Back in the mid to late eighties The Train Set emerged from the Crewe/Winsford indie music scene to make an impact on the Manchester and Liverpool gig circuit as well as the national music press. The band released two 12″ singles which both broke the Indie Chart and performed at venues across the country including gigs at Dingwalls, the Astoria in London and Manchester’s Hacienda.
The nucleus of the band, Clive Jones (vocals), Andy Boote (guitars) and Mark Shaw (Bass) met at school. They recruited Adam Halford (drums) from Winsford and Dave Hassall from Chester (keyboards) and soon became the tight unit that was eventually signed by renowned Manchester DJ Dave Haslam to his Playhard label.
Briefly managed by Nathan McGough, also manager of The Happy Mondays, the band embarked on a national tour with the Happy Mondays and supported the likes of James at the London Astoria. They were featured in both the NME and Melody Maker through interviews and features by Stuart Maconie and Robin Denslow.
Compilation album ‘Never California’, released on Firestation Records, features The Train Set’s highly sought after singles including ‘She’s Gone’ which was the band’s first record, recognized as a stunning debut by the press and selected as NME’s single of the week when it was originally released in 1988. Writing in NME, James Brown said “The Train Set have done their growing up in private and will now have no trouble copping off with the entire teenage nation of orphaned Smiths fans”. Stuart Maconie described ‘She’s Gone’ as “sleek and shiny, fizzy and witty”, predicting “The Train Set will be huge when the world sees sense”. Well, whilst we wait for the world to take heed, immerse yourself in these finely crafted songs and enjoy a band that made a significant impact on the music scene amongst the abundant indie/jangle bands of that era.
This compilation contains previously unreleased tracks from a band that had promised so much but disappeared far too soon. The original members have come together to oversee the release of this retrospective album, providing a vital listening experience and an opportunity to discover The Train Set’s material again, or perhaps for the first time.
LINKS:
http://www.thetrainset.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/TheTrainSet
