Massive Attack

THE MONDAY MORNING HI-QUALITY VINYL RIP : Part Twenty Six : ANGEL

I’m well aware that today’s track came out as a single, but I don’t have that particular piece of vinyl.  I do have, however, the 2013 repress of Mezzanine, and it’s from there that I’ve ripped today’s 320kpbs offering:-

mp3: Massive Attack – Angel

Of the many thousands of albums I have on vinyl or CD, this is up there among my favourite of all opening tracks.  Indeed, there are occasions when I think it might well be my very favourite, setting the perfect tone and mood for an album which astonished me on its release back in April 1998.  I had enjoyed much of what Massive Attack had done up till that point in time, but the first two albums hadn’t quite fully hung together for me.

Mezzanine was a whole new ball game.   It sounded like no other trip hop album (albeit my knowledge of the genre was limited), on which elements of the dark sides of earlier period new wave and alternative music were fused to a wholly modern production in which everyone involved seemed to want to scare the shit out of the listener.  It is a very dark album, (I hesitate to us the word gothic, but……) with every note in some songs, such as Angel, seeming to warn of imminent danger.

And, as if to prove this very point, the music would be used to astonishing effect in series four of the TV series The West Wing, in 2003, when the character of Zoey Bartlett, the daughter of the President, is drugged and kidnapped while out with some friends in a Washington nightclub. Real edge of the seats stuff to deliver a cliffhanger into the next episode…as someone else has written elsewhere in a review of that episode, the visuals and the background music were equally creepy, tense and trippy.

JC

Fall

THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING NEW SERIES FOR SUNDAYS (Part 9)


I think it’s only fair that Hex Enduction Hour, released in March 1982, features as part of this series as it enables me to get a bit personal and nostalgic. It doesn’t actually show me in that great a light to be honest…..

The thing is, The Fall were coming to Glasgow on 1 April 1982, for a gig at Night Moves (the club recently referenced in flimflanfan’s wonderful ICA on Goth music). A really good friend at the time, and someone who I went to a lot of gigs with, was determined to go, partly on the basis of him liking what he had heard on the John Peel show, but also from the fact that the support band was an up and coming band from Scotland called Cocteau Twins.

My mate went out and bought the new Fall album and taped a copy for me onto a C90 cassette.

I listened to it. I really liked the opening couple of tracks, but then thought it became a bit of a droning dirge. It also sounded as if my mate had cocked up the recording as the tape faded out mid-song before halting altogether, but when I turned it over to Side B, the song which had faded out started up again. Both tunes appeared to be called Winter. Side B was a tough listen as the singer asked questions but seemed to give no answers about Nazis, while the final two songs were long-drawn-out affairs that were unlistenable.

My expectations for the gig weren’t high. But as my mate had seen a few bands that weren’t his cup of tea, it was only fair that I went along with him.

As it turned out, the support band were fine, albeit they didn’t play for long, with the incredibly shy and possibly terrified singer seeming as if she just wanted the experience to end. The Fall were very strange. There didn’t seem to be all that many songs in their set from the new album, and the lead singer seemed at his happiest when he was provoking a reaction from the audience. We had been down near the front to begin with, but we edged back in due course, worried about getting caught up in something we wanted no part of. The musicians seemed to be a decent lot, but it was hard to tell as the sound was quite muddied. The gig ended and we kind of shrugged our shoulders.

The next day, I taped over the C90.  Probably a mix for my then first serious girlfriend, who had just left school for a job/career as a trainee with one of our major banks.  Her tastes were quite conservative…..I didn’t know it then, but the writing was on the wall, and we would go our separate ways by the summer….and it’s quite likely that the tape would have been filled with ‘mood’ music for those few occasions when her parents weren’t home.

Now, looking back at things.  I was 18 years old.  I had been going to gigs for around two years, mostly at the Glasgow Apollo where the established acts with chart hits rocked up, although I’d been to a few smaller shows in other venues including the various student unions in the city.  I knew little of The Fall beyond some early singles, most of which I had enjoyed…..but the album just didn’t resonate for the most part.  I quickly dismissed The Fall, and it would take a couple more years before I took them seriously again, thanks to their songs being played every now and again at the alternative disco in the students union of Strathclyde University, my regular haunt in 1984/85.

