THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #98 : THE GO-BETWEENS (Vol 1)

Continuing the headlong rush towards #100 in the series.

It’s impossible to do justice to The Go-Betweens in one ICA, so here’s the first of two successive days of me tearing what little is left of my hair out to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Side One

Man O’ Sand To Girl O’ Sea single (1983) : lead vocal by Robert Forster

As I’ve said before, the single (and its b-side) which was indirectly responsible for me starting to blog back in 2006. An absolute belter of a 45 – but let’s face it they all were – and a completely different version from that found on the LP Spring Hill Fair. Angular guitars, a pleading desperate lyric and a rhythm section that drives things along to a perfect beat….oh and not forgetting the vocal harmonies. Perfection in just under three and a half minutes.

Streets Of Your Town from 16 Lovers Lane (1988) : lead vocal by Grant McLennan

See that thing I mentioned about perfection….feel free to apply it to this too. This was rightly released as a single and was the closest they ever got to a chart hit…..when it reached #80. There’s all the evidence you need to realise just how criminally ignored this band throughout a stellar career that saw nine studio albums all told (six in the period 81-88 and three when they later re-formed between 2000-2005, the last of these being just 12 months ahead of Grant’s unexpected death from a heart attack at the early age of 48)

Going Blind from The Friends Of Rachel Worth (2000) : lead vocal by Grant McLennan

The re-formed band was Grant & Robert with musicians who hadn’t been part of the original line-up but whose pedigree was incredibly impressive. The keyboards came from Sam Coomes who has long been an integral part of the USA west coast indie scene while his then wife, Janet Weiss, played the drums. On this track, Janet was joined in the studio by her two fellow band mates from Sleater-Kinney – Corin Tucker on vocals and Carrie Brownstein on guitar. This indie super-group in turn gave us something delightfully 80s at the turn of the century.

Here Comes A City from Oceans Apart (2005) : lead vocal by Robert Forster

If you need proof that the second incarnation of the band could make music that was as enjoyably catchy and infectious as in their mid 80s pomp, then look no further than this, the opening track of what proved to be their final ever record. Sure, it owes a lot to the style and delivery of David Byrne but there’s little wrong with that.

Spring Rain from Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express (1986) : lead vocal by Robert Forster

Yet another flop single. It always bemused me that so few fans of The Smiths fell for the charms of The Go-Betweens given the fact that the two bands were responsible for the best indie-pop with a guitar bent of the era.

Side Two

Right Here from Talullah (1987) : lead vocal by Grant McLennan

Another great pop song that was given a release as a single only to be criminally ignored. I make no apologies for the fact that so many 45s are on this volume; it only demonstrates just how cloth-eared radio station producers were in their continual failure to not put the songs on daytime playlists.

When She Sang About Angels from The Friends of Rachel Worth (2000) : lead vocal by Robert Forster

This was a band, who when they slowed things down, were every bit as effective as when they cranked out another indie-pop classic. Two examples on this ICA are back-to-back – this first being from the comeback album in 2000 with a tune that Roddy Frame himself would have been proud of…..followed by….

Cattle and Cane single (1983) : lead vocal by Grant McLennan

The single version is some 20 seconds shorter than the version on the LP Before Hollywood. I’ve mentioned before that this is a very special song to me for a number of reasons; nowadays, it makes me sad as it reminds me of Grant’s sudden and very unexpected death but it is a song, along with a few others, that I associate with some of my happiest days, weeks and months on Planet Earth when I fell properly in love for the first time.

Some facts : It was written as a recollection of childhood in a London flat in an effort to combat homesickness with the band as far away as can be from their native Australia, cold and skint and fearing they’ll never succeed. It was written using the acoustic guitar belonging to the owner of the flat while he lay comatose from drug abuse. The guitar belonged to Nick Cave.

Sublimely beautiful.

Draining The Pool For You from Spring Hill Fair (1984) : lead vocal by Robert Forster

One of best things about The Go-Betweens is the complete contrast in styles from the two lead singers. It enabled a much wider range of songs and tunes to emerge from the recording process and things were never dull. Robert is the first to admit that he’s most the most classical of singers, but he’s still going strong today releasing a series of top-notch solo albums and when he tours he’ll slip in quite a few of the tunes from the days of his old band. I love it when he plays this break-up song that is witty and clever and far from sad.

This Girl, Black Girl b-side to Man O’ Sand To Girl O’ Sea single (1983) : lead vocal by Grant McLennan

Just because.

Volume 2 coming your way tomorrow.

Morrissey

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #97 : MORRISSEY (2)

Oh you’ve come back today? Pleasantly surprised given that I did warn what to expect.

Volume 2 is every bit as good as Volume 1. The ten tracks selected yesterday were for a specific one-off record that I thought would flow very well and the concept for today is the same.

Side One

Suedehead from Viva Hate (1988)

The four minutes of music that calmed our fears. and proof that the end of The Smiths was not the last significant statement to be made in rock’n’roll.

You Have Killed Me from Ringleader of The Tormentors (2006)

Another of the more catchy tunes from his long career, it’s of a rockist type that none of us could have ever imagined him tackling back in the 80s. But it is the sort of sound he has increasingly embraced as the years have gone on, partly as that’s the domain of his backing bands of recent times but also as it suits his more limited vocal delivery the older he gets.

My Life Is A Succession of People Saying Goodbye b-side to First Of The Gang To Die (2004)

As mentioned yesterday, some of the finest songs have inexplicably been relegated to the obscurity of b-sides. This is a lovely slow/mid-tempo number in which our protagonist, not for the first time, bemoans his lack of luck in the love stakes.

The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get from Vauxhall and I (1994)

The single which preceded the release of the LP and took him back into the UK Top 10 for the first time in six years. It was a pleasant and welcome surprise that, after a run of singles and albums in which he was embracing genres like glam and rockabilly, he was returning to the more gentle almost indie-type of music with which he had first found fame. Another one which still sounds great all these years later which is testament to the production skills of Steve Lillywhite.

All You Need Is Me from Years Of Refusal (2009)

Originally a new song on a 2008 ‘Greatest Hits’ compilation, it was added to the following year’s studio LP, his ninth in all but what turned out to be his last for five years. Another rock rather than pop tune, its inclusion is as much to do with the self-deprecating lyric as anything else – something that Morrissey has done to great effect many times over the years.

