December 2023 – THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

FROM THE ARCHIVES (10)

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It’s time to partially close down the blog for the period over Christmas and New Year. This time around I’m going to put up a re-posting from times gone by, and I’ll try my best to have all of them feature musicians whose appearances have been infrequent.

This dates from 31 December 2015

BORN TO DO COVER VERSIONS

From Rolling Stone magazine:-

LCD Soundsystem’s tragically nostalgic dance-rock epic ‘All My Friends’ is arguably the best indie-rock song of the ’00s. The B-sides to the single were all cover versions, hinting that the song was a classic the minute it was released.

Scot rockers Franz Ferdinand, who’d already taken bracing, contorted grooves to the pop charts, were born to do ‘All My Friends’ and they turned in an incisive, raging guitar-grinding version with singer Alex Karpanos boozily crooning James Murphy’s forlorn lyrics about losing touch with your friends as you grow older and more ambitious. Musically, they pull of a wonderful trick of interlaying their version with references to legendary post-punk bands like New Order and the Gang of Four that LCD and Franz share as influences. It’s an A-plus history project you can get way down to.

mp3 : Franz Ferdinand – All My Friends

It really is a cracking, crackling energetic cover that is among the best things that FF have ever laid down. But then again, they’re a band who have never shied away from tackling cover versions throughout their career, some without question more successfully than others as evidenced here:-

mp3 : Franz Ferdinand – Sexy Boy
mp3 : Franz Ferdinand – Get Up and Use Me
mp3 : Franz Ferdinand – What You Waiting For?
mp3 : Franz Ferdinand – Sound and Vision

I’m quite fond of the first two of the four featured above, not convinced by the third as I’ve no time for the original (albeit Mrs Villain is a fan of Gwen Stefani) while the latter is fun enough for the fact that Girls Aloud are on backing vocals!

I never ever got round to mentioning that the FFS project turned out to be one of the best surprises about 2015. The idea of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks combining into a supergroup for an album and live performances didn’t seem like a good idea when first mooted but then I gave the album a listen and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was but that was nothing compared to seeing them perform at the Glasgow Barrowlands which turned out to be a fun-filled and hugely entertaining gig. This was the night when I did truly understand the FF boys were born to do cover versions.

Watch this entire 70 minute performance while you have spare time over the festive period.

You can perhaps do it tomorrow when I’m taking a day off blogging. I’ll be back on Tuesday with some more archive material……but it won’t be long now till things get back to normal.

Happy New Year when it comes.

JC

Happy Mondays, Happy Mondays and Karl Denver

FROM THE ARCHIVES (9)

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This dates from 26 December 2014

THE DAY THE BARGAIN HUNTERS COME OUT IN FORCE

The day after Christmas can sometimes be a bit of an anti-climax. I hope it is not the case with you dear readers.

The folk I feel sorry for are those in the retail sector. They probably finished at 6pm on Christmas Eve after about three or four weeks in a row without a day off, during which time they dealt with customers who were clueless and often rude. I certainly saw some supermarket check-out staff get a mouthful of abuse because the shop had the temerity to have run out of some foodstuffs and those who left it till the last-minute were disappointed and in some cases angry.

Today, many of those hard-pressed workers will have had to go to their place of employment at stupid o’clock to get their shops and stores ready for those who still think that the best bargains in retail world are to be had on 26 December, and so they queue up for hours, often in the the miserable cold and wet, and then have a mad dash inside when the doors open.

I guarantee there will be footage on the news later on.

Over here, 26th December is referred to as Boxing Day. Thought I’d find a track with a very tenuous link to the theme of boxing for today.

It was one of three tunes on a belter of a CD single from 1990:-

mp3 : Happy Mondays – W.F.L. (Vince Clarke mix)
mp3 : Happy Mondays – W.F.L. (Think About The Future)
mp3 : Happy Mondays and Karl Denver – Lazyitis – one armed boxer

Enjoy.

JC

Betty Boo

FROM THE ARCHIVES (8)

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This dates from 27 June 2014

GETTING AWAY FROM GRUMPY POSTINGS

The past two days of postings have been a tad grumpy what with being the underwhelming Salad being followed by the incredibly disappointing 13th single from James.

The solution therefore has to be a song that has the ability to make me smile no matter the mood I’m in whenever it pops up on the i-pod. It’s one that some readers may be surprised to find featured on t’blog as, let’s face it, it is a song that is ridiculously light and rather inconsequential when it comes down to it, rarely if ever to feature on any countdown of all time favourites for a particular month far less a lifetime, but I have professed my love for this tune on previous occasions over at the old place.

mp3 : Betty Boo – Let Me Take You There (12″ version)

It was back in August 1992 when this delectable piece of pop caught the summer feeling and climbed its way to #12 in the UK charts and two years on from when Betty Boo (whose real name is Alison Clarkson) had first come to the attention of the public when she had enjoyed two Top 10 singles and a very successful debut LP, Boomania which reached #4 and led to her being named Best Breakthrough Act at The BRITS.

The lead-off single from the new album was incredibly radio friendly, helped by its clever sampling of a Four Tops song, and relates the simple tale of wanting to escape from the daily grind and head down to the seaside for a day of fun and frolics. It’s not a song that would ever claim to change the world, but I fell for its charms big-time and still have a 12″ copy kicking around in the cupboard

This was the last time, however, that Betty Boo bothered the charts as a solo artist. The follow-up singles flopped badly, while the LP from which they were lifted sold miserably and reached just #66.

Alison Clarkson however, has managed to maintain a career in and around the music industry, chiefly as a songwriter for a number of disposable and largely forgettable acts.

2023 Update

After many years out of the limelight as a performer, Betty Boo returned with a new album, Boomerang, in October 2022. It reached #45 in the charts, but none of the five singles lifted from it proved to be hits.

Enjoy

JC

Gaye Bykers On Acid

FROM THE ARCHIVES (7)

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What follows is from June 2017, and is taken from what was a longer post that was part of a year-long series looking at #1 hits in the Indie Charts of the 80s, 90s and 00s.

