The Panda Keepers

03 Oct 2012
Catchy Debut Cassette Cover

In the Spring of 93, I wasn't the only person putting my poetry to music. Glen (ex Headbirths, ex Octoberine) sent me a tape of a whole album of songs of my poems that he had recorded to music, (He'd named the band on the tape as'The Panda Keepers' and the album 'Catchy Debut' - the track above is taken from this 'Lips Undressing Smiles')

I was pretty much living part-time in Nottingham now, I had a girlfriend there, and only really came back to sign on in Manchester and go to the 'Band on the Wall' new material comedy night with Dave on a Sunday evening.

John and Will had moved down to London, leaving Glen sharing Alfreton Road with Will's ex-girlfriend Caroline (who had her own band 'Halo' with Dave from The Headbirths, you're following all this right ?) , and they were looking for someone else to move in.

I figured Glen had been in a band with just about every combination of musicians amongst our mutual aquaintances, but was still a little taken aback to be asked if I'd like to play bass on some new songs he was working on.

This kind of suited me because I was pretty much at a loose end during the daytime whilst my girlfriend was at college and as we've probably already established slighly in awe of Glen's creativity and liked hanging around 220 Alfreton road. so we whiled away afternoons recording onto a 2-track Karaoke machine, drinking tea and endlessly mixing down two tracks into one to overlay another track, hence all the hiss on these recordings.

NB: Here is Glen's version of Darling Harbour Planetarium

All the Songs