Side Two

You’re Gonna Need Someone On Your Side from Your Arsenal (1992)

Another of the glam rock efforts from the album that was produced by Mick Ronson, this is another lyric in which Moz doesn’t take himself too seriously. Hard to imagine that it was co-written by the bloke resposnible for the ghastly Perfect by Fairground Attraction which went to #1 in the late 80s.

Everyday Is Like Sunday from Viva Hate (1988)

Probably his best known and best-loved song here in the UK – certainly judging from the mass singalongs it entices when played at outdoor festivals. Oddly enough, not one that I listen to all that often nowadays but included here as it was the perfect fit between what went before it and what comes next…..

First Of The Gang To Die from You Are The Quarry (2004)

The other song which also ensures a massive singalong when aired lived. This opened his comeback/birthday gig in Manchester back in 2004 and it is the sole occasion when I have genuinely been worried for my health when watching music thanks to the massive crowd surge at the MEN Arena which lifted both myself and Mrs V clean off our feet; for a few seconds it felt like we were going to fall down and be crushed, accidentally, under hundreds of pairs of feet. But we were determined to see this particular song through before retreating to somewhere a lot safer and so we held each other as tightly as we could and just went with the crazy flow. It proved to be strangely exhilarating.

Sister I’m A Poet b-side to Everyday Is Like A Sunday single (1988)

Another quality b-side that was superior to many of the songs that made the cut for Viva Hate. It was exciting to buy the early solo singles with the knowledge that, as with his former band, some of the best stuff was only ever going to be available in such forms. Little did we know that all sorts of re-issuing and re-packaging would entail in the years ahead to make them more readily available.

Tomorrow from Your Arsenal (1992)

Get past the clumsy opening 20 seconds and you’ll come to the excellent ending to Your Arsenal and a song that was remixed for release as a single in the USA. Another of the pleading lovelorn lyrics for which he is famed, this time over a tune that is reminiscent of The Smiths.

And with that, I’ll sign off and await the criticism for those tunes not included these past two days.

Morrissey

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #96 : MORRISSEY

Little bit of a spurt on the ICAs as Badger has sent in one with a request that it be #100 in the series. Given how much he and his sidekick have contributed to this place over the years then I feel to not concur with his request would be very rude – but with no others in the pipeline it has meant me having to get my finger out.

I thought by now someone out there would have had a go at pulling together an ICA by our favourite miserablist and least favourite political commentator. I’ve thought about a few times but shied away from the challenge involved. But it’s time to man up.

Now please remember, these aren’t what I consider to be the best 10 Morrissey songs. It’s simply a go at creating what I think would make a fabulous and consistent LP.

And while I’m here, I’d like to dedicate this post to Robert, Hugh, Carlo and everyone else who has made Strangeways one of the best and friendliest club nights going and proving how much fun can be had from dancing the hours away to Moz and The Smiths in the basement of a very good bar in Glasgow. This coming Friday marks the end of six years of the night in its current format and I want to wish all concerned the very best.

Side One

Now My Heart Is Full from Vauxhall and I (1994)

Nowadays, I get angry and embarrassed by much of what Morrissey says in public, particular when he muses on what he believes has gone wrong with society in the UK and that certain right-wing ideas seem to be the best fix, and in all honesty it is becoming increasingly difficult to enjoy the music in the way I used to. And then I play this. And just about everything is forgiven.

Glamorous Glue from Your Arsenal (1992)

The most perfect tribute, musically, to the era when Bowie, Bolan and The Sweet dominated the UK singles charts in the early-mid 70s. No surprise given that Mick Ronson was on production duties.

The Last Of The International Playboys single (1989)

Just about the nearest thing we ever got to a Smiths single post break-up with Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon all playing on this wonderful ode celebrating an 80s Billy Liar.

Ganglord b-side to The Youngest Was The Most Loved single (2006)

As with just about all other artistes whose career spans such an extended period, there will be exceptional songs which, for some inexplicable reason, were thrown away as b-sides. This one was even more bizarre in that it wasn’t the b-side to the 7″ vinyl nor was it on the more promoted CD1 of the second single lifted from Ringleaders of The Tormentors but was only on CD2 where it was accompanied by a more than passable cover of A Song From Under The Floorboards.

Worth mentioning in passing that co-writer Alan Whyte, who achieved more than 80 writing credits with Morrissey between 1992-2008, has enjoyed continued success at the pop-end of the market with hits for Madonna, Black Eyed Peas, Cheryl Cole and Chris Brown among others.

Late Night, Maudlin Street from Viva Hate (1988)

With its tale of adolescent humorous self-pity this is something of a precursor for the autobiography that would hit the shelves in 2013. It is interesting to listen to how much Moz’s voice has changed over the years – it’s gotten deeper and the range of his youth is no longer here – and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’d ever be capable delivering a vocal this fragile and haunting nowadays. One of the few songs from the solo canon that would not have been out-of-place on any record by his former band.

Side Two

Irish Blood, English Heart from You Are The Quarry (2004)

Seven years absence from the recording studio was always going to make the eventual comeback LP seem very special. Much of You Are The Quarry hasn’t dated too well and its initial fawning reception is evidence that many fans, myself included, failed to cast a proper critical look at things. Having said that, the comeback single remains a belter thanks to a hard-hitting tune and ridiculously catchy sing-a-long chorus.

Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself from Vauxhall and I (1994)

Another, thanks to the tune, that could date from the very beginning of the career when Johnny Marr was riding side-saddle with him. One of the many highlights from what, I think most fans consider, is the best album of his career.

November Spawned A Monster single (1990)

Few, if any, would have dared to write a lyric which challenged people to think about how they looked, and by that I mean literally look, at people with severe disabilities. Not only that, but have it set to a disturbingly uneven but somehow catchy tune in the middle of which you invite a guest vocalist to come in and basically make the sounds she imagined would come from the delivery of a difficult and painful birth.

Quite simply, one of the most astonishing records ever made by anyone.

Girl Least Likely To b-side to November Spawned A Monster single (1990)

If the subject matter of the single was too much for you, then, if you had the 12″ vinyl or CD version you could always listen and dance instead to another of the lost gems from the solo career. There’s some who argue that the lyric is completely autobiographical and has Moz hinting at his hidden sexuality although he himself has said it was written about a particular female friend whose ambition to succeed was insatiable.

Speedway from Vauxhall and I (1994)

It’s a very fine finish to a very fine album. Just seems appropriate to close this ICA in a similar vein. In my own strange way, I’ll always stay true to you dear readers.

So many songs that I wanted to include have been left off.

