© Fotos & Words by Steve Drury

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Pd: Publications…

Publications

On the Web

Victoria & Albert Museum

British Library

Goth Quiz Time

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Fake cover shot

Through the many web trawls, I came across this simple Goth quiz which featured Party Day as a possible answer. If you have a few minutes try out the quiz and see how much you know about Goth music. I didn’t do very well at all.

And did you know  in the 2014 list of the Top 100 Greatest Post-Punk Albums, Glasshouse listed at no.93. Courtesy of the Best Ever Albums’s site. This was created by ‘Second-Soul’ in Italy. I kid ye not. Now that’s worthy of being in a quiz.

Publications

Mick Mercer's book Gothic Rock: All you ever wanted to know . . .  but were too gormless to ask, published in the UK (1991) and in the USA (1993). It’s a fantastic A-Z list of all those that those artists and bands mattered in Goth music at the end of the 80’s, and of course it included Party Day.

This latest edition contains comprehensive indie-label discographies, and is now so huge too, that it has now been split into two volumes; Part One: European labels, and Part Two: non-European labels.

It’s addictive stuff, and pleasing to see the likes of Factory and Factory Benelux output given their own two-page spread, and the book shows sleeve covers from the good, the bad and the ugly! There are a vast number of entries from one-off labels to major indies. And amazingly, this book contains an incredible 3,800 pictures - this is essential referencing for the music geek!

Victoria and Albert Museum

In 2013, strange things were found … Who’d have thought it, but the V&A have a copy of the Glasshouse EP in their Prints and Drawing Collection. Although it has three catalogue numbers, they are for the cover, inner sleeve and the vinyl . . . Guess they loved the design.

In 2016, Mick Baker visited the V&A, to view the artwork and talked to the curator. It was a proud moment for all. Expect to see a copy of Sorted! there too.

On the Web

The band are featured in literally loads of listings for goth, gothic, indie, barnsley etc (See ‘And Now’ page) on the net. So here are examples of Party Day, as listed in The Gothic Music Handbook - 1995, and Andy Darlington's latest Blogspot, in March 2020, reprints two interviews he did with the band 'People Who Live in Glasshouses' (around the time of the first album), and 'The Party Line (Let’s Party)' (Zigzag Vol. 1 No.9 [1984]). Go to interviews page.

They Could Have Been Bigger Than EMI: A discography of now defunct independent record labels that released vinyl (Part 1 - Europe), third edition.

As stated on the Recordings page, PD’s label, Party Day Records gets a listing within this most comprehensive listings book to date. The book was first printed in 2005, second edition in 2007, and now Fall 2012.

British Library

The British Library has added both singles’ A sides to its Audio Archive. Although it’s unclear whether it is the online SoundServer Jukebox or only available in the Reading room.

Then in 2009 Mick Mercer struck again! With his book Music to Die For: the international guide to the last great underground scene.

This book was created and intended to be the ultimate resource guide to make sense of the chaos that the web phenomenon has helped to fuel, in all things Goth that go crash in the night.

Party Day was included in this book, along with their comprehensive discography.

Previously, 1977cc published ‘The Black Book (the life and times of Richard Rouska) by Captain Swing, 2014. This book contains many references to Party Day, and their time with Rouska Records, and the interviews published within Rouska fanzine.

Also PD gets a listed mention in the latest book by David Cavanagh, due to the band being part of the John Peel show for 2nd July 84. The book is about Peel and is called ‘Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to …’

Publisher: Faber & Faber; Main edition (19 May 2016) ISBN: 978-0571327898

July 2019 saw the publication from Richard Rouska (of Records and magazine fame) with his fantastically detailed book on the Leeds scene, It Ain’t Peters and Lee: How Leeds (nearly) took over the world… through the power of Shock ‘n’ Roll. This book covers the period from 1977 - 87, and brings a whole new meaning to in-depth. A labour of love or exorcism - you decide.

This book will become the ultimate resource guide of all things Leeds and Yorkshire. Party Day are included in the book, in the guise of a gigging band, well profiled on the Leeds scene, and finally as part of the Rouska Records Roster.

Goth Quiz Time