Even at the time, it felt implausible that Man…or Astro-Man? would do over a dozen sessions at the mighty British Broadcasting Company. Initially it was the legendary John Peel who had the band on his Radio 1 show—six times between 1993 and 2000—after Birdstuff sent him a postcard ordering him never to play the band.
Peel allegedly had a shrine to our Auburn heroes at his country estate, and while we believe that to be true, we’ve yet to see photographic evidence. The list of bands that recorded a session for Peel (neé Ravenscroft) is mind boggling and estimable. Most American bands would be lucky to record a single Peel session. For Astro-Man? to have played as much as they did at his request is an indisputable testament to the band’s fevered devotion to performing. But also, let’s be honest: John Peel had pretty great taste. As reference, The Fall performed on Peel’s show more than 25 times between 1977, a year after the band was formed, and the death of leader Mark E. Smith in 2018.
The fact that a decidedly obtuse and dorky band from Auburn, Alabama, would perform on Peel’s show more times than The Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, and Nirvana combined is proof positive that Astro-Man truly put in the work…especially on the British airwaves. What the BBC documented in its studios peppered across the country was a band that evolved in plain view from a spazzy surf band into a shit-hot post-punk powerhouse.
More than a decade ago, with my daughter, still in diapers, resting on my lap, I had a sit-down with Coco. He gave my outrageous idea of doing an extended Astro BBC retrospective a cautiously enthusiastic thumbs-up. Flash ahead to 2024: my daughter is now a teenager, and that preposterous idea is finally materialized. Thank the heavens. Thank the stars. The first (and hopefully not the last) Astro box set is now a full-blown reality. To see this completed is a thrill and a privilege, and a highlight of my charmed lifetime as a die-hard Astro fan. — Henry H. Owings (aka The Boo Yaa Boy)
Packaging designed by Chris Bilheimer
Man or Astro-Man?
ROYGBIV (Recordings From The BBC)
Format: vinyl box set – 8 7″ singles & bonus flexi
(Chunklet)
Street Date: Sept. 1, 2024
Track List:
1. Rocketship XL-3
2. Invasion of the Dragonmen
3. Nitrous Burnout
4. Transmissions From Venus
5. A Mouthful of Exhaust
6. Sadie Hawkins Atom Bomb
7. Theme from The Munsters
8. Gargantua’s Last Stand
9. Name of Numbers
10. Special Agent Conrad Uno
11. Time Bomb
12. Put Your Finger In The Socket
13. __________ (Classified)
14. Sferic Waves
15. Inside the Head of Mr. John Peel
16. Inside The Atom
17. 24 Hours
18. Maximum Radiation Level
19. U-Uranus
20. Man Made of CO2
21. 9-Volt
22. Television Fission
23. Welcome to the Wicky Wacky World of John Peel (The Wayward Meteor)
24. Lo Batt
25. The Miracle of Genuine Pyrex
26. Jonathan Winters Frankenstein
27. With Automatic Shut Off
28. Rovers
29. Transmissions from Venus
30. Max Q view
31. Don’t Think What Jack view
32. Birdstuff reading excerpts from “A Scanner Darkly” by Philip K. Dick
