Edwyn Collins, Paul Quinn, Paul Quinn & Edwyn Collins, Secret Goldfish

COWBOY MOUTHS

If you thought that the best cowboy/country and western songs date back to the golden era of Johnny Cash or the chart blazing hits of the likes of Glen Campbell or Kenny Rogers, then I provide the following as evidence that 1985 had a wonderful example:-

mp3 : Paul Quinn – Ain’t That Always The Way

The follow-up single to Paul and Edwyn’s majestic cover of Pale Blue Eyes, this single on Swamplands Records ended up being credited as a solo recording due to contractual issues Edwyn had at the time. Despite the single receiving positive reviews in a number of the weekly papers, as well as the teen-orientated mag Smash Hits, it sold poorly and got nowhere near the charts.

Four years later, the song’s composer provided his own take on it, although by making it a b-side on a 12″ single which sold even fewer copies than the Swamplands effort, it too is not the easiest to track down:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins – Ain’t That Always The Way

My previous musings on this song over at the old place led to a reader sending me an e-mail with an attachment that contained something quite special. The audio quality is far from perfect but I’m very proud to have a copy of a version recorded for an early evening show on Radio 1. Worth noting the added harmonica which makes the song sound like a close cousin of What Presence?! and the fact that this recording pre-dates, by quite some months, the release of the song as a 45:-

mp3 : Paul Quinn & Edwyn Collins – Ain’t That Always The Way (Richard Skinner Session)

I’ve also since got my hands on the demo version of the song which was made available on an NME compilation cassette:-

mp3 : Paul Quinn – Ain’t That Always The Way (demo)

Finally. Another wonderful reader once sent me a bundle of home made compilation CDs to listen to and enjoy. Basing his selections on the sort of material I was going on about on the blog, one of the many excellent songs was this very lovely cover:-

mp3 : Secret Goldfish – Ain’t That Always The Way

There’s more postings about Secret Goldfish coming your way soon.

Enjoy

Smiths

THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE SMITHS

It was actually five days earlier than the above ticket but it was the same tour.

My gig was at the Queen Margaret Union, which was part of Glasgow University. I don’t think actual tickets were used but instead it was some sort of specially numbered pass only determined as and when the gig was announced and only available from the venue box office. That was certainly the method used at my regular haunt at nearby Strathclyde University – the benefits were the venue could pre-print a year’s worth of passes and save a fortune; the downside of course was that without the name of the band being on the ticket it wasn’t anything worth keeping and besides the entire ticket was taken off you by the security folk at the venue. Such happy and innocent times indeed….

Here’s some words from an external site:-

2 March 1984
Queen Margaret Hall, University Of Glasgow, Glasgow

This concert was very crowded, sweaty and memorable, like most visits to Glasgow. There was a lot of heckling so Morrissey lectured the crowd about bad behaviour. Performance-wise and sound-wise, it was one of the best concerts of the period, probably because it was recorded.

After “Hand In Glove” Morrissey greeted the fans by shouting “Hello Glasgow!”. He changed one line in “This Charming Man” to “This man said it’s gruesome that someone so ugly should care”, as he had been known to do now and then. “Pretty Girls Make Graves” was introduced with the words “And now, a lesson for everybody…” The following song, “Still Ill”, was introduced as “…a nice song about the most enviable position imaginable, ‘Still Ill’!..” There was a lot of heckling from the audience so after “This Night Has Opened My Eyes” Morrissey shouted “Aaarrgh, listen! What?”. In the part in “Barbarism Begins At Home” where Morrissey just moans and la-la-la’s, echo effect was applied, making it sound eerie. “Back To The Old House” was introduced with the line “This is for all you marsh-mellows…” Before “Handsome Devil” Morrissey teased the audience by shouting “More?”

This concert was recorded and broadcast in full on Scotland’s Radio Clyde.

It was an incredibly hot and sweaty night. It was, after at least one false start with gigs being postponed, the band’s first time on a Scottish stage. I so wanted this night to be special. I loved the songs and I just didn’t want them to be a disappointing live act.

They weren’t.

I’m actually not so sure there was a load of heckling at the gig as this would imply fans were unhappy or being critical. To my ears it was just a lot of shouts of joy aimed for the most part at Morrissey.

A few days ago, box were contacted and subsequently deleted a file which had linked to a track from that gig which had been posted ages ago on the long-defunct blog. I don’t like to take these things lying down, so here for your enjoyment is the complete Radio Clyde broadcast (with thanks to Mike from Manic Pop Thrills who supplied it to me from his own collection)

Hand In Glove
Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
Girl Afraid
This Charming Man
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Still Ill
This Night Has Opened My Eyes
Barbarism Begins At Home
Back To The Old House
What Difference Does It Make?
Reel Around The Fountain
You’ve Got Everything Now
Handsome Devil

Enjoy!!

