Cheeky Monkey

Yet another charity shop find and yet again another Scottish band that I previously hadn't heard of. Cheeky Monkey were a transatlantic collaboration between Francis MacDonald (BMX Bandits, Eugenius, Teenage Fanclub) and New York based musician Michael Shelley.
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read about Cheeky_Monkey

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read about Francis_MacDonald

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read about Michael_Shelley

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3 tracks from the album

1. Down

2. Robert Lloyd

3. You Don't Want Me Anymore

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Gifthorse : Childhood Gang Reunion EP

This EP comes courtesy of my local Oxfam shop. I had to go into town today to stock up on a few items for 'T in The Park' next weekend and while I was there I had a bit of time to take care of my new found charity shop obsession. First stop was Oxfam on the main street. Normally this would be my last port of call as it sits right at the bus stop for my homeward journey. I've spent many a time standing waiting for a bus and having a peek in the window, wondering what, if any treasures this small shop holds. A few weeks ago I had just missed a bus and decided to have a look inside. Ten minutes later I exited said shop with 6 albums in my bag and a wee voice in my head telling me I would be returning soon. In the shop today I found an even better selection of cds to choose from. Again there was nothing rare or anything that I've been desperately trying to track down but there was enough for me to approch the counter with 12 cds in my hand. Some were albums I had years ago but have since lost or sold down the record stall in the old market when money was a bit tight but I got a few others that I had never heard or even heard of before. The man behind the counter even came up to me at one stage and told me how their storage system worked. All the cds on the top shelf have been there for a while, whereas the bottom shelf is where they re-fill from. 'Just to save you from looking through them all every time you come in' he said. Well meaning advice which won't stop me from browsing through the top shelf everytime I enter the shop just in case I missed something the first time or even the first dozen times. I think the shop guy was a bit surprised when I handed over the dozen cds as after he had counted them he said '12 cds ... just call it a tenner'. Seeing as it was a charity shop I offered to pay the full price but he wasn't having it and even brought a small pile of cds from under the counter for me to look at. 'We've got these as well but they aren't by anyone really well known' he offered, which was music (no pun intended) to my ears. Sadly though there was nothing to get too excited about although I did add a 'We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It' cd to my pile. And still the price stayed at £10. So needless to say, I'll be back for more very soon. As for the Gifthorse EP. Well I've never heard of the band in my life until now and there's not much info on the internet either. I did find out that there is/was a band on either side of the Atlantic with the same name. The one responsible for the 'Childhood Gang Reunion' are from this side of the ocean and basically that's it. I can't even find an image to use in this post but I will scan the cover as soon as. So basically that's it except have a listen and see what you think. Oh, and if anyone knows anything else about the band please let me know.
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CHILDHOOD GANG REUNION EP
01 A Night In The Arms Of A Stranger
02 Happy Daggers
03 Childhood Gang Reunion
04 London's Shelves
05 Death By Misadventure
06 Fear Of The Library
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'Take a pinch of Morrissey, a dash of Suede place in a bowl and mix with a teaspoon of Gene and you have Gifthorse. Happy Daggers and Childhood Gang Re-union (even the titles sound like Morrissey cast offs) are worth the entry fee alone.'
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Carter USM : Lean On Me I Won't Fall Over

In the early 90's a few of my friends were really into Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. Personally I wasn't so sure, ok they had some decent songs and were supposed to be very good live but for me they had a very short shelf life and after their first couple of albums I never listened to them again. This single, released in 1993 came from their 4th album which I was totally unaware of ... until today. So I am posting this single without ever having heard it or even read a review of it. Why??? Well today I had 10 minutes to kill in the town and decided to have a peek through a very small charity shop window. On seeing a wall full of books I took a wander inside and found, as well as a great choice of books, 2 racks full of cds. I didn't even have time to look through them all but I did notice a sign saying '50p each'. Excellent value if you ask me but having very little time to browse and not feeling good about walking out of a charity shop without buying anything I settled on 4 cd singles including this one. So I approached the counter and handed over the discs to the smiling lady who informed me 'the cds are 50p each ..... or 5 for a pound so you'' need to pick another one' ... 20p for a cd (single or album)!!!! Anyway that cheered me up no end, I didn't pick another disc to make up the 5 (generous to a fault me) but I did manage to make time for a quick look at some other stuff on the way out. It looks like someone has handed in their full cd collection of charty dance singles with a few indie and pop ones thrown in. I'll be back at the end of the week for a better look :) So I hope you enjoy this single, which I have just noticed includes a Sugarcubes cover, if you don't console yourself that it only cost me 25p

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01 Lean On Me I Won't Fall Down

02 Hit (Sugarcubes cover)

03 Always The Bridesmaid Never The Bride

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