But of the book itself, it is excellent. Not something that can be recommended to the casual reader. You had to be there at the time (or be an extremely keen student of British popular music.) I was a teenager when I sent off for the C86 tape and instantly fell in love with all the diverse groups, spent every penny I had on the records. So, personally speaking, I couldn’t wish for a more comprehensive and authoritative account than this. There’s not much left out. Indie music and festivals - C86 review of c86 week". Indie-mp3.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08 . Retrieved 2015-06-11. In 1986, along with many other dedicated NME readers, I sent off for their latest cassette compilation. I had them all. Every one. Didn't matter what the genre, I was all in. This one, C86, went on to define an era and probably marks the moment "indie" music was born. The independent chart had been going for some time but indie the genre ultimately became synonymous with white guitar pop. Various Artists (26) - C86". BBC Music. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-05-13 . Retrieved 2016-07-04.

Following the success of the three-disc compilation, ‘ The Sun Shines Here’ (which documented the roots of Indie Pop from 1980-84), the prequel to C86, C85 combines “name” bands with many obscurities making their debut on CD. Several acts on C85 would eventually feature on that NME’s C86 collection: Primal Scream, The Wedding Present, the Mighty Lemon Drops, etc, who all had singles released in 1985.I’m guessing the book had a fairly niche audience but I found it hugely enjoyable and also it led me to explore some of the bands that I didn’t know so well, with the help of Spotify. Therefore, the book remains a real treat for indie music fans, whether you lived through the 80s and wanted to revisit it, just for a little while, or you’re from a younger generation and want to read about how it all began. That is why there is still an appetite for documentaries about Factory Records, for example. So, despite the increasing challenges for musicians across the country, it is lovely to see the legacy – and enduring appetite – for early indie music is still going strong, and it is books like this that help keeps that spirit alive. To conclude… I published my previous book (Document & Eyewitness: An Intimate History of Rough Trade ) through a mainstream publishing house, but I’ m going to try to crowdfund C86 & All That , as the new book is called, taking the independent ethic to its logical conclusion. I’ll keep everyone posted as to when that happens.

Ex- NME writer Andrew Collins summed up C86 by dubbing it "the most indie thing to have ever existed". [16] Bob Stanley, a Melody Maker journalist in the late 1980s and founding member of pop band Saint Etienne, similarly said in a 2006 interview that C86 represented: Hitting play on a piece of music is an act of magic. The noise may be entering your own space and filling up your ears, but in fact it’s the other way around; it drags you, willing or otherwise, to a world usually much more interesting than your own. Over a quarter-of-a-century on, pressing play on the C86 mixtape still has that transporting impact – it opens up a portal to a different world. Reynolds, Simon Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 (Faber and Faber, 2005) ISBN 0-571-21569-6 Gourlay, Dom (2014-06-13). "Album Review: Various - C86: Deluxe Edition / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06 . Retrieved 2015-06-11. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.