Around Christmas 1987, while living in a house in Finchley that I shared with five others, a friend turned up with a new release by a new band.He was very enthusiastic, and acting like an A & R man, he sat me down and told me to shut up and listen.
I acquiesced without too much complaint as he had previously introduced me to the Cardiacs, and various other hot items of the time, and this 12" had the most intriguing cover and an equally curious title.
It only took about four bars of music to know that what I was hearing was something very special indeed.
By the time the second track began to play my other housemates joined us; the sounds attracting them like rats to the music of the Pied Piper.
Nobody said a word, and as soon as it was finished, like crack we were all desperate to experience it again.
The piece was Come On Pilgrim by the Pixies.
A true masterpiece.
And something the band never equalled (although Surfer Rosa came close).
Still shocked and stunned we went on mass a few months later to The Mean Fiddler, and caught a band truly in their prime.
I realise now just how lucky I was to see them in that tiny Harlesden venue.
They were sooooooooooo hot.
We must have been a very enthusiastic audience, as the band seemed overwhelmed by the reception and response by all those, who just like me, recognised them as being something quite extraordinary.
'Fuck me,' said Kim into the mike, when she received our enthusiastic welcome; not out of exasperation, but in an imperative way; a way that truly expressed a desire to consume our love for them - and they hadn't even played a note (she always was a tease: listen to how on this recording she giggles after asking the audience 'D'y'all go to school?').
I have searched and searched for a copy of that Mean Fiddler gig, without luck (but hey, if you have a copy or know where one exists, I'd be eternally grateful for a link [not torrent]...).
But this will do for now; a very good recording broadcast by the good old BBC, post-Surfer Rosa, around the time of the release of Doolittle (an album for me that really marked the death of the Pixies); a set that retains some of their initial energy and guts.
Pixies - Live, Newcastle Poly, 1989
Into the White
Wave of Mutilation
There Goes My Gun
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Debaser
Isla Da Encanta
Bone Machine
Cactus
Gigantic
Gouge Away
Tame
Excellent rip from cassette captured FM broadcast
Pixielate here
