List of mp3s of The Playground

All tracks digitally remastered by Dave Houssart 2008 from the original tapes.

The Demo

January 1987, at a garage sound studio in South Harrow

	Leaving the Beach	as Regardes des Vacances in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Dreams of Dead People
	"This is rain"	as Half-Remembering a Certain English Poet in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest
	Thinking of When We Are Bombed	as For the Gauchistes in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Town of the Ghosts	The Playground
	A New Romance of Chusrau and Shirin	What Was Shown (Ferry Press, 1980)
	In the Country of the Kind
	Long Pig

Home Recordings

Peter Philpott recorded the poems; Jon Slater and Dave Houssart fitted music to them — part of the process in late 1985 of working out how the music could be produced.

	Four Final Songs	as Four Final Puppet Songs in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	"No poem, no pattern of it"	"No poem, no pattern of it" in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	The Playhouse Bar	The Playground

The Luscious Ease of Creation

aka The Wallpaper Sessions — practice sessions late 1985–late 1986, home recorded.

	Our One Flesh
	The Revenge of Flesh
	Thinking of Mansfield Park	Thinking of Mansfield Park in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest
	Keats An Old Man	What Was Shown (Ferry Press, 1980)
	"This is rain"	as Half-Remembering a Certain English Poet in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest
	instrumental with inaudible voice
	lyrical instrumental
	Four Final Songs	as Four Final Puppet Songs in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	"No poem, no pattern of it"	"No poem, no pattern of it" in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	The Playhouse Bar	The Playground

Epping Centrepoint

We played support for The Cougars, an excellent rockabilly band, at our first public outing, May 25, 1986. Claire from Fat Hamster also played on the last track, Ghost Stories. The Royal, or Sacerdotal, Art and It Is the Memory of What We Never Experienced are performed on the same track. This was a live recording at the gig. and sound quality is poor.

	Four Final Songs	as Four Final Puppet Songs in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	"No poem, no pattern of it"	"No poem, no pattern of it" in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Leaving the Beach	as Regardes des Vacances in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	The Playhouse Bar	The Playground
	Town of the Ghosts	The Playground
	Contaminated Art	as "Contaminated Art — That Was Some Scene, Yes." in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Thinking of When We Are Bombed	as For the Gauchistes in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Dead Bone	The Playground
	The Royal, or Sacerdotal, Art + It Is the Memory of What We Never Experienced	The Royal, or Sacerdotal, Art in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground (both texts)
	Ghost Stories

The Wicken Weekend

Harlow College English Department ran weekend residentials, "creative Weekends" primarily for A-level students, at Wicken House, an Essex County Council residential centre at Wicken Bonhunt. They were arranged by Peter Taylor, Jan Pearson and myself. In February 1986 the Playground provided late night entertainment in the cellar. Acoustics were very poor in the cellar, but the spirit is conveyed! Tapes of the rehearsal also survive (with Dead Bone 3 and The Royal, or Sacerdotal Art + especially It is the memory of What We Never Experienced very effective). The Royal, or Sacerdotal, Art and It Is the Memory of What We Never Experienced are performed on the same tracks.

Live Performance

	Four Final Songs	as Four Final Puppet Songs in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	"No poem, no pattern of it"	"No poem, no pattern of it" in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Leaving the Beach	as Regardes des Vacances in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	The Playhouse Bar	The Playground
	Town of the Ghosts	The Playground
	Thinking of When We Are Bombed	as For the Gauchistes in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Dead Bone	The Playground
	The Royal, or Sacerdotal, Art + It Is the Memory of What We Never Experienced	The Royal, or Sacerdotal, Art in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground (both texts)

The Rehearsal

	Town of the Ghosts 1	The Playground
	Town of the Ghosts intro	The Playground
	Contaminated Art	as "Contaminated Art — That Was Some Scene, Yes." in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Thinking of When We Are Bombed 2	as For the Gauchistes in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Dead Bone 1	The Playground
	Dead Bone 2	The Playground
	Town of the Ghosts 2	The Playground
	Thinking of When We Are Bombed 2	as For the Gauchistes in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground
	Dead Bone 3	The Playground
	Dead Bone 3	The Playground
	The Royal, or Sacerdotal, Art + It Is the Memory of What We Never Experienced	The Royal, or Sacerdotal, Art in A Year and a Day in the Dark Forest The Playground (both texts)