- The state of the band in the late 80s.
- Memories of picking up PIOT, TABC and the Save Me/Heart of the World singles.
- Reactions to Save Me and Heart of the World at the time.
“Save Me” – live from the Glen Pavilion, Dunfermline – 1st May 1990.
- Through A Big Country did phenomenally well.
- Save Me as an indication of what was coming.
“Heart of the World” – live from the T&C Club, London – 10th August 1990.
- Looking for information about the band back in the day. Tom's story about writing to Country Club and getting an early track listing for NPLH.
- Info was harder to come by in those days - Svein only found out that Mark was out of the official line-up when he saw the liner notes of the album. Yet he was still on the album! Confusing.
- The story behind Mark not continuing is related to Ian Grant's master plan for PIOT: establish Stuart as a figurehead for 'culture', which didn't work & Stuart ended up leaving the band. Mark got other commitments, and then the band continued anyway...
- Comment about Mark from Stuart, from the Country Club Convention 1991, plus quote from Tony on the drumming on Comes A Time. Was there some animosity there?
- Talking about Mark's three replacements: Pat Ahern, Chris Bell and Simon Phillips.
- Tom & Svein discuss their expectations towards NPLH, memories of picking it up, and initial reactions.
- The success of Through A Big Country (300,000 copies sold) vs. No Place Like Home (an alleged 30,000 copies sold).
- The search for an identity vs critics views of BC/their guitar style.
- The role of the producer & the record company in the creative process.
- Noteworthy: the band's defence of/lack of criticism for NPLH (especially vs. PIOT, where they clearly distanced themselves from the production several times). Do they have a softer spot for NPLH (or its production)?
- Svein's theory about the two divisive albums: PIOT having the big sound but sounding too polished, while NPLH having the evocativeness but not the “grandiose”/big sound.
- How we feel about NPLH in general. Setting up the actual album dissection to follow in the next episodes.
|