Silverfish – BBC Session Vinyl Release Review
It’s March 1990, and this impressionable 16-year-old boy from a tiny village in South Wales is lucky enough to be alive the same time as one of the best music tv shows ever to exist, appears on his tv set. The now legendary and rightfully revered ‘Snub TV’ is on BBC 2, and amongst a whole host of new and interesting sounds, voices and visuals completely new to this young boy, along comes a live clip of a band called Silverfish. Below is the said clip from that show, and along with the first time I heard Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore and The Fall (another Snub TV moment) for the first time, seeing Silverfish perform ‘Fat Painted Carcass’ live was a pivotal moment for me, and one that sent me on a sonic path that I’ve not really veered from since.
Fat Painted Carcass’ live (Snub TV) March 1990:
Upon purchasing their debut release Silverfish E.P on vinyl featuring tracks ‘Dolly Parton’, ‘On The Motorway’, Weird Shit’ and ‘Don’t Fuck’, I would take a magic marker and copy the Oxford English Dictionary definition of a Silverfish (that they helpfully put on the record sleeve), and draw it on the back of my German Army Surplus Long Sleeve Shirt. My poor mum and dad could only look on in bewilderment.
In 1991 I would go to my first Reading Festival which featured a now legendary lineup. The Friday in particular, which was heavily featured in Dave Markey’s 1992 film ‘1991: The Year Punk Broke’, was partially curated by Sonic Youth and would feature Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Babes in Toyland, and a now legendary performance by a (then) little known band called Nirvana. Now, this writer hadn’t really heard Nirvana yet, so if you look at the poster below, my Friday went like this: put up tent, drink, go see Babes in Toyland and Silverfish, go back to tent (skipping Nirvana and Chapterhouse), drink some more, eat, drink some more, then come back for Dinosaur Jr and the rest. Ok! Ok! I made up for the whole Nirvana thing in Reading 1992, but for this young lad at his first major festival, he had seen his beloved Silverfish in all their noisy finery.
Reading Festival Line-up 1991
Fast forward 35 years to the month (!!!) of that Snub TV performance, and 26th March 2025 saw the release of the first live session Silverfish recorded for John Peel back in 1989. This session, the first of three the band did for Peel throughout their short existence, was recorded by the band on 5th October 1989, and was broadcast on his BBC Radio 1 2nd November 1989. When Peel repeated the session on 5th December 1989, he famously said of the band “If they were from New York, we’d be mad for them of course“. This was in reference to the band existing the same time as the so called ‘Madchester’ music scene where British indie guitar bands who didn’t conform to the style and sound of the scene were perceived to be largely ignored.
Formed in 1988 and releasing their debut album Fat Axl via the Wiiija label in 1990, Silverfish were Scottish powerhouse vocalist Lesley Rankine (vocals), Andrew “Fuzz” Duprey (guitar), Chris P. Mowforth (bass), and Stuart Watson (drums). The band were a phenomenal driving force and were key to the so-called Camden “lurch” scene; Grunge before it was “grunge” basically!
Rankine was a fierce feminist presence and popularised the slogan “Hips, Tits, Lips, Power” from the track ‘Big Bad Baby Pig Squeal’ off their second and final studio LP ‘Organ Fan’. This slogan featured on their classic t-shirt design that a lot slimmer me would wear throughout the late 90s/early 00s.
This Peel session (available in full below on Youtube), would feature a radio-friendly version of ‘Shit Out of Luck (re-titled ‘(Shed) Out of luck’) from their Debut LP ‘Fat Axl’, a version of the afore mentioned live favourite ‘Fat Painted Carcass’ also from ‘Fat Axl’, plus ‘Driller’ which was originally found on the ‘T.F.A.’ EP. This session consisting of just three recordings perfectly captures the chaotic essence of their live shows at that time. Rankine’s visceral lyrics literally spat out at 100mph with Mowforth’s throbbing and frenetic basslines. Add in Watson’s manic drumming with its leftfield time signatures, and to top it off, Duprey’s finger slide action and horrendously noisy distorted guitar, all combined to create the most uplifting and liberating feeling ever.
The complete session recorded by Silverfish on 5 October 1989 for the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 and broadcast on 2 November 1989 is here:
This Peel session perfectly captures the chaotic, loud, original and utterly uncompromising band that Silverfish was. Right from the start, their releases started to cement their reputation as one of the most essential and fearless bands of the era, and this Peel session perfectly encapsulates that point in time.
This feeling of discovering a band, YOUR band doesn’t happen very often. But when it does, you live with it and keep it with you for years and years. I adored Silverfish at the time, and I still bloody do. It’s very unlikely that the band will ever reform, therefore this release keeps the story and mythology of Silverfish that more alive, and yet more essential listening. Buy this record!
Sadly the BBC Radio Sessions Volume 2 is sold-out
Or order Silverfish session vinyl here:
Spanning decades from 1978 to 2000, each session has been remastered at Abbey Road and pressed to its own 12” clear vinyl record. These sessions capture the raw energy and unique spirit of BBC Radio’s Peel Sessions, featuring exclusive recordings from bands on Beggars Banquet, Wiiija & Too Pure.
Silverfish (Wikipedia) | Silverfish (The Quietus interview from 2024)
Review by Ioan Humphreys
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram | Threads | Mailing List