Mark E Smith was many things. Visionary songwriter? Certainly. Enduring champion of DIY culture? Without a doubt. Lifelong grunt-worker at the Post-Punk factory? Sure, why not. But one thing he most certainly wasn’t, is easy-going. In this episode of States of Independence – the accounts of two people well placed to testify to that effect: firstly Beggars boss, Martin Mills, who had the distinct pleasure of attempting to wrangle the famously industry-hating Smith during his most prolific and marketable years; secondly, his former bandmate and wife, Brix Smith, who is widely credited with injecting the pop sensibilities that defined The Fall’s imperial era on Beggars Banquet. As you might expect, there are stories galore for Fall fans both young and old…
Accompanying Playlist: https://bit.ly/StatesPodPlaylist
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1:11:19
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1:11:19
Ep 4, part 2: Gene Loves Jezebel feat Michael Aston
There are two sides to every story… In part two of the Gene Loves Jezebel saga, Michael Aston shares his own recollections of the band he formed, loved, and lost with his twin, Jay. Funnily enough, his story doesn’t always align with his brother’s account. But then that’s what makes the whole story of Gene Loves Jezebel so very interesting…
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38:47
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38:47
Ep 4, part 1: Gene Loves Jezebel feat. Jay Aston
Rock and roll partnerships are tempestuous at the best of times. Throw twin brothers into the mix? That’s a recipe for Armageddon. Gene Loves Jezebel were, for a stretch in the mid-80s, one of Beggars Banquet’s flagship bands, but when differences between the twin frontmen at the heart of it all became irreconcilable, they split apart – and eventually launched two competing versions of the same group. Which is why episode four of States of Independence gets the ‘two parter’ treatment. First up, we hear Jay Aston’s side of the Gene Loves Jezebel saga.
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1:04:04
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1:04:04
Ep 3: Cult Following feat Billy Duffy
After the split of Bauhaus, a whole new wave of goth bands step into the breach. But none will prove so pivotal in the story of Beggars Banquet as The Cult. Here, Martin Mills and legendary Cult guitarist Billy Duffy tell the story of his band’s dizzying ascent from the ashes of Southern Death Cult to full-blown Californian rock gods. It’s a story filled with all the usual trappings of rock and roll fame – with money, drugs, and hard-fought creative differences all leaving their mark on the band – but for a gothic odyssey, this one has an unusually happy ending.
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1:20:04
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1:20:04
Ep 2: Numania and The Decade of Darkness. feat. Gary Numan, John Rocca (Freeez), & Peter Murphy (Bauhaus)
Gary Numan has gifted Beggars Banquet their very first number one. So why is neither he nor the label happy? We step inside the intense backlash that comes with fame, as a painfully young Gary Numan tries to make sense of sudden superstardom. Plus, Martin Mills scrambles to define Beggars Banquet as more than just one very big artist… which brings us first to John Rocca’s delightfully unpunk electro pioneers, Freeez and their massive NY club hit, I.O.U, and then to something altogether more sombre. Peter Murphy introduces us to Bauhaus, the band who announce the dawn of Beggars Banquet’s ‘decade of darkness’.
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States of Independence dives deep into the hidden histories of the world’s greatest independent record labels with the people that know them best – the founders who built them, and the artists who made them into the stuff of rock and roll legend. In season one, it’s the saga of Beggars Banquet – an iconic punk era label that would eventually spawn an indie empire. Featuring riotous tales from label founder, Martin Mills and a line-up of his highest-achieving alumni: Gary Numan, The Cult, Bauhaus, The Fall, The Charlatans, Love and Rockets, and so many more. All of them come together to tell the story of an organisation with the spirit of punk rock baked into its very DNA.
ACCOMPANYING PLAYLIST: https://bit.ly/StatesPodPlaylist
Netherlands