Tired? Listless? Lost your savoir faire and your sang-froid and your soupe de jour? Feel like it’s all a bit pointless? well stop. Do not worry, my people, I’m back from my holidays in sunny* Pembrokeshire – the beautiful, history rich and unspoilt coastal end of Wales. We stayed in a lovely cottage, spent our days walking the cliffs and doing beach, nature and history-related thangs and our evenings playing games, reading and over-indulging. Almost best of all though was no wifi, no mobile reception and no music for the last week or so, a total cut off and brain wipe. It was great and gave me a very necessary means of recharging my batteries after a horrid couple of months of stress, but that’s enough about me-type-stuff.
In the gorgeous town of Tenby I stumbled across Dales Records a brilliant and rightly fêted record shop that celebrated its’ 60th anniversary in 2014** and leafing through the hard rock/metal section I was struck by what a lot of obscure stuff there was from 1990 in brilliant condition too, LPs I remember reading all about in Kerrang! I assumed they had come from someone’s collection but was told that the guys in the shop had found a few forgotten boxes of stock from 1990 in their basement so they were all brand-new buried treasure – a real rockin’ time capsule.
I snaffled up Kill For Thrills Dynamite From Nightmareland, to replace my long gone much-cherished promo cassette and Rhino Bucket, worst band name ever candidates and Neanderthal AC/DC sound-alikes of ‘Even The Sun Goes Down’ fame. I passed on the Lisa Dominique picture disc^.
Altogether now, holidaymakers:
You say you’re a lady
And ladies got class
I don’t need no Prima Donna
All I need is a piece of ass
680 Down (still).
*and I’m not being ironic, for once, it really was!
**it features in the great documentary Last Shop Standing (although they aren’t specifically in this trailer).
^Kerrang! spent years pushing her at us teenage rockistas, but even in my hormonal fug I managed to resist. I have ears.
HOLIDAY! It’s the best thing. Recharging is great, I think we should all unplug for a week, every now and then. We were just on vacation ourselves, and the cottage where we stayed had wifi but it suuuuuucked, so we were forced to ignore it and do other things. It went very well!
I like shop having NOS records. That’s a cool find. Clearly, if those have been there since the 90s, they need to do a clean-up more often!
God, I haven’t been to Tenby since the mid 1990s! Still looks good with a great beach. Glad you’re enjoying your holiday and even found some good record bargains.
You should make some time for it, it really is still very unspoilt and the whole coastline thereabouts is just beautiful.
One day I will
Happy to hear you got to do the old brain erase. I could use one of those, but it’ll have to wait for some time. I wish there was somewhere half as lovely as those pics you posted in my general area. Sadly, there is not. Maybe the upper peninsula in Michigan.
That record find sounds like something that only happens in dreams. A box of vinyl found from 1990, still in the packaging? The things you find on holiday. Geez.
Cheers Mr H, it was so nice to power down for a spell. We always end up heading towards water on our holidays, preferably the sea – I appreciate its a bit more difficult for you.
I know, I suspect I’d missed the best stuff – it really was a dream find. Such a cool little shop too.
That record shop 1990 find reminds me of a general store in a tiny town we used to visit. he would have chocolate bars and treats that were roughly 20 years past expiry still for sale. We cleaned the dust off, and would buy the ones that would sound the loudest when banged on the shelves. We found candy there that hadn’t been made in years.
It is awesome how even in the remote areas we can still find record shops. A box of 1990 new old stock. WOW. My suggestion is go back there without your wife, and bring a thick wallet next time.
That last shop Standing looks great.
I know! I suspect that the very best stuff had been picked off a while before, there were sides by FM, Lisa Dominique, Last Crack, Warlock and some thrashy ones that I can remember in the racks.
It is a great documentary, I really want to visit them all now.
I would be curious about that FM release. I did not know of their stuff in 1990.
Can’t remember what it was, think it was a 12″. I could always go back for a week’s holiday to find out, if you’d like?
Just send me your bosses contact info and my associate Jimmy Two Fingers will arrange it. Also perhaps a raise, a weekly vinyl record stipend, and company car.
I hear he’s quite a persuasive chap.
He is quite insistent. However, he does help his victims out by doing a free rectal exam during each intimidation. Hence the name Jimmy Two Fingers.
Haha yukk! Haha!
Well, sounds like you had a great time away!
I did Sarca, needed it too.
Well that looks like the place to be, our sojourn in Wales was interrupted by the Royals… good to see you had some peace and quiet.
Loads of peace and loads of quiet, with extra paddling and Neolithic burial chambers thrown in for good measure.
Did you bask. I think basking is underrated and as a species we should do more of it.
Good thinking and it is a word I really like too. I’m more of a wallower I think, than a basker.
I’ve heard that after a wallow you should always bask. This is an approved technique.
Nice pics, sounds like a much needed break.
Thanks Bruce, it surely was.
NICE SCORE on the Kill For Thrills dude! Well done sir. And yes that beach does look like paradise. And I’m glad it was sunny! Your instincts were correct, I thought you were being sarcastic. Welcome home sir.
Cheers Mike. They had an Adam Bomb LP that I just didn’t quite have enough cash on me for … next time.
Next time indeed! How is your tan? Trumpian in nature?
I went for the demi-Trump this time, still a believable skin tone.
Watched a movie last night starring Johnny Depp as Trump, called The Art of the Deal. Watch it. Hilarious!
Hey, you’re back! I’ll call off the search party now.
It’s the lowest form of wit, you know.
I was being genuine! Cheeky monkey… The search party are saying they’re glad they didn’t find you now.
Duh! I was being sarcastic about you being sarcastic about me. Possibly, maybe.
Good to see you back (and to hear of some splendid holidaying). But much more than that I’m pleased to see you got a copy of the Kills For Thrills LP. I fricken love that album. Sounds great on vinyl, too.
Cheers J, I haven’t spun it yet – our cottage wasn’t equipped with a gramophone – can you imagine?
What! That’s just ridiculous!
Umm, I still haven’t …
Oooft. No excuses for this!
Welcome Back Dude!
Thank you, I feel all refreshed and raring to go.
You must have seen Rhino Bucket in the 90’s, surely?
Actually they got press over here but yeah what a goofy name so I was Judgemental towards em! Probably unfairly though and being a Canadian KERRANG reader i recall that Dominique gal as a Kerrang fixture as well as Lee Aaron…..
Lee Aaron (sighs) .. did she actually do any music? or did they just invent her?
Welcome back, sounds like a great holiday!
I too really like those ‘unplug’ times, nice way to recharge
Thanks Geoff. With two teenage kids unplugging is a bit of a contentious but a very necessary move, I think (they’d disagree!).
My two non-teenage kids would likely disagree too – a week with no netflix, say it ain’t so!
Incidentally – I read the shining earlier this summer, and kept smiling thinking about that re-cut trailer you sent
Aww, thank you. It’s nice to know that somewhere deep inside your skull there’s a dark shard of me-ness. How comforting!