I’ve given this one a bit of a build-up…..I hope it’s justified as I open the pages of the big book of Indie music to get help in recalling what memorable non-chart singles were released in September 1979.
mp3: The B-52’s – 6060-842
Rock Lobster, the debut single, had been a hit, but it’s follow-up, also to be found on the self-titled debut album, didn’t breach the Top 75.
mp3: Buzzcocks – You Say You Don’t Love Me
The previous seven singles had been hits, as had the recent re-release of the debut Spiral Scratch EP. You Say You Don’t Love Me was every bit as good as what had gone before, but the music press and daytime radio had turned their backs on Buzzcocks and this went nowhere.
mp3: Human League – Empire State Human
Pop with synths was beginning to make inroads as far as the charts were concerned. Everyone at Virgin Records must have been rubbing their hands in glee when this emerged from the studio, as it surely had ‘HIT’ stamped all over it. Nope.
Fun fact: June 1980 saw the release of the single Only After Dark. Virgin Records took advantage of this by adding in the now surplus copies of Empire State Human as a free 7″ giveaway with Only After Dark.
mp3 : The Mekons – Work All Week
The Mekons and Human League were two of the band who first came to prominence via the Edinburgh-based label, Fast Product. Both ended up on Virgin Records, but while the electronic popsters would stay there for years to come (making millions in the process), the post-punk sounds of The Mekons didn’t make any inroads, and they were soon dropped and back in the land of indie-labels from where they carved out an extensive career, with Jon Langford still very much going strong all these years later.
mp3: The Members – Killing Time
Yet another 45 that was issued by Virgin Records. The Members had tasted chart success with their first two singles – Sounds Of The Suburbs and Offshore Banking Business – but the debut album, At The Chelsea Nightclub, hadn’t sold all that well. Hopes were pinned on the new material. Killing Time, along with two later singles and the sophomore album, failed dismally. Lead singer Nicky Tesco quit in mid-1980, and although the others soldiered on for a bit, everything ended by late 1983.
mp3: The Monochrome Set – The Monochrome Set
The band’s third single on Rough Trade Records. The band’s third indie-hit. But the chart success they really deserved continued to elude them.
mp3: Scritti Politti – Doubt Beat
Another one issued by Rough Trade. The self-released Skank Blog Bologna in late 1978 had piqued the interest of John Peel and a few indies reached out to Scritti Politti with offers. They went with Rough Trade, and a four-track 12″ EP became their first release on their new label in September 1979. It’s a long long way removed (and that’s an understatement) from the sort of polished soul/indie/pop that would be recorded for the 1982 debut album.
mp3: Teenage Filmstars – (There’s A) Cloud Over Liverpool
The Television Personalities, consisting of Dan Treacy (vocals), Ed Ball (keyboards), Joe Foster (guitar), John Bennett (bass) and Gerard Bennett (drums) had, in November 1978, been responsible for Part Time Punks, one of the greatest and most-enduring songs to capture the era. They had been rather quiet ever since.
Teenage Filmstars, consisting of Ed Ball (vocals, organ), Joe Foster (guitar), Dan Treacy (bass) and Paul Damien (drums), emerged in September 1979 with this 45 issued on Clockwork Records, which had been founded by the afore-mentioned Ed Ball. Two more singles would follow over the course of the next 12 months before Ed and Dan would get really busy with The Television Personalities and Ed with his own band, Times.
I hope this has all, for readers of a certain vintage, stirred some happy memories, while maybe a few more of you will be happy to have maybe discover something ‘new’ to enjoy.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 