Festive facts (an early Xmas gift)

[ken garner]

I've now managed to reconstruct what appear to be the "Best Sessions 
of the Year" repeated in the Christmas /New Year Peel shows, 78-87. 
As I indicate below, this is certainly not complete and may have 
errors not of my making. The Radio Times did not bill where Peel was 
in the F50 every year, either. But I thought those of you who get 
misty eyed at F50 time might find this an evocative early evocation 
of Christmas past. Happy holidays, all! Looking forward to tape-based 
corrections, and maybe others can fill in 88-93 (the romeo sheets 
which came in in 88 are not much good for repeat dates, frankly)

kg

Peel's "Best Sessions of the Year" Christmas/New Year repeats, 1978-
1987*
(*needletime was abolished in 1988 so the need to repeat quite so 
many sessions at the end of each year disappeared, although the 
ritual continued in increasingly diluted form until the end of 1992)

Note: these details are based solely on Radio Times billings and 
repeat dates written on to the original session sheets. These repeat 
dates may be wrong in places. Other repeats may have happened on 
these dates but not been noted on the sheets

1978
T 26/12 I have no information: but there was a show
W 27/12 (Buzzcocks #2, Steel Pulse #2, X-Ray Spex #1)
Th 28/12 (Magazine #1, Alternative TV #2, Penetration #1, The Slits 
#2)
M 1/1/79 (Boomtown Rats #2, Elvis Costello & Attractions #2, De 
Dannann, Reggae Regular #1, Siouxsie and the Banshees #2)

1979
Th 20/12 (Cockney Rejects, The Jam #3, Killing Joke, Misty #1, The 
Skids #4, The Undertones #2)
M 24/12 Viv Stanshall #8 (The Cure #2, The Damned #4, Secret Affair 
#2, Steel Pulse #3)
T 25/12 no show
W 26/12 (Chords, Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, Penetration #2, The 
Specials #2, Stiff Little Fingers #3)
Th 27/12 (Buzzcocks #4, Magazine #3, Merton Parkas, The Selecter, 
Siouxsie and the Banshees #3, UK Subs #3)
M 31/12 no show
T 1/1/80 (The Beat #1, Capital Letters, Leyton Buzzards #3, Lene 
Lovich #2, The Police, The Ruts #1)

1980
M 22/12 F50 50-41, sessions details unknown
T 23/12 F50 40-31, session details unknown
W 24/12 (Dexy's Midnight Runners, Spoldgenessabounds, The Undertones 
#4) F50 30-21
Th 25/12 no show
M 29/12 (Adam and the Ants #2, The Beat #2, Icarus, Killing Joke #2, 
The Passions #3) F50-20-11
T 30/12 (Bow Wow Wow, The Cure #3, Echo and the Bunnymen #3, Misty 
#3, The Ruts #3, Teardrop Explodes #2) F50 10-1
W 31/12 no show

1981
W 23/12 F50 50-41, session details unknown
Th 24/12 F50 40-31, session details unknown
M 28/12 (New Order, Altered Images #2, Revillos, The Higsons, Rip Rig 
and Panic) F50 30-21
T 29/12 (Siouxsie and the Banshees #4, Misty #4, Skodas, Angels 1-5, 
Jass Babies) F50 20-11
W 30/12 session details unknown, F50 10-1
Th 31/12 no show

1982
M 20/12 (The Crabs, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Roman Holiday)
T 21/12 (Xmal Deutschland, The Sisters of Mercy, The March Violets, 
The Cherry Boys #2)
W 22/12 (The Higsons #3, Wild Weekend, Action Pact)
Th 23/12 (New Order #2, Serious Drinking, Come in Tokyo, Blancmange)
M 27/12 (The Farmer's Boys, Strawberry Switchblade, The Undertones 
#5, Danse Society #2)
T 28/12 (Amazulu, Send No Flowers, The Redskins, Tears for Fears)
W 29/12 (The Passage #3, Laurel and Hardy, 3D a Fish in Sea, The 
Cravats #4)
Th 30/12 (Southern Death Cult, Scream and Dance, The Twinsets #2, The 
High Five)

