Paisley Underground

After the Dream Syndicate played Pandora's in 1984, there was special attention in 85 for the Paisley Underground movement which had a number of bands playing at Pandora's: the Rain Parade, Green on Red, the Long Ryders and also the Dutch Fatal Flowers.

The whole Los Angeles "scene" was captured in a family tree documenting the ties between the bands:


Los Angeles Paisley Undergound scene in 1985 (Oor, 1985/20)


Article in festival booklet

Festival booklet 1985

Cover of the official festival booklet

Introduction by Gerard J. Walhof

Soft Verdict

Soft Verdict is the name under which Wim Mertens started his musical career. Soft Verdict is not a band but more a collection of musicians under the direction of Mertens who performed with him. (http://www.discogs.com/artist/Soft+Verdict)

Scheduled
Saturday, 22 September 1984, "Dance Box", 02:00 - 02:45

Line-up

Unknown

Set list

Unknown

Recordings

Unknown

The Adventures

The Adventures were a rock band formed in Belfast in the 1980s who moved to London where they had hits in the UK Singles Chart during the 1980s. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures)

Scheduled
Saturday, 22 September 1984, "Dance Box", 00:45 - 01:30

Line-up

Terry Sharpe - vocals; Eileen Gribben - vocals; Gerry "Spud" Murphy - guitar, percussion; Pat Gribben - guitar; Tony Ayre - bass; Paul Crowder - drums

Set list

Unknown

Recordings

Unknown

Tickets 1985

Used ticket for Friday night (thanks Surfling)


Unused Press and Guests ticket for Friday night

And another unused Press and Guest ticket for Friday Night

Used ticket for Saturday night (thanks Surfling)


Unused ticket for Saturday night

Festival booklet 1984

Front cover of the official 1984 festival booklet


Introduction by Joost Niemöller

Fiat Lux

Fiat Lux was an english synthpop band formed in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, in 1982, by Steve Wright (vocals) and Dave Crickmore (guitars, bass, keyboards). Ian Nelson (sax, keyboards), younger brother of Be Bop Deluxe guitarist and lead vocalist Bill Nelson, joined shortly afterwards, complementing the classic line-up of the band, who remained until the mid 1980s, when Crickmore departed. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Lux_(band))

Scheduled
Saturday, 22 September 1984, "Kleine Box", 22:30 - 23:15

Line-up
Steve Wright – vocals; David P Crickmore – keyboard, guitar; Ian Nelson – sax, keyboards, clarinet; a tape recorder...?

Set list
01 Photography
02 No more proud
03 The moments
04 Boundary
05 Comfortable life
06 Secrets

Recordings
I have a lossless (flac) recording of tracks 01 - 06 (total time 21'06"), taken from a radio broadcast

Other info
Ian Nelson joined the Sound (also on Pandora's 84) on saxophone for the tour to support their Heads & Hearts album a few months later, from March 1985.


Article from festival booklet

The March Violets

The March Violets were an English goth rock band in the 1980s, incorporating singers of both sexes, drum machine rhythms and echoey electric guitar, much in the way of scene mates The Sisters of Mercy, who also originated from the city of Leeds. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_March_Violets)

Scheduled
Saturday, 22 September 1984, "Dance Box", 22:15 - 23:00
Last minute addition to the program, may have replaced Belfegore who do not appear on the timetable published in Oor.

Line-up
Simon Denbigh – vocals; Cleo Murray – vocals; Tom Ashton – guitars; Laurence Elliott – bass; Travis – drums

Set list
01 Lights go out

02 Snake dance

03 Deep

04 Electric shades

05 Love in a nightmare

06 Don't take it lightly

07 Face of the dragonfly

08 Big soul kiss

09 Walk into the sun

10 Rich city

Recordings
An audience recording exists (http://www.marchviolets.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=9)

Other info

Replaced Belfegore who were cancelled.

Johnny Thunders

Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr (July 15, 1952 - April 23, 1991), was a rock and roll guitarist and singer, first with the New York Dolls, the proto-punk glam rockers of the early '70s. During the late '70s, he was a familiar figure on the New York punk scene, both with The Heartbreakers and as a solo artist. His screeching, penetrating guitar sound is distinctive and highly influential in punk rock music. Thunders tangled with the demons of fame along with alcohol and drug addiction. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Thunders)

Scheduled

The final timetable, handed out during the festival, shows Johnny Thunders twice: Friday, 21 September 1984, "Grote Box", 03:00 - 04:00 Saturday, 22 September 1984, "Mini Box", 21:45 - 22:30

Line-up

Saturday's show was a solo performance. The Friday show lineup is uncertain. Up to September 16th, Johnny has played shows in Scandinavia with Billy Rath on bass and Jerry Nolan on drums; in October he forms a new band with Dick Trueman on guitar, Keith Yon on bass and Terry Chimes on drums. It's unclear what the situation was at Pandora's Music Box: they could have both been solo performances. (http://johnnythundersinfo.blogspot.com/)

Set list

01 The wizard

02 Play with fire

03 Ask me no questions

04 She's so strange

05 It's not enough

Recordings

I have a lossless (flac) recording of the above 5 tracks, recorded on Saturday evening, taken from a radio broadcast.

