McCarthy

McCarthy were a British indie pop band, formed in Barking, Greater London, England in 1984 by schoolmates Malcolm Eden (voice and guitar) and Tim Gane (lead guitar) with John Williamson (bass guitar) and Gary Baker (drums). Lætitia Sadier later joined the band on vocals for their final studio album. The name McCarthy was a reference to American politician Joe McCarthy, who was known to support anti-communist laws in the United States. The group disbanded in 1990 with Gane and Sadier forming Stereolab, while Eden formed the short-lived Herzfeld. Baker went on to a career in radiography, before going on to work for The Guardian. Williamson went on to work for music publisher BMG and Domino Records.

Links to Peel
Peel seemed to have discovered the band when the group released Celestial City on the C86 compilation album, which he would often play on his shows. Largely ignored by mainstream radio, Peel was enthusiastic about the band along with their left wing views and gave them the opportunity to do 3 sessions for his shows, as well as playing tracks from their singles and albums. After the group disbanded, he continued supporting ex-members new music projects including Stereolab, who would also gain airplay on his shows.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1987 Festive Fifty: Frans Hals #35
 * 1988 Festive Fifty: Should The Bible Be Banned? #38

Sessions
All session tracks available on The Best Of McCarthy: That's All Very Well But... CD, 1996 (Cherry Red, CDMRED 125) & Complete Albums, Singles And BBC Sessions Collection 4xCD Box Set, 2014 (Cherry Red CRCDMBOX15) 1. Recorded: 1986-10-07. Broadcast: 12 November 1986. Repeated: 03 December 1986 2. Recorded: 1987-10-20. Broadcast: 28 October 1987. Repeated: 13 January 1988 3. Recorded: 1988-10-23. Broadcast: 01 November 1988
 * A Child Soon In Chains / Frans Hals / An M.P. Speaks / Anti-Nature
 * Charles Windsor / The Funeral / Should The Bible Be Banned? / This Nelson Rockefeller
 * The Myth Of The North/South Divide / I'm Not A Patriot But? / Keep An Open Mind Or Else / The Lion Will Lie Down With The Lamb

Other Shows Played

 * 1986
 * Peel 036 (BFBS) 29 May or 05 June 1986: 'Celestial City (Compilation cassette-C86)' (New Musical Express)
 * 14 October 1986: Red Sleeping Beauty (7") The Pink Label
 * October 1986 (BBC World Service): From The Damned (12" - Red Sleeping Beauty) Pink Label
 * October 1986 (BBC World Service): In Purgatory (v/a 12" - It Sells Or It Smells) Pink Label
 * 16 December 1986: Red Sleeping Beauty (7") The Pink Label
 * 1987
 * March 1987 (BBC World Service): Frans Hals (7" single) Pink
 * 15 October 1987 (BBC World Service): An MP Speaks (LP I Am A Wallet) September
 * 22 October 1987 (BBC World Service): The Way Of The World (LP I Am A Wallet) September
 * 26 October 1987: 'A Child Soon In Chains (LP-I Am A Wallet)' (September)
 * 03 November 1987: An MP Speaks (LP - I Am A Wallet) September
 * 05 November 1987 (BBC World Service): A Child Soon In Chains (LP - I Am A Wallet) September
 * 13 November 1987 (BFBS): 'The Funeral (LP-I Am A Wallet)' (September)
 * 23 December 1987: 'Frans Hals (7 inch)' (The Pink Label) FF #35
 * 1988
 * 14 March 1988: This Nelson Rockefeller (12") September
 * 08 April 1988 (BFBS): 'This Nelson Rockefeller (12")' (September)
 * 21 December 1988: 'Should The Bible Be Banned (12 inch)' (September) FF #38
 * 1989
 * 13 February 1989: Keep An Open Mind Or Else (7") Midnight Music
 * 22 February 1989: Keep An Open Mind Or Else (7") Midnight Music
 * 06 March 1989: Keep An Open Mind Or Else (7") Midnight Music
 * 10 April 1989: Governing Takes Brains (album - The Enraged Will Inherit The Earth) Midnight Music
 * 18 April 1989: The Home Secretary Briefs The Forces Of Law And Order (album - The Enraged Will Inherit The Earth) Midnight Music
 * 14 June 1989: The New Left Review #2 (12" - At War) Midnight Music
 * 29 July 1989 (BFBS): (JP: 'The latest record from McCarthy is a 12 inch EP called At War, and I suspect that really they seem to have gone off the boil slightly and they're trying to cram too much polemic into the tunes really, and they're singing things which are essentially unsingable: I mean, slogans are not necessarily made to be sung, I think. But nevertheless, this is worth hearing.')  'All Your Questions Answered (12"-At War)' (Midnight Music) (JP: 'If I was managing the band and they wanted my advice, which they almost certainly don't, but I would suggest to them that.....if you're going to write songs that end with words like 'products' and 'economic front,' quite clearly it's going to sound absurd, ultimately, I think, which is a pity because I like what they do.')
 * 1990
 * 13 March 1990: Get A Knife Between Your Teeth (12") Midnight Music
 * 31 March 1990 (BFBS): 'Get A Knife Between Your Teeth (12")' (Midnight Music)
 * 12 April 1990: Write to You M.P. Today (album - Banking, Violence And The Inner Life Today) Midnight Music
 * 12 May 1990 (BFBS): 'The Drinking Song Of The Merchant Bankers (LP-Banking, Violence And The Inner Life Today)' (Midnight Music)
 * 1994
 * 06 May 1994: ‘The Procession Of Popular Capitalism (LP -I Am A Wallet )’ September
 * 14 May 1994 (BFBS): The Procession Of Popular Capitalism (album - I Am A Wallet) September