Yeh i've got this on the way to me as we speak from Nigel,his Top Sounds label is possibly the best at this time of unearthing unknown UK psych artefacts,whether its acetates,which in reality are extremely fragile things after a few plays,old tapes,demos recorded in a local studio or one off local 45 releases which have been forgotten through time.

I see this as a form of historical archiving,and an integral part of UK musical and cultural history,as well as giving music enthusiasts the chance to have those unknown and in many cases,a personal and private thing for those involved in their recording,that without their unearthing and beibg given a cleaning up process would be forgotten and lost forever.Which would be criminal in my opinion,as all we need to do is look at the short sightedness of the BBC as a big example of carelesness concerning UK musical history,which includes losing things from the biggest bands in the world at the time like The Beatles and The Stones,but also small little known bands who just happen to have had a single minor hit or been heard live in a club by a BBC employee,so where afforded a BBC session,today WE all regret those decisions in the name of saving money by the BBC,and have lost invaluable pieces of history and musical worth.

Of course Top Sounds DID escavate the BBC transcription discs that were still worthy of hearing and archiving,and given access to a wider public,with the release of a series of comps which in my opinion are ESSENTIAL for anyone with an interest in late 60s/early 70s UK pop,mod and psychedelia,which are in truth aimed for a niche market,but also marvellous time capsules in our musical and cultural history,which would be sadly lost forever if not for the likes of Nigel Lees and Dave Wells who are 2 amongst others who go that extra distance to unearth all types of sources for musical discovery,as unfortunately the many musicians,recording engineers,studio workers and owners are being lost as time passes by,and it's amazing their families have no knowledge or no interest in their families musical interest or hobby from 50 years ago,as the tapes etc were put in an attic or cupboard and forgotten about,as those who recorded them,move onto other things in their life and with other priorities,and many who did take part see them as a youthful embarassment.

I can understand that,as a 14 year old,i was in a band,and we luckily recorded 2 demo tapes,in 2 different Edinburgh studios,one which was a converted garage,we did 4 songs there,and another in a more professional set up,where we recorded 2 numbers........for decades i hid those,and never played them to anyone,i had both on cassette tapes,hidden in a box,in a cupboard for many years,but as i got older,i gained interest and curiosity,do took them out,played them,and realised,THIS is part of my life,how many 14 year olds get to do what i did,so i had a cd recorder,where i could transfer tape onto cdr,so that IS what i did as i knew eventually those tapes may begin to degenerate,and i sent them to the lads i made those recordings with,as they had all lost theirs,and they where over the moon,as you do begin to realise as years pass by,that which was once a youthful embarassment,turns out to be an important time capsule of your life then,part of your history.

Unfortunately,unbelievably and stupidly i'm back to relying on those tapes as i have lost my copy i made of the demo tapes i transferred onto cdr,and my real time cd recorder is not working,and my old band mates,have ALL relocated,and i have lost touch with the 3 of them,so i NOW realise how vitally important those snapshots of me as a 14 year old are to me,maybe to noone else,but me,and it's a common story,even with majorly succesful artists,who have NOTHING of their early works,as for many they were thought of as a youthful embarassment,but its ALL history.Even if it's just an individuals history......it ALL counts.

Thank you for indulging me and going off subject a bit,and taking a wee delve into my youth,but those collections the likes of Top Sounds put out,are essential and an integral part of history,but also enjoyable musical excursions that WE can enjoy and listen to over 50 years later..........who wouldn't want that??

Thanks for sharing Stuart, that's a tale often told by many a former budding rock star. How do your tapes sound now? I transferred a lot of demo tapes(C 60s) I recorded with bands years ago to CDR as well at one point and found the tapes still sounded as fresh as the day they were dubbed them from the master tape. I think cassettes can be a lot more durable than they are often credited with being. You're right these 'left in a draw' recordings are part of our own history and that of our town for that matter.

PM:slightly_smiling_face:

For those who didn't want to take a blind punt (or should that be deaf punt, lol) you can listen to these tracks on bandcamp - certainly rough around the edges;

https://staterecords.bandcamp.com/album/faces-from-the-dark-beat-and-psychedelia-at-the-modern-music-centre-1965-1969