Out On Blue Six was a short-lived Manchester band. Their recorded legacy is limited to one single, two compilation tracks, two Peel Sessions, and a session for Capital Radio. The group was fronted by Kate Sekules (who is now a well-known author), and included Carl Marsh (guitar), Geoff Woolley (keyboards), Nigel Holland (bass) and Mike Daly (drums).
Nick Launay produced their 1981 single, "Party Mood" b/w "Johnny" and "Mogadon Sunday". There's scant information about the band online, but they "were being courted by labels like 4AD, Beggars Banquet and Rough Trade" before they broke up. Armageddon Records released two compilation LP's documenting the scene at the Moonlight Club, and Out On Blue Six had a track on each one. "Examples" (produced by Jon King) was featured on 1981's Moonlight Radio, and "Soft Sarcasm" was included on 1982's Fear And Fantasy compilation.
After Carl Marsh quit Shriekback, he and Geoff Woolley played together again in another short-lived band called Happyhead. In 2001 they made an instrumental album together called Sorted. Woolley has also released records under the aliases Kalei Da Scope, K-Scope, and K-Vision. I wonder if he is related to Bruce Woolley. The name Out On Blue Six was later used for Mark Radcliffe's radio show, and it became the title of a sci-fi novel by Ian McDonald.
There's some overlap between the studio tracks (320kps) and the radio sessions (128kps). but the dozen songs they left behind would constitute an album worthy of mention among any early 80's post punk classics (and would have fit perfectly in the catalog of Beggars or Rough Trade), if only Out On Blue Six had stayed together long enough to record it. Au Pairs is the obvious comparison, based on Kate Sekules' vocals and the barbed social commentary of the lyrics. But Au Pairs didn't have the wild and Woolley synths of Out On Blue Six, and Carl Marsh's brilliant guitar work makes clear why Barry Andrews and Dave Allen wanted him for Shriekback.
A couple of weeks ago I offered some space to the wonderful jonder, over at the utterly brilliant jonderblog, where he can share bands with us that don’t quite fit in with where he and Stinky are taking the blog. The bands featured may have sadly fallen through the cracks back in the day, but now, right here before your very eyes, they return
Very kind of you AJ, hope you like the tunes!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Geoff Woolley is related to Bruce Woolley?
I've read the novel called Out On Blue Six. It contains a number of musical references, such as a prison called West One.
You have to think that Geoff and Bruce are related. It’s such an unusual name.
DeleteThe author of Out On Blue Six must have a decent record collection
Google couldn't find anything for me that linked the two Woollies, but it seems an unlikely coincidence: both of them musicians in the same scene, and around the same time...
DeleteDidn't the Mark's Radcliffe & Reilly have a 90's Radio 1 late evening show entitled Out On Blue Six
ReplyDeleteWikipedia Say's
DeleteOut on Blue Six was a weekly hour-long radio show broadcast by BBC Radio One on Monday evenings between 1991 and 1993 presented by Mark Radcliffe.
I mentioned the Radcliff radio show, just before the Ian McDonald novel. But I mentioned a lot of things, so it's easy to miss.
DeleteI read somewhere that "Out On Blue Six" was an anagram for a friend's name. I believe the friend in question is none other than Sue Box Oilnut.
Well, that's a pedigree of sorts you describe.
ReplyDeleteOnce more you caught my curiosity. Thanks again.
and lets be honest, that is exactly what you want from a blog
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