Only one thing for it – Volume 2 will be coming your way tomorrow.

Look on the bright side, that’s a day nearer you getting to read Badger’s latest tome.

Buzzcocks

BUZZCOCKS SINGLES 77-80 (Part 13)

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And so we come to the 13th and final 45 released by Buzzcocks in their initial incarnation. The lyrics, written by Steve Diggle, kind of sum up how much of a chore it must have become trying to hit payola again now that the band had fallen out of favour.

Here in suburbia
There’s nothing left to see
Just want to spend my time running free

I’ve had enough of the day job
I can see farther than that
Just want to spend my time running free

The air of tension still is rising higher
Screaming emotions are singing to you
(No no no time no no no time)
(No no no time no no no time)

Here in the engine room
A pulse shouts for a word
Just want to spend my time running free

I’ll pull out condition
There’s no need to face facts
Just want to spend my time running free

You better make a move before sleeping gets you
You better shape soon before the weak things make you
(No no no time no no no time)
(No no no time no no no time)

Here in proles’ paradise
Experiments on the weak
Just want to spend my time running free

It’s a trick of the torment
You tend to forget yourself
Just want to spend my time running free

Your conscience may be changed as the plan gets harder
It’s just been rearranged to keep the strata
(No no no time no no no time)
(No no no time no no no time)

Your conscience may be changed as the plan gets harder
It’s just been rearranged to keep the strata
(No no no time no no no time)
(No no no time no no no time)
(No no no time no no no time)
(No no no time no no no time)
(No no no time no no no time)
(No no no time no no no time)

It’s a sad, resigned lyric and it has a similarly sad and resigned tune to go with it. But very listenable.

The b-side is a really strange one. I never knew it until more than 20 years later (see last week’s posting for an explanation) and the first thing that hit me was that it sounded remarkably like Pete Shelley fronting The Boomtown Rats (blame the sax and shout a long chorus). Was What Do You Know? the departing shot at the record label bosses who behind the scenes were looking for Buzzcocks to achieve the same sort of mainstream success of some of their contemporaries? If so, it’s a great two-fingered salute to all concerned. Even if it’s not, it was a fine way to go out.

mp3 : Buzzcocks – Running Free
mp3 : Buzzcocks – What Do You Know?

Right who’s next for the Sunday singles treatment?

Cateran

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #50 : THE CATERAN

From wiki:-

The Cateran formed in Edinburgh in the mid-1980s, with a line-up comprising Inverness natives Sandy Macpherson (vocals), Cameron Fraser (guitar), Murdo MacLeod (guitar), Kai Davidson (bass guitar), and Andy Milne (drums). Davidson had played in several bands in the early 1980s, including Reasons For Emotion, which also featured Craig and Charlie Reid, who later found fame as The Proclaimers.

They were initially influenced by US acts such as Hüsker Dü and the Dead Kennedys, and signed to the DDT label. The band’s debut release was the 1986 mini-LP Little Circles and subsequent single Last Big Lie, which they promoted by touring with The Proclaimers, for whom Davidson also acted as manager. They moved on to Vinyl Solution for the second album, Bite Deeper in 1988, before moving on again to Imaginary Records later that year for The Black Album EP. The band’s third and final album, Ache, was issued in 1989 on the What Goes On label, and the band supported Nirvana on their UK tour that year.

A further EP followed in 1990 before the band split in 1991, with MacLeod and Davidson forming a new band, Joyriders, who released two singles, both of which were named “Single of the Week” by the NME, before splitting up in the mid-1990s. A compilation album of the Joyriders recordings was issued in Japan in 2009.

Davidson later had a career as a social worker, and died on 13 June 2007, aged 44, after falling from a tower block. A fund was set up in his memory to support young musicians. The Proclaimers donated £20,000 to the fund in December 2007.

Murdo McLeod, the guitarist with The Cateran, was the first bona-fide rock musician I ever met and had a drink with thanks to him being a friend and flatmate of a work colleague who also hailed from Inverness. I went along to see the band a couple of times in 1986 and actually picked up a copy of their debut material at the time. However, the work colleague was soon on his way to a new job in London and I lost any real interest in The Cateran.

mp3 : The Cateran – Last Big Lie

Incidentally, the replacement for The Cateran fan in the office turned out to be Jacques the Kipper and through him I would meet and have drinks with my second bona-fide rock star, namely Hugh Duggie of Foil (as featured recently in a wonderful ICA).

Strange world sometimes.

National

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #95 : THE NATIONAL

In the past I’ve tended to sort of beat myself up trying to pen the various ICAs, often saying far too much to justify a particular song choice at the expense of another. This time I’m going to try to be a bit more concise as I pull together a 10-track compilation by The National.

Since forming in Cincinnati in 1999, this five-piece band have, in a career path sort of similar to early R.E.M., built up a following through a combination of increasingly good songs with the desire and willingness to graft for their art. They have released six LPs this far, from a self-titled debut in 2001 through to Trouble Will Find Me in 2013. This ICA is going to feature only songs that have been lifted from their third, fourth and fifth albums as, IMHO, they represent an era when they were truly at the top of their game and no band on the plane came close to matching their quality and consistency over the five-year period concerned.

Side A

1. Secret Meeting (from Alligator, 2005)

The opening track of the album that brought them to a wider audience thanks to it featuring in so many end of year lists/polls. A track which progressively builds up to the point where the rest of the band join in with a chant of a line that is hard to decipher but has little to do with anything else sung beforehand. Enchanting and intriguing. And what’s not to love about a song that has the free form poetry of ‘I know you put in the hours to keep me in sunglasses, I know’

2. Mistaken For Strangers (from Boxer, 2007)

The key to maintaining the momentum from that initial appearance on the critics list is to make your next record every bit as good, if not better. There was a real sense of ‘wow’ when Boxer hit the shops with America embracing the band as the latest potential saviours of alt/indie/radio friendly guitar music. The band was really busy in the aftermath of this record – it coincided with my short spell working in Toronto and The National seemed to be regulars on all the half decent radio stations with this song regularly aired.

3. Apartment Story (from Boxer, 2005)

Like so many songs by this band, the lyrics are open to all sorts of interpretation. This could be about a couple stuck inside while some sort of disaster outside unfolds but I prefer to think of it being a wonderful love song that celebrates,without being the least bit sweet or icky, that magical time in a relationship when you can happily imagine being in a bubble with your other half and to hell with what is happening out there in the real world.

