MITCH DICKINSON SUCCUMBS TO 'GRIND MADNESS AT THE BBC'

Recording his own Peel Session alongside Mick Harris and Shane Embury with proto-death/grind punks UNSEEN TERROR, grindcore's last Tommy and all round lovely gent MITCH DICKINSON hops in his 'GRIND MADNESS AT THE BBC'-shaped time machine and returns to a world where John Peel was king.



How did you wind up with a Peel Session? Were bands put forward or were they chosen out of the blue?  
 
“I am pretty certain that Earache sent promo copies of all of the early vinyl releases directly to John Peel. The hope was that he would probably play something from one or two of the releases that he was sent as his tastes were extremely wide ranging. It turned out that his tastes were a lot wider than we had all imagined! He loved pretty much everything he could get his hands on after he heard 'Scum'. What a man! 
 
“All of the sessions were the result of the joint decision made between John and his producer John Walters. Sessions were given to artists that they had particularly enjoyed airing and listening to around the time of their discussions. I am sure that, getting the phone call from John Walters was a complete surprise to everyone on this compilation. There was no letter in the post or prior warning given. Just a random telephone call. I will never forget picking up the phone and hearing the voice of Mr Walters asking me if I would like to record a John Peel session! I calmly said yes! I also remember that our phone was only taking incoming calls at the time. I ran all the way to Shane’s house to give him the good news.”

What do you remember about the actual recording?  
 
“I remember the experience quite well considering it was over twenty years ago. We arrived a while before the session was due to start. We signed in to the BBC and headed to the studio. Mick Harris had already warned me about Dale Griffin as he and Shane had already recorded with him before. He told me that he was a no nonsense kind of character and that we had to nail it as quickly as possible as he did not like loads of takes or any time wasting. We set up as a two-piece live band in the main recording room and just blasted through our songs instrumentally. Shane and I always had a special chemistry playing together, so the initial tracking was quite straight forward. I then laid the bass guitar down in the control room. There were a few guitar bits too. A couple of short solos etc. Vocals were the last thing as is usually the case. Mick and I shared the duties in the order of the session that is on this compilation. All in all, the session went very smoothly and Dale Griffin barely showed his dark side! I think after the initial meeting with Mick for the first Napalm Death session, he knew what to expect. Mick was as funny as ever and even made Mr Griffin smile a couple of times.
 
“Recording aside, I remember visiting the BBC canteen. We were all astonished at how cheap the food was. It was all subsidised. I’ll never forget Mick loudly stating about how much of a bargain his baked potato with cheese and beans was! The vending machine story that is in the liner notes took place at this session. I am sure it happened many times afterwards too! Mick and I had the bright idea of tilting the vending machine so far forward that gravity became the law of the day. Loads of free chocolate! As Mick would say, 'How chuffed'.
 
Did you get to speak to John Peel? Do you remember anything he said about the band?  
 
“I was lucky enough to meet John twice. Both times were during the period when I was playing guitar for Heresy. He came to a couple of shows admittedly, both meetings were quite brief, but we had a chat about the band, forthcoming plans, general stuff etc... I remember the first time. He turned up in Bradford at the 1 In 12 Club. He was doing a review for the Observer which was later published. A good review too. The second and last time I met John was in Nottingham. I remember Martin Nesbitt (ex-Earache, Carcass manager) coming over to me to tell me that he had spotted him at the back of the venue. We were all surprised to see him again.
 
“John said many positive things about Unseen Terror. He aired the session three times and was always very enthusiastic before he played one of the four sections of our session. I have the cassettes somewhere. I don’t remember any exact words, but I remember how much he liked it. To have a session aired three times was quite an honour. He just loved the sincerity of all of the artists featured here and was immensely supportive. He would urge his listeners to go and buy the records on a regular basis.
 
“I also have a very vivid memory of John Peel appearing in an interval feature during the Brit Awards around this time. He did a mini feature on underground music. I remember it clearly. He walked into the Rough Trade shop in Talbot Road, Portobello and asked if he could hear 'some Napalm Death'! While ND was playing the background he then went to the record racks and selected four LPs. The four LPs were by Heresy, Unseen Terror, Napalm Death and The Stupids. He explained that these were four of his current favourites and that there were many hidden gems to be found under the surface of mainstream music. Amazing. What made me particularly proud if this was the fact that these bands were all friends of mine and also that I had played guitar in all four bands! It really was a small scene and his support was and always will be gratefully acknowledged.”

Which were your favourite Peel Sessions from the era?  
 
“Personally I would say that my favourite session is the first Napalm Death session. It just sounds so insane! I love it to this day. Twelve tracks in less than five minutes. It broke all the rules of normality and is the musical equivalent of a thousand car pile up with a nearby nuclear explosion! There are parts of that session that NO ONE on this earth could convert into tablature! 'Blind To The Truth' is a good example of this. Barely controlled chaos. Absolutely brilliant!
 
“Another favourite of mine is the Godflesh session. Soooo heavy and angry. I remember hearing it at the time and thinking that it was their best recording to date. Listening to it on my iPod the other day I could hear the speaker cabs distorting and groaning with the punishment they were enduring. It really sounds like everything is turned up to eleven. It sounds loud at a low volume such is the denseness of the recording. I think Justin and Benny must have had a bad experience on the motorway that day!”

How does the finished 'Grind Madness...' comp compare to the Strange Fruits releases? The quality of the Napalm tracks immediately leaps out as sharper.  
 
“To be honest, I have not really analysed the two since getting the comp. However, I did notice instantly that the overall sound of the three-CD set is extremely good. The new mastering job seems to give a certain brightness and clarity to the overall sound. The mastering engineer that Earache use is very well versed in this kind of music and has done a stellar job.”

Is it a bit weird revisiting all of this stuff?  

“Not at all. I have remained a passionate follower of the underground metal/grind scene since these recordings were made. I do not think I will ever change. I also think that the majority of the music on this comp has stood the test of time very well. It has been great to witness the influence that we (everyone on the comp), as musicians, have collectively made on the music scene of the past two decades. I keep in touch with many people of all ages all over the globe to this day and the release of this compilation seems more relevant now than ever.”
 
Bizarrely it's not listed on the Peel Sessions bit of the BBC website, what a brutal snubbing! 
 
“Bah! Humbug! Mother!”

Check out some tracks from 'Grind Madness At The BBC' here, it is of course out now through Earache.