Forty years on, and having all sorts of different reference points on which to now draw, none of which were the least bit familiar to me back then, I can appreciate that Hex Enduction Hour is a wonderful piece of work, probably my favourite of all the studio albums. I now have a copy on vinyl, not the original version, but a 2019 re-press by Cherry Red Records in which three slabs of 12″ vinyl contain the album along with live recordings and Peel Sessions from September 1981, with a bonus 7″ single also thrown in.  Oh, and it all comes on a fabulously eye-catching green and white splattered vinyl…

Some background if you’re not aware. Mark E Smith thought this would be the band’s final album before the band totally imploded. Two tracks were initially recorded in Iceland, in September 1981, as part of a trip to play three gigs in that country, The remainder came from sessions in a disused cinema in Hitchin, some 38 miles north of London, in December 1981. The band had the same line-up as had played on Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul, and following on from the success of the sessions for that 45, Richard Mazda was in the producer’s chair in Hitchin.

It came out on Korova Records to fairly enthusiastic reviews, and thanks to the band’s increasing popularity, became their first single or album to make the official as opposed to indie charts, peaking at #71. Rather incredibly, none of its tracks made it onto Peel’s Festive rundown, as voted by listeners, at the end of the year, although a later single (and subject of the next edition of this series) did scrape in at #58.

But returning to the subject matter in hand.

Hex Enduction Hour has many wonderful moments, including loads I despised back in 1982. Like this:-

mp3: The Fall – Hip Priest

Seriously, how was I meant to get this in 1982 when I was enjoying and dancing to New Order, The Jam, Scritti Politti, Associates, The Clash, The Cure, Simple Minds, Blancmange, Yazoo, Echo & The Bunnymen and Aztec Camera – all of whom feature prominently and regularly in the ’82 Peel rundown, whereas these songs are nowhere to be seen:-

mp3: The Fall – Jawbone and The Air Rifle
mp3: The Fall – Mere Pseud Mag Ed
mp3: The Fall – Just Step S’ways

Looking back at the Night Moves set list on 1 April 1982, all the tracks on offer today, except for Jawbone, were aired, which is at odds with my recollection that the gig was mostly stuff that I didn’t know. Which just shows that I really didn’t do my pre-gig preparations properly.

The joke is on me. I should be still been dining out on the fact that I had seen an astonishing double-bill, for probably less than £3, of a band from Scotland set to soon take the indie music world by storm, and a tremendous line-up of The Fall at the height of their early powers.

If I could find a time travel machine, and offered a fresh opportunity, I’d certainly approach things very differently. I’d still have that C90 tape, for one……..

JC

Rezillos

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #270: THE REZILLOS

This is an alphabetical run through of singers and groups from Scotland from whom there is at least one song on my collection of vinyl and CDs, failing which there will be something located on the hard drive of the Villain Towers laptop.  The fact there was nothing previously by The Revillos tells you all you need to know in that regard…..

The Rezillos, a coming together of students attending the Edinburgh College of Art, were in existence between 1976 and 1978.  The break-up was initially very messy, but their record company allowed two key members – Eugene Reynolds and Fay Fife – to be released from their contract with the proviso that they couldn’t use the band name.  Thus, The Revillos came into being, staying together until 1996 (!!).  Fast forward another five years, and The Rezillos reformed, still going strong today.

From the band’s website:-

The Rezillos ripped into the rock scene through a shared love of Sixties Garage Rock, the Spectoresque Girl Group voice of The Shangri Las injected with their inimitable molten attitude and created their unique left-field brand of punk rock and roll. The speed at which they gathered a following took the band by surprise.

The Rezillos off-kilter three minute sparkling pop gems and a unique visual style was steeped in a culture of bad boys, bad girls, bad movies and great rock and roll. Their independent debut single, “I Can’t Stand My Baby” shot them to underground fame initially via airings on John Peel’s radio show. Their follow-up classic singles “My Baby Does Good Sculptures”, “Top of the Pops” and “Destination Venus” signalled critically acclaimed milestones for the band. The Rezillos recorded their landmark album “Can’t Stand the Rezillos” in New York’s fabled Power Station studio, immersed themselves in the local music scene and dropped in during downtime to play a gig at CBGB’s, the hub of Punk Rock music. The album reached the top 10 in the UK album chart and is lauded as a punk classic.

The Rezillos gave two legendary performances on “The Old Grey Whistle Test” and did the same on the music showcase programme “Top of the Pops” where in keeping with band’s ironic take on pop culture, they played their hit single of the same name satirising the show. The Rezillos single hit the Top Twenty and their album charted alongside. The same year they released a live album; “Mission Accomplished… But the Beat Goes On”.

The band had a meteoric rise, made a seminal album and stamped their unique identity on an unsuspecting public. Much to their fan’s anguish, The Rezillos had hit the too much too soon button and abruptly ceased.