THINK INDIE

But back first of all to 1987.

Gaye Bikers On Acid. One of the greatest band names of all time. Just a pity that I cannot for the life of me recall any of their songs.

Wiki tell us they were an English psychedelic rock band from Leicester, and one of the founder members of the Grebo music scene. They later released both thrash punk and dance music albums under various aliases and consisted of:-

Mary Byker (Ian Garfield Hoxley) – vocals
Tony Byker/Phlegm Lubricant/Tony Shuttleburger/Sven Eleven– (Tony Horsfall) – guitar
Robber Byker (Ian Reynolds) – bass guitar
Rocket Ronnie (William Samuel Ronald Morrow) – turntablist
Kev Byker/Cubehead Buffalo Hyde/Gavina Hyde/Kenny Pride – (Kevin Hyde) – drums

Their first two releases – the single Everythang’s Groovy and the Nosedive Karma EP – were both recorded with the help of Jon Langford of The Mekons, and released on the InTape label which was run by Marc Riley (then merely an ex-member of The Fall and not yet one half of a terrific radio duo).

The success of these releases led to them signing to Virgin Records and releasing the albums Drill Your Own Hole in 1987 and Stewed to the Gills in 1989. Initial quantities of the vinyl version of Drill Your Own Hole was pressed without a hole in the centre, so it was necessary to literally drill your own hole to play it.

They also played gigs (dressed in women’s clothing) under the name ‘Lesbian Dopeheads on Mopeds’, supporting themselves, and thus getting paid twice. They also performed as a fictitious East German thrash punk band “Rektüm” (they claimed to have jumped over the Berlin Wall), recording an LP Sakredanus and an EP Real Horror Show under the name.

However, management problems and poor sales meant that they were dropped by Virgin in 1989. They subsequently released the album Cancer Planet Mission on their own record label, Naked Brain. They also recycled and used the band name ‘The Purple Fluid Exchange’ (PFX) to release their dance cross-over material. It was at this time that Rocket Ronnie joined the band as DJ, sample player and dance advisor.

In 1990 they released Pernicious Nonsense, their last studio album, again recorded with Jon Langford . Poorly attended tours in the US and UK caused friction and the final blow came when Rough Trade, who distributed their Naked Brain recordings, went bankrupt owing them and many other bands considerable amounts of cash.

A band who, understandably, generated a loyal following who revelled in the fact they were far from predictable and by all accounts a bonkers and occasionally brilliant live act.

mp3 : Gaye Bykers On Acid – Nosedive Karma

JC

Nightingales

FROM THE ARCHIVES (6)

This dates from 12 August 2020

SCARED TO GET HAPPY – THE NIGHTINGALES

The inclusion of The Nightingales on the Scared To Get Happy compilation allows me to finally find a reason to get my finger out of my backside and feature them on the blog for the first time. I’m actually a wee bit surprised nobody has ever come up with the suggestion of an ICA for a band that, over the years, has released eleven studio albums, (three in the 80s and the others since they reformed in 2004), either as a stand-alone effort or incorporating the short-lived solo career of frontman Robert Lloyd.

One of the purposes of this series is to enable me to go to other websites to cut’n’paste bios to save me thinking for myself. This is from the official website of The Nightingales:-

Birmingham’s original punk group The Prefects had been part of The Clash’s ‘White Riot Tour’, recorded a couple of Peel sessions, released a 45 on Rough Trade and, years after splitting up, had a retrospective CD released by NY label Acute Records to all-round glowing reviews – from Rolling Stone to webzines.

The Nightingales were formed by a few members of The Prefects following that band’s demise in 1979.

Described in John Robb’s definitive book on post-punk (“Death To Trad Rock”) as “The misfits’ misfits” and comprising an ever-fluctuating line up, based around lyricist/singer Robert Lloyd, the Nightingales enjoyed cult status in the early ’80s as darlings of the credible music scene and were championed by John Peel, who said of them – “Their performances will serve to confirm their excellence when we are far enough distanced from the 1980s to look at the period rationally and other, infinitely better known, bands stand revealed as charlatans”.

The group recorded a bunch of critically acclaimed singles – pretty much always ‘Single Of The Week’ in the music press – and three albums, plus many radio sessions for their great supporter Peel. They also regularly toured the UK and Northern Europe, as headliners and supporting acts as diverse as Bo Diddley and Nico.

In the late Eighties, the Nightingales stopped working but, following the occasional gig between times, they re-grouped in 2004.

After fucking about with various part-timers, starry-eyed wastrels, precious sorts and mercenaries the group arrived at the current line up, which features Lloyd, Andreas Schmid from Faust on bass, ex Violet Violet drummer Fliss Kitson and on guitar James Smith, who Lloyd had spotted playing with Damo Suzuki.

Since restarting the group have been more productive than ever – releasing six 7″ vinyl singles, two 10″ EPs and eight studio albums, touring England, mainland Europe and USA numerous times, playing various festivals and recording many radio sessions along the way.

The band continued and continue to operate with no manager, booking agent, publisher, et al, but they get by. And they work equally well with pop musicians, rock n rollers and the avant-garde. The group is independent, maverick, diligent, daft, blah blah.

Until recent times the Nightingales made one record for a label and then, by choice or otherwise, moved on. But since 2017 they have been going steady with Tiny Global Productions.

The first TGP release was a 10” EP, followed in 2018 by a 45rpm collaboration with Vic Godard – “Commercial Suicide Man”- and another critically acclaimed ‘Gales album “Perish The Thought”.

To support “Perish The Thought” the group toured Europe extensively, from Scotland to Serbia.

2019 saw the filming of a feature-length Nightingales documentary film, “King Rocker” -written by brilliant stand up comedian Stewart Lee, directed by Michael Cumming (‘Brass Eye’, ‘Toast Of London’, etc) – and the recording of a new album.

The album, “Four Against Fate”, was released in May 2020, but the accompanying UK and Euro tours had to be postponed until 2021.

Plans for “King Rocker” were also disrupted but the film will have theatrical & TV premiers later this year.

