Away for a couple of days over Christmas so we paid a slightly early visit to Warwick Cemetery to lay a wreath in memory of brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks, as well as their parents Lois and Trevor. #ChristmasMorning #TheLastBandits #SwellMaps

Stewart Lee and Swansea Sound at The Waiting Room in Stoke Newington, 20 Dec 2025 @glassmodernr.bsky.social @chrisseventeen.bsky.social @thepastels.bsky.social

Pretty good!

The War Between The Land and The Sea, Episode 2: #TheWarBetween #TWBTLATS

#CCFC at The Gabba! #PUSB

……with applause and table banging from his just as bad cabinet. Come on Christian Right, disown the lot of them!

Flicking through the pages of the end of year edition of Mojo in a nearby newsagent, I glanced at the best reissues of 2025. One thing I’m sure of is that Swell Maps’ Epic Soundtracks would be pleased to see his band in the same list as Laura Nyro.

For a couple of years in the early 1980’s I produced a fanzine called Stringent Measures. I decided to “design” some stickers to promote it. They were simpler times for sure, the early 1980’s.

For my late father, modern music ended in 1962 with Acker Bilk’s “Stranger On The Shore”. Never downloaded any music in his life. Yet looking at his iPad I found this - and only this. Reminded me of Apple’s controversial 2014 decision to send the new U2 album to ALL customers.

40 years ago today. The Jazz Butcher was personally invited by R.E.M. The Faith Brothers were a buy on and don't know who the other lot were. @glassmodernr.bsky.social @chrisseventeen.bsky.social @formbysound.bsky.social

Daniel Kitson tonight at The Rep in Birmingham for a reading of his “Maybe A Ghost Story”. Sublime yet hilarious.

Never met Bob - tho’ I think he was playing drums the one time I saw Steve Gibbons way back when - but I’m sure Stephen’s reading of the man is spot on. Without him - and SD’s careful curation of cassettes of the songs Bob recorded - we wouldn’t have had “Obviously 5 Believers” by The Hawks.

The recent release by Mute Records of Swell Maps “The John Peel Sessions” has been nearly 40 years in the making. On the 47th anniversary of them recording the first Peel Session in 1978, the story of the Strange Fruit Records release that never was. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev...

I’m a big fan of #UglyThings magazine but IMHO nobody did that kind of thing better than (the late) Billy Miller and Miriam Linna at #Kicks magazine. Hanging onto the hope that the long-awaited issue #8 hits the streets before too much longer.

The jeopardy of sitting beneath a horse chestnut tree, watching conkers fall within feet of you, knowing it could be you next….

Clearly a (fellow) fan of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell’s band setting today’s #Connections quiz!!

Well said Mr B. Here’s Pat’s version of The Replacements’ “Here Comes A Regular”, recorded New Year’s Eve in 2020. youtu.be/PFBa-B2O2RY And a photo I took December 18th 1982 at Northampton’s Black Lion.

Eight swans a-swimming. An hour ago. River Avon, Warwick.

I had to move Wilf outside whilst I cleaned the kitchen floor, for which sacrifice it would seem the heavens have blessed him with a sainthood. #StWilfTheDisplaced

Who knows where the time goes? Sharing some fond memories of Dave Kusworth last night with @johnnyp_p, both of us privileged to have been able to count him as a friend. (Photo by Brendan Jackson)

Lovely pair of new doors on St Nicholas Church, across the road from us, in Warwick.

Posting to share a clip of the late John Bauldie speaking from the flat in Romford where he produced “The Telegraph” Dylan magazine. 1991, given the proliferation of REM “Out Of Time” related clips on the same videotape, & that they’re talking about the first release in the Dylan “Bootleg Series”.

I had a really neat Twitter chat back in 2017 with Suede’s Bernard Butler about Epic’s “Rise Above” album, “Fallen Down” in particular. His “seal of approval” meant a lot.

There is literally nothing quite the unexpectedly pretty lost-in-time pop of Epic Soundtracks. And if you haven't explored the work of this dearly missed artist, here's a Toppermost to help get you started!

One of the joys of an occasional “trawl” through the Nikki Sudden/Epic Soundtracks archive is coming across a cassette compiled by one or the other. Today’s find is Can: Volume 2 compiled by Epic. Spotify playlist. open.spotify.com/playlist/5Oa...

