Hi I am trying to find a song i heard on john peel a long time ago by you which i believe was called losing you. I also remember him talking about record companies and how they shafted people possibly you. Hope things are good for you now. If you know the song i would be so grateful if you could let me know how i could hear it again ta
Don't know if this is allowed here but i have unplayed copies of both 'Torn Open' & 'Happy Together' scheduled to be listed on ebay from January 1st, just search for them after 8pm GMT or search for seller 'potfp23'.
Sorry if this is not allowed - but their records come up for sale rarely
Just found your site, and 5 mins of listening brought it all back... At school in the mid-80's, used to tape Radio 1 onto a cassette recorder, and remember playing Open Eyes & Television Satellite to death. Innocent days... John Peel was right about you, I think your synth pop is the equal of anything done by Thompson Twins, Erasure, early Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Howard Jones etc - but more uplifting. So just bought your CD's on the site. Glad I found you again, and make some more music! Paul
So Happy I could die! I was just listening to this Lady Gaga track and i really reminded me of you guys- maybe she's heard your stuff? Anyway, brilliant, a real trip down memory lane, so evocative and uplifting. Glad I found your website! BTW, what do you both do these days? Wonderful stuff! John
Hello Everybody! I m from Buenos Aires-Argentina. I discovered S&PJ;in 1986 with the FM Station "Laser 102", they used to play all European records, mostly from England. And "Happy Together" was one of those Hits on that radio, cause they played it several times a day. I miss all that kind of music, hope some day could return. I have my own collection of all that rare music, so there s always present in my life. All the Best Sophie and Peter !! Francisco
I've just spent a good hour googling Bob and Sylvia Johnson, looking for evidence of a spectacularly good synth pop duo from the 1980s. I've found you, Sophie and Peter. Memory's gone.
I never ever do this sort of thing but I just wanted to say you were too good to be forgotten, and that playing pop in an era of shoegazers was kind of mad but brilliant. I hope you are both doing OK and still at it.
Steve
HI,
I first heard you guys on John Peel (rip) many moons ago. And finding your site has been great so many brilliant songs and memories come flooding back.
Thanks for such great songs....
Thanks for getting the CD out to me so quickly : sat in the sun here on the Isle of Man, and loving it ! Best wishes : Arron
Hi to Soph my long lost friend! So sorry it has taken me so long to get in contact again. Would love to hear from you, Jo Martin from Kiwiland
Just popped in to say hi from Norway. I've just recently discovered your music, especially with the song "Television Satelite" which I think is an awesome tune, growing each time I hear it.
Hi Sophie and Pete
Really glad I found your website!
I bought your original album some years ago and I played it to death, fantastic songs!
I just ordered your new one and downloaded it off i tunes, it's great, really great!
I just love candlelight, it's such a lovely song and the arrangement and Sophie's lovely voice bought tears to my eyes and helped me to cry and grieve for the first time since losing my father a while back.
I want you to know how much it means to me and how special and talented you both are.
Thank you so very much x
so glad i found this site.
this was an album i played to death in the 80s.
i've been posting youtube links onto facebook this last few year for folk who havnt heard your delightful tunes.....rock on fellow geordies.
. . . . and . . take that jerkin off!
Only just come across this site, after talking about 80's music. I did work experience at a radio station back in that decade and was given a few 7" singles as a thanks, and one was Television Satellite. I have to confess that I played it to death on my record player at home and loved every minute of it. In fact, I've still got it - in mint condition!
Have just found it again via this site, so have listed it on my facebook - I really think this deserves a crack at christmas number one - much much better than Take That ha ha!
Great to visit the site, gotta go and listen to it again now - brilliant!
Wow...I searched for you guys on the web a few years ago and found nothing! I can still remember hearing the first track of your first session on the John Peel show in my room at college and having hairs on my neck stand up! Welcome back! :o)
Looks like we've all been hassling Cherry Red!!,one day maybe. All the 12" as bonus tracks ........ sounds good to me
Hi Pete,
Hoping this finds the clan fit and well ,love the new look of your site ,
Speak soon Mick.
Hi Pete, Sophie, don't know why I suddenly thought of you again but found the site straight away. Nicky Brown put me onto your music "way back then" He was playing my music around the same time. You did a remix of one of my songs, "Suspision". Do you by any chance still have a copy. I have lost mine along the way. Nothing came of it. I don't have to tell you how difficult it was then to break down the barriers around the North East. Regardless of which side you were pushing from.
Take care
Hi! I found the videos and then your website through YouTube. Great to hear your music again. I would love to get back in touch with Sophie and have a damn good catch up! It's been a while since we were at college together in the late 80's ;-) So, Sophie, if you're reading this, find me on Facebook, Maddi Thurston XXX
I've just discovered your wonderful music on you-tube - been playing 'television Satellite' constantly for the last week. Thank you...
Just received my copy of 'Best Of' and swept back instantly to evenings of taping stuff off the John Peel show. I no longer have those tapes, but do have the gatefold single of Happy Together. Unfortunately I no longer own a vinyl player.
