British indie pioneers The Loft split up in 1984 before they could become truly appreciated, but nevertheless were one of Creation’s earliest successes. In October 2023, the original line-up of Pete Astor, Dave Morgan, Bill Prince and Andy Strickland performed a four-track session for Marc Riley and Gideon Coe on their BBC Radio 6 Music show, rattling through three of their original classics plus their cover of Richard Hell’s ‘Time’.
The Loft notched up an impressive list of firsts for Creation Records artists back in the mid-1980s. First Creation band on TV, first to hit the top of the indie chart, first to be invited on to a major UK tour and, not least, first Creation band to record a coveted BBC radio session – for Janice Long’s Radio One show in 1984. Then they split up.
In October 2023, the band was invited by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Riley & Coe show to record its fourth BBC session at Maida Vale’s famous Studio 4, following their heralded appearance at the Glas-Goes Pop festival.
Featuring four classic Loft tracks and played by the original members the session confirmed the band’s standing as pioneering indie originals. On hearing the very first track broadcast, Nick Godfrey of Precious Recordings of London was messaging the band to bag the session for a full vinyl release.
The 10-inch vinyl EP features three band originals, ‘Beware’, ‘Worm In My Brain’ and ‘Ride’, plus their celebrated version of Richard Hell’s ‘Time’. The band have all contributed to the sleeve notes, describing what the session, and still playing together, means to them, with exclusive photos from inside Maida Vale taken by Ken Copsey.
10″ on Precious Recordings. Limited Edition of 500 copies,
The Fat Angel Sings 