If a musical genre's or group's period of prominence could be a matter of months or a couple of years, then the chance to make an impact could be less than '24 Hours'. This London recorded attempt by The Escape at laying down their Comsat Angels/Killing Joke driven groove works a treat. Bassist Stuart Morgan and drummer Emil, who had followed Alan from Apartment into this new trio, lock everything down, as they do on the follow-up, 'Truth Drug'.

'Eden' and 'Relapse Collapse' were more London session productions and also songs toured extensively. The band used this recording as the backing for making a video of 'Eden', appropriately filmed at Ashton Court mansion, to the west of Bristol, for the BBC 'yoof' programme The Oxford Show in 1982/3. The later Bath superstars Tears for Fears were on the same edition and would become Phonogram label mates as well as a future working option for Alan. Stuart would later go on to work with U2.

'Relapse' and another meat grinder of a tune 'Flowers in the Dark' were typically set in the darker corners that The Escape loved to explore. The muscular 'Difference Between' is the one home recorded Escape offering, highlighting how much Alan's prowess at nailing a demo had moved on. Difference was one of the quartet of songs that comprised the collection that secured an eventual recording deal with Phonogram.

That pre major label period has however been captured perfectly in the sizzling sextet of goodies on this side. The band's sizeable recorded legacy of demos and sessions is one that stands tall and stands proud, as does that of Apartment.

TRACK LISTING

1. Apartment - New Age
2. Apartment - Distractions
3. Apartment - Poison
4. Apartment - Living Like This (Live)
5. Apartment - Broken Glass
6. The Escape - 24 Hours
7. The Escape - Truth Drug
8. The Escape - Flowers In The Dark
9. The Escape - The Difference Between
10. The Escape - Eden
11. The Escape - Relapse Collapse

Lost and unreleased works. Although other acts would be the ones to see huge worldwide success with the Bristol Sound the combination of reggae infused basslines, elements of hip hop, female and male vocals and a laid-back tempo were pioneered on Ashley Road, St. Paul's at the Three Stripe studio by Rob Smith and Ray Mighty.

There has always been a broad picture of the scope of music that has come out of the Bristol and Bath areas. It may surprise observers that some of that heady creativity included the more commercial end of straight up pop music.Did it lead anywhere, or have any merit? Were they, the acts, any good? Did they get any exposure and recognition? In the end the 18 tracks on the CD and 11 on the vinyl editions of the compilation do the 'talking'. It's a treasure trove of glorious commercial, but savvy and sexy pop music. Get into the groove of this wonderful west of England sonic pleasure feast!

Bristol Archive present an album of the cream of Bristol's 1980s 'Goth' scene. With sleeve notes from Pete Webb; a member of one of Bristol's earliest Goth bands; Necromancy, quotes from Jon Klein of Specimen and in beautiful trans red vinyl. This is another hugely valuable document of the music and scene in Bristol and the Southwest.

The Bristol Goth Explosion was a key part of the growth of the whole scene in the UK in many ways. Two bands on this compilation were formed in 1981: Specimen and Necromancy. Specimen made the move to London in 1982 and started the Batcave club now synonymous with the Goth story. The other; Necromancy stayed in Bristol and played and partied at the Bastille Club, a similar club to the Batcave, but a hidden and less known transgressive den for the emerging Gothic Punk scene. The Bastille was infamous; you saw Quentin Crisp partying there, Friar Tuck locked in a dancer's cage, Stan the Man a guy in yellow speedos on roller skates gliding around the dance floor and a 70-year-old regular flashing her knickers whilst doing the Can-Can! Members of The Cure, Bauhaus and Echo and the Bunnymen passed through the club and Bristol's beautifully preened punks waltzed to the Blue Danube by Strauss one minute and Bauhaus the next.

The Bastille run by David Darling was a meeting point, party scene and the one part of the musical glue that tied these bands together. This album features Specimen, Claytown Troupe, Fear of Darkness, Necromancy, Temple, Exit Stance and The Long March many of whom frequented the Bastille. It is an album that represents the darker side of Punk and Post Punk and then the scene that became known as Goth, but it represents the variety of musical influences and styles that were involved in those scenes.