4. Conversation 16 (from High Violet, 2010)

I have no idea what this is about. I thought at first listen it was a parody of American Psycho with the suggestion of cannibalism; later listens made me think about a control freak agonising over his fragile relationship. Then I saw the promo video featuring the wonderful Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords) as a female president of the USA and John Slattery (Mad Men) as a besotted aide and I got totally thrown. So just take it for being the wonderful song it is.

5. Abel (from Alligator, 2005)

One of two really uptempo numbers towards the tail end of Alligator, I always thought this was strangely placed, sandwiched between two slow numbers. It can sort of jar somewhat in that contect given its loud, fierce energy comes along rather unexpectedly but I think it makes for a perfect ending to the first side of this piece of high quality 12″ vinyl.

SIDE B

1. Daughters Of The Soho Riots (from Alligator, 2005)

Curveball time. This is a band who have produced some very beautiful slow songs. Just feels right to start the second side with one of their finest.

2. Slow Show (from Boxer, 2007)

Another stunning love song. That sensation of no matter how bad your day has been, you have the solace of a warm embrace waiting for you when you turn the key into the lock of your front door.

3. Bloodbuzz Ohio (from High Violet, 2010)

This sounds like Paul Quinn on vocals. I think that has a lot to do with why I love this band so much. It’s just an outstanding piece of music that I want to sing along with every single fucking time. And then go apeshit crazy on the dance floor for its concluding instrumental section. This would be very high up in any updated 55 45s at 55 listing in a couple of years time (not that I’m going to inflict that on you).

4. Start A War (from Boxer, 2007)

Another slow one. Just seems to flow perfectly on from the previous track.

5. Mr November (from Alligator, 2005)

This ICA opened with the first track from the breakthrough album and it seems right to end it with the frantic and energetic closer. A particular favourite in the live setting. Along with the Super Furry Animals trademark number, this is the greatest song to repeatedly used the word ‘fuck’ in the lyric.

I enjoyed compiling this. Hope some of you enjoy listening. It’s less than 40 minutes long all told

mp3 : Side A
mp3 : Side B

The individual songs can be obtained from clicking the title in the narrative.

Unknown

BONUS POSTING – WHO WANTS TO WIN A PACKET OF BISCUITS?

An e-mail from SWC to Villain Towers.

Hey Jim

Hope you are well…As part of the bundle of records I bought Badger a few weeks back I picked up two 12″s that had no labels, they were in the indie category so I bought them both – they were 50p each. The problem is having played both of them I have no idea what they are….I’m wondering if your readers can help work out the mystery 12″ers.

The first one sounds like a remix of another track, there is a definite Beta Band feel to it – but I don’t think its them.

The second one is not indie it is very dancey and again could be a remix of something or just something a bit obscure that I don’t recognise….

I’ll provide a packet of biscuits of the persons choice to anyone who correctly identifies them – that obviously means I would have be able to find the original and agree….

Here they are.

mp3 : Unknown Track 1
mp3 : Unknown Track 2

Cheers

SWC

Cure, Depeche Mode, Soup Dragons

THE MUCH ANTICIPATED RETURN OF SICKBOY

Sorry if the headline and image has got you thinking this has something to do with Trainspotting. It is merely the ramblings of a man who. not long ago, was at death’s door being saved only by the love of his best friend and his best friend’s daughter as theu bring him records obtained from a charity shop. Over to you Badger…..

The Charity Shop (Record) Challenge – Part Two

The second brightly wrapped parcel has balloons on it. SWC’s daughter helps me unwrap it and she tells me a story about a balloon and squeezes of my leg (“because when I’m poorly Daddy tells me a story and gives me a cuddle”). This balloon travels up in the air and doesn’t stop until it reaches the moon when it gets there it is befriended by a lion who plays it with but pops it with his claws. This makes the lion sad, so sad that he has to do a poo (cue mad child laughter). I’ve repeated that word for word.

She’s four (just) and already tells better stories and more believable ones than her daddy.

The record has a silver grey sleeve and this is deeply unimpressive to the little girl. She wants to open up the third one which has lions and bears on the paper, I imagine these were the inspiration for the story that I’ve just repeated. She opens it and that one is a blue record which she tells me is ‘Mummys favourite colour – she should have that one’ she tells me, after listening to it I have to agree because its terrible.

Anyway back to the second one. This one for those of you who have been trying to guess is ‘Crotch Deep Trash’ by The Soup Dragons and is as Charity Chic would say ‘A real find’.

Record 2 – Crotch Deep Trash (extended version) – The Soup Dragons – Price £1.99

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I’ve spent a lot of time in charity shops and I have never seen anything by the Soup Dragons ever, I now own four 12”s by the Soup Dragons, all of them have been given to me, all of them have come from charity shops. Seriously. (The others are Backwards Dog, Mother Universe and I’m Free (remix)).

Now cast your eye at the title it clearly states that this is an ‘extended version’ – this is saying something as the record is pretty done and dusted in three minutes. I’m not sure by how much they extended this but it wasn’t by much. Regardless of this, its an excellent record, all shouty vocals, screechy guitars and pounding drums, it sounds a lot of like ‘Automatic’ era Jesus and Mary Chain and that folks is a very good thing.

Backwards Dog – This is also very good. Apologies for the recording quality of both though.

mp3 : Soup Dragons – Crotch Deep Trash
mp3 : Soup Dragons – Backwards Dog

Unlike Record 3 which is Why Can’t I Be You? (12” Version) by The Cure – Price £2.50

Now before you all jump up and down on my injured bollocks and expel me for ever from indie school for being rude about my elders, hear me out. I love this single. I own several Cure records and used to even have a big baggy black jumper called ‘Bob’ which I left in a pub in Leeds in 1993 and waited outside at 9am the next morning so that I could get it back. So I like the Cure.

However, why in the name of everything that is precious, they though that this 12” version would be acceptable is a complete mystery to me. Its utter bobbins, it removes all the good bits of the original and pads it out with effects and loops and soundclashes and it just sounds like Modern Romance have recorded it and not The Cure. The bastards. I would actually rather be back in hospital listening to Ron in the bed next to mine bang on about ‘Bloody Poles’ than listen to that again. Its eight minutes long as well.

The B-Side is called ‘A Japanese Dream’ and it’s a bit better but you know only just. If only because it goes on about monkeys and stuff.

mp3 : The Cure – Why Can’t I Be You (remix)
mp3 : The Cure – A Japanese Dream

(JC adds….Badger is spot on with his analysis of this. I once bought a second hand copy of this 12″ single solely with the intenion of posting ot on the blog. One play letter and that idea was ditched…..)