Other info

Correctly listed twice in Thunders' gigography: 09/21 Pandoras Box, Rotterdam, Netherlands (Nomads, Gun Club) 09/22 De Doelen Rotterdam, Netherlands (http://www.bunbun.ne.jp/~take-4/JTGigographyLeft.html)

Thunders on stage at Pandora's 84 (Spex 1984/11)

The Legendary Pink Dots

The Legendary Pink Dots (LPD) are an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in August 1980. Although far outside the mainstream (in terms of their music and career path), LPD have released more than 40 albums, have a devoted worldwide following, and tour frequently. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legendary_Pink_Dots)

Scheduled
Friday, 11 October 1985, "Small Hall", 22:25 - 23:10

Line-up
Edward Ka-Spel – vocals, keyboards; The Silverman (Phil Knight) – keyboards; rest unknown

Set list

01 The heretic

02 Mmmmmmmm

03 City ghosts

04 Femme mirage (feat. Julia Niblock)

05 I am the way, the truth, the light

06 (early cut)

(http://people.zeelandnet.nl/sveingold/boots/)

Recordings
A recording exists. I've seen it being listed twice, possibly because of late start:
10/11/85: Rotterdam / De Doelen
10/12/85: Rotterdam / Pandora's Club

Other info

Article from festival booklet

The Rain Parade

The Rain Parade were a band active in the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Its founding members were Matt Piucci (guitar) and brothers David Roback (guitar) and Stephen Roback (bass guitar),who had been in a band called The Unconscious with Susanna Hoffs (who went on to lead the most famous of the Paisley Underground bands, The Bangles.) The band soon added Will Glenn (keyboards and violin) and later Eddie Kalwa (drums). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_Parade)

Scheduled
Saturday, 12 October 1985, "Small Hall", 03:10 - 04:10

Line-up
Matt Piucci - guitar; David Roback - guitar; Stephen Roback - bass guitar; Will Glenn - keyboards, violin; Eddie Kalwa - drums
Maybe David had left already to join Opal with Kendra Smith (ex-Dream Syndicate).

Set list
Unknown. They are joined on stage by Green on Red for the finale of their set.

Recordings
It's unknown whether any audio recordings exist.


Fragment of the Rain Parade together with Green on Red at Pandora's 85 as uploaded to YouTube by waaghalsrecords.

Other info


Article from festival booklet

Article from Oor (1985/20)

Me & the Heat

Scheduled
Saturday, 22 September 1984, "Kleine Box", 23:45 - 00:15

Line-up
Tom Meger (aka Tom Mega) – vocals; Bernd Krämer – guitar, trumpet; Nico Hesselbach – keyboards; Reinhard Falk – bass; A.G. (Achim Grebien) – drums, sax; Blaine L. Reininger – guest vocals on “What use?”

Set list
01 Old cultures dying
02 New clear reality
03 Naked bodies shouting
04 What use? (Tuxedomoon cover)
05 Where has my love gone

Recordings
I have a lossless (flac) radio recording of tracks 01 - 05, total time 27'44". According to the timetable, Me & the Heat were allocated only 30 minutes, possibly making this the complete show.

Other info
Ik heb ze destijds (midden jaren 80) gezien op het Pandora festival in Rotterdam en maakte ook op mij diepe indruk. – Brolin (http://www.musicmeter.nl/album/24107)


Article from festival booklet




Article from Vinyl Magazine (1984/12) discussing Me & the Heat at Pandora's

Blaine L. Reininger

Multi-instrumentalists Blaine Reininger and Steven Brown, then two students of electronic music at San Francisco City College, formed Tuxedomoon in 1977. In 1983 Reininger left the group in order to pursue a solo career.

Scheduled
Saturday, 22 September 1984, "Mini Box", 00:45 - 01:45

Line-up
Unknown, but Mr. Reininger has his violin with him and the drum machine is working

Set list
01 Night air
02 Paris au temps
03 Ash and bone
04 Mistery and confusion
05 Broken fingers

Recordings
I have a lossless (flac) recording of tracks 01 - 05 (total time 23'01"), taken from a radio broadcast. Should be complete broadcast, surely incomplete concert.

Other info
Blaine guested on vocals during What Use? (written by him) during the Me & the Heat show earlier that evening.