Another brief but memorable band from Subway's stable of stars. The Clouds were John and Bill Charnley backed by the rhythm section of Andy Brady and Gino Ionta, and they hailed from the indie-pop hotbed of Glasgow. They released a paltry four songs during their existence, but they were all keepers. Subway 12 was the "Tranquil" single, released in late 1987, and like many from this genre and era took its cues from the Byrds and other West Coast psychedelic acts from a generation earlier. The song peaked at No. 13 on the UK Independent Chart in early '88. One of the reasons it is so well known is because Norman Blake pops up on the single. Why wouldn't he? Blake was in bands all over Glasgow in those days.
This is one of those times when, in my opinion, the B-side actually eclipses the better known song. Don't believe me? Give "Get Out of My Dream" a listen below. The 12" had an extra track, "Village Green," and that one is more of your standard Subway fuzz. In other words, it's great. In a nice piece of trivia, the Clouds' only other song appeared on the very first Sha La La flexi (a split with Mighty Mighty) Matt Haynes put out before the days of Sarah Records. In recent years, the Clouds have been remembered fondly, showing up on the 'C87' and 'Scared to Get Happy' box sets, both courtesy of Cherry Red and well worth purchasing.
Tranquil
Get Out of My Dream
3 comments:
Those are both pretty cool, but I prefer the guitars on the b-side.
I've been dipping into the Scared To Get Happy discs a bit lately. Some great lost gems on there.
Cherry Red is very good at assembling these box sets, and I think Scared to Get Happy rises to the top. I like the B-side better too.
I have Get Out of My Dream on a Subway compilation. It's an essential tune for those of us obsessed with late 80s jangly guitar pop.
Post a Comment