Some while ago Stewart Lee sent me a small mp3 file. It sounded like space music. He asked me if I’d ever heard it. I said no. About a year later I bumped into him again and we had a cup of coffee. I asked him about the music he’d sent me all that time ago. He remembered it, and said he would supply me with more info. Turns out it was started in 1979 and finished about 1984, made by a man called Alan in Hull. He had heard War Of The Worlds and wanted to make his own similar epic space adventure. Galactic Nightmare was the result; it took him about 4 years. He wrote and played the music, wrote the story, narrates the story, sings the songs, made all the artwork, the poster, the storyfile etc. It was only available for £4.99 on cassette in the back of magazines such as C U Amiga and Future Music in the 1980s. One of the writers for Future Music, Dave Robinson liked it and started playing it to a few people. One of those was Dave Green, who eventually (in the 1990s) played it to Stewart Lee…

It is a unique recording, joyous in its attempt to create something absolutely epic with very few resources. I also find the attention to detail extraordinary. I believe everyone should make a record of some kind in their life, whether that be a single, an album, a spoken word thing, some field recordings – whatever – just some kind of recording. And Galactic Nightmare is a great example of an amateur getting on with it, being inspired to make something, sticking with it and ultimately creating an album that few people will forget once they have heard it.

Galactic Nightmare is the first Trunk double LP. There will be 500 copies only. And what a beast it is, with full colour gatefold artwork, the story across in the fully printed inner sleeves. And some incredible reviews (see below) as well as release of the month in Record Collector.

The album can be bought or downloaded here. Do not miss out.