Every couple of years I've checked the Internet, searched on eBay etc to see if any of your other material has shown up, but with no joy. And then out of the blue I found this site. I obviously wasn't as diligent as I thought. Good old Web: here's hoping you get a new audience for your songs old and new. (I'll play Best Of to death for a couple of weeks, then I'll be sending for some of your new material too.)
Thanks again.
TonyS
Great to come across this website. I still love 'Losing You' as much as the first time I heard it and it brings back so many good memories. Looking forward to catching up on some of your more recent output.
Ta for the info Pete- I actually wrote to Cherry Red a while back asking them to give your back catalogue some attention, so here's hoping!
BTW had the 2 CD's that I ordered this morning (nice and quick and in good condition- Thanks).
Cheers, Darren.
Thanks Darren and to everybody else who has posted their kind comments in the guestbook over recent times :-) It's wonderful to hear from you all.
I'm unclear as to what the position is with Warners Music regarding the debut album Darren. As far as I know they own the rights and I don't think they have any plans to re-release it. I was approached by Cherry Red Records a while back who said they were interested in trying to get permission or whatever from Warners to re-package & re-release it but I've not heard anything more since.
Thanks again to all,
All the best,
Pete
Been a fan of you two since buying the double 7" of "Happy Together" in 1986- £1.25 HMV Swansea!
Peter, is there any chance of re-releasing the debut album from that time or is everything tied up in red tape with WEA??
BTW, I ordered the Best of and the latest album online last night- Great stuff, indeed the latest record is as good as anything you've done imo- Congratulations, its criminal that people like La Roux are milking off success by using retro '80's posturing/synth sounds (but without any tunes I might add) when you two are still producing something thats in a different league....Chalk and cheese to be frank...
Best Regards, Darren.
Best Wishes to everyone concerned, Darren.
CD arrived safely, cheers. Not heard "Rain" since I left my cassette of the John Peel sessions in a trunk in a flat in Marchmont Crescent in Edinburgh in 1986. As good as I remember! mark
Was sorting out my iphone (like you do!) and found Torn Open (not for the first time in the past 22 years) - digitised it from the gorgeous 12". Made my Sunday morning (again). Reminded me of Maureen McLaughlin (who said she went to school with Sophie but that might have been stretching it, don't know!) Hope you keep singing / playing from time to time. Thanks again
Like many of the people in your Guest-book, I grew up listening intently to John Peel - as often as I could. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that he was probably the biggest influence on my musical tastes as I sulked my way through adolescence. I vividly remember listening to the S&PJ sessions, and was just blown away - unusual as my tastes were more towards the punky end of the spectrum. Me and another guy in the 6th form were keen fans, and I freely admit to taping your stuff off JP's show - the finger hovering above the play and record buttons most evenings! Thanks for the great music - so evocative of the early-mid eighties, it leaves me misty eyed, and cursing my mid-life crisis. Hx
So, when are you guys gonna sue the heck out of La Roux; they stole your music guys!!!!
It's so lovely to find your site after all these years. I remember hearing "Rain" and "Television Satellite" on the John Peel show, so long ago. I'll be visiting your shop to order some goodies at last! Thank you both for the wonderful music that you've produced.
C x
Many many years ago with "Television Satellite", you make me dream far away. Now, I discover your site...amazing, It is very pleasant for me, I wish you all the best in the world!!
gianfranco,there is a CD available with Happy Together on,its the Japanese Import of the debut album it also includes a new track 'Dreams'.
http://eil.com/shop/ExtSearch.asp?DiscArtist=Sophie-_-Peter-Johnston
If you look at what they've had previously in stock there is also a 3" Japanese CD single 'Dreams' that includes Happy Together.
Wow. Have had Open Eyes in my head since '83 and that was the last I'd heard until today (March '09). 26 years later. You two should be immensely proud of what you achieved all those years ago. Great stuff!
Hi - is there a CD of Happy Together available - was surprised it does not feature on your "Best Of" !
Just found your website! Brilliant! I had a tape of a number of your songs from many, many years ago which I taped from the radio (John Peel sessions? - which has since gone missing!). All the songs were fantastic and I never understood what happened to you and why you never made it 'big'. Anyway, I've never been able to forget 'Open Eyes' and I've been searching for a CD with it on ever since and I've now found one! Thank you!
Hi Pete, Its been a while, just wanted to wish you and the family all the best for 2009 ,And i look forward to new tunes this year Bye for now Mick.
Hi Pete & Sophie,
festive greetings to you both & all the best for 2009 etc.!
Just wanted to thank you for your wonderful CD (Best of 83-87)*
which arrived just in the nick of time, Xmas Eve afternoon (pppheew!),
as it was a prezzie for the Missus** ( who's as great a fan of you as I).
How wonderful to actually POSSESS the real thing after all these years (cf.last post).
I noticed that 'Television Satellite' isn't the JP version (though ,of course, only detectable
by the initiated) , I suppose it's the 'official' release then.Are all the other tracks what I
missed on that fateful day in Spain, all those years ago then?(I blame it on the heat!)
In return ,though I admit it's a rather pitiful contribution in comparison, for all those
years (& years) of unmittigated joy you've brought me (& anyone lucky to be within hearing range)
I'd like to send you my own CD (25 years in the making!) though I can't guarantee it'll
have the same effect, if you'd be so kind (or foolish ) to e-mail a postal address I can send it to.
