There Must Be Thousands - The Quads

The Quads - There Must Be Thousands
Originally uploaded by cheapskate.

When John Peel died last October, like many other people, I immediately wished I'd listened to his show more. As a way of filling a small part of the huge gap Peely left, I've been scouring the newspaper archives for old interviews - his words are so precisely chosen, and so often hilarious, that you can almost hear his familiar gruff voice. My worryingly obsessive research has also been a rich source of obscure records.

In this 2001 article for the Guardian Peel names There Must Be Thousands as one of his all-time favourites along with Don French's Lonely Saturday Night and No More Ghettos in America by Stanley Wilson (sic - it's Winston. I blame the Guardian subeditors). Big Bear records says it was Peel's favourite single of the 1970s.

The single itself, which I procured on eBay, is a exhuberant chunk of mod-ish punk. I always loved it on Gene Vincent's Be Bop A Lula when you can hear the 16-year-old drummer screaming - apparantly so his mum would be able to hear him on the record. The Quads have that same overexcited glee to be making a big noise in front of an audience. I also love it that it appears to be a live recording. It makes you want to have been there.