BBC Sessions
- October 1999
- Bella Union
- Bella CD 14
Track listing
- Disc 1
- John Peel Radio Session,” 15 July 1982
- Wax and Wane
- Garlands
- Alas Dies Laughing
- Feathers-Oar-Blades
- From “John Peel Radio Session,” 31 January 1983
- Hearsay Please
- Dear Heart
- Blind Dumb Deaf
- Hazel
- From “John Peel Radio Session,” 4 October 1983
- The Tinderbox (of a heart)
- Strange Fruit
- Hitherto
- From the Flagstones
- From “John Peel Radio Session,” 10 October 1983
- Sugar Hiccup
- In Our Angelhood
- My Hue and Cry
- Musette and Drums
- John Peel Radio Session,” 15 July 1982
- Disc 2
- From “Saturday Night Live,” 3 December 1983
- Hitherto
- From the Flagstones
- Musette and Drums
- From “John Peel Radio Session,” 5 September 1984
- Pepper-Tree
- Beatrix
- Ivo
- Otterley
- From “Mark Radcliffe Radio Show,” 12 March 1996
- Serpentskirt
- Golden-vein
- Half-Gifts
- Seekers Who Are Lovers
- From “Robert Elms GLR,” 10 April 1996
- Calfskin-Smack
- Fifty-Fifty Clown
- Violaine
- From “Saturday Night Live,” 3 December 1983
Formats
- CD
- Digital
Performers
Release notes
- Disc 1
- Tracks 1-4 BBC producer John Owen Williams. Engineered by Dave Dade and Mike Engles.
- Tracks 5-8 BBC producer Dale Griffin. Engineered by Harry Parker.
- Tracks 9-12 BBC producer John Walters.
- Tracks 13-16 BBC producer Dale Griffin. Engineered by Mike Engles.
- Disc 2
- Tracks 1-3 BBC producer Mark Radcliffe.
- Tracks 4-7 BBC producer Barry Andrews. Engineered by Nick Gomm.
- Tracks 8-11 BBC producer Lis Roberts. Engineered by Lincoln Fong.
- Tracks 12-14 BBC producers Jim Lahat and Suzanne Gilfilian. Engineered by Paul Strudwick.
- Art and design by Russell Mills.
- Design and image melts by Michael Webster.
- Peaked at #87 on the UK album chart.
- “Strange Fruit” is a cover of the song made famous by Billie Holliday—a singer to whom Elizabeth Fraser is occasionally compared—in 1939. It was written by Abel Meeropol as a poem and published in 1937 as a protest against racism and racial violence (specifically lynching) in the United States.
- The instrumental “My Hue and Cry” shares a title with a song performed during Cocteau Twins’ 1986 tour, though the live concert version differs significantly.
Video
Live performance of “My Hue and Cry,” 1986.
Press
- Interview with Simon Raymonde
- The Horses’ Gob | Mar 2000
- Interview with Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde
- MOJO 1999
- Review of BBC Sessions
- Billboard | 06-Nov 1999
- Review of BBC Sessions
- Pitchfork | 12-Oct 1999