The British Broadcasting Corporation has been guilty of many crimes (most notably “wiping” video tapes of historic performances) but their audio archive remains a veritable treasure trove with a bottomless depth that keeps revealing assorted gems. Record label Liberation Hall conclude their reissue campaign of Scottish post-punks APB by unleashing a 19-track delectable delight that compiles five recordings made for DJ’s David ‘Kid’ Jensen, John Peel and Peter Powell, and releases them as The Radio 1 Sessions.

To really understand these recordings they need to be put in context; Britain the early ‘80s was a time of great turmoil with three-million unemployed, civil unrest and the systematic dismantling of industry. Fortunately, such conditions are conducive to great art and that’s precisely where APB step in. These BBC sessions sound like the musical embodiment of the greater upheaval that was raging outside, and no more so than on opening track ‘My Love’. Spiky and angular, yet funky and danceable, it’s an intriguing tension of opposites that’s also very adhesive and will attach itself to your cranium like a limpet. That APB have such a sticky quality largely comes from Iain Slater’s bass; all to often in rock music the four-string is buried deep in the mix, but here (as on most of the tracks) it is given prominent position and takes the role of a lead instrument and charts hypnotic rhythms that are hard to ignore as they bounce around like a pinball between bumpers.

The late John Peel was always considered the doyen of good taste, so it’s no surprise he saw the potential in APB and invited them in for a session. Recorded at the BBC’s high-spec studios in London’s Maida Vale, these five sessions have a professional sheen, but time constraints meant they were often laid down in one take, and with minimal overdubs. Therefore, these songs often sound like high quality demos and have an urgency that can sometimes be lost when a band has more time recording an album. A vaunted spot on the Peel Show had global reach and APB soon found themselves wooing crowds in the States, and it is between their sojourns that these sessions were recorded. And while the Jensen and Powell shows didn’t have the same kudos as Peel’s, there’s no discernible drop in effort from the band and they attack each song like their lives depend on it.

Listening to these songs as a collective whole you can definitely hear APB’s influence stretching through the years and those floor filling grooves found on the aptly-titled ‘Danceability’ act as a pre-cursor for the likes of Franz Ferdinand and their ilk. But, like most pioneers, APB got usurped by those who followed and refined and streamlined their sound for mass consumption (but at least APB can rest assured that they paved the way for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to become multimillionaires!). These five sessions are presented chronologically and APB’s own evolution is very much in evidence and by the time we hit 1983 and ‘Hypnotic Love Affair’ they sparkle and shimmer, whilst ‘Don’t Close The Door’ evidences a great maturity and displays great restraint with the band waiting until the optimum moment to release their trademark punch.

The Radio 1 Sessions makes a fine coda to Liberation Hall’s reissuing of the first three APB studio albums, yet it also acts as a “best of” in its own right. If you’re yet to make your acquaintance with Scotland’s finest export, there’s no better place to start than here.

• The Radio 1 Sessions is released via Liberation Hall on 7th June 2024 (and is available here).

Track List:

1. My Love *
2. Higher Climb *
3. Crooner’s Lullaby *
4. From You And Back To You *
5. Danceability **
6. Crazy Grey **
7. Stop Before I Go **
8. Out Of Town **
9. Got It In One ***
10. Play It ***
11. Wonderdrug ***
12. Back Inside Your Heart ***
13. Hypnotic Love Affair ****
14. Don’t Close The Door ****
15. Take Me To A Good Place ****
16. What Kind Of Girl? *****
17. You Can’t Have Her *****
18. Something To Believe In *****
19. So Many Broken Hearts *****

* John Peel Show: Recorded 23rd December 1981 / First Broadcast 11th January 1982

**David Jensen Show: Recorded 23rd May 1982 / First Broadcast 2nd June 1982

*** John Peel Show: Recorded 13th December 1982 / First Broadcast 5th January 1983

**** Peter Powell Show: Recorded 9th August 1983 / First Broadcast 24th August 1983

***** David Jensen Show: Recorded 29th March 1984 / First Broadcast 12th April 1984