Poppycock

Any reasonably knowledgeable fan of post-punk will likely recognise the name Una Baines.

A founder of both The Fall and Blue Orchids, Una's influence in the development of both bands is a matter of historical fact . . . so much so that people scarcely realise how few recordings she's actually made - a solitary 7" with The Fall, one LP and a few singles by Blue Orchids, and that's it, barring her most recent recording, The Fates' obscure album "Furia", itself released nearly forty years ago on a tiny one-off label until its excavation a few years back on the Finders Keepers label.



Una's spent much of the last four decades working in community organising, raising a family, and functioning as a symbolic godmother to many Mancunian artists and musicians who cite her as an aspiration and mentor.

Her band Poppycock has undergone several line-up changes between their sporadic - almost exclusively local - live appearances. 



Una has never been shy in describing her personal ideals and artistic expression in terms of feminism - even if the term was occasionally derided by other (sometimes even female) artists in the punk era.

Poppycock's new album "Magic Mothers" displays a consistency of vision rare traceable back to interviews she did during The Fall. Hearing it, we're reminded of the emotional fierceness set against pop arrangements from acts like Look Blue Go Purple and Dead Famous People, or the spare pop jazziness found in songs by Marine Girls, Tracey Thorn's pre-fame combo.

The arrival of "Magic Mothers" will come as a surprise to many - though recorded in fits and starts over the last fifteen years, it's a cohesive statement with an expansive cast of friends and allies, including Blue Orchids' Howard Jones and The Fall / House Of All's Simon Wolstencroft, plus many others.