Pillows And Prayers (Cherry Red Records 1982-1983)

Originally conceived as a simple label sampler by Cherry Red A&R man Mike Alway, ‘Pillows And Prayers’ quickly became both an iconic compilation and a must-have artefact of early 80s Thatcherite Britain.

Famously retailing at “No more than 99p”, the album provided an accessible gateway to both the Cherry Red label and the independent scene it was a part of. Ultimately, over 100,000 people took up the offer, found a pound from somewhere and became a part of something that resonated perfectly with its own time and place.

From the hesitant lo-fi of Marine Girls, through the ranting verse of Attila The Stockbroker and the delicate spoken word of Quentin Crisp to The Passage’s state-of-the-art synth pop, ‘Pillows And Prayers’ remains a fascinatingly eclectic brew, and something of a membership card to that world, standing alongside the NME’s ‘C86’ cassette as an 80s indie time capsule which remains relevant and in demand today.

Presented here in a deluxe hardbacked book format, and including no fewer than 17 previously unheard recordings, this edition of ‘Pillows And Prayers’ arrives complete with insight from the men who made it happen – Iain McNay and Mike Alway – the artists and The Times’ Will Hodgkinson. All of which makes for a must have review to a time and place when the aftershocks of punk were still being felt, “indie” wasn’t yet a genre and a pound could buy you entrance to a whole new way of thinking.