Frightened Rabbit

RECALLING THE EXCELLENT DEBUT SINGLE (Part 2)

From 2007. Two songs that sadly don’t get aired in the current live shows:-

mp3 : Frightened Rabbit – Be Less Rude

mp3 : Frightened Rabbit – The Greys

Both are slightly different mixes from what are available on the debut LP. These are songs that take me back to seeing this lot in loads of tiny venues all across Glasgow hoping that it wouldn’t take too long before their talents and abilities to effortlessly knock out tartan-tinged tunes of hope and despair were more widely recognised and rewarded. It took a few years but in due course the major label did come knocking.

I’ve written before that while I’m sad to see the sound dilute a bit as it became more appealing to the masses there is no way I’m going to accuse Frightened Rabbit of ever selling out. The live shows today, certainly on the basis of the gig I was lucky and unexpectedly enough to catch in Berlin just a few months ago, remain just as joyful and moving in equal measures as they were in the days of sweaty Glasgow basements. And it also seems that the boys are just as approachable and self-assuming as they’ve always been. Increasing fame and some fortune doesn’t turn everyone into an arsehole.

Quick update on some more box takedowns. Most recent two have been for a Charlatans single and for a live recording of a track by The Smiths….one that was never made available commercially but which came from a radio recording of their first ever live appearance in Scotland back in 1984. A wee fightback comes tomorrow….

Beat

A POLITICAL PROTEST SONG (9)

Being 50 gives a certain….perspective; so here’s mine.

Taken from the (still) stunning first Beat album’ this dates from 1980. Thatcher was just beginning to bite and the major riots were a distance away.

The great threat; as seen by the Left was of the National Front. The broad alliance against them has been well documented. On one level; the song seems a simple anti-Nazi one (“even though that cunt’s a Nazi”); but a deeper listen shows a more nuanced approach, with an appeal to accept the brotherhood of all.

Very much of its time; but still a worthwhile sentiment today.

mp3 : The Beat – Two Swords

On broader terms, there appears to be much written from our generation about the absence of modern protest songs. I feel that this shows a much deeper cultural shift. In the 80’s you could SEE and hear opposition. Now debate is so strangled that no dissenting voices are allowed. This pushes dissent far deeper than mere radio airplay. Democracy grew as a useful way for the rulers to see dissent; being able to see none should worry them greatly.

Adrian

Note from JC

This is a fantastic song that I’d long forgotten so big thanks to Adrian for his posting. He says it is very much of its time and yet it’s one that more than thirty years has a crispness and sound that is still hugely enjoyable to listen to.

Everyone recalls the role The Specials played in raising political awareness in the re-birth of ska in the UK at the beginning of the 80s but the likes of The Beat and The Selector also played a huge and important part. Thanks again Adrian.

Chemical Brothers

A FEW HOURS LATER THAN SCHEDULED..

The daily posts normally appear at a certain time every day as I’ve the habit of writing up to a week’s worth in one sitting and then putting them into a schedule. However, should something unexpected emerge, such as a trip to the hospital which results in the diagnosis of an infected knee that has to be kept straight at all times this preventing me sitting at the PC for 5 days, then things can go wrong.

Last week’s sudden inflammation underneath my right kneecap was both painful and scary – I was genuinely worried that I was developing some sort of clot. I went to my local hospital on the south side of Glasgow at 9am last Thursday morning and over the next 90 minutes received the care, attention and treatment that money just could not buy making me again grateful for the National Health Service here in the UK. There was an initial diagnosis which turned out to be correct but I was also given x-rays and seen by a specialist just to make sure for there was no explanation as to why I should be suffering from Prepatellar Busitis – or as it is more commonly known, Housemaid’s Knee.

A strong dose of antibiotics and a lot of rest, particularly keeping the knee straight, was the recommended cure. Four days later and I’m a lot better but still not 100%, but at least I feel I can take a few minutes to drop in here today.

I heard a snatch of a song on an advert on the telly over the weekend which reminded me of how great a particular song was:-

mp3 : The Chemical Brothers – Setting Sun

Released all of seventeen years ago this month. The Chemical Brothers had been getting a lot of attention both on the back of the release of the LP Exit Planet Dust the the previous summer for for seeming to often steal the show with the live performances at various outdoor festivals. The fact that The Chemical Brothers were to collaborate with one of the Gallagher brothers caused huge excitement in the music press – Oasis at this point were at their critical peak as well as having what seemed a fan in every household in the country. The result didn’t disappoint and deservedly went to #1 in the singles chart. Noel Gallagher hasn’t done anything nearly as good since….(some would say he hadn’t done anything decent beforehand but that’s extremely harsh).

Here’s the other tracks on the single just in case you’re interested :-

mp3 : The Chemical Brothers – Setting Sun (radio edit)

mp3 : The Chemical Brothers – Buzz Tracks

mp3 : The Chemical Brothers – Setting Sun (instrumental)

Enjoy.

Bronski Beat

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 26)

Back on 8 October 2011, I started a series called ‘Saturday’s Scottish Single’. The aim was to feature one 45 or CD single by a Scottish singer or band with the proviso that the 45 or CD single was in the collection. I had got to Part 60-something and as far as Kid Canaveral when the rug was pulled out from under TVV.