The album is dedicated to the key people, clubs and venues that contributed to its flourishing; the Bastille and its founder David Darling, music journalist Dave Massey (NME, Sounds) who supported and wrote about this scene in the mainstream and local music press at the time, the members of these bands and the people who went to the gigs and the clubs and who travelled the country looking and dressing in an incredible way. Another project instigated by Mike Darby and the wonderful Bristol Archive Records.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Specimen - Stand Up Stand Out
2. Fear Of Darkness - Lay Me Down
3. Temple - Book Of Dreams
4. Temple - Spine
5. Exit Stance - Conspiracy Of Silence

Side B
1. Claytown Troupe - Prayer
2. The Long March - Weakness
3. Necromancy - Waltzing
4. Necromancy - Save Your Praise
5. Exit Stance - Esthetics

Bristol is a city that has managed to not only surprise the wider world with its output but has managed to do the same to the citizens of the place. The 1980's was a decade that personified that aspect to music making out west and the second volume of the Bristol Post-Punk Explosion has managed to capture the vibe to perfection. Feat tracks from Electric Guitars, Essential Bop, Art Objects, Moskow and more.

When punk rock started to fizzle out many of the UK's disaffected youths had already moved sideways into Modernism and fell in love with The Jam. Inspired by Paul Weller's song writing skills Thin Air started out life as Out of Order and supported The Jam at the Bristol Locarno in 1980 (on the day of John Lennon's death), Thin Air were never an authentic Mod band appealing to a strictly Mod audience, they were a Jam influenced, power pop outfit concentrating on writing edgy yet commercial, catchy pop rock music. Enjoy the sound of the underground 42 years later than you should have.

We are delighted to bring you the follow up to the successful 'The Bristol Punk Explosion (1977-1979) album released in November 2023 - a twelve-track compilation entitled 'The Bristol Punk Explosion Vol 2 (1977-1981).'The sleeve notes are written by Tim Williams author of the 1977 Loaded Fanzine. Tim talks about the transition from Soul to Punk, the demise of Prog Rock and the fashion culture that sat seamlessly alongside the music. There are three previously unreleased tracks never before available on vinyl.

The Cortinas were the first. They played the Roxy Club, released two singles on Mark Perry and Miles Copeland's Step Forward label, graced the front cover of Sniffin' Glue and recorded a Peel Session. Taking their cue, bands like Social Security (the first band on Heartbeat Records), The Pigs (whose 'Youthanasia' single was released by Miles Copeland's New Bristol Records), The Media, 48 Hours and Private Dicks gave Bristol one of the strongest provincial early punk scenes.

The area of Barton Hill gave us The X-Certs, who by 1978 could already pull audiences of five hundred into Trinity Hall. Though we did not realise it at the time, they effectively bridged the gap between the late 70s Bristol scene and what our American cousins like to term the UK82 bands.

In time bands from the suburbs of Bristol started to appear on the scene, Misdemeanor (who were managed by the late Dennis Sheehan U2's tour manager for thirty plus years), Apartment from Downend (whose photo adorns the front cover) and Noiz Boiz from Weston Super Mare, the seaside town just down the road.

This compilation is designed to give all fans of Punk a snapshot of what Bristol Punk was all about during that period. We close side Two of the album with The X-Certs Clash infused /reggae single 'Together' and follow it with one of Bristol finest Roots reggae bands Talisman and their single 'Wicked Dem'. The punky/reggae party had truly started as we move into the 80's Bristol Stylee! Bristol Boys Make More Noise! 

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. The Cortinas - Fascist Dictator
2. The Media - Wanna Be A Number
3. The Pigs - Psychopath
4. Private Dicks - She Said Go
5. Misdemeanor - Radio Radio
6. The X-Certs - Queen And Country

Side 2
1. Apartment - The Car
2. 48 Hours - Train To Brighton
3. Noiz Boiz - Noiz Boiz
4. Social Security - Stella's Got A Fella
5. The X-Certs - Together
6. Talisman - Wicked Dem

This album covers the period 1979 to 1987 and features 14 tracks.

When punk rock started to fizzle out and Squat Punks started to appear on the streets, many of the UK's disaffected youths had already moved sideways into Modernism and fell in love with bands like The Jam, Secret Affair, The Purple Hearts, The Lambrettas and The Chords but lets also remember our love for The Beat, Madness and The Specials.

The West Country embraced the scene and produced its own authentic Mod bands like The Reaction, Mayfair and The Newbeats. Alo features The Rimshots, The Review and more