“Can we do one more” the little girl asks me, I agree, I’m enjoying myself, to be honest, SWC has even made me cup of tea and bought out some plates for the brownies, its nice to be around friendly people (and SWC). So we unwrap the fourth one which is back to the Peppa Pig paper “I only had three rolls of paper” he says. His daughter unwraps it and laughs at the sleeve. It’s the back of the sleeve she’s laughing at. “Bum” she says. She’s right. I’m looking at the backside of a female and a very smug looking Dave Gahan.

The fourth record is “Personal Jesus” – Depeche Mode – Price £1.99

“That’s definitely worth more than that” SWC says. He’s probably right, I once sold a 12” of a Depeche Mode song on Ebay for about £35 – they are really collectible for some unfathomable reason.

Now, you can re read my bit about the Cure here if you like because the same rules apply about Depeche Mode. They’ve taken one of their better singles and remixed it for the single and in doing that bloody ruined it. Here folks we have

mp3: Depeche Mode : Personal Jesus “Holier Than Thou” Version.

The record and the remix seems a bit smug for some reason if you ask me, still let’s have a look at the B Sides….One of them is badly scratched so we will gloss over that one but here is the other one

mp3 : Depeche Mode : Personal Jesus (acoustic)

So it’s the same song again, sorry. Its slightly better than the remix version, but the quality is so bad it sounds like Gahan is whispering his way through it, which he probably is to be fair.

So that takes us up to record 4 – records 5 6 and 7 to follow.

BADGER

Wedding Present

INSPIRED BY THE TITLE OF LAST SATURDAY’S TUNE

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In 1992, The Wedding Present had set a then record for the number of chart appearances in a calendar year by releasing a new single on the first Monday of each month. As soon as December 1992 was out of the way the band announced that they were parting ways with RCA Records and taking much of 1993 off.

In early 1994 it was revealed that the new label would be Island Records but that original bass player Keith Gregory had left the line-up meaning that David Gedge was now the sole member left from the original line-up. They decamped to the USA to record the new material for the new label with the first release being this 4-track single in September 1994:-

mp3 : The Wedding Present – Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
mp3 : The Wedding Present – Le Bikini
mp3 : The Wedding Present – Flame On
mp3 : The Wedding Present – Him Or Me (What’s It Gonna Be)?

I think it was a major disappointment that the single stalled at #51; indeed the follow-up It’s A Gas fared even worse while the parent album Watusi barely broke the Top 50. These turned out to be the only recordings for Island Records who dropped the band in early 1995.

Looking back, the world wasn’t quite prepared for the sounds made on Watusi. As wiki reports, the songs ranged from warm lo-fi pop (“Gazebo”, “Big Rat”) to semi-psychedelic, Velvets-like workouts (“Click Click”, “Catwoman”). There were also the two fantastic pop singles released as 45s which really deserved better.

Worth mentioning that while the TWP song Flame On is different from that of Captain America featured here three days ago, Him Or Me (What’s It Going To Be)? is a cover of a 1966 hit single (#5 on the US Billboard chart) by Paul Revere & The Raiders.

Have a listen to the original and compare. TWP make their version so different it sounds like one of their own.

mp3 : Paul Revere & The Raiders – Him or Me (What’s It Gonna Be)?

Enjoy.

Various

I JUST CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD

$fracturedamerica$

Yesterday’s piece was put together late on Sunday night. It genuinely was meant as my first and last words on the American election. But it was catching up on a few in-depth weekend pieces in the media that got me thinking just how crazy and momentous the result was and how, in political terms, things will never ever be the same again.

I’ve worked closely for the past 30 years with many politicians in Scotland – most of whom have been incredibly gifted and talented while a small number of others have been the complete opposite. The ones in the former camp often had to work hard over a long period of time to obtain those gifts and talents – being a skilled political operative, no matter the colour of your rosette and the spectrum in which your prevalent views hold sway, isn’t something that comes naturally to anyone.

Reading again so many of the statements attributed to the President-elect over the past 30+ years since he became a household name hammered it home to me that he is not a politician by any stretch of the imagination. If any form of recruitment process had been applied as it would when folk look to land a job or take a step forward in a career then he would never have made any short list. As I was reading the pieces, I began to think of a few songs whose titles made sense and that got me thinking of a playlist.

I then put it together immediately before going to bed. It had started off cynical and twisted but then I tried to have it lift me out of my funk and so went a bit upbeat before getting cynical again, then going a bit loopy as I was getting too morose before eventually ending it in the way I had started. I wasn’t sure about sharing it with you, but 24 hours on, well why the hell not. Especially when my use of fade out on the second last track ensured I could nail it at 60:00 exactly!!

mp3 : Various – And The Public Gets What The Public Wants

Tracklist

Idiot Country – Electronic
Help Save The Youth Of America – Billy Bragg
Honest Mistake – The Bravery
Accidents Will Happen – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
I Wish – Stevie Wonder
24 Hour Party People – Happy Mondays
He’s On The Phone – Saint Etienne
Really Stupid – The Primitives
Clampdown – The Clash
The Headmaster Ritual – The Smiths
Toxic – Britney Spears
Where’s Me Jumper? – Sultans Of Ping FC
I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor – Arctic Monkeys
Ballad Of The Band – Felt
Waking Up – Elastica
Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag – Pigbag
Running The World – Jarvis Cocker

For those of you who don’t know the final song, I should warn you that the main refrain is repeatedly preceded by the words ‘Cunts are still…’

Make of it what you will.

And I promise. That is my last words on the matter.

Various

A FEW RANDOM INANE AND SELF-INDULGENT THOUGHTS…..

When you’ve been doing this sort of nonsense for as long as I have, it pays to take a short breather every now and again, and as I mentioned in the additional posting I shoved up on hearing the news of the death of Leonard Cohen, this recent period has been one of them.

I was very fortunate in that, during the time I was planning exactly what to do with the blog while I was tuning out for 2 weeks, I could turn to four ridiculously good guest posts in quick succession. The fact that readers could enjoy Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Martin Stephenson, The Pipettes and JAMC over four days demonstrates exactly the variety and quality entertainment that I want to bring to this place. My thanks to Badger, Rich, Strangeways and S-WC for filling the void with such panache.

