Testimonial 36

The grace of the gods of feathered friends and all the seas secrets.
I stumbled on to the Cardiacs way back in the winter of 88, The album was " A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window" and my reaction was one of extreme joy and brain cell loss.
Since that day I have been a devout servant of the mighty Cardiacs and have collected all there joyful CDs, but, alas, have only seen them live once……damn me to hell for my sins.
Cardiacs are like a drug, they lift me up when I am down and lift my spirits further when I am happy, however I need a new fix, I am gagging for new material…..When will it come?……I sit in my snowy pond and wait for that sunny day…….

Simon Wilson.

Testimonial 37

MY FIRST CARDIACS MEMORY IS WHEN I WAS 13 MY BIG BROTHER LET ME LISTEN TO BABY HEART DIRT & I FALL IN LOVE WITH THAT BAND.I STARTED TO BUY ALL THE CDS, SUDDENLY ‘JETHRO TULL’, ‘GENTLE GIANT’&’GENESIS’ SEEMS SO SIMPLE WHEN I HEARD’ON LAND & IN THE SEA’.TODAY IM A SOLDIER (IN ISRAEL) & CARDIACS MAKES MY ARMY TIME BETTER THAN IT IS.

YOSSI

Testimonial 38

Hi.
I hope you can use my testimonial. My self and the Cardiacs existed on other planets until 95, even though I saw them at strawberry fayre Cambridge in 1990 (I remember someone with a camcorder backstage filming them I was the drunk in the audience, who kept sticking his tongue out at the camera) I also remember the Sunday sport article, and Gary Davies playing is this the life? (very nice I thought, but never brought any records) until in 1995, I had a very bad dose of the flu and was gonna go home and have a early night but some one said to me, are you gonna see Chumbawumba at the Cambridge junction, ok I said who’s supporting them, the Cardiacs they said. So I decided I should go, only so I’m not classed as a social leper, so I went I remember hearing buds and spawn and thought I must get a sampler CD, so I did and heard goodbye grace and thought the new Beatles and I have been a fan ever since,

Steve Adams Royston Herts, UK

Testimonial 39

In 1987 my friends from Wycombe college asked me if I wanted to join their band called Marko Sharkos Amazing Flower Garden, because they neded a percussionist and someone to ridicule. They made me play the mst bizzare stuff as I had ever heard. By the end of the year the band had changed to be known as Blossom. I jump to January 16th 1988…. Wycombe Halls of Residence by the sports centre. I awoke on our bass player, Poppi’s floor. He had an old stereo, where the arm swang across so that you could stack records to be played concurrently. (Records are the black things that don’t sparkle young ‘uns) That last record had lovingly been left on repeat and I awoke to the dulcet tones of Leaving early just before the hour……….. from Seaside Treats EP. This had been playing continuously (along withHope Day) for some 6 hours.

TING!!! now I understood the music we were playing.

I first caught the Cardiacs live on Thursday 6th December 1990 at the now sadly departed Old Trout in Windsor. Life is sweet, such a treat. Strangely, our stage show developed. I don’t think I missed a single gig in ‘92 at which point I first met Tim. Gave him a demo tape and thought that’s the last of that! I was delightfully surprised to meet Tim a year(ish) later when I asked Tim about the tape and he recalled one of the tracks. What a nice man.

I have introduced many friends over the years to the aural (not oral!) delights of Cardiacs and confused most of them. My last convert was my friend Crowmarsh Sam. He was studying for his masters in music, when I made him visit The Point on my birthday. He wasn’t sure if it was crap or genius. Fortunately good sense prevailed and he plumped for the genius answer.

I am now a primary teacher and am slowly poisononing little minds by using the gentler side of Cardiacs (All his Geese are Swans etc.) as a stimulus for music and dance.

My life has been dramatically changed by the Cardiacs and give it 6 years, when the little nippers have more pocket money and there shall be an uprising.

God bless the Cardiacs.

Martin Pressling

Testimonial 40

I first encountered Cardiacs in 1984, when they were support act for Marillion at the Manchester Apollo. I was completely astounded by what I saw and heard. They were well heckled for most of the set by the Marillion fans who obviously couldn’t come to terms with what was going on, but Cardiacs carried on regardless.

I have no idea what they played that night, and would love to know. I remember one song which featured Tim stating how he was in the trenches, muddy and bloody "I’m all bloody muddy", but I don’t know what it was.

From then on I spent what seemed to be an age scouring the music press for information on this phenomenon which I had just witnessed, without much luck. It was only about 12 months later that I noticed Adrians records in High Wycombe were selling the Seaside Treats video. For some reason I didn’t trust mail order to deliver the goods to me safely, so I took the train from my home in Rochdale to High Wycombe and back to complete the transaction. It was well worth it, as at least I now had something tangible of Cardiacs. A couple of years passed before they played The International, also in Manchester, and I managed to buy a tape of The Seaside from the gig, got myself registered in The Yousletter Family and the rest, as they say, is history.

I must admit to not having paid them much attention since they became a four-piece, but seeing this website has probably given me a kick up the arse to buy some of the more recent stuff, although it has to be said that All That Glitters Is A Mares Nest is almost a permanent fixture on my CD player. Fantastic!

Nick Butterworth