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Even at the time, it felt implausible that Man...or Astro-Man? would do over a dozen sessions at the mighty British Broadcasting Company. Initially it was the legendary John Peel who had the band on his Radio 1 show—six times between 1993 and 2000—after Birdstuff sent him a postcard ordering him never to play the band. Peel allegedly had a shrine to our Auburn heroes at his country estate, and while we believe that to be true, we’ve yet to see photographic evidence. The list of bands that recorded a session for Peel (neé Ravenscroft) is mind boggling and estimable. Most American bands would be lucky to record a single Peel session. For Astro-Man? to have played as much as they did at his request is an indisputable testament to the band’s fevered devotion to performing. But also, let’s be honest: John Peel had pretty great taste. As reference, The Fall performed on Peel’s show more than 25 times between 1977, a year after the band was formed, and the death of leader Mark E. Smith in 2018. The fact that a decidedly obtuse and dorky band from Auburn, Alabama, would perform on Peel’s show more times than The Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, and Nirvana combined is proof positive that Astro-Man truly put in the work...especially on the British airwaves. What the BBC documented in its studios peppered across the country was a band that... more
All tracks (p) 2024 BBC
© 2024 Astro Technologies
Licensed by arrangement with BBC Studios
BBC logo © BBC 1997
Producer: Henry Owings
Art direction: Chris Bilheimer
Mastering: Drew Crumbaugh
Special Thanks: Cristian, Bobo and Gary at Revolver/Midheaven, Warren and J.R. at Musicol, Bob at Imprint, Yahya at Atlanta Printing, John Esplen, Jason Russell, Corey Rusk, Dave Crider, Denise Black at the BBC
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