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ALL THREE OF VIPER'S Unearthed: Liverpool Cult Classics albums had taken a lot of putting together, but with the third one we felt we could round the series off by acknowledging some of the more recent unsung Merseyside heroes, for example Pontoon and The Hokum Clones as well as the likes of Shack, the pre-Clinic outfit Pure Morning and some classic ‘lost’ singles like Those Naughty Lumps’ legendary 1978 release ‘Iggy Pop's Jacket’ and ‘British Refugee’ by the short-lived Spitfire Boys (possibly Liverpool's only true punk band). They featured Frankie Goes to Hollywood man Paul Rutherford and future Siouxsie and The Banshees’ drummer Budgie, both of whom were at St Helen's art school with my sister Ros before I attended the school.
One regret Paul and I both had was that we didn't manage to get ‘Big in Japan’ by Big in Japan on any of the three volumes, but we just couldn't get clearance from anybody. Bearing in mind the band's stellar line-up (Jayne Casey, Budgie, Bill Drummond, Holly Johnson and Ian Broudie), it was a real hot potato, but – with hindsight – we should probably have just included it and – if anyone had had any problem with it – told them it was too important to omit. I know that's probably what Roger Eagle would have done.
Around the time the third volume was released, I did a radio interview with DJ Dave Monks on KCR, a local station that was broadcast all over Huyton and Prescot. Dave was an absolute gent and the slot gave me a chance to bring Danny Dean in to join me for a couple of acoustic tunes, plug my Lo-Fi Acoustic Excursions album and let people know I was still around and doing stuff.
A family holiday in Majorca coincided with the untimely death of John Peel. In my case, I was out walking with Ray and saw a British newspaper from the day before. There was John Peel on the cover and the sad story of his passing in Peru. I got really choked up when I tried to tell Ray who he was. I don't recall sounding too articulate, but I feebly tried to explain the enormity of who he was and what he was responsible for.
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