Stop scrolling, weary traveler, and rest for a moment

On the day I was editing (for Substack use) a radio interview from back in the day with James Luther Dickinson, you post a picture of Dixie Fried! I lent the cover of my copy - many years ago - to someone writing a book on Alex Chilton. Have the record still but the cover never came home….

Slightly diminish a band: Big County.

Wilf and his new friend.

@wallytbm.bsky.social Thanks for reposting all those “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” posts Wally!

This is how you cover a song!

Here's the Pert Near Sandstone cover of "Can't Hardly Wait" ... I am very amused that they ALSO added horns www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6VT...

“(Springtime) ….and it’s all over, your hat and your coat wait for you outside.” A bit of a lull in proceedings here in sunny Devon so an opportunity for an evening re-post of the link to the final Robespierre’s 40th birthday celebration post. Hat and coat collected. Le fin.

Busy day coming up so nice and early with the final post in the “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” 40th anniversary series. Thanks to everyone who’s read any or all of them. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... Happy Birthday! #DaveKusworth #NikkiSudden #EpicSoundtracks #MarcLemon #BobLamb

We are nearly done. One final Substack post tomorrow on the actual 40th Anniversary of “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” but here’s the penultimate contribution. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... Try to listen to the album tomorrow and make sure to remember Nikki, Dave & Epic as you do so.

Forget that early evening sweet spot nonsense, 9.00am is the best time to post something. I checked the data. Now I’m testing it out. Remembered to throw in some hashtags too. #NikkiSudden #DaveKusworth #EpicSoundtracks #TheJacobites #RobespierresVelvetBasement #GlassRecords

Hopefully hitting that early evening social media sweet spot in alerting you to the 8th instalment of the “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” 40th anniversary Substack celebration. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... In which @glassmodern1’s David E Barker’s pivotal role in RVB is addressed.

In case you missed last night’s midnight missive, here’s a repost of the latest “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement 40th Anniversary” link. It’s one which, unless (like me) you’re a “completist” about these things, you can probably afford to pass on, truth be told. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev...

Er-hem, version 2. Managed to get the 7th “Robespierre’s” post up just before midnight. Honestly, if there’s one you could give a miss, this might be the one. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... (It’ll now likely get more views than it deserves & more than previous (better) posts!) #ReversePsychology

Managed to get the 7th “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” Substack post up just before midnight. Honestly, if there’s one you could give a miss, this might be the one. (It’ll now likely get more views than it deserves - more than previous (better) posts!) #ReversePsychology

open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... With Dave, Nikki and Epic Soundtracks no longer with us, Marc Lemon is the “last man standing” of the musicians responsible for the album. He answered some questions for us in 2018 for the RSD 2019 re-release. #Robespierres #Velvet #Basement He has some thoughts.

Hope you’re still hanging on in there. The 5th instalment of our “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” celebration. “We should be on the cover of the NME” - Nikki Sudden - to the NME! 1985 National Music Press reaction. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... #Jacobites #DaveKusworth

How The West Midlands Came To Minnesota. The latest instalment of our tribute to 40 years of “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” by The Jacobites which we celebrate on 2nd August. God-willing, 6 more to come. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... #NikkiSudden #DaveKusworth #TheReplacements

open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... The third chapter of what I’m mildly tempted to call “The Story Of Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” which, of course it isn’t - and couldn’t ever really be. Today we present previously unused 2018 reminiscences of RVB from Dave Kusworth. #Jacobites

So far managing to deliver on my promise of a post a day until the 2nd August & the 40th anniversary of “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” by the Jacobites, here’s my second Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... Expect drunken swearing Brummies. And previously unpublished magazine.

In 10 days time on 2nd August we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1985 release of “Robespierre’s Velvet Basement” by Nikki Sudden & Dave Kusworth aka The Jacobites. Here’s my first ever Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/chrissev... Planning a new Robespierre post every day until August 2nd🤞

In a reversal of roles, Stewart Lee takes delivery of the last but one copy of Epic Soundtracks’ “There’s A Light” LP (Glass Modern/Seventeen Records) from Dave “Paperboy” Barker. 🙂

Quote with a photo of yourself in the 80s. Warwick, 1984.

2000 Great Songs #1015: Read About Seymour. A quick 90-second riot of punk-ska quirkiness from early post-punk innovators Swell Maps; one of their more straightforward tracks, lovable despite (or because of?) its silly you-can-all-join-in simplicity.