Eyeplug defines ‘Indie’ derived from Independent music as a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording, publishing and even distribution. The concept was all about autonomy and the kudos and integrity of ‘DIY not EMI’ as an ethic. Drawing on inspiration from skiffle, The Velvet Underground, and the garage/frat scene of yesteryear, the 1980’s witnessed the first devoted ‘Alternative’ Chart in the music press. John Peel was a champion of the army of bedsit poets and youth club combos.
The ethics seemd to fade as economic factors became a harsh lesson for many, and various off-shoots, styles, sub-genres were soon to emerge to keep the student halls buzzing and the NME alive and kicking. The Indie scne of today has many shapes and facets and many blurry lines.
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Celebrating the Do It Yourself aesthetic, the Eyeplug Indie pages present the totality of independent rock, from the nascent stirrings of ‘Spiral Scratch’ in 1976, through that decades subsequent label boom and the rise of the C86 bands, to the present day pioneer spirit of bands like the Flats and labels such as Damaged Goods.