Before too long there will be assorted reissues and records of previously unreleased material. Plus a bunch of other stuff, maybe? Either way, by hook or by crook, more adventures will follow.

Paraffin Brain is the track included on Scared To Get Happy. It was the band’s third single, released in 1982 on Cherry Red but not included on debut album Pigs on Purpose, released the very same year – indeed the album was originally issued minus any of the four singles from that same era, very much in keeping with the punk ethos, although a subsequent re-issue on CD in 2004 included the 2nd, 3rd and 4th singles, plus b-sides.

mp3: The Nightingales – Paraffin Brain
mp3: The Nightingales – Elvis, The Last Ten Days

Both are reminiscent in places of The Fall and the angular guitar sounds of Fire Engines/Josef K. The single did make a very small dent on the indie charts but deserved better. The b-side gives an insight into what, for many, made The Nightingales stand out from the crowd, namely the way that Robert Lloyd conceived his ideas and lyrics. This particular effort is him imagining what the final ten entries in the diary of Elvis Presley might have looked liked as he grew increasingly disillusioned and tired of everything going on around him. Day 10, the final entry, is witty and sad in equal measures.

JC

D.A.F., Ladytron, Psychic TV, Shreikback, Strange Idols

FROM THE ARCHIVES (5)

turntable

This dates from 23 March 2016

ODDS & SODS

Most of the time I do try to link things in postings, such as offering a b-side, other songs by the same singer/band, a cover version, or perhaps something vaguely linked to the era or song matter.

But the hard drive contains some songs that just can’t be handled that way, and so I’ve decided to have an occasional feature that allows me to squeeze in songs of distinction and quality which would otherwise not get a chance to be listened to:-

mp3 : D.A.F. – Der Mussolini

D.A.F. is short for Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, a Dusseldorf based band who were originally with us at the tail end of the 70s and into the early 80s. I only have one of their songs, and it was downloaded from elsewhere, but it was one that I danced to a fair bit back in the student days. Don’t worry folks, it’s not a track praising the merit of the old fascist – indeed it is merely encouraging Benny boy to shake his ass with his dancing partners Adolf and Jesus. If it wasn’t for the pounding electro-beat, it’d be as camp as can be.

mp3 : Shriekback – Fish Below The Ice

Shriekback formed in 1981, initially as a trio of Barry Andrews (ex-XTC), Dave Allen (ex-Gang Of Four) and Carl Marsh. They have been an and on off project ever since, with Andrews being the only consistent member of the band. They occasionally threatened to break through in the early 80s, none more so than when the LP Oil and Gold was released in 1985; the main problem though was that the strongest songs, included that featured here, had Marsh on vocals even though he had quit Shriekback midway through the recording of the album, thus making promotional duties a tad difficult.

mp3 : Ladytron – Seventeen

Ladytron, formed in 1999, seem to still to be going strong, although it’s now getting on for five years since they released what was their fifth studio LP. They were the brainchild of two Liverpool producers and DJs – Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu – but were soon joined by two female musicians, the Scottish-born Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo from Bulgaria. They were championed by a fair few in the media, particularly the music correspondents across a number of UK broadsheet newspapers who almost collectively predicted big things, but they never quite got beyond cult status despite making a number of more than decent singles and albums. The song featured here is a single from 2002 for which big things were anticipated, but it stalled at #68.

mp3 : Psychic TV – Godstar

There’s a lot that can be written about Pyschic TV, and no doubt somebody has elsewhere. There’s a very lengthy wiki piece that you can track down. I’m not qualified to offer any opinion at all, as all I have is one mp3 that originally came courtesy of its inclusion on a cassette for me by Jacques the Kipper. It’s a song about the late Brian Jones.

mp3 : Strange Idols – She’s Gonna Let You Down

Named after an album released by Felt back in 1984, this five-piece London band seem to wear their 80s indie-op influences very much on their sleeves if this track from 2007, which I have courtesy of a compilation CD, is anything to go by. It has a wonderfully hypnotic guitar, lots of ba-ba-ba vocals from what sounds like a dreamy female lead vocalist all underpinned by a DIY production that really does hark back to an earlier period. I think my mate Aldo will love this…….

JC

Sultans Of Ping

FROM THE ARCHIVES (4)

This dates from 25 December 2017

TRAD ROCK

It’s inevitably what you find here each 25th December:-

mp3 : Sultans of Ping – Xmas Bubblegum Machine

JC

Pogues

FROM THE ARCHIVES (3)

This dates from 24 December 2014

IT WAS CHRISTMAS EVE BABE, IN THE…..

mp3 : Tindersticks – Drunk Tank

Don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m well fed-up with hearing the same old festive-related songs in every single shop I go into as I search for the perfect last-minute gift for Mrs Villain. Consider this my equivalent of the dirty protest.

But tune in tomorrow for what has become the regular 25th December posting on TVV (and no looking back to previous years to spoil it….)

Hope Santa is good to you all.

JC

Cake

FROM THE ARCHIVES (2)

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Here’s one from October 2017, but which has been modified to reflect the current make-up of the band.

RELUCTANTLY CROUCHED AT THE STARTING LINE

I just love that opening line to this #22 hit single from the autumn of 1996.

My first exposure to it was on Channel 4 which, at the time, occasionally aired music videos inbetween programmes. I’m almost certain this was shown immediately in advance of the main news show which has always been broadcast at 7pm.

Cake, as wiki informs us, are an alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum and drummer Todd Roper, the band has been noted for McCrea’s sarcastic lyrics and monotone vocals, DiFiore’s trumpet parts, and their wide-ranging musical influences, including country music, Mariachi, rock, funk, Iranian folk music and hip hop.

They have enjoyed sporadic success in their home nation, including a #1 album as recently as 2011, but over here in the UK they have been very much an underground act and The Distance remains their highest charting 45 while the LP it was lifted from, Fashion Nugget, is the only one that has made it inside the Top 75.

