Sp¡n – in session for John Peel – BBC Radio 1 – December 28, 1991 – BBC Radio 1 –
Sp¡n were together a relatively short period of time (1989-1993). Originally known as The Go Hole, they formed in 1987 and eventually morphed into Sp¡n two years later and became heavily involved in the Baggy/Madchester scene. As The Go Hole they released one single and did one session for John Peel. Resurfacing as Sp¡n, they incorporated Baggy and Madchester with a more guitar-oriented groove and it won them a deal with Foundation Records who were distributed through Rough Trade. The result being two singles and an album in 1991, which coincides with this Peel session which was recorded on December 28, 1991.
However, they weren’t without a goodly amount of bad luck, according to their bio:
“Later on 23 March 1991, there was a horrible accident where a truck hit the band’s stalled van. The accident threw their manager and their live engineer, Andrew ‘Snake’ Newton, out of the van into a nearby field. Their manager broke several bones, and ‘Snake’ had broke his back spending 6 months in the hospital. Matt was left with a broken wrist, Steve with a broken collarbone, and worst of all John with skull damage. John was in a coma for several weeks. He had to have reconstructive surgery and unfortunately resulting in him leaving the band. That was when Kevin Miles, Steve and Matt’s neighbor, filled in on bass. Kev was recommended by his roommate, Sp!n’s manager. A while later, the soon to be ‘fifth member’ of Gene, Jerry Smith, took over as manager. Jerry would spend over ten years working with Gene.”
Eventually, Sp¡n would dissolve in 1993 and resurface as Gene where they went on to score several hit albums before that band called it a day in 2004.
If you missed Sp¡n the first time around, here’s a chance to catch up.
The 90s had more than its fair share of influential bands – and they were one of them.