I’ll catch up soon enough by featuring 5 at a time from the archives..except that the single which was Part 26 is so important it is being featured on its own with words I had penned back in April 2008 when It was part of the 45 45s at 45 rundown:-

I’ve written about Bronski Beat before. And I make no apologies of repeating what I said then – it really is all too easy to forget how brave Jimmy Somerville and his bandmates were were for being so open about their way of life and their views. Their records, and those of such as Pet Shop Boys and Frankie Goes To Hollywood took the celebration of queer culture into the mainstream, and made many people realise, probably for the first time, that homophobia was every bit as distasteful as racism and apartheid.

This was a band that came from out of nowhere. They inked a deal with London Records after a mere handful of gigs, and the debut single, Smalltown Boy, sold by the barrowload, hitting #3 in the UK charts in May 1984. It also made the Top 50 in the USA and Top 10 in Australia.

A trio of follow-up singles and the debut LP all sold in great quantities and the band seemed set for a long and successful career. But out of the blue, vocalist Jimmy Somerville (and acknowledged by everyone as the band spokesman) announced he was quitting the band to pursue an outlet that would allow him to be ‘more political.’ In due course, he would find massive success, including #1 records, with Communards. He also became part of Red Wedge, the conglomeration of musicians who campaigned for the Labour Party at the 1987 UK general election.

As for Bronski Beat – they did manage a couple of hits with new vocalist John Foster (who in retrospect sounds awfully like Andy Bell who would later come to prominence with Erasure), but they were very much overshadowed by the success of Communards. They soldiered on for a few more years, ever more fading into obscurity from the mainstream.

There’s just something about the early Bronski Beat records that make them sound so special. There’s a bit of the inventiveness of Giorgio Moroder in there, along with the pop-savvy touch of Human League and Heaven 17. There’s also the choir-boy falsetto vocals of Somerville that recalled, in some ways, Russell Mael from Sparks. Theirs were records that struck a chord with so many people, from the hard-core gay militants to the indie-kids and the disco-divas with their handbags and stiletto heels.

The look adopted by Jimmy Somerville for the video to the debut single is one that has become synonymous with young gay men in the early 80s. If you want proof, look no further than the recent BBC cop/sci-fi series Ashes to Ashes which was set in 1981, but in an episode centring on a young gay man, that particular character was dressed straight out of a Bronskis video from 1984.

That’s the impact and legacy of this one song –

mp3 : Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy (12″ version)

And here’s the b-sides:-

mp3 : Bronski Beat – Infatuation

mp3 : Bronski Beat – Memories

PS to last week’s Scottish singles ‘effort’

I messed up with links to the Bloomsday single. So sorry.

mp3 : Bloomsday – Strange Honey

mp3 : Bloomsday – Night Storm

Leonard Cohen

CBS 3337

I was, being just four years old, far too young back in 1967 to appreciate music.

I’ve also no idea what my folks were listening to back then either. Thinking back to my earliest memories I can’t recall there being any records in the house. It wasn’t that they didn’t like music and I suspect it was more down to them bringing up three kids in a very small space that prevented them having any sort of collection. I do know however that when we went to a new house when I was 10 years old my dad did get a stereo complete with huge speakers high up on the living room wall….and there were plenty of records there as well but again they all seem, from memory, to date from the early 70s.

So I can honestly say my folks never exposed me to this early single from a Canadian poet turned musician.

mp3 : Leonard Cohen – Suzanne

mp3 : Leonard Cohen – So Long Marianne

I became aware of the work of Leonard Cohen 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. Here’s some covers of the above songs:-

mp3 : Ian McCulloch – Suzanne

mp3 : James – So Long, Marianne

Enjoy. No really…..I insist.

Billy Bragg

A POLITICAL PROTEST SONG (8)

From Jimdoes (a correspondent of old)

The first song that popped into my head when you asked for protest songs was ‘It Says Here’ by Billy Bragg… from the Between The Wars ep – which i guess is in keeping with The Vinyl Villain’s ethos for me as I bought this on vinyl when it came out… I remember listening to it on headphones over and over in my parents living room and it making me question their newspaper choices and what is indeed perceived as news… Even the record itself was a political act… maybe a protest against record companies charging high prices for their ‘product’… the sleeve had printed on it ‘pay no more than One pound and Twenty Five pence’… in fact i could have picked any track off this ep… all equally good and all protest songs in their own way… A wonderful song that sadly still rings true nearly 30 years after it came out… and when he played between the wars on top of the pops he went against the grain and played live – unheard of in 1985 and if i remember rightly the first person to ever perform live on TOTP– again an act of protest against the prevailing plastic pop that you got on TOTP at the time… he was young then too…!

(JImdoes kindly supplied a youtube link to said performance but as I said on a previous post the links between Google and You Tube mean I won’t be putting up any clips on T(n)Vv.

Anyway, i ramble… I’m sure you’ve got this in your collection…

and i’m really glad that you’ve continued the blog… it must have been beyond heartbreaking when it was pulled…

anyway, have a nice day…!

JIMDOES

mp3 : Billy Bragg – It Says Here (alternative version)

mp3 : Billy Bragg – It says Here (original version)

It was the alternative (and shorter) version which appeared on Between The Wars EP. The original is the opening track on Brewing Up With Billy Bragg

Enjoy

Built To Spill

FROM THE SOUTH WEST CORRESPONDENT…..