I do like this single – the deadpan vocals and the trumpet solo help lift it above the norm.

mp3 : Cake – The Distance

The CD single had three other tracks on offer:-

mp3 : Cake – Multiply The Heartaches
mp3 : Cake – Jolene (live)
mp3 : Cake – It’s Coming Down

The first is very influenced by country music; bits of it remind me of Squeeze tacking the genre on Labelled With Love. There’s also a feeling of sounding, vocally, like Mark E Everett.

The second is NOT a cover of the song made famous by Dolly Parton and later recorded by Glasgow’s very own Strawberry Switchblade. It’s one of their own compositions and could be something out of the canon of Violent Femmes with added trumpet. Warning. It goes on for over 8 minutes and involves audience participation. I’m guessing it’s lifted from a radio show as the occasional swear word is bleeped out.

The final track is very much a b-side effort; it’s a bit laboured and repetitive. Not one that I’ll listen to again willingly – one for the ‘next’ button function on your listening device.

JC

Kid Creole & The Coconuts

FROM THE ARCHIVES (1)

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I’m opening with one which was mined from the old Blogger platform, where it was originally published in June 2009 and then regurgitated on the WordPress version in July 2018.

SKELETONS IN MY CLOSET (Part 9)

I may have thought I was really cool back in 1982 with my ever expanding record collection full of great indie music, but every now and again I fell for the charms of sheer radio fodder.

Blame it on the hormones, as I couldn’t take my eyes off the telly screen whenever the bikini-wearing Coconuts were there doing their stuff on backing vocals to Kid Creole.

But let’s be honest, listen to the sax playing on ‘Wonderful Thing’ and accept it’s not far removed from that which appears on Rip It Up…..

From seemingly out of nowhere (although it turned out he had been part of bands or production teams for a few years), August Darnell hit payola with his alter ego as Kid Creole & The Coconuts had a triumphant year in 1982. Three Top 10 singles in the UK and a Top 2 LP that hung around the charts for some nine months, and loads of TV appearances in the days when we had just the three terrestrial channels in the UK.

mp3 : Kid Creole & The Coconuts – I’m A Wonderful Thing Baby
mp3 : Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy
mp3 : Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Stool Pigeon

Ha cha cha cha……

Don’t worry too much folks, I never adopted the bright shirts or zoot suits as a look…..I still wore my raincoat as I danced to this lot.

JC

Joe Jackson

INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

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From 1979. The second single released by the then 25-year-old Joe Jackson, one of the new singer-songwriters whom some record company bosses (in this case A&M Records) believed had a way with words and tunes that could harness the energy of this new wave stuff that was taking hold of the youth’s attention.

mp3: Joe Jackson – Sunday Papers

It’s quite likely that this song would either get banned or, more likely, result in Joe having to come with a re-write to enable airplay. Indeed, it’s very likely that if he was sitting down today to try and come up with the songs, then he would likely have refrained from the opening couplet:-

Mother doesn’t go out any more
Just sits at home and rolls her spastic eyes

Otherwise, the song certainly details an awful lot of what was wrong with British society back in those days, when a number of Sunday newspapers would sell in their millions thanks to their obsession with scandals, crime and sensationalism, very often not caring if what was being printed was the truth. Some of the worst offenders may have gone by the wayside since 1979, but nothing much has changed, and indeed with the frightening and unregulated growth of social media, things have become a lot worse and frightening.

Spastic was a common word back in the late 70s – there was even a UK charity called Spastics Society which raised a fair amount of money and did a great deal to try and change attitudes towards people living with disabilities. But all too often, the word was shortened to ‘spaz’ and used as a derogatory and offensive term. The Collins Dictionary now defines spastic to mean ‘an old-fashioned and offensive name for a person who has cerebral palsy’.

The Spastics Society changed its name in 1994 to SCOPE, marking what should have been the final stage of making the word totally unacceptable in everyday language.

Joe Jackson had long recognised the need to amend the lyric. Indeed, he did so just a few years after the song had been recorded.

I don’t wanna go out any more
I read the news, I can’t believe my eyes

Indeed, the entire lyrics of the song had been changed beyond recognition, possibly for his American audiences whose knowledge of the UK tabloid newspaper industry would have been scant.

mp3: Joe Jackson – Sunday Papers (live)

As captured on the Body and Soul tour when he went on the road with a swing band, and later included on the album Joe Jackson Live 80/86.

The b-side of the 7″, which was a flop in the UK, was the title song from the debut album:-

mp3: Joe Jackson – Look Sharp

At the time, back in ’79, I didn’t really get the Joe Jackson/Elvis Costello comparisons that many critics were making. As time has gone by, I really hear it now.

JC

Jesus & Mary Chain

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #042

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

#042– The Jesus and Mary Chain – ‘You Trip Me Up’ (Blanco y Negro Records ’85)

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Hello friends,

yes, to Scotland we go today – to East Kilbride in fact, because this is where The Jesus & Mary Chain come from. By the way, did you know it’s just ten miles from East Kilbride’s town center to Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street?

Now, the question I have been asking myself for quite some years is (quite a long sentence to follow, so grab yourself a beer and be prepared): how on earth is it possible that Jim Reid, probably one of the world’s most miserable gits, although sulking depressively most of the day, and, but that’s just my personal opinion, by all accounts having had a few too much to drink most of the day, is able to express himself in a tone which is absolutely easily understandable, totally problem-free even (also for me – and English is not my mother language), regardless whether he speaks or sings – whereas you just stand there, perplexed, helpless, because you don’t understand A SINGLE BLOODY WORD whenever JC or Drew open their mouths?! And, believe it or not, those two are a big fluffy bed of roses against Craig from Plain or Pan ….. and, as I said, it’s just ten fucking miles ..wtf!!!

The Mary Chain, well, all has been said about them, right? I won’t bore you with details, so, like their songs, this may well turn out to be a brief post, if you’re lucky. What is important though, I think – and I have been contemplating about this a lot, didn’t come to a different conclusion though – in all of the mid 80’s, there has not been any other band that changed music for me as drastically as The Jesus & Mary Chain have done. Their stuff was so “new” to me, so unheard – I immediately fell in love with them, bought their records and even had the chance to see them live a few times in their early days.

