26th April: Sarah Records documentary screening in Glasgow

Next Sunday the Monorail Film Club is presenting a special screening of Lucy Dawkins' "My Secret World: The Story of Sarah Records" at the Glasgow Film Theatre.  Following the screening I (!) will be chairing a Q&A with Clare Wadd who co-ran Sarah Records with Matt Haynes.  I've written before of my love for Sarah Records, so it's a great honour to be asked to do it.  Last May, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Sarah Records themed weekender at Bristol's Arnolfini Centre at which the film was premiered.  It was a blissful weekend from the film itself, to the exhibition of Sarah Records memorabilia, to the walking tour of Bristol ("Look!...there's There And Back Again Lane!") to the live performances from The Orchids, Secret Shine, The Catenary Wires (Amelia from Heavenly's new group - debut single out NOW on Elefant of Madrid) and the living breathing art exhibit, Julian Henry.  It really was, to quote The Sweetest Ache, a heaven scented world for a couple of days.

What a majestic record! Unbelievably, only a b-side, too.  Incredible.

There's a Facebook event page here.  Here's what I wrote for it:

I was ripe for Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes’s Sarah Records. At the turn of the 90s I was a pretty timid teenager looking for things to help sand-off the rough edges of life. When Sarah released one heart-meltingly beautiful single after another by the likes of The Sea Urchins, The Field Mice, The Orchids, The Wake etc., I was in. Sarah stood out because it proudly celebrated beauty and unashamedly celebrated sensitivity; things which irritated the more laddish element writing for the rock press at the time. They got some savage reviews and were dismissed as “limp-wristed wimp pop”. Professing to a love of Sarah Records was more often than not met with a disparaging sneer. It only made me love them more. Sarah was about more than just music, too. I looked forward to reading Matt and Clare’s writing on the record inserts, fanzines and newsletters almost as much as I did to hearing their new releases; it was so passionate, erudite and slyly funny. Sarah didn’t shy away from the political - check The Wake’s “Major John” and wasn’t ‘Fuck the poll tax!’ etched into the run-out groove on the a-side The Orchids’ “Underneath The Window, Underneath The Sink”? - and it was inclusive: female, male, gay, straight, all were welcomed by Matt and Clare. Like Postcard before it, Sarah produced some wonderful ephemera. There were 5” flexidiscs, the aforementioned newsletters, gorgeous cut and paste fanzines, balloons, the butterfly design Heavenly carrier bag which, inexplicably, got up the noses of the more dunderheaded heavy metal tee wearing types on my university course and so much more. The records consistently looked fabulous, too. When Matt and Clare called it a day in 1995, I was genuinely a bit heartbroken. Happily, however, time has been kind to their uncompromising vision and impeccable taste, what with Lucy’s documentary and a soon to be published book. Even former foe the NME recently proclaimed Sarah to be second best indie label ever. Something which rivals Canadian punks Fucked Up covering Another Sunny Day’s rollicking “Anorak City” in terms of sheer unexpectedness.

Lucy tweets about the film at: @SarahRecordsDoc

Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?

Monorail Film Club's March presentation looks to be an unmissable Op Art treat!

Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?

(Glasgow Film Theatre, Sunday 25th March, 7:30pm)

"After nearly a decade as American Vogue’s most subversive fashion photographer, William Klein made this trippy satire, a scathing and outlandish laugh at 60s fashionista France. It centres on buck-toothed American beauty Polly, who comes to Paris to model and winds up the subject of a vapid TV documentary and attracting the romantic attentions of both a TV exec and the Prince of Borodine. A surreal, decadent deconstruction of the glamour scene, it comes impeccably dressed in gorgeous high contrast black-and-white.


Selected and introduced by Marie Galipienso, a friend of the Monorail Film Club"

Lawrence of Belgravia @ Glasgow Film Theatre

Monorail Film Club has certainly cooked up a very special treat for Sunday, 4th December!  They're presenting Paul Kelly's documentaries Lawrence of Belgravia and Take Three Girls: The Dolly Mixture Story about former Felt (and Denim and current Go Kart Mozart) visionary Lawrence Hayward and adorable early-80s pop group Dolly Mixture respectively.  As if that weren't treats enough, after the screenings, long time Felt fan Stuart Murdoch will host a Q&A with Kelly and Hayward.   I've been keen to see both films for ages so since word got out about this event a couple of months back I've been counting down the days.  Yet another reason for Glaswegians to give thanks for Monorail Music!

My favourite Felt song (always make me a bit teary for some reason):

 My favourite Dolly Mixture song:

After the main event in the GFT, the fun continues with a We Can Still Picnic and Monorail Music organised event in the CCA's Saramago Cafe/Bar where former Orange Juice guitarist James Kirk and...er...Not Unloved will be spinning some sweet records.  It's a total honour to be asked to be part of such an ace evening and to mark the occasion I've bought the cutest, loveliest Christmas record to play.  If you're there and you hear it, I hope you like it!

A post-Orange Juice James Kirk gem:

Facebook event for the films

Facebook event for the DJ night