The fine folks at Faith Fanzine asked me to pull this Spotify playlist together to help promo their forthcoming summer issue. It`s a bumper one, believe me. I’ve seen the proofs. 

The request came in while I was on the move, momentarily in London, due to fly to Malaga the next day. So it was assembled in a bit of a rush – a sort of dusty old vinyl stream of consciousness (Simon at Faith put the tracks into a more manageable order – thank you!). I sat with my younger sister – who was “raving” way before me (as she loves to remind me) – sharing a bottle of wine, for the first time in 3 years, and scribbled down song titles, while we caught up. Occasionally double-checking on Discogs that these were actually pre-88 (there are a few mistakes in there I’m sure – sorry). 

I`m not gonna pretend that I was an OG Amnesiac, hanging out on The White Isle with Lisa Loud, back in `86. I wasn’t*, but the tunes in this playlist come, largely, from conversations with people who were. Primarily DJs, Alfredo Fiorito, Cesar de Melero, Trevor Fung, Nancy Noise, Nelo, and especially Leo Mas. I’ve said this before but it was Leo who opened the door to the real story behind the Balearic Beat, by putting in a good word for me, and introducing me to everyone else. 

This playlist, and all of my obsessive “research” – some of which appears in the next issue of Faith – would not have been possible without his generosity, encyclopedic musical memory, and assistance. 

Leo, amico mio, grazie mille. 

You can find the full playlist here. Thanks again to Simon Dawson, Terry Farley, and Andy Thomas at Faith for asking me to be involved. 

Here are a few more thing, that I don’t think are on Spotify…

Blow Monkeys / Digging Your Scene

Cairo / Smokin`

Chakk / Take Your Time

Dizzi Heights / The Gospel

Mercy Mercy / Must Be Heaven

State Of Play / Natural Colour

Martin Stephenson And The Daintees – Wholly Humble Heart

Supermax / African Blood

Tarraco – Voodoo Night

White Lies / Walk On The Wild Side

Honestly, don’t get me started, I could go on for days…

Notes

*Instead I was living in Leeds, buying weed and attending parties in Chapeltown, catching Happy Mondays at The Warehouse, and making the odd pilgrimage to The Hacienda.