Hi JC.

Wondered if you might be interested in this at all….

From the South West correspondent – Whats in Your Box (with thanks (and apologies) to Across the Kitchen Table)

I’ve just had a recent trip home to Kent and as I was leaving my old dad said to me – as you are here you may as well take that box with you. What box I said. That one over there its full of your old cd’s you left it here in 1998. 1998! Sweet Jesus.

So I thought what’s in here then and started to unpick the Sellotape. But then I stopped, what if I did this completely at random – I have no idea what’s inside here – pull out one CD at a time and review it……and send it to the Vinyl Villain

So today I pulled the first CD out. …

It was….

Built To Spill ‘Car’ – A single from 1995.

Which isn’t that bad a start to be honest although I dread to think what else may be inside here. Built To Spill were according to Wikipedia formed in 1992 by Doug Martsch, Brett Nelson and Ralf Youtz. Martsch was the leader of the band and said that he would change the line up of the band for each album they make. Which adds him to my growing list of Rock stars who think that they genocidial dictators. Sadly I don’t think he was good to his word as in 2013 – Brett Nelson is still with the band. No idea what happened to Ralf Youtz though.

The song appears on the City Slang Album ‘There’s Nothing Wrong with Love’ which was released in 1994 and like a lot of America Indie rock from that time it sounds a bit like Pavement, a bit like Sonic Youth and a bit like Dinosaur Jr, or maybe that’s just my lazy thoughts, although Martsch does site Dinosaur Jr, Pavement and Camper van Beethoven as strong influences. Modern bands such as the Strokes and the god awful Death Cab for Cutie list Built To Spill and as influence to them. But don’t let that put you off. Matt Groening inventor of the watchable cartoon loves them and that’s a good thing.

So the first CD, relatively well known American lo fi indie act – if I remember myself from 1998 correctly I would have boxed up my CDs in alphabetical order (we all do it, stop guffawing) – so anyone want to guess what might be up next….

JC – I’ll do the next CD next week. Let me know if you want me to continue.

As ever

Don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m intrigued by what else might well be in this particular box. This was something completely new to me and SF is spot on with the description of it being atypical mid-90s American indie rock but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Keep em coming SF.

mp3 : Built To Spill – Car

Enjoy

Frank & Walters

RECALLING THE EXCELLENT DEBUT SINGLE (Part 1)

I’ve always, over the years, tried to come up with some new ideas for a series of postings. Here’s another one which might take off…..

It’s usually the case that debut singles are among the best songs that any singer or band will release over the course of their career, whether that is one over in the blink of an eye or one which carries on for decades. I thought it night be nice to share some of these with you.

I’m starting off with something from one of the finest combos to ever come out of the Irish city of Cork.

mp3 : The Frank and Walters – Fashion Crisis Hits New York

Originally released on Setanta Records in their native land, the song picked up a bit of airplay here in the UK. My initial exposure came via its inclusion in one of the many compilation tapes put together for my in the early 90s by Jacques the Kipper. I tracked down a CD version of it and fell in love, not just with the single, but the other tracks on the disc.

To my great delight, Mrs V also fell for the charms of The Frank and Walters and we soon got along to see them play live at small venues in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. The support act was an up and coming English mob who called themselves Radiohead, Then we got to see Frank & Walters play larger venues as they toured in support of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine.

The live shows got them excellent press and before long they had inked a deal with Go Disc! Working with producers as talented as Edwyn Collins and Ian Broudie, great efforts were made to turn them into a chart band, and eventually in December 1992 these bore fruit when After All hit #11 in the UK charts. Sadly, that was it as far as fame went. A re-mix of the debut single narrowly missed the Top 40 in early 1993 after which the band disappeared from view for three years. By the time they returned, the fan base had moved on.

There’s been a lot of excellent material released by the Frank and Walters – six LPs and countless singles in all – but I’m not sure if anything has ever bettered the debut.

Here’s the other tracks on the initial CD which are very much a sound of what was indie-pop in the UK around the time that grunge was taking hold….I remain very fond of the song Angela Cray.

mp3 : The Frank and Walters – Rasputin

mp3 : The Frank and Walters – Daisy Chain

mp3 : The Frank and Walters – Angela Cray

Enjoy.

Belle & Sebastian, Roddy Frame

RETURN OF THE HACK

It’s been almost four weeks since I sat in this chair in front of the keyboard and thought about this blog. All the recent posts were composed in a frenzy of energy before I went on holiday and put into a daily schedule. I’ve been back from Canada for well over a week but left so exhausted/jet-lagged by the trip, not to mention feeling rundown from having a chest infection that won’t shift, that I haven’t had the energy to get my brain in gear.

I’d love to spend ages boring you rigid with the events of the past two weeks – after all you should have to suffer the same way my colleagues at work have heard over and over again about my adventures in Toronto and slightly further afield, but I will resist that self-indulgent temptation. For now anyway.

Instead let me share with you something two things that have annoyed me in recent days.

