Cargo Records

Maida Vale

On the 23rd August 2000 Hefner played a very special show from BBC's Maida Vale studios to an invited audience for the John Peel show.

This was the highlight of a relationship between the band and the greatly revered DJ which saw 5 Peel sessions and four live concerts broadcast on his Radio 1 show. John Peel helped secure the bands position as a very individual cult phenomenon, with Darren Hayman's idiosyncratic lyrics of London life winning them a loyal worldwide fan base. The concert on this CD features an 8 piece version of the band with includes a brass section, pedal steels, ukuleles and violin alongside their own guitars bass and drums. It also features several contributions from Amelia Fletcher, (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Wedding Present, Marine Research). The album captures an exceptional performance of many songs rarely played live during Hefner's short career. Maida Vale follows the release of The Best Of Hefner and Catfight (a collection of unreleased recordings) and is the premier release on Belka, a label which will continue to release re-mastered and expanded versions of Hefner's back catalogue through out 2007.