Pale Saints – in session for John Peel – recorded July 23, 1989 – broadcast August 17 – BBC Radio 1 –
Pale Saints for the middle of the week. I remember hearing Pale Saints around the same time I heard Lush, by way of their initial ep’s. Together with the scene that was brewing which included Madchester, it was very healthy and very affirmative. It signaled, at least to me, that music was in good hands and heading in fascinating directions. When you couple what was going on the UK with the Grunge scene that was developing in Seattle – things were definitely in a state of upward flux.
The thing about Rock, and it’s always been this way, is that it is a constantly growing, shaping and re-shaping form that doesn’t stay in one place for a long time. Although you would be hard-pressed to find that true in the mainstream, where corporate dictates insist that the new one sound just like the old one for fear of losing an audience – I think it’s a universal opinion that Mainstream music is in big trouble and has been for at least a decade.
There are a lot of reasons for that – the most glowing being the lack of access to musical diversity within the marketing community. I won’t mention radio because it is, for all intents and purposes, a dead medium – expired for lack of flavor and terrified out of existence.
Pale Saints were part of a wave that was truly engaging and nourishing – and this session, sadly their only one for John Peel, ably demonstrates the wealth of influences they tapped into and why the late 80s/early 90s were a significant period for music.
Hard to imagine this session is 31 years old – there is a freshness about it that begs for repeat listenings. I still believe we’re in good hands and are capable of heading in fascinating directions – it just takes a little digging an uncovering.
Crank it up and enjoy it often.