It’s now been the best part of six weeks since the original TVV met its demise at the hands of blogger. Thanks to advice from a number of readers I have been able to access some of the material in an indirect way which is why I’m able to fill the new place with inane ramblings from the old place.

One of the things that often accompanied a dmca notice was a notice being served on the place where I pay a monthly subscription to host my files (box.com) saying I was breaching copyright. Box, without failure, always immediately deleted the ‘offending’ file. The thing about many of these dmca notices was they were in respect of posts that were week, months and in some cases years old with the links having often been long removed so I wasn’t all that bothered that the box file was ever deleted.

With TVV having gone forever I thought that, unless a dmca was served in respect of stuff at T(n)VV then my box files were safe. But I came back from Canada to find four separate e-mails from box advising that they had received notices about breached copyright. But with none of the songs being available via a link I’m bemused as to how someone could serve such a notice…unless off course it’s the fact that summaries of the old posts with the tracks featured can be found over at Hype Machine and the continued appearance on those pages is causing offence.

And it’s worth mentioning that in three of the four emails from box, I was informed that the files removed were in relation to around ten different songs by Belle & Sebastian (the other was an obscure b-side by Echo & The Bunnymen). Any of you other bloggers had similar experiences??

The other annoying thing? It’s probably saddened me more than anything now I’ve had time to reflect on it.

I was initially excited by the news that High Land Hard Rain, one of my favourite LPs of all time, was going to be performed by Roddy Frame at a special show at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 4 December. It is one of just three specially arranged shows which will mark 30 years since the LP was released. The one fly in the ointment was that the date coincided with a planned week’s holiday with Mrs Villain but with nothing having been booked I was going to ask her to look at either going out early or delaying by a few days so that I could go to the show.

Until I saw how much I would have to pay for a decent seat – £45 plus booking fee.

This is just greed on the part of all involved and I’m sorry to say that I can’t absolve Roddy from blame. If he was going out on tour with a new record there is no way as an artist whose hit-making days are behind him would go dare dream of asking for more than maybe £20. I’m sure that as a sop to his fans such a gig would include a handful of tracks from the LP for which he is most fondly regarded by most. £45 is just too rich for my tastes…and I know I’m not alone as there’s a couple of other long-time fans who equally have shied away from the gig.

I’m sad because this marks the first time in my life when I have put the cost of a gig before the value of the experience of being there. It’s not that I can’t afford the ticket – and even if I was that skint I’d save the money by not doing something else such as miss out on a couple of football matches.

It’s the plain and simple fact that I’m not having my fandom and dedication taken for granted. I’ve seen Roddy Frame play live many times over the years and I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve bought all the records/CDs over the years and I even got a an overpriced but attractive t-shirt the last time I caught him in Glasgow (it’s a bad habit of mine but when I really enjoy a gig I do buy something to commemorate it such as a t-shirt or tour edition CD).

But this time I’m giving it a miss. Right now I have no regrets. But just to make sure I will be taking that holiday so I’m out of the country on the night of the gig.

It’s good to be back dear friends.

mp3 : Belle and Sebastian – The Boy Done Wrong Again

mp3 : Roddy Frame – The Boy Wonders (live at Ronnie Scott’s, 2005)

Enjoy.

Blood Uncles, Bloomsday, BMX Bandits, Botany 5, Bourgie Bourgie

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 21-25)

I’ll catch up soon enough by featuring 5 at a time from the archives..

(21) Blood Uncles – Let’s Go Crazy b/w Shake : Virgin 7″ (1987)

Consisting of Big John Duncan (ex-Exploited), John Carmichael and Colin McGuire, their debut EP on a local indie lable attracted the interest of Virgin Records. Their career consisted of two singles, including a frantic cover of a song by Prince, and one LP, none of which got near the charts. Big John would later be part of the live act that was Nirvana…..

(22) Bloomsday – Strange Honey b/w Night Storm : Island Records 7″ (1990)

Chris Thompson is one of the great lesser-known talents of the Scottish music scene. He first came to attention via Friends Again and has made a number of very different albums under the guise of The Bathers.

Back in 1990, he took time to form Bloomsday. This was a very talented group indeed. As well as Chris, you’d find Neil Clark on guitars and Stephen Irvine on drums – both had been part of Lloyd Cole & the Commotions. All songs on the one LP the band released in 1990 – Fortuny – are joint compositions. Oh and for good measure, the bassist on all the records was Mark Bedford of Madness.

It’s a very fine record, albeit parts of it have dated a wee bit. One day I’ll get round to featuring it on this blog. In the meantime here’s the one 7″ they released. It was on a major label too – Island Records:-

(23) BMX Bandits – Kylie’s Got A Crush On Us b/w Thinkin’ ‘Bout You Baby b/w Hole In My Heart (demo) b/w My Generation : Creation Records CD single (1993)

A POLITICAL PROTEST SONG (7)

A brilliant educational posting all the way from New Zealand…..

Hey JC, like so many others I’m rapt you ‘got back up again’, thought I’d offer a submission for your favourite/memorable political protest song series.

