Cherry Red [Release date 16.01.26]

Time was you could tell a friend that John Peel likes this band.
They would either shy away like you’ve got the plague, or embrace the band like an old friend. There was no middle ground.

Peel likes these bands. 57 of them, 57 tracks, 3 CDs.

The title of this anthology comes from ‘So High I’ve Been, So Down I Must Fall’, from Q65, a six album Progrock band who consistently charted in The Netherlands throughout the sixties and seventies.

And that’s the point of this anthology/ collection. Great music – rock and pop and prog – that never saw the light of day in the UK.
Why? Because in the sixties, the UK was knee deep in new, exciting music, homegrown, or imported from the USA. No one else got a look in.

There were a few exceptions. Shocking Blue broke big in the USA, selling millions. Their psychedelic, garage rock single ‘Love Buzz’ is here, later covered by Nirvana.

Golden Earring’s ‘Radar Love’ and ‘Sylvia’, by Focus, two significant UK best sellers, are probably the hits that most will recognise.

Arguably too, Gong and Tangerine Dream found a place in the consciousness of the UK’s Prog inclined fan.
Respectively, ‘Change The World’ (aka Rational Anthem), and ‘Asche Zu Asche’ (Ashes To Ashes) sit side by side on Disc 1.

So impressed were Sonet, a Universal label offshoot, by Denmark’s Burnin Red Ivanhoe that they signed the band, and released their debut album (a double vinyl), M144, in 1969.
(currently selling, used, at over £100 on eBay). The track, ‘All About All’ is the pick, and it’s here on Disc 2.

Still working today, French Progressive Rock band Magma recorded their first album in 1969, for A&M Records. They had invented a new language to best convey the sentiments in their songs, and this novel approach caught the attention of the music media, including British music critic, Ian McDonald and Frenchman, Dominique Leone, writing for Pitchfork, both of whom gave the band a few column inches.

‘Kobaia Ist De Hundin’ is their most famous track, taken from their 1973 album, Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh, appearing on this anthology’s first CD.

The New Age leanings and elaborate psychedelic soundscapes of German band, Popol Vuh gained a certain following in the UK. They also gained the attention of film director, Werner Herzog who commissioned several soundtracks from the band, including for his films, “Fitzcarraldo” and “Nosferatu”.
The minimalist folk prayer “Abschied” appears here, fittingly right next door to Magma.

There are many more bands here of course, from Aunt Mary to Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso; from The Rattles to The Inter-Groupie Psychotherapeutic Elastic Band, and lastly and most interestingly, from Supersister and ‘She Was Naked’ to Sandy Coast and ‘Capital Punishment (Death By Hanging)’.

It’s a funny old music world. Always was. Still is. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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