Twang were an indie band from Manchester/Preston, England, signed to Ron Johnson Records. Their first release was a flexi-disc, "What's The Rub" in 1985 distributed with Debris magazine. Debut single proper, "Sharp" was released on the Stet label, and later released by Ron Johnson, reaching number 19 on the UK Indie Chart in 1986. This was followed by "Kick and Complain", which reached number 35. A final 12-inch release, "Snap Back", was issued late in 1987.
The band were bracketed with other indie acts as part of the 'shambling' genre. However the band and similar hard edged label mates Big Flame and The MacKenzies somewhat disliked what they saw as lazy journalism. The band toured nationally with Age of Chance and That Petrol Emotion and performed at a packed Hacienda at an AIDS benefit along with The Woodentops and Everything But The Girl. Latterly Albert Walton replaced Penrose on drums. The band split up in 1988.
Links to Peel[]
Peel discovered the band when they released their track, What's The Rub, on a flex-disc, which they shared with Laugh. He played both sides of the flexi-disc on his 03 December 1985 show. Despite the group releasing four singles and no albums, the band did three sessions for his shows, two in 1986 and the final one in 1988, the year when they split up.
Sessions[]
Twang! - John Peel Session -1 2nd February 1986
1. Recorded: 1986-02-02. First Broadcast: 12 February 1986. Repeated: 05 March 1986
- Big Dry Out / Eight At A Time / Lawsuit Man / Cold Tongue Bulletin
2. Recorded: 1986-09-07. First Broadcast: 17 September 1986. Repeated: 06 October 1986, 29 December 1986
- Every Home Should Have One / This Is Intrusion / What's The Rap? / Here's Lukewarm
3. Recorded: 1988-01-24. First Broadcast: 03 February 1988. Repeated: 02 March 1988
- Work The Word / Snapback / Yo Ho Delic
Other Shows Played[]
- 1985
- 03 December 1985: What's The Rub? (7" Flexi-disc - Split Flexi) Lyntone Recordings Ltd.
- 11 January 1986 (BFBS): 'What's The Rub? (7" flexi-disc)' (Debris Magazine) (JP: 'From here, it looks as though 1986 might be alright, musically at least.')
- 13 January 1986 (BBC World Service): What's The Rub? (shared 7" flexi-disc with Laugh - What's The Rub / Take Your Time Yeah!) Debris
- 11 November 1986: Sharp (7") Ron Johnson
- 18 November 1986: Sharp (7") Ron Johnson
- 21 November 1986 (BFBS): 'Sharp (7")' (Ron Johnson)
- November 1986 (Radio Bremen): Sharp (7") Ron Johnson
- 01 December 1986: Sharp (7") Ron Johnson
- 07 December 1986 (BFBS): Sharp (7") Ron Johnson
- 1987
- 12 January 1987: Sharp (7") Ron Johnson
- 24 March 1987: Cut Candidate (12" - Kick And Complain) Ron Johnson
- 06 April 1987: Cold Tongue Bulletin (12" - Kick And Complain) Ron Johnson
- 15 April 1987: Every Home Should Have One (12" - Kick And Complain) Ron Johnson
- 12 May 1987: Sharp (7") Ron Johnson
- 29 May 1987 (BFBS): Cut Candidate (12" - Kick And Complain) Ron Johnson
- 01 June 1987: Cut Candidate (12" - Kick And Complain) Ron Johnson
- 20 July 1987: Every Home Should Have One (12" - Kick And Complain) Ron Johnson
- 28 September 1987: This Is Intrusion (v/a LP - Head Over Ears (A Debris Compilation)) Play Hard
- 14 October 1987: This Is Intrusion (v/a LP - Head Over Ears - A Debris Compilation) Play Hard
- 21 October 1987: This Is Intrusion (v/a LP - Head Over Ears (A Debris Compilation)) Play Hard
- 1988
- 02 February 1988: Snap Back (7") Ron Johnson
- 13 February 1988 (Radio Bremen): Snap Back (12") Ron Johnson
- 14 February 1988 (BFBS): Snap Back (7") Ron Johnson