That's one for the book: August 1986

Saturday, August 9, 1986

Itsa Skitsa

During April of 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I've been busy scanning my old slides and negatives. I came across some black and white negatives dated 1986 of the band Itsa Skitsa playing at what I guessed to be the Key West club in London. As always I went to Facebook fans of that era and got a load of information.

My call for help in the 1980's Punk Rockers in London, Ontario Facebook group went like this ...

Looking for you recollections ... again. I have some BW pictures of Itsa Skitsa I've recently scanned which seem to be from 1986. It looks like it might have been at Key West on Talbot St (definitely London). If you have any recollections to share I'd appreciate it. (I have previously shared color photos from a CTO gig).
I do recall them being very good musicians with quirky post-punk rhythms. They did have a track "Warning" on the CHRW London Underground LP (86); there was a demo tape (again '86) with "Simple Kiss", "Tell You" and "Will We Ever". If anyone has collected more of their music I'd like to hear it again.
I believe the band had Doug Campbell - drums, percussion; Paul Scriven - guitars, vocals; Damien Seguin - guitars, vocals; Iain Staines - bass, vocals. In these pictures there's a third person singing. A guest/friend?
I seem to recall they were an evolution of the band called "Soma".
Ps. From these pictures I think they might have been called "Men w/o Shirts"

They released a self titled six (6) tune EP in 1987 (see Discogs for more information) which I have digitized into my iTunes collection. On listening again to their music I think they were in the Pop or New Wave genre.

Mark Goodwin, who was active in the London scene at the time, identified the singer "Pretty sure the mystery vocalist is DaNa STone friend of the band and all around good guy." Dave O'Halloran confirmed my suspicions that it was the Key West club. Marcy Marcy got in contact with some of the band members and reports "the boys are racking their brains to remember these gigs, but loving the pics! Your photos are such a treasure. A gift to all the bands you photographed."

DaNa STone confirmed the club and shared the poster at left of events at the Key West in early August of 1986 which sets the date of these black and white images at either Friday August 8 or Saturday the 9th. He shared the poster and commented "Pretty sure it’s from this gig. Skitsa shows usually ended with a lengthy jam - my favs were with Doug and Marcy doing a “double drum”. I love seeing pics like this, reminding me of the great friends and wonderful Music Community that we were all part of. ;0)"

The poster is a very good representation of the music scene in London at the time. It's a veritable inventory of all that was going on. Young people making music of their own and having the time of their lives doing so. Gary Kaufman (who drummed for LMOTV) saw the poster and commented "Great to be included in that line-up....and yes, those were the days.." Kevin McKeon (also of LMOTV) recalls "it was such an exciting time with a bunch of bars within walking distance of each other that featured live bands playing original music most days of the week."

I've had a bit of a conversation on the side with DaNa STone. He tells me he's working on remastering the Itsa Skitsa EP which I had mentioned. He has a bunch of live tracks which might someday see the light of day. There are a few recordings I've found on YouTube but it is pretty sparse. We also talked about an 18 track LP "4 Days in November" they recorded back in 1984 at "ItsaBarn" where I have another connection. He confirms it was indeed the barn at Doug Campbell's home in an area called "Old South London". We lived nearby and knew his mother Mary Campbell (see also the Mary Campbell Housing Coop) as the barn was also used by our food coop. I recall seeing the band rehearse there several times.

DaNa has a history with the London music scene, Kate and I were just voyeurs on the side. He tells me he wasn’t around for Soma (I recall they rehearsed in that same barn). He writes "I’d lived in London in 79 working with a band called The Stoves - Paul [Scriven] was in that band. Doug [Campbell] and Damian [Seguin] were in Soma - I have some promo pics somewhere and I think a few demo songs - I believe with Ralph Dame and Rick Bowman. Iain [Staines], who I met in 79, came from The Demics."

At the mention of The Stoves I shared some photos from "Polish Hall - 1979 Stoves & Regulators".

Finally, I have more color photos of Itsa Skitsa, some I've not shared before, from the same period.

These notes and photos scanned and organized during April 2021; this blog filed for the date of the August 9, 1986 show at Key West.