1983
W 21/12 (Twa Toots, Three Mustaphas Three #2, The Cocteau Twins #2, 
Xmal Deutschland #2, Echo and the Bunnymen #5, Eek a Mouse and 
Kalabash #
Th 22/12 (Sophie and Peter Johnston #1, Microdisney, Eton Crop, The 
Three Johns #3, Craig Charles, Test Department)
M 26/12 Rhythm Pals' Boxing Day Bash 7.30pm-midnight, no sessions, I 
think
T 27/12 (The Gymslips #3, Serious Drinking #4, The Chameleons #2, 
Helen and the Horns, Big Country #1, Misty #5)
W 28/12 (Orchestral Maneouvres in the Dark #4, Culture, Black #2, The 
Popticians, Wah! #4, Einstürzende Neubauten)
Th 29/12 (Trixie's Big Red Motorbike #2, The Icicle Works #2, Yip Yip 
Coyote, The Frank Chickens #2, The Smiths)
M 2/1/84 details unknown

1984
T 18/12 (Terry and Gerry, Everything but the Girl #1, Nick Cave and 
the Bad Seeds, The Frank Chickens #3, The Meteors #3)
W 19/12 details unknown
M 24/12 no show
T 25/12 (The Men They Couldn't Hang, The Mighty Wah! #5, Syncbeat, 
Guana Batz #2, Ivor Cutler #13, The Folk Devils #2, Die Zwei at the 
Rodeo, Marc Riley and the Creepers #2, Yip Yip Coyote #3, Shreikback 
#2, Bronski Beat #1)
W 26/12 (Boothill Foot Tappers, Triffids, Junior Gee and the Capital 
Boys, Sisters of Mercy #2, Billy Bragg #3, The Smiths #3)
M 31/12 no show
T 1/1/85 (The Farm #2, Eek-A Mouse #2, The Cocteau Twins #4, Three 
Mustaphas Three #3)

Note: If the details for 25/12/84 are correct, I suspect that was an 
all-session show, with no records, so the day's needletime could be 
concentrated on other shows, and that therefore, possibly, 19/12 
might have been all disc

1985
M 16/12 (The Jesus and Mary Chain #2, The Triffids #2, The Men They 
Couldn't Hang #2, City Limits Crew and the Mutant Rockers, Billy 
Bragg #4, The Nightingales #6) F50 50-41
T 17/12 (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle, Terry and Gerry #2, 1000 
Violins, The Janitors, The Beloved) F50 40-31
W 18/12 (Prefab Sprout, 10,000 Maniacs, June Brides #1, The 
Fuzztones, The Folk Devils #3, Del Amitri #2) F50 30-21
M 23/12_(The Housemartins, The Shop Assistants, Age of Chance, 
Pigbros, Everything but the Girl #2, The Cure #6) F50 20-11
T 24/12 no show
W 25/12 (The Cookie Crew #1, Shriekback #3, Misty #7, and...?) F50 10-
1

1986
M 22/12 (Happy Mondays, Housemartins #3 "The Fish City Five", Age of 
Chance, Anhrefn #1, Primal Scream #2)
T 23/12 (FSK #2, Slab, Head of David #2, Yeah Yeah Noh #3,  Frank 
Chickens #5)
W 24/12 (Housemartins #2, We've Got A Fuzzbox etc #1, Fall #10, Misty 
In Roots #8, Half Man Half Biscuit #3, Three Wise Men)
M 29/12 (Primitives, James #2, Miaouw, Laibach, Stars of Heaven #2, 
Twang, 14 Iced Bears)
T 30/12 (Wedding Present #1, Soup Dragons, Stump #2, Big Flame, Billy 
Bragg #5, Weather Prophets, Microdisney #6)
W 31/12 no details on session sheets

*The Bhundu Boys #1 was repeated on one of these dates, but my 
photocopied session sheet has a corner turned down obscuring the date


1987
T 22/12 (Datblygu, Heresy, Mekons, Robert Lloyd, Paul Johnson, 
Wedding Present #3) F50 50-41
W 23/12 F50 40-31, session details unknown
M 28/12 (Bhundu Boys #2, Terence Trent D'Arby, Electro Hippies, 
Housemartins, Darling Buds) F50 30-21
T 29/12 (Holle Holle, Extreme Noise Terror, Cud, Catapult, Abs, 
Wedding Present Ukrainian) F50 20-11
W 30/12 (The Stupids, The Primitives, Overlord X, Slab!, James, Head 
of David) F50 10-1


KG Dec 07