My own break was partly enforced from the fact that I was away visiting two very dear friends – a husband and wife – over an extended long weekend to celebrate them turning 50 years of age and throwing a party in their home town in Hampshire. I hadn’t been able to make the family celebration they had held up here in Glasgow earlier in the year as it coincided with my trip to Toronto, but I was determined to make sure I didn’t miss out the second time. It was always going to be a drunken few days – I don’t see them as often as I’d like and when we do get together it is always very messy that would always end in tears-stained nostalgia if we didn’t continually rip the piss out of one another.

This particular mate was my best man when I remarried in the mid 90s. By then, he was already forging an incredibly successful career doing things and being in situations that very few of us could ever imagine. The nature of his job is such that he can’t say too much about it and I’m therefore not going to give anything away – I’ll simply confirm that he’s not a spy or anything like that but that a great deal of his work is of utmost national and international security.

He once, many years ago, had to spend nine months away from his family in a very dangerous place; while we were talking over the long weekend he reminded me, and I’d completely forgotten about this, that I had given him a box of home-made C90 cassettes to take with him as his musical accompaniment. Not only did I supply the cassettes but I typed out something like 25 pages of notes on many of the songs with a lot of asides about why they were important or personal to one or other or both of us. I genuinely couldn’t recall doing this and was stunned when he brought out said box and notes and let me read over them.

This was all done back in 2003, and while I’m not claiming that my thousands upon thousands of words were worthy of any literary prize, I was proud of them in that they, and the songs, had seen him through some tough and lonely times; I could also see that this, in some ways, was my first ever stab at blogging albeit such a thing hadn’t been invented at that particular time. I was tempted to bring the notes back up the road with me and reproduce them here, stopped only by the fact that much of what was written was relevant to the particular situation and circumstances ny mate would find himself in and even now, thirteen years on, neither of us would want to put into a wider, more public domain. But reading my written words again, having forgotten that they existed, was a highlight of the year so far.

Which is just as well given the lowlights that would unfold over the next few days.

My political leanings can be worked out easily enough from the words and songs that have featured on this blog over the years so it’s fair to surmise that the ascension of Donald Trump into the White House doesn’t sit easily with me. But hey, if that’s what the voting system used in the States brings about, then so be it.

It’s been fascinating to watch the reactions to this outcome, just as it was when the Brexit vote and Scottish Independence results came through in recent times. Particularly on social media where so many folk on the losing side then seem to make a mad rush to ‘unfriend’ those who voted the other way. This seems just completely the wrong thing to do – if you surround yourself only with those whose views and opinions are completely in line with your own, then you’re not really going to get much of a perspective on life and society.

I am distressed and worried about what the future holds; I’m not envious of those with children whose fears must be even greater. But I’m not going to stop talking to any friend – in real life or in cyberspace – for the ‘crimes’ of either voting a madman into the White House or putting an X in a particular box which then gave the outside world the impression that the little island I happen to live on is populated by racist bigots.

Life is way too important for that.

But I won’t ever talk to anyone who phones in and votes for an act on the X Factor………..

You’ll be pleased to know that things round here will return to normal from tomorrow. I just wanted to come back sharing a few things that were on my mind.

mp3 : The Psychedelic Furs – President Gas
mp3 : The Presidents of The United States of America – Bad Times
mp3 : Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury
mp3 : Chumbawamba – Mouthful of Shit

Onwards and upwards. Starting with going over to read some of my favourite blogs. I’ve missed you guys and gals.

Buzzcocks

BUZZCOCKS SINGLES 77-80 (Part 12)

r-464676-1203267603-jpeg The fact that the final few singles from Buzzcocks sold in such few numbers means that they are now the most difficult to find on the second-hand market and are marginally more expensive to buy than the hits.

That’s one theory. But it might well be the case that this particular single is more valued as it is something of a forgotten classic.

Strange Thing isn’t anything at all like the catchy near power-pop of the hits of the previous years. Instead it’s more akin to the sound of many of their new wave peers – surely I’m not alone in listening to the music and hearing the sort of sounds that Weller & co. were taking to new unthought of heights of popularity? The closing section in particular always brings to mind Private Hell from Setting Sons.

In keeping with what had happened with the previous single, the flip side was given over to Steve Diggle and this time he came up with something that proved he had indeed been playing close attention to the support band on the last big tour of 1979. Airwaves Dream really does sound like Joy Division without the tricked up production values applied by Martin Hannett.

What I’m kicking myself about is that I didn’t buy the single on its release. In fact, I didn’t discover these two gems until many many many years later when I picked up a cheap copy of the re-released and re-packaged Singles Going Steady CD which had been expanded to include the final four singles from that great era (the initial release of the compliation ended with Harmony In My Head/Something’s Gone Wrong Again). Given that the younger me had felt let down by Are Everything I wasn’t expecting much from these unknown songs; it was a surprise that they both turned out to be pleasures.

It’s fair to say that the teen me might have struggled with Strange Thing/Airwaves Dream on its release as my mind and tastes would have been attuned to the poppier side of Buzzcocks, and so I’m glad it took me 20+ years to hear them for the first time.

mp3 : Buzzcocks – Strange Thing
mp3 : Buzzcocks – Airwaves Dream

Enjoy.

Captain America

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #49 : CAPTAIN AMERICA

Captain America was formed in 1990 by vovalist and guitarist Eugene Kelly following the dissolution of his former band, The Vaselines. The initial line-up also contained Gordon Keen (guitar), James Seenan (bass), and Andy Bollen (drums),

The line-up later changed, as did the name of the band following an injunction threat from Marvel Comics who claimed copyright. The band became known as Eugenius which just happened to be the frontman’s affectionate nickname and there were even more personnel changes by the time they went back into the studio (but that’s a story for when I get to the letter ‘E’).

I don’t play this song often enough. It’s an absolute belter of a tune.

mp3 : Captain America – Flame On

Enjoy

Leonard Cohen

SO LONG, LEONARD COHEN

I’ve taken a break from t’internet these past two weeks – all the posts on the blog were pre-packaged in advance and the plan had been to get back into things over the weekend.

But I just can’t let today go past without paying a small tribute.

I came late to Leonard Cohen in terms of appreciating him. As I said on a previous post, I became aware of his work from about the age of 13 as a mate’s older brother insisted on playing his stuff all the time. I can’t say I was too keen….it was all a bit doom and gloom and let’s face it, the majority of the subject matters went right over my head at the time. But as a number of my own favourite musicians in the 80s began to name check him as an influence I re-approached his material with a fresh mind and discovered that I was indeed a fan.

