Theatricals - David Courtney

David Courtney is probably best known for discovering Leo Sayer and producing the first two albums (the good ones). I've written about this connection elsewhere. Courtney also co-wrote and co-produced Roger Daltrey's first album.

This song, though, comes from his own debut album, First Day (1975). According to the original sleeve-notes, written by Anne Nightingale, 'David Courtney's music is self-evident'. I'm not sure about that. This song in particular sounds to me like it belongs on a film soundtrack, a kind of easy-listening prog, as though the Walker Brothers were covering Pink Floyd. This impression is helped along, no doubt, by the fact that Barry Morgan (drums) and Alan Parker (acoustic guitar) both played on the Walkers' comeback album, No Regrets, the same year, while the lead guitar is by Dave Gilmour.

Who this was supposed to appeal to, I have no idea. But I like it. So this is the closing track from the album, 'When Your Life Is Your Own'.

Powerpop - Knox

The missing link between the Vibrators and Pink Floyd. Sort of. This is the debut solo single by Knox, former frontman of the not very fashionable punk band, covering the Syd Barrett song 'Gigolo Aunt'.

Released in 1980, it was recorded at the Alaska studio and produced by Pat Collier - just like the Soft Boys' Underwater Moonlight album. To make it even more of a companion piece to that masterpiece, it features Matthew Seligman of the Soft Boys on bass, while Robyn Hitchcock plays guitar on the b-side, another fine cover, this time of Jimmy C. Newman's cajun-rock classic 'Alligator Man'.

This is one of a series of posts celebrating the poppier end of the post-punk period in Britain. Much of this stuff was neither cool nor popular at the time, but it was what I was listening to, and I worry that too much of it is being lost to history.