New Age Steppers Peel session broadcast on On The Wire

[Ras Berry]

Steve played all four session tracks on last night's OTW, in the best sound quality you're ever likely to find (unless someone goes back to summer 1983 in their time machine)

Here (and hear) on Mixcloud - action starts at 2:19:50, though you'll want to listen to the entire show, of course!

[Ras Berry]

Although, is it me, or did he only play three tracks and miss out The Riddle?

[swamp]

3 trax is all i hav on this peel session: not a nobody, send my love, the riddle (as reced live by itsonu)

"send my love" released as "send for me" on "avant gardening", can't seem to find any releases fer other 2 trax?

i'm a bit confused cos "the riddle" which is 3rd trak on session is played 1st in OTW (ahh... jus read that ras reckons (correctly) "the riddle" ain't on there even tho barker announces 4 trax. looks like he went for a brew while they were on, hehe)

OTW blog has 4 entries, but only 3 trax named:

New Age Steppers - John Peel Session Pt. 1 1983 (New Age Steppers Peel Session)
New Age Steppers - Not A Nobody (New Age Steppers Peel Session)
New Age Steppers - The Riddle (Maybe Socca Dub version) (New Age Steppers Peel Session)
New Age Steppers - Send For Me (New Age Steppers Peel Session)

so, on OTW itz: 1. unknown, 2. not a nobody, 3. send for me

[Ras Berry]

Confusion abounds with this session for some reason!

Send For Me is the correct title for the song - as in what Ari sings and as per the Atlantic Starr original. At some point in the last 38 years someone called it Send My Love and that seems to keep coming around

John Peel Session Pt.1 1983 is the actual title of the track - it's not just been listed as that cos no one knows the real title - that is it!

The Riddle is just a remixed version of the tune Socca that Bim sang on the Singers & Players Staggering Heights album. I think a lot of the confusion as to whether it's a vocal or a dub arises from the fact that the 'dub' version on One Way System is also called Socca


Further confusion also seems to stem from the fact that Peel played the session three times in 1983. Don't quote me cos I'm a little hazy here, but the first time was in August, then again in September and then again in some kind of end-of-year round up, around about Christmas time - but on that last occasion he only played three of the four tracks. I think all the off-air recording of the session that were previously about are taken from the Christmas broadcast, as they only ever have three tracks, and whether Peel mixed the titles up, or someone wrote them down incorrectly, I don't know, but all the ones I've seen/heard list the track The Riddle but actually play John Peel Session Pt.1 1983


Hope that reads at least semi-coherently!?

[Jethro]

I forwarded these on to Steve, they came from Alien Levi Lee, recovered from 1/4" reels. They roughly match the tracks as broadcast. I think we also have the version of Socca that is the one called The Riddle (but as Ras says that's not the one as in the 3 track session tape that goes around), at least it's a version with Bim singing about riddles, but because we don't have any copy of the off-air broadcast, we can't compare to be sure it's the same version. So there's still a bit mystery about this.

[Jethro]

Oh I did send Steve another version of Socca Dub, kinda by mistake (I knew it wasn't the session version), did he also play that? Anyway I've not listened yet.