
The Cigarettes was a British punk rock band from Lincoln, who were active between 1978 and 1981. The band consisted of Adam Palmer (drums), Rob Smith (guitar/vocals/piano) and Steve Taylor (bass/vocals).
Links to Peel[]
In a 2012 interview with Stephen Taylor & Rob Smith on the Psychedelic Baby Magazine website, both members described how they got themselves to do a Peel session: [1]
INTERVIEWER: You received some airplay on the John Peel radio show in the UK and you also did some recordings for it.
STEPHEN: We got offered a prestigious John Peel Session and the first date for the session we couldn’t make so the next time he played the ‘They’re Back Again’ single on his show he said over the air that we had turned down a session because one of us was cleaning our car. This was untrue, but made us appear wittier than we were and slightly arrogant which was no bad thing. Unbelievably as I write this I am at the BBC Maida Vale Studios in London where that session took place. I just popped into Studio 4, which is the studio we recorded in. The studio wasn’t in use. I planned to photograph it but I couldn’t find the light switch. There are a lot of switches and knobs in a recording studio. We recorded 4 songs and mixed them in a day. ‘Valium World’ was one that I remember. It was broadcast more than once and people seemed to like it.
ROB: John Peel played the first single (EP) quite a number of times and we were asked to go and do a gig for his roadshow. At the gig he asked us to come and do one of his sessions, which we did in 1980. We recorded four songs for the session at the BBC Maida Vale studios. ‘Can’t Sleep At Night’, ‘Valium World’, ‘It’s The Only Way to Live (Die)’, ‘Frivolous Disguises’. I remember the day before going down from the Peel session, Stephen’s bass had developed a problem and we had to drive 35 miles to the music shop to get it fixed. While we were waiting for the repair, about 6 inches of snow came down and as we drove home we got into an accident and the car was spinning round. I remember thinking, damn, we’re just about to die just as we’re about to take the first step to being famous. Needless to say we didn’t die, then again we never became really famous.
Sessions[]
The Cigarettes - Peel Session 1980
1. Recorded: 1980-01-15. First Broadcast: 24 January 1980. Repeated: 26 February 1980, 17 July 1980
- Can't Sleep At Night / Frivolous Disguises / It's The Only Way To Live (Die) / Valium World
Other Shows Played[]
- 1979
- 14 July 1979 (BFBS): All We Want Is Your Money (7" - They're Back Again, Here They Come) Company
- 17 July 1979: I've Forgot My Number (Now I'm Telling You My Name) (single – They're Back Again, Here They Come) Company
- 21 July 1979 (BFBS): They're Back Again Here They Come (7") Company
- 23 July 1979: They're Back Again, Here They Come (single) Company
- 26 July 1979: unknown
- 15 August 1979: All We Want Is Your Money (EP – They’re Back Again, Here They Come b-side) Company
- 29 September 1979 (BFBS): They're Back Again Here They Come (7") Company
- 10 November 1979 (BFBS): They're Back Again, Here They Come (7") Company
- 1980
- 20 February 1980: Stay Inside (v/a album - East) Dead Good
- 25 February 1980: Looking At You (LP - East) Dead Good
- 01 March 1980 (BFBS): Stay Inside (v/a album - East) Dead Good
- 12 June 1980: Can't Sleep At Night (7") Dead Good
- 14 July 1980: Can't Sleep at Night (7") Dead Good
- 1981
- 25 January 1981 (BFBS): They're Back Again, Here They Come (7") Company
- 1982
- 30 August 1982: They're Back Again, Here They Come (7") Company
- 1995
- 03 June 1995 (BFBS): 'They're Back Again, Here They Come (7")' (Company) (JP: 'A message unheeded in 1979, as it is today.')