I was lucky enough to have just about the best seats in the house to see him perform in a 3,000 capacity venue in Glasgow back in November 2008. It was a joyous, uplifting and wonderful evening during which he was on stage for well over 2 hours and performed 26 songs from right across his incredible career. I felt afterwards as if I’d just put the biggest possible tick on my bucket list.

I first heard of Leonard’s passing via a friend’s comment on Facebook. It’s not a medium I use all that much but I did leave the following words:-

“2016 can go and take a fuck to itself”

It’s hardly the most poetic few words I’ve ever come up with, but it is heartfelt.

mp3 : Leonard Cohen – Suzanne
mp3 : Leonard Cohen – Democracy (live on Later, 1993)
mp3 : James – So Long, Marianne

The world is a sadder place today.

Aztec Camera

I AM A MUSIC SNOB….AND I HATE THIS HIT SINGLE

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I’ve said many good things about Aztec Camera over the years. But I can’t bring myself to be positive about what was the biggest ever hit single (and it’s even more insipid b-side) that reached #3 in April 1988:-

mp3 : Aztec Camera – Somewhere In My Heart
mp3 : Aztec Camera – Everybody Is A Number One (Boston 86 version)

OK, by 1988 Aztec Camera weren’t really a band – more a name under which Roddy Frame recorded and toured. And as much as I had little time for the sound of the hugely over-produced Love LP, and the singles that it spawned, I was secretly pleased that Roddy was at last enjoying some long overdue commercial success and a wee bit of fortune. Oh and it’s not as if one producer was to blame for the sound of Love – there were a multitude of them. The hand on the buttons for this single and this version of the song that made it to the b-side was Michael Jonzun, best known in part for radio-friendly electro-funk stuff and for working with his brother Maurice Starr, who to intent and purposes, invented the boy-band phenomena of the 80s thanks to New Edition and New Kids On The Block (and there’s two acts I bet you never thought would get name checked on T(n)VV).

Incidentally, there’s an ever bigger abomination to be found on the 12″:-

mp3 : Aztec Camera – Somewhere In My Heart (12″ remix)

Stretching out to a tortuous seven minutes, it’s precisely what was wrong with so much music in the late 80s.

It was interesting that having tasted pop stardom, and all that it entailed in terms of promotion (daytime TV, kids shows, miming on Top of The Pops and similar shows across Europe), Roddy seemed to go out of his way to make a follow-up called Stray that was mostly downbeat and lovely, albeit it also had contained a massive hit with the ultra-catchy Good Morning Britain.

Somewhere In My Heart is of course a great crowd-pleaser and Roddy still performs it whenever he takes to the stage. I do prefer his fresh take on it:-

mp3 : Roddy Frame – Somewhere In My Heart (live in Osaka, 2007)

Enjoy.

Moby

I’M YOUR BOY, YOUR 20th CENTURY TOY

It’s going through the record/CD collection that really makes me stop to think and realise just how quickly time is passing.

It was as long ago as May 1999 that Play, the fifth studio LP from Moby was released. I had it down in my head as maybe a decade or so ago, certainly not the last century.

What I do distinctly remember is buying it on the back of hearing most of it played in a record store during an afternoon’s browsing. In my lifetime, I’ve probably done such a thing maybe four or five times, and on every occasion bar one, when I took it home and shoved it onto my own system, the songs didn’t sound anything like half as good.

Play was and remains the exception and it quickly became a firm favourite on heavy rotation in Villain Towers. The mix of electronic dance, rock, pop, ambiance, folk and gospel just struck the right note with me at that particular point in time – it was the sort of record that could play away in the background and on every listen, my ears would pick up something that was fresh.

Within a few months, I began to notice snippets of the album getting used in a lot of TV adverts and then one of the tracks started getting very heavy rotation on MTV/MTV2 thanks to a hauntingly memorable video featuring Christina Ricci.

Next thing you know, Moby and his bloody record were everywhere you turned and it wasn’t difficult to feel bored about it all. Maybe it was a bit of the music snob in me that something I felt I had partly discovered was now very mainstream but in truth, it was simply overexposure at the time.

A few years back I picked up the CD again for the first time ages while I was seeking inspiration for postings on the old blog and was delighted to re-discovered everything about it that makes it a genuine classic, fully deserving all the plaudits that have been thrown at it.

It’s not one that is still on heavy rotation but I usually at some point during a beach holiday turn to it for something well-known and comforting to get me through either a hangover or an hour when the sun is at its hottest and you want and need no surprises or challenging listening through the headphones.

mp3 : Moby – Bodyrock
mp3 : Moby – Find My Baby
mp3 : Moby – Inside
mp3 : Moby – Natural Blues
mp3 : Moby – South side

One other thing worth mentioning is that a fair chunk of the profits made from this album allowed Mute Records to retain a few less commercial and poorly selling artists on the label for a while longer.

Enjoy.

Pulp

DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME?

Back in the early 90s, Pulp were always one of those bands that you would read about in a music magazine every now and again, and depending on the particular journalist, they seemed to get a hugely positive or hugely negative review, whether it be an assessment of their records or the reactions to a live gig. But never really having heard any of their tunes, I was never in a position to make my own mind up. And although they were a band that did seem to divide opinion so much, I was never inclined to find things out for myself.

One day, in my usual fashion, I was watching the ITV Chart Show on a Saturday morning. In the days before satellite telly, there wasn’t all that much music on the box, and the best thing about this particular show was that every three weeks they had an indie chart in which you might be lucky enough to catch 90 seconds of the latest video by Carter USM, Lush, Pop Will Eat Itself or some shoegazing nonsense. I wasn’t paying all that much attention to the rundown one Saturday until about midway through a tune which hit me as something quite unique…..by now I had missed who the band was and what the song was called, but I recognised from the video that the singer was the bloke out of Pulp as I had seen his photo in the music papers a few times.

