The Greatest Shindig

Released under the temporary name Shindig; though the band returned to On a Friday after this release.

Recorded Summer 1990:
In the Clifton Hampden Village Hall (Tracks: A01, A03, A09 to A11)
In various band member bedrooms (A02, A05 to A08, A12 to B02)
In the Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall (Track: A04)

White labels on white cassette packaged with a folded insert.

All the members were by this point at different Universities around the country, but reconvened over the summer, with the exception of Phil who was in Ireland. In order to keep recording and rehearsing, the band drafted in school friend Nigel Powell, who had recorded some previous demos for the band, to keep the drum stool warm. The Clifton Hampden tracks were recorded over a number of weeks with this line up, in between Jonny took the four-track home with him where he, Thom and Colin would continue working on the tracks. When Phil returned the band recorded another demo track in rehearsal, ‘What Is That You See?’. ‘The Greatest Shindig Of The World’ - which would be rewritten as ‘Maquiladora’ - and ‘How Can You be Sure?’ would end up as b-sides on singles from The Bends.

The band did not have a settled name during this period, having dropped “On a Friday” temporarily, but not having come up with anything better yet. The band’s working title was “Shindig”, which survived long enough for Thom to spray paint it on his acoustic guitar case, but by the time of their next ‘proper’ demo in april 1991 (for which two songs from this 1990 tape would be substantially developed), they had reverted to “On a Friday”.

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20220000000000*/https://citizeninsane.eu/discog/00/90demo.html