Kindest regards from soggy Provence
Pablo
* All relevant info on CDDB.......'bout time too!
** I ALWAYS offer my dearest CDs I like myself,it saves shelf space!
Hope your Christmas and new year goes well,lets hope 2009 is the year i see you 'live'.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to S&PJ. Hope we hear more from you in 2009.
All the best.
Mark
I was recently listening to some old cassette recordings I made back in the 80's of the John Peel show and remember with great fondness all the great music that was about at the time (amoungst all the crap!) ,I remember listening to your sessions at the time and had forgotten how brilliant you were,I jumped on the internet and have discovered this site, I have recently purchased one of your cd's and have been blown away,it's fantastic,it is played constantly!.It was so different to the stuff I was listening to at the time(as a young art student in Leeds),the Cocteau twins,Orange Juice,Josef K and the Wild Swans,but your music was so infectious and up beat, I look forward to purchasing more very soon and hopefully more info regarding gigs and cd's ,I wish you both well and lots of love.
Hi Pete and for the first time Sophie,
I have just discovered (via this website) and purchased your latest recording on iTunes. My day has been transformed. Your music is as fresh, vibrant and life enhancing as the first time I heard the legendary Peel session (many years ago). Watching the performances on this website, particularly Candlelight, was a joy. As a young at heart 44 year old who loves his music, I have had plenty of time to build an extensive music library with a very eclectic artist mix. In terms of the positive energy given off by your music, my S&PJ collection (on tape, vinyl, CD and now MP3), sits right at the top. I now think it's time to introduce my 11 year old music mad daughter to the wonder that is Sophie and Peter Johnston. Please, please don't stop.
The very best to the both of you,
Dave
Sophie/Peter. Sooooooooo glad Ive found you again. I never had anything other than Peel session recordings of you & they'd got worn being played for the last 20 years in my car. Peely was so right. At the time I was into Killing Joke, Sisters of Mercy, X-mal Deutschland and the Cocteau Twins so there wasnt a lot of common ground but I just couldnt help myself with your material. You just cant help loving your style. So many goods tunes & songs. Brilliant to have found you again. Andy
It's been a while since I've tuned in and I'm pleasantly suprised to see you and Sophie have not only re-united, but have some new material out!
I was only recently listining to a promo version of 'Sold On you'which was sent to me by your former record company all those years ago, by the way I think they where right it was a better mix than the eventual release. I be in touch over purchasing the new stuff as soon as the finances allow, great to have you back!
Hi Pete and Sophie
Further to my e-mail I got the discs in the post today - absolutely fantastic, your old stuff is dream to hear again, in fact if it's possible to love it more than I did in my 80's student days I do, and the new album is superb. Can't wait for your live gigs.
All the best
Paul
ps. Spammers to this site posting offensive dross get a life ! - Pete, get them barred it's a disgrace to a long overdue site to celebrate your music.
you are the missin' link between Kirsty Macoll and Kraftwerk :-) , Please don't stop making more music. Thank you.
My bro just sent me a link to this little corner of the Internet.
What a treat! Your stuff always made me feel great! Thanks for the past,
and now I realise there is a present, too!
You should see the smile on my face. :o)
Hello Pete & Sophie,
apologies for the length of this post but 26 years is a LONG time!
I don't know what made me google your names the other day but........
(actually I've been trawling the internet looking for any scrap of info
since 1997 & gave up about 2001) ........Wow! I'm still in a state of shock
......it's like encountering the shining entities of some ethereal world!
I, like (surely) thousands of other Peel listeners have literally never
been the same since the (now so far off) days of those 2 magical sessions.
Five songs that instantly crystalized into our innermost selves & have never lost
their initial lustre.Diamonds are for ever as they say (now THERE's a song!).
As a fellow bedroom-recording artiste (though I did one album in the kitchen & even one in a derelict vodka factory!),
I've always stood in gob-smacked admiration of the technical meticulousness of those tracks.In fact it (still) represents
an absolute ideal of the kind of music I've always wanted to make.At the time I was struggling (valiantly) with a TEAC
2-track cassette recorder,a Dr.Rythmn & an infamous mono synth that came (& went) in kit form (I'm SURE Half Man
Half Biscuit had one!) foolishly trying to imitate the likes of Arthur Baker & Scritti Politti!.
Amongst my fondest memories of those days was lying sprawled on the floor over a sheet of 4 to a box graph paper,
counting attentively the bars flashing by on the Dr.Rythmn with intense concentration, waiting to change the drum pattern at
the required moment with one hand whilst the other skillfully tweaked the depth control on the reverb at each snare beat trying
desperately to instill some kind of dynamic ,all in the (usually) forlorn hope that it would still be audible after the 5th bounce of the tape.
Today's youngsters ,they don't know what they've missed!
Needless to say the cassettes of your JP sessions ( & all subsequent repeats thereof)
were guarded jealously & with infinite care & at length became an essential & integral part
of my vademecum whist travelling through the world (& time!) in the patient hope there would
be something as tangible as an LP to cherrish shortly.