By the end of the video, I was certain the song in question was called ‘I Want To Take You Home’. I looked for it in a few shops around that time, but with no joy. It must have been the best part of a year later that I then saw another Pulp video on the same show….this time I clocked that it was for a song called Lipgloss. The following week I found a CD album of theirs called His’n’Hers in the second-hand section, so I bought it. About halfway through my first listen, the track I had previously thought was called I Want To take You Home suddenly came through the speakers loud and clear…

I know most folk rave about the quality of Different Class, the 1995 LP that turned Pulp into superstars in the UK, but I’ve a very soft spot for His’n’Hers which I reckon is a better all round record, albeit it doesn’t have the genius that is Common People. It was an act of negligence on the part of the record-buying public that Babies was a flop single on its initial release in late 1992, and I reckon the record label did the right thing with a re-release in May 1994, when they made the track the lead-off on the Sisters EP:-

mp3 : Pulp – Babies (EP Version)
mp3 : Pulp – Your Sister’s Clothes
mp3 : Pulp – Seconds
mp3 : Pulp – His’n’Hers

I don’t know why I never bought this particular EP when it was released – looking back it was a time when I was living in Glasgow in a small flat and travelling to Edinburgh every day to work. Space in the flat was at a premium, there wasn’t a lot of spare cash kicking around, and CD singles/EPs frankly didn’t seem worth the money if you already had the album (I didn’t realise until picking up a second hand copy about a decade ago that it was a re-recorded version).

Oh and here, from a BBC session recorded on 30th May 1992 for the Radio 1 Show, The Evening Session, is another version of I Want To take You Home :-

mp3 : Pulp – Babies (Session)

Enjoy

Luxuria

RECALLING LUXURIA

luxuria-1

I didn’t find out about Luxuria until a few years after they had come and gone. I’d loved Magazine and I have a soft spot for the very short solo career of Howard Devoto (two singles and one LP in 1983) and was delighted to hear that he was making a musical comeback in 2001 with Buzzkunst. But the press around his reunion with Pete Shelley talked about a band called Luxuria which he’s been in from 1988 – 1990, which just happens to be, for the most part, my musical wilderness years in which I failed miserably to keep up with contemporary music.

I know now that Luxuria was a duo consisting of Howard and Norman Fisher-Jones, aka Noko who, in just over two years released four singles and two albums on Beggars Banquet Records. Over time, I’ve picked up three of the singles, all of which have some merit (it is the god-like genius of Devoto we are talking about here) but not enough to make me desperate to hoover up everything in sight.

Much of my lack of enthusiasm is around the way the music has been produced – it is very much of its era and as a consequence the songs sound a bit dated these days. It’s annoying as I’m sure I’d have appreciated them more back in the day. Here’s what I have, all on either 7″ or 12″ vinyl:-

The debut single, on 12″ vinyl, with a cover version of a Bob Dylan number on the flip side:-

mp3 : Luxuria – Redneck (extended version)

mp3 : Luxuria – She’s You Lover Now (Part 1)

mp3 : Luxuria – She’s Your Lover Now (Part 2)

The third single, on 12″ vinyl :-

mp3 : Luxuria – The Beast Box Is Dreaming

mp3 : Luxuria – Beast Box

mp3 : Luxuria – Useless Love

The fourth and final single, on 7″ vinyl, :-

mp3 : Luxuria – Jezebel

mp3 : Luxuria – Smoking Mirrors

To be honest, the final single doesn’t have much going for it. It’s a cover of a song, originally written and released in 1951 and a huge hit for Frankie Laine; in later years many others would have a go at it, either as a single, b-side or album track. Oh and its b-side is a very limp and annoying instrumental. Feel free to pass on both.

Worth mentioning too that after Luxuria split, Howard left music and built a career as a photo archivist while Noko, found a bit of fame with dance act Apollo 440. The two would come together again in 2008 when Magazine finally reformed and Noko did a very fine job of replacing the late, great John McGeoch on guitar.

Enjoy.

Mundy

OH BABY, I’M DREAMING OF MUNDY

mundy

Edmund Enright was born in Birr, County Offaly, Ireland in 1976. Adopting the moniker of Mundy, he moved to Dublin at the age of 18 initially performing as a busker and later at open-mic nights

By the age of 20, he had signed with Epic Records with much expected of him, especially after one of his early songs, To You I Bestow, was included on the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s modern update on Romeo + Juliet.

Mundy’s debut album, Jelly Legs, didn’t do anything like as well as his label bosses hoped, and none of the singles lifted from it got anywhere near the charts. By the age of 24 he had been dropped.

Two years later, and completely as a result of the royalties he had earned from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack (which sold a staggering 11 million copies worldwide), he set up his own label Camcor Records upon which, since 2002, he has released six albums at regular intervals.

He remains hugely popular in his home country, regularly touring, often as the main support to internationally famous acts as well as under his own steam, while he is on many of the bills every years on the festival circuit. He’s enjoyed #1 singles and albums in Ireland but his music just hasn’t travelled well in terms of sales.

I picked up three of his mid 90s singles from a bargain bin after reading that he was possibly the Irish equivalent of Roddy Frame. I went in with reasonably high expectations but they weren’t really matched. I played the songs again recently for the first time in the best part of two decades and thought they weren’t all that bad, albeit they have that mid-90s production values that date them.

mp3 : Mundy – Life’s A Cinch
mp3 : Mundy – To You I Bestow
mp3 : Mundy – Pardon Me

You’ll hear all sorts of snatches of stuff that will bring other singers and bands to mind.

Enjoy

Buzzcocks

BUZZCOCKS SINGLES 77-80 (Part 11)

Moving forward to 1980 and what proved to be the beginning of the very end of things first time around for Buzzcocks.

They were no longer press darlings and the events of late 1979 when they had been blown out of the water on tour by their support band caused something of a crisis.

It would also seem, looking back, that they had fallen out of favour at United Artists and with no guarantees of hit singles the money spent on promoting and releasing the material was cut back. Thus, the rather lacklustre sleeves as compared to the previous singles on the label.

It was also clear that the band were now being seen as a singles-only outfit which is why the first new recording from 1980 has ‘Part 1’ on the sleeve. Just how many ‘parts’ there would be in over the following months none of us knew.

mp3 : Buzzcocks – Are Everything
mp3 : Buzzcocks – Why She’s A Girl From The Chainstore

With the benefit of hindsight, Are Everything is not the worst thing you’ll ever hear in your life but on release it felt awfully flat and devoid of imagination in comparison to what had come before. And the gimmick of it seemingly fading out and then suddenly bursting back into life again some 45 seconds from the end must have it made a difficult sell to radio producers. And yet it sold enough copies to spend three weeks in the UK singles charts in September 1980, peaking at #61 which was more than You Say You Don’t Love Me had ever managed.

The b-side is a Steve Diggle number that seems to have its roots in the rough’n’ ready stuff of new wave bands hoping to be discovered on the back of a catchy shout-out-loud chorus without much else to back it up.

The end truly was nigh.