I grew up listening to a lot of punk music so have many faves from the likes of Crass, Conflict, Blitz, Anti Pasti, Stiff Little Fingers, Dead Kennedys etc, but didn’t think many were really vinyl villain material… considered Orange Crush by R.E.M. and My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg) by The Ramones, both of which are great, but have decided on something perhaps you and most of your readers wouldn’t be familiar with.

Culture by The Knobz came out in 1980 as a response to the then NZ prime minister Rob (known as ‘Piggy’!) Muldoon’s refusal to lift a 40% sales tax on recorded music (he thought pop music was “horrible” and had little or no cultural merit)

Probably considered one hit wonders (think they put out a couple of other singles and maybe an album) it’s a pretty catchy song and did quite well in the NZ charts, tho I doubt it got heard much outside of NZ.

The line “I can buzz around like a beehive boy…” refers to politicians – NZ’s (newer) parliament building in Wellington is known as the beehive because of its shape.

Probably more ‘memorable’ than ‘favourite’, hope this might be of interest to you, all the best with the new blog

Cheers, Craig

mp3 : The Knobz – Culture

Kevin Davis

A POLITICAL PROTEST SONG (6)

Today’s posting is courtesy of Jules whose excellent blog is Music From Magazines

A couple of weeks ago went to the Tolpuddle festival; union banners, Tony Benn and more socialists than you could shake a stick at all in sunny Dorset. Oops nearly forgot and Billy Bragg.

Between The Wars is probably one of the best folk/protest songs for decades (hells teeth it can make grown men cry)

But at the moment my top protest song is a cover of NWAs Fuck The Police.

As a middle aged white bloke I have no excuse apart the fact that it makes me smile.

Jules

mp3 : Kevin Davis – Fuck The Police

Rise Against

A POLITICAL PROTEST SONG (5)

Today’s contribution is courtesy of James from Appetite For Distraction. I’m really pleased about this as James has been a great friend to me and many others in the blogging community for as long as I can remember.

One of my favorite protest songs is Blood-Red, White, and Blue by Rise Against. The lyrics appeal to common sense, they’re angry and yet also pleading. Oh and the guitar solo rocks. And that’s important.

I’m realizing that I started responding before I even THOUGHT about the songs of NOFX. I’ll say that their album The War on Errorism is chock full of great songs about the specific ways America was fucked up in 2003.

Oh and Anti-Flag! The Terror State is kind of like that NOFX album in terms of material but without the sarcasm.

Agh! And the Suicide Machines album A Match and Some Gasoline!

But seriously. That Rise Against song is great.

mp3 : Rise Against – Blood-Red, White and Blue

Japan

A POST FEATURING ANOTHER 80s PIN-UP IDOL

A recent post featured Nick Heyward while today’s has the talents of David Sylvian, two of the faces you’d find most regularly in the pop magazines aimed at teenage girls in the early 80s.

While Haircut 100 never got any critical acclaim due to being just too pop-charts orientated, the initial crime of Japan was that of making music deemed unfashionable. Three LPs released on Hansa Records in 1978 and 1979 were seen as rip offs of the arty side of glam, with Roxy Music and mid 70s Bowie no longer in vogue as punk and new-wave came to the fore. A move into Eurodisco working alongside Giorgio Moroder also brought nothing.

But to the surprise of many, Japan were snapped up by Virgin Records in 1980 at a time when the label was seen at the cutting edge of the new wave movement. The sound and feel of the band was different to what had gone before and the marketing men at the label were not slow in exploiting the good looks of Sylvian pushing all sorts of profiles into the magazines. And coming just as the New Romantics were bursting onto the scene, the look, feel and sound of new Japan was in the right place at the right time.

Chart success, and then some, followed thanks to the hits on Virgin and the shameless exploitation of the back catalogue by Hansa Records who seemed hell-bent on issuing a new single every few weeks. This time round, the radio stations lapped it all up, and thanks to effectively being on two labels at the one time, Japan enjoyed eight Top 40 hits in a little over a year, including a re-released remix of a 60s cover:-

mp3 : Japan – I Second That Emotion (extended remix)

It went all the way to #9 in the charts and was their second biggest hit of all behind Ghosts.

This was the b-side:-

mp3 : Japan – Halloween

Yet another single picked up for pennies during a rummage.

Enjoy!!

Talking Heads

STOP MAKING SENSE

David comes out on bare stage with acoustic guitar and portable cassette player which provides rhythm. During ending, David does spastic dance which uses the whole empty stage. Tina’s bass rider is wheeled out. Stage crew are all black overalls. Drum riser is wheeled out…

Chris joins at drums. Jerry joins playing guitar. A keyboard riser is wheeled out. Ednah and Lynn sing backing vocals. Steve comes out….plays bongos. David does a ‘duck’ dance. Percussion riser wheels out. Alex joins playing guitar. Rear projection screen comes down very slowly. Bernie comes out. David does knock-knee dance at end.

Second keyboard riser has been wheeled out. Bernie begins song. ‘Jogging’ dance and #Indian-snake’ dance. David runs around the stage at the end of this song. Red slides with words…..