But which single to take for the series? I mean, there are quite a lot to choose from, all very good. And that’s another bonus of the band: they remained being wonderful, at least in my book. Differently, yes, but wonderful (I mean, come on – even ‘Damage & Joy’ had its moments, right?). To be honest I first wanted to include the double 7” of ‘April Skies’ from 1987, a brilliant song by all accounts, no question about this. But then I realized that ‘April Skies’ doesn’t really stand for what made the band so ‘big’ to me back in 1985, so I invested a bit more cash to buy and put this one into the 111 singles – box:

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mp3: The Jesus and Mary Chain – You Trip Me Up

I still have the original 12”, you see, but this doesn’t count, obviously. And although the purchase might have been a bit nerdy perhaps, I needed to have it. Why? Well, it always was my favorite track from ‘Psychocandy’ and thus it best represents the musical change that The Jesus & Mary Chain managed to institute with me in 1985.

Enjoy,

Dirk

North Of Cornwallis

ONE SONG ON THE HARD DRIVE (7)

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North Of Cornwallis. The one song I have is a nice bit of indie-pop as included on the NME C86 box set, consisting of 72 tracks across 3xCDs, as issued on Cherry Red Records back in 2014:-

mp3: North of Cornwallis – Billy Liar

Info is hard to come by. The song was written by Lester Noel and Robert Adamson. The former was previously part of Grab Grab The Haddock, a band that had been formed by Jane and Alice Fox following the disbanding of Marine Girls (the first band in which Tracey Thorn was ever involved).

I’ve also found that Lester Noel later joined Beats International, the dance group formed by Norman Cook and who enjoyed a #1 hit with Dub Be Good To Me in 1990.

North of Cornwallis don’t appear to ever have released any singles, EPs or albums, with just a couple of tracks making it into compilations back in the day or retrospectively.

And that’s about it………………….

JC

Malcolm McLaren, Tears For Fears

DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER (12)

Chart dates 27 November – 3 December

Before I even pull up the charts for December 1983, I’m anticipating this being a post where not too many songs will feature as the record companies were almost certainly pushing hard forthe Christmas market through the perenials and novelty records. I’ll take a few deep breaths and dive in…..

mp3: Tears For Fears – The Way You Are (#40)

I had forgotten all about this one. Tears For Fears had enjoyed a very decent year, with three singles going Top 5 and debut album The Hurting reaching #1. As a new and young group, they would have been on the receiving end of ‘advice’ from the record label execs, which is why they came to write and record a new song for release in the period just before Christmas, with one eye on giving the album a little extra promotional boost.

As wiki records, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith have been uncompromising in their dislike for the song in the years following its release, Orzabal stating it was “the point we realized we had to change direction”, while Smith was even more direct in proclaiming it “the worst thing we’ve done”.

I agree that, at this point in time, it was their worst song. But future releases down the line would eclipse it.

Chart dates 4-10 December

First thing to mention is that Uptown Girl by Billy Joel had its five-week stay at #1 ended by the Flying Pickets a cappella take on Yazoo’s Only You, which itself would stay at the top of the charts for the next five weeks, gaining the coveted ‘#1 at Xmas ‘title.

Here’s who came into the charts this week with new entries.

#11: Culture Club – Victims
#22: Billy Joel – Tell Her About It
#36: Status Quo – Marguerita Time
#38: UB40 – Many Rivers To Cross
#40: Barry Manilow – Read ‘Em And Weep
#44: Adam Ant – Strip
#49: Kool and The Gang – Straight Ahead
#51: Chas and Dave – My Malancholy Baby
#58: Elton John – Cold As Christmas
#63: Santa Claus & The Christmas Trees – Singalong-a-Santa Again
#70: Rod Stewart – Sweet Surrender
#72: Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody
#74: The Klaxons – The Clap Clap Sound
#75: Dayton – The Sound Of Music

I don’t think I ventured near a record store that week….or indeed the rest of the month.

Those of you who live outside the UK probably don’t fully get the horror of the singles charts in the months of December. That new entry at #63 is about as awful as it gets. It was a follow-up to a single from exactly 12 months previous, one which got as high as #19 and earned an appearance on Top of The Pops.

Feel free to stop right there and go find something better to do than read the rest of this rubbish.

Chart dates 11-17 December

A few record labels had been a bit slow in getting their novelty records into the shops and missed out on the bonanza of the first couple of weeks of the month. But it’s never too late to fleece the punters.

#48: The Jingle Bells – Christmas Spectre

I’ve just looked at Discogs. It was a 12″ only release on Passion Records. There’s 38 copies up for sale, ranging from 50p to £15, plus postage and packaging. It’s a medley of the following songs. Frosty The Snowman, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland, Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town and White Christmas. How can you resist?

#52: Dennis Waterman and George Cole – What Are We Gonna Get ‘Er Indoors

The following week, this would hit #26. As introduced on Top of The Pops by John Peel. His look of horror as he worries that it might make a late run for a spot on his show’s Festive 50.

#54: Paul McCartney – The Pipes Of Peace
#61: Frida and BA Robertson – Time
#63: David Essex – You’re In My Heart
#70: Malcolm McLaren – Duck For The Oyster

I wonder what John Lydon was thinking?

#71: Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly – True Love
#73: The Jets – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
#74: Bucks Fizz – Rules Of The Game

Chart dates 18-24 December

It still wasn’t to late to inflict pain:-

#34 : Frank Kelly – Christmas Countdown

I had to look this one up.

And yup, it was a hit single for the bloke who would later, and quite brilliantly, play the role of Father Jack in the 90s comedy series, Father Ted. I had no idea, and until now have never heard it. It eventually climbed to #26, and led to a rather surreal Top of the Pops appearance in the first week of January 1984.

But seriously, people bought this shit?????

There were other equally awful singles that crept into the charts this week and indeed the following week. But I’ve had enough, as I’m sure you have too. Just to mention in passing, that among all this nonsense, the following singles were still listed in the Top 75 of the final week of 1983.