As a prime example of the cruelty of fate & a true-life confession, I shall NEVER forget
the day I stood in a record shop in Seville (some 20 years ago now, amigos)
holding in MY OWN ****ING HANDS !!! your Ist album.A soul-wrenching devilish dilema now
ensued.......I didn't have enough cash to buy this AND a certain (but damned excellent) LP
by the world famous* Gallician bagpipe rappers , 'Os Resentidos'
*They ought have been at least,I sent Peelie the bloody record!
If life is about living with the choices you make,the moral of this story is NEVER enter a record shop
without 'at least' TWICE as much money as you can afford to spend !!!
I am overjoyed to hear you are still making great music & didn't become estate agents or Jehovah's witnesses.
I will (at last!) buy ALL your records when I get back from my hols.A PROMISE!
P.S.
Listening to the downloads (thanks) on my mp3 yesterday in the sweltering heat (100+F°) of Provence
(where, for my hideous sins I now live ),I still got that chill down my spine from the sublime sound of
Sophie's harmonies & Pete's sparkly synths
...if that's not proof of quality in music ,what is ?
As someone once said,you've made an old man very happy( for a long time now!).
(Yeeks! I've just realized I'm now even older than JP when he said that!)
All the best
Pablo
Hi guys! Torn Open is one of the most spiritually uplifting song ever, well, melody-wise at least. I even played it during my wedding banquet! Good to see you're back and I will be sending in the order for the new releases. Please stay a little while longer before disappearing again. ha ha.. Cheers, Simon (Hong Kong)
Tremendous! Played your LP until it nearly wore out then managed through modern technology to MP3 it onto my computer, please keep making music. Listening to it again in Bangkok you have made a 46 year old man feel 20 again and now making my kids listen to it. Is this the sort of thing you envisage as feedback when composing?
Hello,,im new here,,i just wanna say hello to all.
Nice one, thanks, top, sorted etc etc!
Wow, i've never heard auntie sophie sing before you are really good and i've just showed a friend one of your video's and she thought it was great!
Oh yeah and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE SOPHIE!! x x x x x love you lots xx
Well, bloody hell.
There I was, a student at Durham, in the early 1980s, with cheapo walkman playing S&P Johnson (often) that I'd taped from John Peel...who were they? what did they look like? when was the LP out? Sadly, no way of ever knowing. No clue as to why they disappeared without trace. They were the most mysterious band on the most obscure radio station back then. Oh well. Tape long gone, but not forgotten.
So, fast forward 25 years and for some very unknown reason I decided to Google them today. And there, at the click of a button, Open Eyes and Paradise bring my room a touch of sparkle! Better quality than I've ever heard them before, and finally I get to know a little more about them, see what they looked like even (Sophie your haircut was just like mine!!)
I must admit to having little interest in hearing any new stuff - the astonishing trip down memory lane is quite enough for me! Thanks a zillion, you've made an old man very happy.
Hi Pete & Sophie,
As always hope the clan r fit n well nice to see a new pic on the photos section ,
How,s the guitar stuff going ? OK i imagine .Im still working on lots of stuff and also seeking out new /old outboard which i would like to use on the final mixes whenever that might be ,So it was a surprise when i read you had used an eventide H910(your name came up when i did a search) this is one of the pieces of gear im about to purchase also an ams rmx 16 and the dmx 15/80s delay ,so anyway i then headed straight back to S&P to read this list once again ,god you must have been 10 times as bogged down with cables as i am LOL and i noticed you used the roland sde 3000 ,I used one in 83 at spectro always thought it was great you had some cool gear thats for sure by the way i was outbid on two ppg,s so that was a bummer but they do surface more these days so i might be lucky next time ,any way enough ramblings about nowt as i said hope this find,s you all fit n well and writing and recording bye for now Mick.
Hi
First heard you on the JP session and loved the tracks been looking now and again ever since with no luck. Just found the new tracks on I tunes fantastic!!! My favourite track is still Open Eyes, great voice, great synth sounds. I probably qualify as your oldest fan at 43 but as a failed synth player I just love what you do. Cheers
After a spring clean and finding a box of tapes I've just found the cassette tape of the first album, starts with "Television Satellite" and played it. I first heard it on the John Peel show back in the 1980's. Its still brilliant. As someone else noted, crisp uplifting synth pop. Thanks I loved it then and I love it twenty odd years later. Best wishes to you both.
Hello, just want to say hello :) qpwoencheydebey
Hello Fellows, I have 37 years old and still i like me your song Happy Together, is a beautiful theme of love, thank you for writed it for everybody person in this world, i was study a secundary when a heart it for first time and today, i saw your video for first time too. I wondered if they could send me this song (happy together) to my email manuelfelipepalma@hotmail.com? Thank you for all, bye...
I never ever expected to hear from Sophie&Peter Johnson again,so it was a great surprise to come across their web site and also discover they have a new album. I quickly bought it and it is very good with great songs and the very unique vocal style from Sophie. Thanks again for the music.
Hello friends, I wish I had come here earlier as the forums are well organized and I look forward
to gaining further knowledge and sharing my experiences. Ive been reading the posts and learning
quite a bit from the members.
