I suppose you can call this my contribution to the 20th anniversary of C86 celebrations. I cannot remember who sent me this (it was a while back and I forgot I had it) but a big thanks. This was the year when the Festive 50 was dominated by The Smiths & The Wedding Present but also sees appearances from a number of bands from the C86 tape. Enjoy - best played whilst The Magic Numbers are headlining the C86 gig next Friday night!

1. Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
2. Age of Chance - Kiss
3. The Fall - Mr Pharmacist
4. Primal Scream - Velocity Girl
5. Smiths - Panic
6. Smiths - I Know It's Over
7. Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
8. Shop Assistants - Safety Net
9. Jesus and Mary Chain - Some Candy Talking
10. The Fall - US Eighties - Nineties
11. Smiths - Ask
12. Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again
13. Weather Prophets - Almost Prayed
14. Half Man, Half Biscuit - Trumpton Riots
15. The Fall - Living Too Late
16. Wedding Present - Once More
17. Soup Dragons - Hang Ten!
18. Wedding Present - This Boy Can Wait
19. Bodines - Therese
20. The Fall - Bournemouth Runner
21. Cocteau Twins - Love's Easy tears
22. Primitives - Really Stupid
23. Pastels - Truck Train Tractor
24. Billy Bragg - Levi Stubbs' Tears
25. Soup Dragons - Whole Wide World
26. The Fall - Realm of Dusk
27. Age of Chance - Bible Of The Beats
28. Wedding Present - You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends
29. That Petrol Emotion - It's a Good Thing
30. Very things - This is Motortown
31. We've Got a Fuzzbox - Rules and Regulations
32. The The - Heartland
33. Freiwillige Selbstokontrolle - I Wish I Could Sprechen Sie Deutsch
34. Mighty Lemon Drops - Like An Angel
35. Smiths - Cemetry Gates
36. Wedding Present - Felicity
37. The Fall - Lucifer Over Lancashire
38. Cocteau Twins - Those Eyes, That Mouth
39. Half Man, Half Biscuit - Dickie Davies Eyes
40. Elvis Costello - I Want You
41. Billy Bragg - Greetings To The New Brunette
42. Flatmates - I Could Be In Heaven
43. Shop Assistants - I Don't Want To Be Friends With You
44. Mighty Mighty - Is There Anyone Out There?
45. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
46. Colourbox - The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme
47. Camper van Beethoven - Take The Skinheads Bowling
48. The Fall - Dktr Faustus
49. Mission - Serpent's Kiss
50. Pogues - The Body of an American

Festive 50 1986 50 to 41
Festive 50 1986 40 to 31
Festive 50 1986 30 to 21
Festive 50 1986 20 to 11
Festive 50 1986 10 to 1

The C86 tape is available here.

I arrived home earlier today after a weekend walking parts of the South West Costal Path around Swanage and Studland to find that the events at the ICA celebrating C86 has been announced. I'm sure people like myself are, well, just a bit underwhelmed by the bands on offer over the two nights although Phil Wilson and The Wolfhounds should be good!

Why are The Magic Numbers playing was the first thing on my mind as I can think of a number of bands better suited to the event. I don't buy the comment in their case that the bands playing reflect the same spirit of independence as the C86 era artists because let's face it the Magic Numbers play a sound from at least 20 years earlier than 1986!

The ICA celebrates the rise of British independent music, with two nights of live music, DJs, documentary footage and more, co-curated by the ICA, members of St Etienne, Heavenly Recordings, and Rough Trade Shops. Up from the underground, this is the story of British independent music in the 1980's: what we now call 'indie' music.

The line ups are:

Friday 27 October: The Magic Numbers, Gokart Mozart, Vic Godard & the Subway Sect.

Saturday 28 October: Roddy Frame, Phil Wilson, The Wolfhounds (DJs The Pastels)

Tickets are priced £22.50 per night and Saturday looks the better bet.