Other
Buzzcocks
1978

“John Peel... what a guy! i too have a letter from him thanking me for a poster I sent him. The poster was from the 1940s (I think) and advertising a 'Gramophone Disc' called The John Peel Rag. I found it in a junk shop and wonder whether he ever put it up in Peel Acres. It was about 2 years before his death...

When i was about 16/17 i was listening to, and taping his show (that would be about 1983-ish?) and heard a track called "Sponge Bath' by a band named Industrial Youth. I really loved the song and remembered John saying that it was a terrible name for a band, which helped me remember it! I spent many, many years trying to find the 7" but didn't have any luck until my friend Al found it on the internet. He got it for me for my birthday - about 17 years after I had first heard it... and it still sounds good. Also i still have the original tape with "Sponge Bath' and an arrow drawn on the label at the point of the track. Good ol' Peely...”

“Yes, Mat. It's difficult to overestimate JP's influence on musicians and punters alike. He really was his own man and uniquely honest in his approach to his "job" which I'm sure, he never saw as a job. I know that if it wasn't for him I personally, would have grown into a very different adult. The musical landscape was so polarised in the mid-to-late '70s that impressionable teenagers could have been forgiven for thinking that there was nothing out there that was truly representative of their situation. Somehow JPs tastes transcended age/class/genre, etc.,...”

“John Trapasso says:

I enjoyed your comments about my song, Sponge Bath, which appeared in your string on John Peel and the Buzzcocks. It is good to know that it is still appreciated after all these years. The band had broken up before the 45 was released . For that reason it was never officially released or promoted. That is the major reason why it was so hard to find.

Incidentally Sponge Bath was re-released on a CD back in the 1990’s. It contained a compilation of local bands from the Niagara Falls area. The name of the CD was Feces Pieces and it is probably harder to find than the original 45. ( I noticed that there is a now a band named Feces Pieces. They have nothing to do with us.)”

“wow - who would have thunk it... i'm well chuffed with that!”

“@ John / OT - I remember Peel playing "Sponge Bath" too - I taped it as well, & still have the cassette somewhere! I'm pretty sure he only featured it once on his show, but I've always remembered it - in fact I ended up at MDMArchive after I Googled said record. All of which begs the inevitable question: do you have any spare copies stashed away somewhere, & what more can you tell us about Industrial Youth - details, details... :)

Rooksby@rocketmail.com”

“Peel played it on Dutch radio too. I loved the song. Any chance of uploading it on YouTube?”