That’s the description to the opening sections of the movie Stop Making Sense provided within the booklet which accompanied the 1999 CD re-release. It remains the only concert-movie that I’ve ever made an effort to go and see at the time of release, doing so at the Edinburgh Film Theatre in 1984….why I chose to see it in Edinburgh rather than Glasgow I can’t remember. What I do know is that I was so mesmerised by it that I went back to see it again the next night in my home city.

It was a concert film unlike any other. No close-up shots of the audience nor of the musicians playing solos. No attempt to hide the fact that the road crew were an important an integral part of the show. The band re-arranged a number of the songs and in doing so turned them into what many Talking Heads fans consider to be the derivative versions.

One unforseen outcome however, was the attention focussed on the parts played by David Byrne at the expense of those other long-standing members, a situation that was to lead to ever-increasing friction and the effective break up of the band within five years.

Thirty years on from its filming in Los Angeles in December 1983, Stop Making Sense remains a highly impressive piece of work. And some of soundtrack still hold up well today:-

mp3 : Talking Heads – Psycho Killer

mp3 : Talking Heads – Slippery People

mp3 : Talking Heads – Girlfriend Is Better

Enjoy!!

Dick Gaughan

A POLITICAL PROTEST SONG (4)

Hi JC,

Hope all is good with you. Glad to see you bouncing back in such a positive manner.

Political protest songs, jesus where to start. Growing up in the 80s, of a left wing persuasion and a member of CND I have tons of them. Some subtle, Shipbuilding, some not so subtle Tramp The Dirt Down and not to mention all of the 60s songs that the older hippies I hung about with were into. But the one I would choose and which is very pertinent up here in the north of the UK with the referendum coming along next year is No Gods and Precious Few Heroes by Dick Gaughan, a man known for his political songs, you have to hear his version of World Turned Upside Down, it knocks Billy Bragg‘s version into touch, not an easy feat.

No Gods was written by Brian McNeil of The Battlefield Band, but it’s Gaughan’s voice and the abuse he inflicts upon his guitar that make this song so special. It’s kind of hard to pick an outstanding lyric from the song, as the whole song is so incisive but if I had to it would be “try going doon the broo wae yir Claymore in yir hand and count all the princes in the queue”. Anybody thinking about voting “yes” in next year’s referendum should listen to this song and in the words of another sung by Gaughan, they should think again.

So there is my contribution JC.

All the best

Drew

mp3 : Dick Gaughan – No Gods And Precious Few Heroes

Bonus song:-

mp3 : Dick Gaughan – World Turned Upside Down

PS from JC : For what it’s worth….at the risk of maybe alienating a few readers…..my sentiments re the ballot scheduled for September 2014 are similar to those expressed above by Drew.

Jason Falkner, Magazine, Morrissey

AS SEEN OVER AT THE OLD PLACE : MAY 2007 (3)

Excuse the absence of the Saturday singles posting…..it will return next week. Instead I wanted to round off the nostalgia fest with the posting from the old place when I realised that the TVV readership was largely made up of folk who liked to wallow in nostalgia rather than have me offer opinions on new and emerging music. It was from this point on that the blog went 95% retro:-

21st May 2007

Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave comments over the past few days – seems that most folk prefer when I do postings featuring songs from the 80s and 90s rather than more modern or recent music. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll try and do requests as well, but obviously won’t be able to over the coming weeks.

Today’s posting features some different versions of one of my favourite songs of all time. It originally appeared on the LP The Correct Use Of Soap that came out in 1980 (an LP that is sure to be featured in greater depth in the not too distant future on TVV), although I’m offering the Peel Session version that was broadcast on 7th January 1980:-

mp3 : Magazine – A Song From Under The Floorboards (Peel Session)

There’s been a couple of cover versions that I’m aware of, the most fanous of which appeared on a b-side of the 2006 single, The Youngest Was The Most Loved:-

mp3 : Morrissey – A Song From Under The Floorboards

The other version is by a man behind this particular cover version was part of an 80s act called Jellyfish, of whom I have a couple of songs on tape:-

mp3 : Jason Falkner – A Song From Under The Floorboards

I’m delighted at long last that Magazine and Howard Devoto are getting lots of critical praise. They were one of my favourite acts of the early 80s, and remain the one band that I regret never having seen live – I had a couple of opportunities but it just didn’t happen.

————————-ends————————————

2013 Update

Little did I know that less than two years after writing the above post there would be a Magazine reunion and I’d see them play in Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh inside a six-month period.

mp3 : Magazine – A Song From Under The Floorboards (live 2009)

By now I should be back from Canada. I’ll hopefully get back into the groove of posting some stuff that has nothing to do with the old place. Thanks for bearing with me this past couple of weeks.

Buzzcocks

AS SEEN OVER AT THE OLD PLACE : MAY 2007 (2)

I thought a nostalgic look at a famous Manchester band would go down well today. Originally posted on 15th May 2007:-

THE SOUL’S JOY LIES IN THE DOING

Outside of Glasgow, my top city in terms of music has to be Manchester. The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order, and Magazine are among my all-time list of great bands, and I’ve a soft spot for The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, James and Oasis. And of course everyone likes Mark E Smith and The Fall….. Don’t they???