Waterfront – Simple Minds
Oblivious – Aztec Camera
This Charming Man – The Smiths
Relax – Frankie Goes To Hollywood
The Sun and The Rain – Madness
The Love Cats – The Cure
A Solid Bond In Your Heart – The Style Council

Thanks for sticking with me through this series. It’ll be back next year, but this time will involve a 45-year look back at the 45s that were making all the noise in 1979 (but don’t worry, I won’t be looking at the full charts in any depth!)

JC

Wedding Present

THE WEDDING PRESENT SINGLES (Part Eleven)

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A month after Kennedy had grabbed the indie-world by its lapels and given it the most almighty of shakes, the debut album via RCA was released.

Bizarro didn’t disappoint, other than perhaps it peaked at #22 in the charts, the exact same position as the Ukrainski Vistuip v Johna Peela mini-album. The end of the year came, and The Wedding Present and Bizarro were both high up in all the readers polls in the UK music papers.

David Gedge has since said that Brassneck, one of what he thought would be the key tracks on the album, hadn’t quite turned out as he’d hoped, certainly when compared to its power and intensity in the live setting. He had, for some time, wanted to work with American engineer Steve Albini, and so he floated the idea of recording an EP, with its lead track being a re-recording of Brassneck.

mp3: The Wedding Present – Brassneck

The new version was different in many ways. It was still recognisably TWP, but Albini had trimmed about 35 seconds from the song, and given it more of a harder-edge rock sound. And somehow, he seems to find a way in which the lyric’s full mixture of resentment, anger and regret come through. It did help that one word from the original was changed near the end of the song.

No, I sent you that letter to ask you if the end was worth the means
Was there really no in-between?
And I still don’t feel better
I just wondered if it could be like before and I think you just made me sure
But then that’s typically you
And I might have been a bit rude but I wrote it in a bad mood
I’m not being funny with you
But it’s hard to be engaging when the things you love keep changing

Brassneck
Brassneck.
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore

The first time you came over, do you remember saying then you’d stay for good?
No I didn’t think you would
Well we couldn’t have been closer
But it was different then, and that’s all in the past,
There…I’ve said it now at last!
You grew up quicker than me
I kept so many old things; I never quite stopped hoping
I think I know what this means
It means I’ve got to grow up
It means you want to throw up

Brassneck
Brassneck.
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore
I just decided I don’t love you anymore

Oh, I know you weren’t listening, were you?
Oh, just go, whenever you’d prefer to
I said it means a lot, when you use an old phrase
But then so what?
We can’t have it both ways
I know you’re not bothered are you?
Even so, I’m not going to argue
He won’t object; keep writing to me
Just don’t forget you ever knew me

Released in early February 1990, this reached #24 in the charts and led to an appearance on Top Of The Pops….in which the group played along enthusiastically with the miming that was required, while the singer looked totally bored and uninterested. I don’t think it went down well with the folk at RCA, but once again it was the group’s way of showing that they were calling the shots.

As with Kennedy, this was issued on 7″, 12″, cassette and CD, with three other songs to pick up and enjoy.

mp3 : The Wedding Present – Gone
mp3 : The Wedding Present – Don’t Talk, Just Kiss
mp3 : The Wedding Present – Box Elder

Three absolute belters. Sounded great then and sound just as good now, almost 34 years later. In keeping up with what was now becoming a tradition, one of the songs on the 12″ was a cover. Box Elder was by an American band called Pavement who next to no-one had heard of. Indeed, the label for Brassneck had to give hints, with it saying

‘Box Elder’ : Written by Pavement from Stockton, CA.

It’s now known that Pavement had not long played their first live show (December 1989) and Box Elder had been one of the songs on their debut EP Slay Tracks. But with just 1,000 copies of the EP having been pressed, they were almost totally unknown. It seems that the song had initially been picked up by Keith Gregory, TWP’s bassist, with everyone else agreeing it would make for a great cover.

Before long, John Peel got interested, and having aired the TWP version, he actively sought a copy of the original and began giving it regular spins on his show. It was from there that Pavement took off in the UK and then further afield.

JC

Your Elders

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #386: YOUR ELDERS

Your Elders, as far as I could make out, only ever released two songs, appearing on two separate compilation albums issued by Glasgow-based Bubblegum Records back in 2009. There is absolute no info out there, so I issued an SOS to a couple of folk who were involved with the label….and they duly came up with the goods. It’s a wonderful little tale.

———-

Your Elders is a Glasgow-based one-man-band. And that one man is the affable Carter Anderson.

Two Your Elders numbers are found on releases from Bubblegum Records, a Glasgow label and a friend of this blog. Both these tracks are worthy of a bit of a spotlight. So here’s some quick info about Carter himself, the label he released on and, of course, the songs themselves.

A lover of comics and pop music, art and literature, professionally Carter found his niche in the advertising industry. It was a great fit, though hardly traditional. That’s because on the creative side of advertising, you’re generally either a words or pictures specialist – so that’s copywriting or artwork and its direction. But across his considerable time in the ad game, Carter was both.

Unusual also was a workmanlike and unpretentious demeanour – qualities that persisted even as he assumed a Glasgow agency’s top-banana role of Creative Director. So with personal peacocking and flash AWOL, panache and flamboyance manifested instead in the work. This was largely located in a pre-social media era – a time characterised mainly by TV and radio ads, press and print. AKA The Good Old Days. It’s no surprise that the energy and zap that typified Carter’s ad work also manifested in the two Your Elders track featured in this post.

Now, if all this sounds like a bit of an obituary, don’t fret. Carter’s disarming manner is today benefitting his charges via a new role as a teacher of English. And I can think of no person better equipped to make an engaging case for Shakespeare and all that other lot.

When introduced to the music for the first time, Bubblegum Records was taken by what it perceived as an intense Bowie/Roxy Music/Eno feel – glam without the sham, not forgetting those all-encompassing distorted guitars.

