Orient Cycles - Nerves (1981) C10

This one will make sense mostly to those of a particular vintage living in or around Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire back at the start of the eighties, and may seem a little underwhelming to everyone else, so you have been warned. The Orient Cycles were our local mod band and featured Julian Caddy - or Cloppo as we knew him, for reasons I never fully understood - Huw James, and Chris Beer on the skins. I never saw them, but only knew them by repute, which admittedly wasn't very good and mainly consisted of one of the bigger kids referring to them as the Urine Cycles. Anyway, my little gang of hairy pals enjoyed a brief spell of hanging out with Cloppo down Shipston sportsfield one summer. He was older than us and very, very funny, plus being in a band automatically earned our admiration. I think this tape came from my friend Graham's older brother, Martin (of the Abstracts) - a rehearsal tape of a presumed Orient Cycles original, plus jamming based on Secret Affair's I'm Not Free (But I'm Cheap). I told you it wouldn't make much sense unless you already knew who they were.

The Dragon was of course the Green Dragon in Stratford-upon-Avon, recently converted into desirable luxury lifestyle units suitable for fucking wankers with neither a conscience nor a sense of history. I can't remember where I found the poster, but it may have been Jez Randall (also of the Abstracts) on facebook. Anyway, it was a photo taken on someone's phone so I did what I could to tidy it up a bit. I suspect it may have been the work of Cloppo as it seems consistent with what I can recall of his sense of humour.

Download both tracks and a scan of the poster by clicking on this link.

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