I had a look at the recent NARC review. Not the most sophisticated critique I have ever read- a bit Kevin and Perry in fact. In my view, if they get reviews like that then they must be doing something right.
This highlights the point that great art is likely to generate extreme response. In the case of S&PJ, this is exemplified by the opinions of John Peel and their fan base on one hand and on the other the views of the NARC reviewer and some music industry execs (see S&PJ track Brain Def).
Perhaps the reviewer will re-discover his sense of cosmic wonder and come to the view that the last S&PJ album was a great piece of work. But then again maybe not- so it goes.
Speaking as an Edinburgh man myself, I think that NARC could do itself and the North East music scene a great service by recognising that S&PJ are one of the greatest undiscovered talents in UK pop music, and by getting behind them. I suggest that they should offer some more enlightened coverage.
I really happy to find your web. I was teenager when I heard your first album. I still love your music, especially torn open. Now I make radio programs in japan. Please come to here for promotion when you release music!!!(sorry for poor english)
I was watching Control, the film about Joy Division, which made reference to the critical panning they got in the music paper Sounds. The offending journo ended up being a New Order fan!
I approached the new S&PJ album with trepidation (could they still cut it?). I'm pleased to say that the album is among the best of the last few years- truely outstanding tracks. I am a man of taste (if not wealth) and know genius when I hear it (John Peel spotted it straight away). S&PJ are not obviously or self-consciously avant-garde, but the quality of their music may be too challenging for some listeners. However that doesn't stop them being the best of their genre.
So glad to have found your music again. Remember hearing the Peel sessions and falling in love with "Open Eyes". Managed to get hold of the "Torn Open" 12" and the LP, but the rest has remained in memory. Until now. Have just ordered the retrospective CD. Can't F**ing wait!
Best wishes
Phil.
Hi David and thanks for your message. I guess you're probably referring to the 'Carols on Guitar' CD I did which contained my guitar interpretations of some well & other not so well known Xmas Carols. No actually I haven't written any music specifically for the Easter period (as yet anyway).
Sophie & I were brought up as Catholics & although I long ago stopped practising myself, I still have an affinity with & for religious/church music.
Cheers,
Pete
Hi Friends,
i am new here and i am from Canada. i love cricket and i am a big fan. Nice
to meet you all guys and hoping to learn more from this forum.
Cheers
hi Pete,
i recently heard some music that you wrote for the Christmas season. Have you ever written music for Easter or Passiontide?
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sorry that last post i didn't 'declare'!!!,the Human League rant was mine!!
Dare & Unlimited Orchestra Love & Dancing have been remastered and released as a 'book' type affair or seperately. Love & Dancing was one of those remix albums that came around that time to boost sales,a very similar one was for Imagination (remember them?,Music & Lights/Just An Illusion),i saw them on the Dare Tour 2007 and it was amazing playing the whole album through as it appears on the album,then a break and the rest of the brilliant back catalogue they own. It must be a great feeling knowing that you've made something that will go down in history as something people loved,like your self titled debut album that keep bringing new fans to this site (like me last year) who thought they were the only people in the UK who had heard of you,so it must make you very proud to know that you've made a piece of 'art' that will be with people forever like the Human League did for you with Dare.
Hi Pete, Thanks for that it's always interesting to get your slant on things , Dare would certainly be a great tape to borrow for a while ,I once read a page on a Human League search that detailed each track from the album and how they were put together ,I also read the demos were terrible until Martin Rushent was approached to produce ,possibly just an urban myth but i would love to have a listen to the originals .I also wouldn't mind a few Lalo Schifrin tapes to delv into or maybe Felt Mountain (Goldfrapp) i love the sheer scale of these scores when heard at the flicks like your almost there in the pits with the orchestra they sound massive ,(The Lalo Schifrin stuff that is ) i think Felt Mountains got that kind of feel to it also ,Operatic or Cinematic in parts or whatever the term is fantastic (I was brought up on a diet of opera as my dad and my uncle were both opera singers as young men when they arrived here from Ireland a long time ago. Dad made an album and his brother sang for the BBC also carnegie hall in NY ,They were eventually deported for breaking the rules of there work permit or some thing i guess it all came good in the end as im hear so they must have been forgiven ) As always Pete lovely to get a response to my silly topics ,When my opus is complete i shall let you know ,Bye for now Mick.
Hi Mick, good to hear from you, hope likewise you & yours are all well.
Interesting question. I often try to pick up on and analyse/understand something in a track that appeals (a chord progression, vocal harmony, sound, production trick or whatever) & then maybe try to incorporate some of its flavour/inspiration into a song I might be writing, or I'll stand back and admire a spectacular or intensely beautiful piece of music from a less analytical and more 'allowing oneself to be transported' kind of angle but I'm not sure if I often actually wish I'd written the entire piece in itself. It's more of a kind of borrowing of other peoples ideas scenario with me.
As for having any multitrack tape to pick apart, hmm, maybe the album 'Dare' by The Human League although I remember having an album of 'Dare' instrumental extended mixes(called 'Love & Dancing' I think) that stripped down the tracks so you could pick out the constituent synth parts for each song which is possibly why that one came to mind.