Your Elders appeared on two Bubblegum Records compilations Pop Vol. 1 and Pick ‘n’ Mix. Both compilations sought to highlight the international nature of independent pop music and that ‘indie’ didn’t have to sound ‘schmindie’ although there’s nowt wrong with a bit of ‘schmindie’.

Pop Vol. 1: (August, 2009).

A four track EP that takes us from Israel to the USA, to Scotland, then back to the USA with Your Elders offering an eponymous track.

Your Elders – Your Elders

Pick ‘n’ Mix: (December, 2009).

Your Elders’ next appearance was on the truly international 27 track, double CD, Pick ’n’ Mix which spanned five continents of DIY talent. Your Elders provided the CD closer, The Ghost In The Machine.

Your Elders – The Ghost From The Machine

Released in time for Christmas, the double CD was given away free to those that attended the Bubblegum Winter event, with an additional fifty lucky people receiving the double CD and all five previous releases in their goody bag.

Pick ‘n’ Mix marked a significant achievement as far as the label was concerned. From serious musicians recording in studios to solo artists experimenting in bedrooms, the compilation illustrated not only the DIY nature of some of the bands/artists, but also the label itself.

Carter created the majority of the art work for the label, capturing both its spirit and irreverence.

—————

So….I was right about there only ever being two songs. But they are more than decent songs to listen to and enjoy. The eponymous track is a pop number which seems to pay homage to all sorts of influences from across the decades, while The Ghost From The Machine is a more gentle offering. What strikes me is that both sound as if they are the work of a band rather than an individual, and it does seem remarkable that they are the work of someone who was very much interested in making music as a ‘hobby’ with no intention of seemingly ever giving up the day job. A couple of hidden gems for you…..

JC

Jasmine Minks

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #041

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

#041– The Jasmine Minks – ‘Cold Heart’ (Creation Records ’86)

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Hello friends,

let’s be honest: we all loved Creation Records, didn’t we? I mean, come on: The Jesus & Mary Chain, Oasis, Primal Scream …. all the big names, ey? But you have to be a) really old or b) a real nerd or c) both in order to remember Creation’s beginnings – and the handful of bands the label started with: Biff Bang Pow!, The Legend, Revolving Paint Dream, The Pastels (which Creation bought from Rough Trade) … and a Jam-influenced four piece from Aberdeen: The Jasmine Minks.

The Jasmine Minks released their first single (‘Think!’) and also their first mini album in 1984, the album being only the third one for Creation to put out, in fact. Only shortly before that just 700 singles had been pressed for The Legend, Primal Scream and The Jasmine Minks, quite a contrast to 1995, when 15 million copies of Oasis’ ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’ were issued.

Alan McGee, Creation’s boss, once said that those beginnings set the scene for Oasis’ success. Obviously this has to be taken with a pinch of salt, but nevertheless The Jasmine Minks’ importance should not be under-estimated, I think: after all The Jesus & Mary Chain borrowed The Minks’ equipment for recording their debut single, ‘Upside Down’ … so let’s just imagine a world without The Mary Chain in case The Jasmine Minks hadn’t been so generous back then.

In October 1984, the band went on tour with The Jesus and Mary Chain and Biff Bang Pow!, and they must have had heavy nights by all accounts, due to The Jesus & Mary Chain being, well, The Jesus & Mary Chain: “when the Jasmines went on (stage)’, relates Adam Sanderson, one of their two frontmen, ‘Jim [Shepherd] and I kept turning our backs to the audience during instrumental parts, in a synchronized way like the anti-Shadows.’ This was no dance routine. Sanderson had a claw hammer in his back pocket, Shepherd a steel pipe, and they wanted the crowd to know it.

Still, to be honest though, as you might have gathered, The Mary Chain stole the show, by and large. It is hard to say whether The Jasmine Minks already disappeared from people’s radar that early, or whether this came a bit later. The thing is, you see: they always were true to themselves and their style (60-s influenced, but most of the time rough as fuck) – but alas it was a style which didn’t meet with the approval of all too many. This certainly came to light when their second (self-titled/’proper’) album was released in 1986, one could argue that they already were a year or so out of date at that time.

The album isn’t ‘bad’, you see – if you find it somewhere for a reasonable price you should get it, that’s my recommendation. Then again all you need to have is this, the only single from the album, and what a bloody masterpiece it is, and always has been for the last 37 years – at least in our house – I cannot find the right words to say how much I love this single:

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mp3: The Jasmine Minks – Cold Heart

Now, whatever became of Creation Records, you might all be wondering? Well, McGee ceased operations in 1999, only to create the Poptones Label one year later. When its shares were listed on the Alternative Investment Market that summer, Poptones was valued as high as 17 million British Pounds. Among those hurrying to acquire a GBP 50.000 stake in McGee’s multimedia future was the Queen of England.

Nine months later, the acts on Poptones’ roster included a 40-year-old former rhythm guitarist in the Undertones, an Elvis Presley impersonator from Los Angeles … and the Jasmine Minks. So there you are.

Take good care,

Dirk

JC ADDS…….

The Jasmine Minks have just released a brand-new album on the Last Night From Glasgow label. Click here for info.

Front 242, Loop, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, Sonic Youth

BACK TO BACK

A guest posting by flimflamfan

back

This is a rather random post. I was sat on a train heading West to East (Central Scotland). As usual my earbuds were in – some gentle tunes to ease the journey, not that the journey is in any way arduous. Music tends to enhance most things, I find.

The LP I was listening to finished and for reasons unknown the following popped into my head like a bolt of nonsense-lightning… “If I was DJ-ing the two songs from that LP I’d play back to back would be Never Understand followed by You Trip Me Up”.

A stream of bands and associated songs popped into my head – joyful memory jolts…

Teen Age Riot v Kool Thing (Sonic Youth)
Levitate Me v Gigantic (Pixies)
Arc-Lite (Sonar) v Collision (Loop)
Headhunter v Welcome To Paradise (Front 242)

I then wondered if anyone had ever set up a club night that consisted of the DJ playing two songs back to back, from different bands, all night? I suspect my own epiphany is nothing new to music blogs, forums etc. over the years, but it kept me amused, for a time.

