Known Pleasures

Known Pleasures Ep 32 - Psychedelic Furs

Born like so many others out of 1977’s London punk scene, the Psychedelic Furs however seemed to deliberately stand out from the off. There was the name for a start - not very punk and more redolent of the despised 60s if anything,  and then there was the music. Never a huge critical or commercial favourite they nevertheless struck a chord with new wave hungry audiences around the world and continue to this day. Over the course of four albums released from 1980 to 1984 we’ll examine where the Furs went right or wrong, the hits and the misses and where they fit into post-punk rock’s rich tapestry.
 
Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/user/1230971434/playlist/1URDN9AS8HshmsPjjkGgeq?si=PhUlVpf4R7mCNU5Pbe0CxA

Known Pleasures Ep 31 - One Hit Wonders

“The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly”. Known Pleasures is back with a podcast of Bladerunner proportions - one hit wonders of the new wave era. Here we explore our favourite supernova tracks of the time and ask “where are they now? does that even qualify as new wave?” and “whose idea was this again?”
 
Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/1230971434/playlist/6PUtCDlsvXsm7RzjFkQZ9A?si=8xqvq5ZYR8WPjeYnr_fvBw

Known Pleasures Ep 30 - INXS

You might… know of… INXS as sinuous rock-funk exponents from the late 80s and early 90s. You might… know how…. they came to rule the world with their infectious hook laden songs. But_ did_ you_ know_ that back home in their native Australia there were plenty who saw them as just another rock band who’d graduated from the macho, 60s-influenced pub rock scene that had produced the likes of AC/DC. Well, here at Known Pleasures that really gets our goat up. INXS were not an Aus Rock band. They were a new wave band and a really good one.
Spotify Play List:
https://open.spotify.com/user/1230971434/playlist/2TPpHXX1YYLGsoh6YDwV2s?si=crAOCVu2T-iObgxvHziYFQ
 

Known Pleasures Ep 29 - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

When Andy, Paul and Winston took to the stage at a club in Liverpool in 1978, the small crowd assembled didn’t quite know what to expect. Especially because Winston was a tape recorder. What they wouldn’t have anticipated was that, within three or four years, this peculiar band - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - would rattle off a string of hit singles and eccentric inventive albums, placing them firmly on the frontline of the electro-pop invasion of the early to mid-80s.
 
Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5N5hZGmo8v289gom799R2M?si=iKm_jpCQSyizFhdF3oD10Q

Known Pleasures Ep 28 - Magazine

If 1978 can be regarded as Year Zero for post punk, then Magazine were already wide awake when day one dawned. From 78-81 they produced four challenging albums and set the tone for the next 30 years. Episode 28 of our Known Pleasures podcast examines what made Manchester’s Magazine one of the greats.
 
Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1SWGj9qxomqduRKvzssYLu?si=nqItmi_8QPWZIloTF9iMDQ

Known Pleasures Ep 27 - Ian Dury and the Blockheads

When the BBC website ran a poll on great disabled Britons, he came second only to Stephen Hawking. That’s how loved and admired was the geezer from Upminster.
So how does his music stack up after all these years? Has our trawl through the Ian Dury back catalogue left us thinking what a waste, or was it as good as cheddar cheese and pickle, a Vincent motorsickle or slap and tickle?
Spotify Playlist Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7uXGJG3bDGq4xcAP6qRsQz?si=rljXylSjQ16QnhptiPh8_w

Known Pleasures Ep 26 - Our Top Ten Bandwagon Jumpers

In this special episode we discuss the New Wave Bandwagon Jumpers. Be it a post punk appropriation by genuine fans, a dabble in the New Wave by former wave makers or an opportunists opportunity to sell records. We went in hard and found our top ten recording artists who dared to try their hand at new music in the early eighties.
Our bandwagons are in a circle. Let the gunfire commence.

Known Pleasures Ep 25 - Tears For Fears

If the Tears For Fears story ended after their first album we would gladly induct them into our own Post Punk Hall Of Fame, no hesitation. But in 1985, they went out to rule the world with well crafted, hook laden pop songs that America fell 'Head Over Heels' for and MTV heralded them as one of the bands at the forefront of the 2nd British Invasion. So, after that first album do Tears For Fears qualify as a New Wave band, and indeed does it really matter?
Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/1230971434/playlist/4OEEf5tBTEVZ6PNXKgHoyP?si=PPKXo9kxSbyejQjBCLBbag