And then there’s Buzzcocks (although a close friend from Manchester will always insist, and rightly so, that Buzzcocks are from Bolton, a substantial town of its own merit some 20 km outside of the northern metropolis)

Most music aficionados will know that the Sex Pistols were in the inspiration for Howard Devoto (vocals) and Pete Shelley (guitar) to form Buzzcocks in the summer of 1976. The other members of the band were Pete Diggle (bass) and John Maher (drums).

In January 1977, the true punk DIY ethos was followed to the letter with the formation of a brand new record label specifically to record and release the band’s debut, an EP called Spiral Scratch. Just two months later, and at a time when every major record company on the planet wanted them to sign on the dotted line, Devoto dropped the bombshell that he was leaving.

The news however, didn’t deter the others from carrying on. Shelley took over the responsibility of being the main songwriter, as well as lead vocalist, Diggle moved to guitar, while a new bass player, Garth Smith was recruited. By August, they had signed to the United Artists label (part of EMI who had of course dropped The Pistols), and debut single Orgasm Addict came out in October. Not surprisingly, this ode to teenage masturbation was banned from radio play across the UK and didn’t trouble the charts. By the turn of the year, the band had fired bassist Smith (seemingly he just wasn’t a good enough player) and brought Steve Garvey into the fold. The new line-up was to conquer the UK in 1978 and 1979 thanks to a run of incredibly good singles that were released at roughly two-monthly intervals.

And it is these 8 singles, and their b-sides, nearly all of which last no more than two and bit minutes at a time, that make up one of the most listenable bits of vinyl ever to be let loose on the world.

Ostensibly, it’s a greatest hits collection, and from recollection, was the first of its type from a punk/new wave band. Singles Going Steady came out in September 1979, and it featured everything bar tracks from the debut EP.

01. Orgasm Addict – released in October 1977 but didn’t chart
02. What Do I Get? – released in February 1978 and reached #37 in the charts
03. I Don’t Mind – released in May 1978 and reached #55 in the charts
04. Love You More – released in July 1978 and reached #34 in the charts
05. Ever Fallen In Love? – released in October 1978 and reached #12 in the charts
06. Promises – released in December 1978 and reached #20 in the charts
07. Everybody’s Happy Nowadays – released in March 1979 and reached #29 in the charts
08. Harmony In My Head – released in August 1979 and reached #32 in the charts.

Tracks 9-16 were the b-sides of each single.

The chart positions might not look much to anyone nowadays, but you had to sell tens of thousands of singles to make the Top 40 in the late 70s, and the band managed this with ease. The record were also magnificently packaged, with covers and labels being colour co-ordinated (usually with the use of bright and cheerful day-glow colours).

Then, all of a sudden it all went pear-shaped. In October 1979, the band embarked on a major tour of the main concert venues across the UK, including the 3,000 capacity Glasgow Apollo. Every night they were blown away by the support act who were something fresh, new and fronted by someone unlike anyone we had seen before. Their support act was Joy Division.

Before long, the music press had started to turn against Buzzcocks. The reviews of the late 1979 tour were full of praise for the support act and full of venom for the main act who were now seen as has-beens. Having been constantly in the limelight with single and after single after single, and tour after tour after tour (not to mention 3 LPs in the space of two years), they disappeared for much of 1980, emerging in the Autumn for a tour which hardly anyone bought tickets for, and an album and two singles that no-one bought. Six months later, Shelley dissolved Buzzcocks.

The band did reform again almost a decade later, but that is perhaps a tale best left for a future posting.

For a short period in my life when I was 15/16 years of age, Buzzcocks, along with The Jam, could do no wrong in my eyes. They made great records that sounded magnificent on the radio, giving us a perfect combination of punk/new wave and pop. Singles Going Steady is glorious in all aspects except for having a lousy sleeve that was completely different in style to the works of art that had accompanied all the previous releases. Most of the lesser known b-sides are every bit as good as the singles themselves.

It was a real dilemma selecting the tracks to actually post, but in the end, I’ve gone for the flop single, the single that didn’t have Pete Shelley singing lead vocals and two more than worthy b-sides:-

mp3 : Buzzcocks – Orgasm Addict
mp3 : Buzzcocks – Harmony In My Head
mp3 : Buzzcocks – Oh Shit!
mp3 : Buzzcocks – Noise Annoys

This is a record that every collection just has to contain. A re-mastered copy with loads of extra tracks is very widely available and cheap to boot.

A couple of boring facts to end.

(a) John Maher was the drummer in Buzzcocks. It is also the real name of another Manchester musician who went on to achieve fame, fame fatal fame a few years later. To avoid confusion with the famous drummer, this young, handsome and talented guitarist changed his forename and surname ever so slightly to Johnny Marr.

(b) The lead track on the Spiral Scratch EP was called Boredom. And it was name-checked by the god-like Edwyn Collins who penned this lyric:-

“You know me I’m acting dumb-dumb
You know the scene is very humdrum
And my favourite song is entitled Boredom’

From Rip It Up. A song one or two of you might just be aware of.

PS : The title on the posting is a quote from a different P.Shelley, but it kind of sums up why I blog……..