It was time for me to depart the train and catch my connection. My mind wandered to more mundane matters.

While waiting on the platform, bam!

Feed Me With Your Kiss v You Made Me Realise (My Bloody Valentine).

Of course! An absolute must in this situation. I was a little disappointed that it had taken me so long to think of what must be one of the most obvious of choices.

I appreciate that the songs above are old-school indie. Songs, in some respects, for nostalgia buffs, although they are as vibrant today as they ever were.

I then asked myself the question “would I go to a club night like that now if someone were to host one?” The answer? “No.” Would my younger self attend? “With bells on… indie bells, obviously”.

My younger self has fortunately danced his little legs off to all of the above songs – some might say with gay abandon? I’m intrigued to know what my next random musical thought might be.

I hope you’re now thinking of back to back songs that you dance your legs off to, or at the very least, would tap your toes lightly to.

flimflamfan

Ride

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #356: RIDE (2)

A GUEST POSTING by ERIC from OAKLAND

RIDE “b-sides and album tracks” ICA

I’ve been digging through my RIDE collection lately and thought about doing an ICA, so I went back to read RIDE ICA 004 (004!) and realized that it’s already pretty damn great. When I think of RIDE there are some tracks that simply cannot be left out (Leave Them, Chrome Waves, Vapour Trail, Dreams Burn Down) and they are all there.

So in the spirit of my Weddoes ICA (ICA 339) I decided to do a kind of RIDE alt-ICA, if you will. None of these tracks were the A1 of a single, or radio play favorites (at least not on college and modern rock radio out in California). So that means none of the usual suspects, and no Chelsea Girl, Daydream, Unfamiliar… you get the idea. I also tried not to overlap the 1st ICA so they can complement each other (spoiler alert, I failed, twice). It’s a chance to showcase just how deep the bench was on all their records.

SIDE A

Drive Blind (Chelsea Girl EP)

Dance with the one that brought ya. It was this track off their debut single that hooked me. An obvious highlight of all live shows, I wonder if this couldn’t have been the lead track on the EP. It certainly feels more in keeping with what came after.

Sennen (Unfamiliar EP)

It’s tempting to include 3 Today Forever b-sides. The TF EP exposes the thinness of this concept. How can you consider the other 3 tracks on this EP “B-sides” when it’s as close to a perfect 4 song EP as you are gonna get.

Mouse Trap (Going Blank Again)

Ride dip their toe in math rock territory and blow the roof off. I often wonder what would have happened if they pursued this direction over the classic rock feel of their remaining 90s work.

Nowhere (Dreams Burn Down EP)

Big song with a big concept that pays off big time.

Polar Bear (Nowhere Album)

Epic. Great for singing along to in the car at ungodly levels.

SIDE B

Home is a Feeling (Weather Diaries)

Gorgeous track off Weather Diaries. Clearly the band had more to say. Almost 30yrs after their debut they released a fantastic album.

Stampede (Twisterella EP)

This one starts off pretty unassuming. I wonder if that’s why it didn’t make the album. However as it progresses it grows into something with a lot more complexity. The chorus is a great sing-along that sticks in my head.

Close My Eyes (Chelsea Girl EP)

We’ve all been there…

Cool Your Boots (Going Blank Again)

Even a stopped clock…There’s a wistfulness to this track that gets me every time. And then at the end when they start playing with dropping beats, it just kills me.

Today (Unfamiliar EP)

I was reminded of the genius of this tune at the reunion shows. There’s just something elegant about the construction: a simple concept that is worked to the point of perfection.

You will notice some records aren’t represented. There’s nothing from the 3rd or 4th records, or the most recent. The only reason for that is simply that I don’t have them on vinyl (yet). Also, nothing from the Like a Daydream EP. It’s not that they aren’t great, I just don’t get that ‘above the rest’ feels.

I thought about being cheeky and including Grasshopper. I remember back in the day fans would yell out “Freebird!” at shows to try to get them to play it (ask your dad). I only remember it happening once. At the time it seemed like such an over the top move of self indulgence, but as I get older, I find myself returning to it quite a bit. It’s the space and patience of the track that get me now.

Here’s a mix of the ICA: RIDE Imaginary Compilation Album

Eric from Oakland

Raveonettes

OH MY, CHECK OUT THE GUEST STARS ON THIS ONE

From the often neglected area where a relatively small number of 10″ singles are stored.

The Raveonettes, hailing from Copenhagen, had gained a bit of a following in the UK back in 2002/03 thanks to a handful of excellent singles that were accompanied by fairly memorable promo videos – but let’s face it, the visual thing was quite easy to pull off when the two main members of the band, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo, had such striking looks. The debut album, Chain Gang Of Love, was a moderate success in terms of sales, but there was a feeling that firm foundations had been laid to take them to the next level.

It helped that the band was signed to Columbia Records, meaning that recording and promotional budgets weren’t too much of an issue. The second album, Pretty In Black, was recorded in two studios in New York City in 2004, which made it rather easy for a couple of genuine superstars to drop by and add their touches to what was the selected as the lead-off single:-

mp3: The Raveonettes – Ode To L.A.

The drums are courtesy of Mo Tucker of The Velvet Underground who seemingly came to the studio on her 60th birthday. The backing/co- vocals are from Ronnie Spector. The results are kind of like putting all the different parts of a jigsaw together to make for a very satisfactory outcome. Sadly, nobody paid too much attention to the single, and it limped its way to #78 in the UK singles charts, but then again, it was only actually made available on 10″ vinyl, other than a handful of promotional CDs. My second-hand copy was picked up many years later, and it wasn’t expensive. Even today, you can find it on Discogs for £3.

Here’s the b-side:-

mp3: The Raveonettes – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

Yup….the old Hank Williams country classic, done in a very straightforward way with just an acoustic guitar with Sune Rose on lead vocal, but joined in harmony by Sharin. It’s quite a contrast to the sort of production with which the band had made its name, but it’s a take on things that I quite like.