{"product_id":"ghost-trains-and-country-lanes-studio-stage-and-sessions-1984-2005","title":"Ghost Trains and Country Lanes  Studio, Stage And Sessions 1984-2005","description":"\u003cp\u003eCompiled and coordinated by the band, \u003cstrong\u003eGhost Trains and Country Lanes\u003c\/strong\u003e expands on previous retrospectives of \u003cem\u003eThe Loft\u003c\/em\u003e, adding those reunion recordings (including three previously unissued tracks), the Gideon Coe session, and several live recordings from that historic performance at The Living Room back in 1984.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong the first crop of Creation Records bands in the mid-1980s, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Loft\u003c\/strong\u003e seemed the most likely to break through. Following the success of The Smiths, guitar-based independent pop was in vogue, Alan McGee’s Creation label was turning heads – its bands blending 60s psychedelia, the melodic end of punk, and a new sound which would soon be immortalized on NME’s C86 cassette.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd in this London quartet, Creation had their answer to bands like Television, The Only Ones, or early Modern Lovers, offering taut, off-kilter songs with an irresistibly deadpan cool.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSadly, after just two singles, 1984’s downbeat debut ‘Why Does The Rain’ and the punchier sequel, ‘Up The Hill And Down The Slope’ – an indie hit which the band performed live on TV show The Oxford Road Show, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Loft\u003c\/strong\u003e dissolved, with various members founding new bands The Weather Prophets, The Caretaker Race, and The Wishing Stones.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey left behind seven studio tracks, a BBC Radio 1 session for Janice Long, and one track from a Creation LP documenting the scene’s roots in small club The Living Room. However, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Loft\u003c\/strong\u003e’s legend endured, eventually prompting a reunion in the early 2000s with all four original members – singer\/songwriter\/guitarist Pete Astor, guitarist Andy Strickland, bassist Bill Price, and drummer Dave Morgan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlongside various well-received live shows, that led to a new single, ‘Model Village’ (2006), and more recently a session for Gideon Coe on BBC 6 Music (2015). \u003cstrong\u003eThe Loft\u003c\/strong\u003e’s reputation as founding fathers of a new breed of mid-80s indie pop continues to grow to this day, with the band often cited as an influence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith new sleeve-notes by Danny Kelly, this is the definite tribute to \u003cem\u003eThe Loft\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cherry Red","offers":[{"title":"CD | x2","offer_id":50413820150091,"sku":"1115068","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50413820707147,"sku":"1143779","price":49.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b87b7241-68f0-40d3-b3a5-55083cea8425_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726677683","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/products\/ghost-trains-and-country-lanes-studio-stage-and-sessions-1984-2005","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}