Chris Dean & The Crystallites / P Mod

[Bazza]

Does anyone know anything about Chris Dean & The Crystallites? This was the band Chris formed after the Redskins split. I've heard that the NME printed an article on the band and John Peel played one of their songs on Radio 1. But I can't find any information on the band.

So, does anyone have the NME article or any songs by them?

[Bazza]

So far this is the only info I have on the band. The message was posted on The Specials messageboard by someone called Trojan -


"I can distinctly remember John Peel playing a track by the band. I used to listen to Peels show on a nuts transistor, which didn’t have FM reception. And if you recall years ago it was only Peels show, which was broadcast on ‘fab FM’. AM reception at night was nutse to say the least with the reception strength going up and down constantly. The point of all this is that directly after the track John Peel said a few words about Chris Dean and his new band, and at this point my all I got from the radio was hiss and fuzz, so I never got to hear the title of the track or if it was a single or a session recording. I also remember a few lines in the NME about the band as well."

[Bazza]

I've had no luck in tracking down any information on Chris Dean & The Crystallites.

But I have found out that after the Redskins Chris Dean formed a band called P-Mod. I've heard the name mentioned before but was told that P-Mod was just an idea for a band that Chris had and it never got off the ground. However, I've since been told that P-Mod did record some demos. Does anyone know anything about P-Mod? Like the band line up and if they ever played any gigs?

[chuckwilson]

I am sure I remember Chris playing a demo tape which he said was P-Mod at his flat in Willesden, it was instrumental and I think Paul hookham was on drums but I am not sure.

Martin resurfaced on a band called Raj and the Magitones with Red Roger milton on sax and Raj on keyborads.

[Bazza]

A few people have told me that Paul Hookham was involved with P-Mod. But I've asked Eric Blowtorch who keeps in contact with Paul and have been told that he wasn't involved. Although Chris had planned to work with Paul after the Redskins split.

I knew that Martin had joined another band. But I didn't think they had released anything. I've just found out however that they featured on an Anti-Poll Tax compilation called "The Rise Of The Phoenix" with a track called "It's A Funny Old World". Martin has since returned to music by becoming a music teacher.

[Bazza]

Here is the full track listing for the Anti-Poll Tax album "The Rise Of The Phoenix"


1) Beats International - "Worry Don't Be Happy"
2) Skint Video - "Celidh Minogue"
3) Anhrefn - "Gwlad Y Rhyd"
4) Raj & The Magitones - "It's A Funny Old World
5) Tom Robinson - "My Own Sweet Way"
6) Cactus Rain - "We The People"
7) The Levellers - "World Freak Show"
8) The Farm - "Same Old Story"
9) Remember Fun - "Doze Of Them"
10) The Proclaimers - "What Do You Do?"
11) Radical Dance Faction - "Landing Party"
12) Jimmy Somerville - "Not So God Almighty"

[lom66]

Does anyone know what Chris does nowadays?

[Bazza]

lom66 said:

Does anyone know what Chris does nowadays?

I was in contact with someone about 2 years ago now who said that he bumped into Chris from time to time. It didn't sound as if Chris was doing anything musically and I've lost contact with the person to find out more.

Chris did however appear in a play after the Redskins split. There's a thread about it here ---> CLICKY

[Bazza]

It looks like Chris Dean's band P Mod recorded a Peel session that was never broadcast. Does anyone know anything more about this session? Or who the other members of P Mod were?

[Bazza]

I got the tape with the P-Mod tracks on yesterday. There's 2 tracks on it - This Insane Thing and So It Goes. This Insane Thing isn't the Redskins track but I'm told a poem by German socialist poet Bertolt Brecht which Chris Dean has put music to. The tracks are also marked "recorded for a Peel session - never broadcast".
I think that P-Mod might have been Chris Dean solo rather than a band as it sounds like it's a drum machine on the tracks.

[kn]

Bazza, is there any chance of you making the tracks available for download ??

[Bazza]

kn said:

Bazza, is there any chance of you making the tracks available for download ??

Not at the moment as the songs are on tape. I'm also still trying to find out more about the songs. As it turns out "This Insane Thing" is actually a Redskins song and not by P-Mod. The recording is from an unreleased Redskins Peel session from 1986 and the band line up features Chris Dean (vocals/guitar), Martin Hewes (bass), Paul Hookham (drums) and Ray Carless (sax).

I'm still trying to find out more information on the track "So It Goes" as Martin Hewes tells me that he never played on this song at all. So it was either by the Redskins after Martin had left the band or it's a P-Mod recording.

[Bazza]

Eric Blowtorch tells me that the correct title for the song labelled "This Insane Thing" is in fact "The Most Obvious Moderate Sensible Thing".

[scotto]

Nothing on the Peel Sessions' site about that recording, but maybe the site only lists the sessions that were broadcast. Still the Peel site might be of interest to readers here: www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/t/theredskins

[Bazza]

scotto said:

Nothing on the Peel Sessions' site about that recording, but maybe the site only lists the sessions that were broadcast. Still the Peel site might be of interest to readers here: www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/t/theredskins

I've already contacted the BBC about the session and they told me that they only keep records of the sessions that they broadcast. But they did say that they would ask around to see if anyone knows about the 1986 Redskins session.