John Peel Wiki

Changes to the look of John Peel Wiki will take place in the near future due to a new skin being rolled out over Oct/Nov across Wikia. Please see the Wikia Staff Blog for further details. On this site, the changes will affect the navigation from the left menu, as well as introduce a fixed page width with narrower content space. Please be patient while adjustments are made for the switch to the new system.

UPDATE: As the change is now in force for some users, I have switched the navigation to the simplified one for the new system. Please check Navigation in the Help section if you can't find things. I also initially made small adjustments to the front page layout, but have now reverted to the old look until all users are on the new system.

COUNTDOWN: Just a reminder for people still using Monaco that the final switch to the new skin is due on Nov. 3. After that, it will no longer be offered as an option. Sorry. Nothing to do with me.

Steve W

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John Peel Wiki

The Tinklers are a duo from Baltimore, Charles Brohawn and Chris Mason. They have been active since 1979, inspired by seeing Half Japanese in concert. Their sound has been described as "not a rock sound at all: it's a type of non-sound: originally Erector Set instruments would be pulled across the floor or shaken for noises to add accompaniment to a capella renditions of their songs. The personae of little kids, playing with rubber band guitars and shoehorn marimbas. Shyly, they played under the tables. This wasn't a pretension: Charles loathes live performances. They would use complicated charts as a mode of composition and as illustrations, attempting to explain the whole universe by dividing it into scary and not-scary things. Personal development would be diagrammed as the nexusses of mom, dad, school, tv." [1]

While The Tinklers have not disbanded, since 1993 the band has released only one full-length album, Slowpoke, and made a few other compilation appearances. Live performances are infrequent.

Links to Peel[]

Peel gave heavy airplay to the band's LP Casserole and was also impressed by Slowpoke: however, it appears this interest faded in the 2000s (due no doubt to lack of new material). On his very first play of the band, John said:

What does the powerful Shimmy Disc promotion department have to say about the Tinklers? It says: "We asked Jad Fair, who was the best unsigned band in America? and he said the Tinklers. That was good enough for us, so it ought to be good enough for you. These two misfits make music that cannot be categorised. Prepare yourself for the strangest fifty minutes you'll ever spend in front of a stereo." A rather extreme claim, that, but there are 33 tracks on the LP, which is called Casserole, and that was one of them, of course....I shall play you more.

Festive Fifty Entries[]

  • None
    John_Peel's_The_Tinklers_-_Turn_The_Screw_On_The_Crank

Sessions[]

  • None

Other Shows Played[]

  • 04 April 1990: Turn The Screw On The Crank (album - Casserole) Shimmy Disc
  • 05 April 1990: Juvenile Delinquency (album - Casserole) Shimmy Disc
  • 12 April 1990: Ghost Dance Song (album - Casserole) Shimmy Disc
  • 02 May 1990: 'Don't Put Your Finger In The Fan (LP-Casserole)' (Shimmy Disc)
  • 14 May 1990: Simple Song Of Simple Faith (album - Casserole) Shimmy Disc
  • 19 May 1990 (BFBS): 'Turn The Screw On The Crank (LP-Casserole)' (Shimmy Disc)
  • 21 May 1990: 'Magazine (LP-Casserole)' (Shimmy Disc)
  • 23 May 1990: Tree Song (LP - Casserole) Shimmy Disc
  • 26 May 1990 (BFBS): Simple Song Of Simple Faith (album - Casserole) Shimmy Disc

External Links[]