No new album in the pipeline as yet I'm afraid. Glad your studio project is going well & wish you good luck with it. Hi Brandon! I'll tell Sophie that you said hi.
Thanks again for getting in touch,
all the best,
Pete
Hi Pete,
Hope this finds you and yours all fit and well ,I see there hasn't been much chat so i just thought id ask is there a song or theme tune or film score you listen to and think wonderful wish it were mine or a piece of music you would love to have the master tape, to take apart track by track ,just one of the many daft conversations friends and i have after a few beers sad buggers we are ,and to all S&P fans how about a vote for Pete& Sophie's efforts which songs are your favs ,come on people get thinking ,So on to my next topic are you busy with a follow up album because as every one must realise by now your very prolific in the writing department so i imagine its almost done, and what about some more of the anthology i like many others gutted to have missed it ,any way enough of my ramblings ,by the way my studio project is going well, I've had to make a few compromises regarding the desk i will be using a Soundtracs inline 48/ which is an amazing desk for the price 96 channels on mix down and lots of other goodies this free,s up cash for other bits and pieces I'm gonna need will let you know how its progressing and when its complete.Say hi to Sophie from her no 1 fan Brandon and i hope to catch you both soon at a gig far far away in a distant ,take care bye for know Mick.
Greetings to everyone !! You www.sophieandpeterjohnston.com always interestingly.
Respect to the author! It is better, than to write the report about ,undoubtedly. Bye!So long!
Hey Sophie, remember me....? Was in the band with Tim at the Hilton all those years ago. Good to see you are still in the business and doing well. My best wishes to Tim and the rest of you.
Kev
Hi Pete+Sophie and all S&PJ fans,
Like Ian H yesterday I'm just delighted to have had the new and best of CDs delivered so speedily - next day in fact! Cheers! The oldies/goldies got the spin first and what fantastic sound quality compared to the taped Peelie sessions I have. I'm so glad to hear you intend to release some more of the anthology tracks later in 2008 - keep us posted - I'm looking forward to getting them all at some stage. The previously unheard "He led the way to sunshine" plus "Instrumental 19" have certainly whet my appetite for more - keep them coming! There are also some great tracks on the new CD - I especially like "I won't give up my nightmare", "Candlelight", "Beyond the dark" and "World in a snowdrop" - but I love them all! Here's to another new one in the not too distant future!
Pete, there are a couple of good venues in Belfast - The Limelight and The Spring&Airbrake. The first is where I saw China Crisis a few years back and I went to see Joe Jackson in S&A last year - both are in the city centre. There are too many to mention in Dublin but Whelans (T.Dolby) and the Temple Bar Music Centre (in U2 country) are two I've been to recently and would recommend as well. There's the Nerve Centre in Derry city also which is another widely used spot (The Undertones played there - on their home turf - at the end of '07) and is even closer to us. It would be great to see you play anywhere in Ireland but I'll try to get across the sea to catch you somewhere on your tours of England. Thanks-a-million once again and all the best, Pearse.
Hi Ian and thanks very much for your kind comments. Hopefully see you at the London gig.
Pearse the 3-CD anthology in its previous format has been shelved for the time being I'm afraid however we are likely to be putting out another retrospective CD of tracks that aren't on the current 'best of 1983-87' CD but were on the old 3-CD set sometime later this year. Thanks for your generous remarks. I'd love to play in Ireland - we'll see what we can get together. Any venues you would recommend round your neck of the woods?
Cheers,
Pete
Thanks for the amazingly quick dispatch of the CD, Pete. And wonderful to hear the mix of familiar and unfamiliar songs. Unlike many here, I did not manage to get a copy of the album in the 80s when it came out.
I was clearing out my Mother's attic at the seekend, and finally found the box of C90s of Peel recordings. Jools put one in the stereo of the car as we drove down, and turned out to be one with your first session on it. Peelie really loved it, and it was his passion that made me tape that session twice just to make sure.
Hope to see you if the London gig happens.
After my most recent phase of listening to one of my all time favourite acts (following trawls through the John Peel Sessions book I got for Christmas) I googled Sophie and Peter Johnston before midnight last night and sat until 1am in disbelief, leafing through all the incredible stuff contained in their web site. Why I never thought of doing it before? I just don't know - I thought they were long gone. It's brilliant to see they're back "live" + kicking and recording/releasing new material.
Like most of the rest I started with the Peel sessions - taping them and playing them to the uninitiated whenever I could, stating the obvious superiority of the product over the likes of Yazoo etc. Later on I was lucky enough to get hold of the 12" singles (in Belfast) and the LP (in Dublin) which I treasured and still do - giving the compilation tapes (made of all the S&PJ recordings I had managed to gather together) regular plays.
Like all their other fans I'm just delighted to have more of them to enjoy today and as soon as I've signed off I'll be adding to my collection of Sophie + Peter songs via their shop.
To Sophie and Peter themselves: please do reissue your full 3CD Anthology - it's a must-have, with so much unheard material I'm sure - please, please, please! - and do keep touring (you might hit our shores sometime or I'll get across to see you). I went to see two other favourites of mine recently - Thomas Dolby in Dublin at the end of last year and China Crisis a few years ago in Belfast, so I'll be keeping an eye on the gigs page. Thanks so much for making all the old gems available to us again on CD and long may you continue to produce new works of art. Cheers, PO.
