Click ‘Made In the 80s’ Spotify Playlist
UPDATE 12 December 2025
My 80s Cassette Massacre is a personal archive project, my public diary. I’ve long felt the need to open the vault on some early recordings that shaped my creative path. All from the 1980s. I have also made a Spotify playlist, ‘Made In the 80s’ which includes all the tracks in one place, 23 at present and growing.
These lofi cassette relics, captured alone or with kindred spirits in dimly lit rooms, pulse with the melancholy spirit of the early 1980s through to the end of the decade. They were never meant for release - just raw, analogue sketches on cheap tape, driven by obsession, isolation, and the glow of synths in the dark. Some pieces are from Strange Silence, a band I formed in 1983 that lived briefly on stage, and others are experiments born in the static of that time. Expect hiss, distortion, and emotional residue. The fidelity is low, but the atmosphere is real.
The first chapter is Monday Loves Friday Volume 1, created in collaboration with Chris Gaskell circa 1989.
‘Monday Loves Friday’ is the moniker I gave to the duo, Chris and I. The tracks on Volume 1 are Chris compositions sung and produced by myself. We both played keyboards as well as drum programming. Gaskell had been in a local Melbourne band, The Prostitutes, which evolved into ‘Soulscraper’ in the early 90s. The latter, very much in the ‘Nine Inch Nails’ mold, quickly developed into a sort after band. Personal politics shortened their, what could have been, imho, a brilliant future before it had time to develop further.
Anyhow, he and I, both Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys fans, found common ground and a friendship ensued. His writing at the time reflected the later and I think this comes through on the 3 songs he wrote.
Strange Silence Volume 1
In 1986, Strange Silence, the Melbourne band I was performing in was about to debut at a local city venue, The Tropicana Club, Richmond. Prior to the gig we hired a small recording studio to perform the repertoire live, and have it recorded. At the same time it assisted our new front of house engineer, to better acquaint himself with our sound, while recording us. You can even hear the false start at the beginning of the first track: the voices of Owen, the engineer in the control room, and my response in acquiescence.
Balances of instruments and vocals are rough but the exercise served its purpose. Nearly 40 years later I'm releasing this page from my diary, from a week night in May 1986.
Strange Silence was myself on keyboards, electronics and programming, Stephen Beckett - vocals, John Benevoli - guitar, Andrew Tosolini - bass. The songs on the EP were mostly written by myself with Stephen.
Modesty Blaise, The Rubber Room, I Don't Know, Writing from the Top of My Head, Waiting for Heaven, Everyday Life. ‘The Rubber Room’ and ‘Waiting for Heaven’, I re recorded with different production for my 2020 album, ‘New Romance 1984’.
More EP's to follow....
MY 80s CASSETTE MASSACRE Spotify page is here
MADE IN THE 80s Spotify Playlist of all tracks, curated, is here