THE PENCILS

 I became aware of The Pencils in 1982 when reading a review of their debut single “Watching The Tears” in the New Musical Express. To this day, I can’t remember if it was because the review was positive, or if the negative references intrigued me, but either way I made sure that I promptly ordered a copy. Upon first listen (and reinforced by repeated spins of both sides of the record) I was instantly hooked, and scoured any source of information available to learn of any subsequent releases.

Sadly, they only managed to release two more (great) singles before splitting up in early 1983. Being the completist that I am when I fall hard for a band, I managed to get in contact with Derek Nicol, the band’s former manager, early in the summer of 1983. I was told that the band had indeed recorded a full-length album that was never released. As fate would have it, I was able to travel to London later that summer, and arranged to meet Derek at a pub in the West End where he presented me (as “the Pencils’ biggest fan in America”) with a cassette copy of the unreleased album. I can’t tell you how many times that cassette was re-copied over the years because I played it so much and was afraid of losing it forever.

25 years pass, it’s 2008 and I contact Derek Nicol again. This time I was looking into the possibility of releasing the Pencils’ album on Kool Kat, and wanted to get from him any leads for the master tapes, licensing, etc. His response was that he didn’t have the tapes, had no info on how to obtain them, and that they were “probably in a studio somewhere in Germany”. Subsequent internet searches failed to proiduce any other info on the band. In the Spring of 2012 I decided to have another go at it. And I’m sure glad I did. This time, a Myspace page was there to be discovered – and what a discovery was to be had. Turns out the Pencils album HAD been released – in Germany on a label called X Records – back in 1983! I immediately got in touch with “lead” Pencil Den Pugsley who revealed that only several months earlier he first learned of the album’s existence and was therefore very keen to finally give it the deluxe CD treatment.

So, to make a long story short, here it is, 29 years in the making – “The Pencils Anthology” – a 2CD set that in so many ways sums up the passion and persistence for the music I love. I can’t tell you what a thrill it is to be involved, and how proud I am of what will give once and for all, The Pencils their deserved place on the “pop map”. Disc one contains all 12 recordings made in Frankfurt for their 1984 album release, including the three singles, a non-LP B-side, and a live track from the BBC Paris Theatre, recorded in July 1981. Disc two rounds up 14 other songs, many of which featured in their set-list back in the early 1980’s. If you’re a fan of Squeeze, The Kinks, The Pinkees, The Romantics, Elvis Costello, and Sire Records-period Searchers, then you’re gonna LOVE this!