PS: Where can I find the track listing for the Anthology?
Wow, a website and finally the chance to buy a cd of your great songs from the 80's. Of all Peelies sessions, yours was the ones i most treasured, especially the first one. I had not googled your name for a year or two and to find that you are still going is just wonderful. Really looking forward to getting the cd as the tape had just about given up the ghost.
Hi Pete ,Happy new year sorry no chat for a while but its basically back to the old routine 9 to 5 and all that .You must have been chuffed getting some air play on the radio, About bloody time well over due .I am again looking forward to the gig and have been spreading the word ,With regard to my search for a desk ,well its a minefield Ive started looking towards Amek as apposed to the soundtracs desks and for the multi track otari they are going to be more reliable so I'm told, Any thoughts on this Pete?oh and one last thing with regards to what David Boyle says its taken me about 3mins 20 seconds to write this just about enough time for you to write another piece of perfect pop bye for know and good luck tomorrow Mick.
I must say that I've just heard "getting lost together" on that new album. It was so great to hear that the sound is still fresh as after 20 years and hasn't really changed that much but this is the brillant thing for me. I was hoping it would be similar. I had just recently watched a BBC 4 programme about what makes a pop song. The programme missed out on not featuring acts like Sophie and Peter Johnston. Excellent team!
Happy New Year to everyone from Sophie & myself!
Hi again Mike and thanks very much for your kind comments. As regards the synth sounds on the latest album they were produced using a number of virtual instruments which were: Pro-53(prophet 5 emulation), FM8 (DX7 imitation), Absynth 4 and Massive by Native Instruments; Sampletank 2, SonikSynth 2 & Miroslav Philharmonik (orchestral samples) by IK Multimedia ; and a Mini Moog V (copy of a minimoog) by Arturia. The only effects used on the virtual synths were the internal effects of each software instrument (reverb, chorus, delay, etc.) plus some Steinberg Cubase individual MIDI track EQ (Cubase was the sequencing software I used). Many of the broken chord/arpeggiated synth sounds on the new CD are composite sounds achieved by layering or stacking different, hopfully complementary, sounds. A number of the synth sounds used were indeed modified presets but many others were created from scratch. I'm a fan of Roland synths and particularly the sounds of the Junos and Jupiter 8 so it's quite possible I was subconsciously going for similar sounds to what might have been produced by those instruments even though those instruments didn't actually feature. Hope this answers your questions.
Cheers,
Pete.
Hi Pete. After listening to your latest cd for the hundredth time I got to thinking that most of the keyboard voices featured sound very much like some of the pre programmed ones from the classic Roland Juno series of synths from the early eighties with some skillful tweaking (Especially on the opening and closing tracks).
If that's not the case I would be very interested in the source of the sounds and what effects (If any) were used. I tried to emulate the sounds on my Korg N1 and Roland XP50 with limited success.
In my humble opinion 'World in a snowdrop' and 'A soul on high' are the two most outstanding songs with sophie's vocals at their absolute best.
Long may your musical genius continue and have a great new year.
Cheers Pete
Mike.
All Hi,Dear user's the Internet!
Limited The Internet,now no problem !!!
It excellent way to chang
Ihave been a fan for years and never thought I would get to see you two live at gig. Will be at the Cumberland Arms in Byker for my birthday night out. Really looking forward to it - good luck!
Have just seen the videos on Youtube- fantastic. It was really good seeing the two oustanding tracks from the new LP- spellbinding. I've really enjoyed re-discovering your music over the past couple of months.
Despite your general absence from the public consciousness, I think you should get an entry in Wikipedia. There are many talented bands with entries, some even more obscure (cult) than S&PJ. Look forward to hearing more great music from you.
Have a very Merry Chritmas and a Happy New Year.
Merry Christmas Pete & Sophie and all the best for 2008.
We are geting marryed
Cheers for those gig venue suggestions Pughie & for your kind comments. We're planning to play in London & Falmouth in 2008. Watch this space!
Tim, thanks very much for your message which made for very interesting reading. Good to hear from you. I remember the Peel session on which 'Travel In Time' was recorded, Sophie & I had recently started using a MCS2 Movement drum computer (as employed by The Eurythmics & Thompson Twins) but hadn't quite figured out how to sync it to the Roland MC-4B microcomposer which drove the synths hence the hit and miss timing problems! It was though, as you say, a really cool & creative vibe in the Maida Vale studios and we were only too aware of some of the amazing bands & musicians that had passed through those hallowed BBC portals! We liked Martin Colley very much & were lucky enough to work with him subsequently on some other recordings. The tracks from the Travel In Time session appear on our 'Best Of 1983-87' CD purchasable vie the 'Shop' link on this site.
Mick, thanks a lot for your message & kind words. We'll have a look at seeing if we can resurrect 'Some Sunny Day', I'm afraid I can't make any promises though.
Cheers to all!
