The confession continues.
I’ve bought something else from RSD 2022, only this time I had to send off to a participating store in Chelmsford, Essex to get it.
There was no way any of the Scottish stores would still have had a copy of Covers by Associates within about thirty minutes of the doors opening. I actually didn’t fancy my chances of finding one on-line at an affordable price, fully believing they would all be in the hands of those whose only thought was to flip them via Discogs or Ebay.
There are five songs on Covers, so it’s basically a 12″ single, albeit played at 33 and a third RPM. The tracks are Love Hangover, Gloomy Sunday, Boys Keep Swinging, Eloise, and Kites. I’ve the first two already on vinyl, and indeed it could be argued (rightly) that Kites is by 39 Lyon Street and not Associates. But still, the opportunity to finally have a vinyl copy of the debut single was too good to pass on:-
mp3: Associates – Boys Keep Swinging
You can expect to in the region of £400 for a copy of the original 7″ single, released on Double Hip Records back in 1979. I don’t think the 12″ RDS release will reach even 10% of that figure in the years ahead. But an accumulation of value was not what at the front of my brain when I hit the on-line purchase button.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
They didn’t even bother to sell this one over here. The UK version of RSD always caters more to my sensibilities. I did manage to track down the lost record of Flying Nun vets Dead Famous People from RSD UK however, so not a complete loss.
I first heard this song while being entertained by Mr Sloane all those years ago on his radio show. He introduced it as the debut single receiving it’s debut play . At that time in my life Bowie loomed large – any hint of a cover version would be treated with the utmost suspicion and probably derision. When the track finished I was just astonished. I, for some reason, didn’t want to like it but instead I loved it. I waited patiently for it to be played again – maybe even as quick as the following week – and sat with my fingers poised over the record button on one of those radio casettes recorders that had buttons like piano keys. I got it. I most likely still have it.
I can’t even pretend to be clever about what I loved about this cover version – I just loved it. My love affair with Associates was borne and whenever I could afford I bought.
Fast forward – I managed to buy a rather cover-battered secondhand copy of Fourth Drawer Down – someone had leaned on it to write with the writing impressed into the cover. As I read the impressed writings it became clear they belonged to someone I went to school with. Small world. He clearly wasn’t a fan as I bought it not long after it’s original release. His loss my eternal gain.
Associates made cover versions original. That may sound like a bag of shite but it’s still how I feel. Boys Keep Swinging continues to makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention.
I don’t ‘do’ RDS but I was almost charmed by this. The cover art is excellent too.
I need this as I need every Associates/MacKenzie pressing.
This was the only RSD release I got this year (although I confess I will be out for drop 2 in June when the vinyl version of Adrian Borland’s 5:00 am will come), and since I have all the tracks I haven’t even opened the shrink…
So, I am guessing now, but isn’t the version of Kites included the b-side of the Breakfast 12″ rather than the 39 Lyon Str version? At least would make more sense to me.
Prices for some vinyl releases have gone totally mad, I was (long after their releases) able to get my hands on both the Double Hip and the MCA release of Boys to a total way below the £400 now requested at Discogs for the DH version.