This would normally be Part 2 from March 1984, but I did of course, a few weeks back, spread the chart hits across two days worth of posts.
This is the usual half of the series looking at singles which failed to find much popularity with the record-purchasing public, but have proven to be of enough cultural significance to be recalled here on the blog.
mp3 : Crispy Ambulance – Sexus
A Manchester band who signed to Factory Records, albeit the two of their three singles and one album recorded and released between 1981 and 1984 came out on Factory Benelux, the Belgian imprint of the label. Sexus was issued only on 12″ vinyl and is atypical of the band’s sound…..which many at the time (myself included) thought was too much like a cut-price early Joy Division in the days before Martin Hannett added his box of tricks to the sound. Indeed, lead singer Alan Hempsall stood in for Ian Curtis when he wasn’t well enough to perform the opening numbers of the set at what is now a very infamous gig in Bury on 8 April 1980, which ended in a riot among the audience and the band.
mp3: Danse Society – 2000 Light Years From Home
I’ve mentioned in earlier editions of this series that 1984 was a year in which goth, or variations of the genre, seemed to be everywhere. Danse Society were from Barnsley, a blue-collar town in the north of England who formed in 1980 and by 1983 had signed with the major label, Arista Records. The album Heaven Is Waiting, released in December 1983, had gone Top 40, but the subsequent release of this Rolling Stones cover, one which came with a touch of dance, made no impact on the singles chart.
mp3: Felt – Mexican Bandits
Felt may well have been a band, but to all intent and purposes it was the name under which the Birmingham-born Lawrence Hayward recorded and performed (albeit he never used his surname). Signed to Cherry Red in 1981, there had already been two albums and four singles, all of which were critically acclaimed prior to Mexican Bandits which, like its predecessor 45s, would reach the indie chart but not come close to the mainstream chart. But this really suited Lawrence who didn’t seem to want fame and all the hassle that comes with it.
mp3: Jasmine Minks – Think!
Originally from Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, the four-piece band relocated to London and signed to Creation Records, becoming a key part of that label’s early output and live scene centred around venues in central London. Think! was the debut single, with the catalogue number of CRE 004, and it’s a belter. In a previous mention of this 45, I said that I was waiting on either Edwyn Collins or James Kirk to start singing after that initial 20-second burst of energy.
mp3: Jazz Butcher – Marnie
The late Pat Fish (he passed away in October 2021 at the age of 63) was the one constant factor in the ever-changing line-up of Jazz Butcher. The first single and album had come out in the Autumn of 1983, and Marnie, issued through the London-based indie Glass Records, was the first of the new material. For more on the life and times of Pat Fish, I’d like to refer you to the Friend of Rachel Worth’s wonderfully written guest ICA from back in March 2108.
mp3: The Pastels – Something Going On
Formed in Glasgow in 1982. This was the band’s fourth single, but their first for Creation (it had the catalogue number of CRE 005). Still very much on the go today, and while they have never had any meaningful commercial success, they have long been one of the most important and influential band to emerge from my home city given how much advice and support they have given to others who have come along in the subsequent decades.
mp3: Lou Reed – I Love You Suzanne
Don’t think any background info is required. The sole single issued in support of his thirteenth studio album, New Sensations.
mp3: R.E.M. – So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
Don’t think any background info is required. The band’s third ever 45, and the advance single for their second album, Reckoning, Still sounds immense 40 years on.
mp3: The Pale Fountains – (Don’t Let Your Love) Start A War
See the January edition (Part 2) of this series for the background on The Pale Fountains. I hope you’ll agree, it’s turning out to be a great month for flop singles……
mp3: The Wake – Talk About The Past
A Glasgow-band who signed to Factory Records. Probably best known for the fact that Bobby Gillespie was their bassist for a while, he had been involved in the debut album Harmony (1982) and the later single Something Outside (1983). By the time Talk About The Past (FAC 88) was released, he’d been asked to leave.
Happy listening.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 