Pete
Hi Pete ,Just watched the cluny footage ,whats there to say really except bravo,more ,more, So pleased to have been there the clip totally refreshes the day in my thoughts brilliant ,really looking forward to the cumberland arms ,And just out of pure down right cheek as i know your promoting the new stuff please slot in a version of some sunny day the song that got me into your music its to good not to be played ,In the words of Mr Peel my version ,that song ment as much to me
There seemed to be loads of bands passing through Maida Vale in the eighties recording seesions for Radio One. There were sessions for Janice Long, David Jenson, The Friday Rock Show and, of course, John Peel to name but a few. I was lucky enough to work on many of these (mostly as a tape op in those days) but as time goes by much of the music we recorded has faded from my memory. So why, after nearly twenty five years, does a song like "Travel In Time" still stick in my mind? Even the session sticks in my mind. I had never heard any of Sophie and Peter's material before but as the synths were wired up and the music started to flow it was quite obvious that here was something extraordinary. Martin Colley was the sound engineer on the session and he produced a beautiful, rich mix which really worked well with this material. But it was more than just the songs. Sophie and Peter were lovelly to work with and there was a great sense of creativity throughout the day. It wasn't all plain sailing though. These days we take for granted that you can record and play back using midi but back then this sort of technology wasn't exactly stable. Things would go out of synch and that meant going for yet another take. It all added to the challenge of recording and mixing four songs in 12 hours. I was really pleased to see this web site appear and to see that your back at the creative coal face. Next step for me? Tracking down the new CD. And I must see if I can find a copy of that session!
Tim
Got the new (2007) CD today listening to it now,its like you've never been away!! (now you can take that both ways,either its like we've woken up from being in a 25 year coma or you sound dated!! take your pick)....'dated sound'.....don't think i can go down that route,synth-pop like this sounds good whenever you hear it,is there a market for this type of thing?....well yes there is but you have to find them,just look at the mainstream charts of nowadays its all throwaway crap,heard it once forgotten it unless it has a gimmick like being a crazy toad or a german DJ with a ponytail!,totally forgetable. What we have here is well crafted pop songs with a melody,thoughtful lyrics & a feeling of beng loved out of the soft synths used,rather than preset heaven and appregiated cheating!!,i don't believe ive almost written a well crafted review here!!...panic!!,oh how we long for another 'Peel',ive just listened to his MP3 of comments,God did he love you.
I suppose gigs are something that may not ever happen 'down south',but if they were to appear how about the-
Robin 2 (Bilston Wolverhampton)
http://www.therobin.co.uk/
or-
Cox's Yard (Stratford-Upon-Avon)
http://www.coxsyard.com/entertainment/index.php
venues that may well take a chance.
Thanks for reading,i hope it wasn't a chore!!
hay!!
good project :)
senks :)
Mick, Jeff Brown who produced TX45 on Tyne Tees asked if I'd adapt 'Some Sunny Day' from our 1987 album to use as the title music for the programme. I was flattered to be asked and to be honest didn't need much persuasion to agree. (Nothing of course to do with getting paid for it!) We went on to appear on the show on 2 different occasions. Thanks for your kind words & all the best again to you & your family for Xmas & the new year.
Mark, thanks very much for your kind comments. Yes TX45 only went out, as far as I know, on Tyne Tees TV. Your ears may not be as manky as you possibly think as I vaguely remember having a friendly disagreement with Sophie a few years back when she was convinced that she had sung part of the verses! All the best for Xmas & the New year.
Jamie, great to hear from you! Thanks for your comments and best wishes to you for Xmas & the new Year.
Gorgeous...love it...very very happy you put this together. xxx
How unbeleivably embarrassing!!!.......no not your youtube videos the fact that after all these years i didn't realise Peter sang lead vocals on Happy Together!!,i just thought it was Sophie singing in a different key......just goes to show how manky my ears must be!,great to watch the TX45 videos,i didn't get to see these shows when they aired (maybe that was a regional programme??),but after all these years seeing footage like this is like finding Wonka's golden ticket. You see don't listen to old people telling you the t'internet is all bad,this is what its all about.
Hi Pete ,Just had my first opportunity to watch the tx 45 videos very surreal having now met the two of you but fantastic all the same,If at all possible you must tell us all how this came about and what the whole experience was like was this several visits to tyne tees or just the one and how did they convince you to let them have in my opinion one of the best songs I've ever heard for there theme it really suited the show way better than The Tubes main theme just my opinion of course so apologies to Tube fans . By the way the ppg looks very cool love the sound of it as you obviously did amazing .So I'll finish by wishing yourself, family extended family all the very best for Xmas&new year and will continue spreading the word .bye for now Mick .PS Brandon s just walked in and says hi.
YouTube videos - brilliant!! Really enjoyed watching these, I'd never even heard of the TV program before. Look forward to footage of your cd launch gig which I'm so so disappointed I wasn't able to attend. When's a DVD coming out??!!
Merry Christmas!
Hi Brandon, thanks for your comments. Glad you liked the video! Happy Christmas & best wishes for the New Year to you and your dad & family from Sophie & Pete.
Hi Grant, thanks for ordering the Xmas Carols CD which was posted off to you yesterday. Festive good wishes & all the best for the New Year to you from both of us. Happy Xmas decorating!
Pete