As I don’t have anything by the band post that first break-up, nor anything from the 21st Century reincarnation, I’ll stop right there.  I will say that Can’t Stand The Rezillos, a mint condition second-hand copy of which I picked up a few years ago for a bargain price, remains a fun listen and a great reminder of the fast nature of much of the music I was listening to in great quantities in my mid-teens. I’ve also got this non-album single on 7″ vinyl, the follow-up to Top Of The Pops; I was sure it was also a chart hit, but it seems it stalled just outside The Top 40:-

mp3: The Rezillos – Destination Venus

It’s that much loved mesh of the sound and look of B-52s, The Cramps and Devo, but with broad Scottish accents and a less-stylish fashion sense.

Fun fact.  Fay Fife’s real name is Sheilagh Hynd, and her stage name is the answer to a question…….

Fay (but with the spelling of ‘Fae’) is the local dialect version of ‘from’ while her home town of Dunfermline lies in the historical Kingdom of Fife, located on the other side of the Forth Estuary, north and east of Edinburgh.

JC

Poster Paints, Simply Thrilled

BONUS POST : THE LATEST SIMPLY THRILLED MIXTAPE

Simply Thrilled Mixtape #4 Poster Paints

Poster Paints, in their own words, are Simon Liddell (Olympic Swimmers, Frightened Rabbit) and Carla J Easton (TeenCanteen and Ette) who have changed their way of working and embraced the “new normal” to make art. Their debut single ‘Number 1’ is an instant anthem. Teenage love, feeling invincible and long hot summers. It’s the sound of two people exploring. Glasgow indie pop, dream pop and shoegaze – the bands they grew up listening to, and are passionate about.

Number 1 came out in a limited edition physical form back in May, and I’m happy to say that I was able to procure a copy via Monorail in Glasgow.  You can have a listen and then pick up a copy from bandcamp for just £1….all you have to do is click here.

The Simply Thrilled mob are, understandably, simply thrilled that Poster Paints have created the latest of our mixtapes which we are pulling together in lieu of us not being able, just yet, to have any of our regular nights at The Admiral Bar in Glasgow.

It’s a mix which gleefully swerves from soul to indie to 80’s pop with reckless abandon, and it is utterly joyful!

1. Heaven Is A Place On Earth – Belinda Carlisle
2. I Can’t Let Go – Evie Sands
3. Straight To Hell – The Clash
4. Freak Like Me – Sugababes
5. Summertime – The Sundays
6. Nobody Sees Me Like You Do – Yoko Ono
7. Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad (About My Baby) – The Cookies
8. I Met Him On A Sunday – Laura Nyro
9. Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart – The Supremes
10. La La Lie – Basia Bulet
11. The Abandoned Hospital Ship – The Flaming Lips
12. Something Big – Burt Bacharach
13. 90% Of Me Is You – Gwen McCrae
14. Neil Jung – Teenage Fanclub
15. I Can’t Stand The Rain – Ann Peebles
16. Sometimes Always – Jesus and Mary Chain
17. 1 Thing – Amerie
18. The One To Wait – CCFX
19. I Follow You – Melody’s Echo Chamber
20. Sound and Vision – David Bowie
21. Alison – Slowdive
22. Velocity Girl – Primal Scream
23. Different Now – Chastity Belt
24. The Opener – Camp Cope
25. The Greater Times – Electrelane
26. Crawl Babies – The Pastels

JC

Haircut 100

IT REALLY WAS A CRACKING DEBUT SINGLE (58)

I never did, and never will, get annoyed by Haircut 100.  Their songs were too good and too enjoyable to dwell and get hung up on the fact that they got the hits, fame, money and kudos that could (or should) easily have come the way of Orange Juice.  Besides, when you look back and see what the impact of being a pop star had on the health and well-being of Nick Heyward, it’s maybe just as well that other than with Rip It Up, the efforts of Edwyn & co didn’t make much of an impression on the record buying public here in the UK.

It kind of felt that they came out of nowhere when they hit the charts with the debut single in October 1981, but as it turned out, they had done as much an apprenticeship as any other, with Nick Heyward (20 years old when success came calling) and bassist Les Nemes (21) having been in various groups going back to 1977.  It was Echorich, in a comment he made when I featured the single Love Plus One, who nailed it:-

The first Haircut 100 album was never meant, at least from the band’s perspective, to be a teen pop phenomenon. But the timing was right for those slightly latin tinged funk and breezy pop songs to take the charts by storm way back when. They were good-looking and Smash Hits took that and ran with it, the same way they did with Spandau Ballet – thus they could never have been positively reviewed in NME.

So….the consensus is that, in a parallel universe, Haircut 100 struggled from the outset, got no radio play or media coverage, but those of us with decent musical taste think of their debut being one of the great long-lost and largely forgotten gems from the 80s:-

mp3: Haircut 100 – Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)

Here’s the rather half-decent b-side:-

mp3: Haircut 100 – Boat Party

Worth mentioning in passing that Boat Party was an earlier name used by Haircut 100…….

Favourite Shirts spent 14 weeks in the Top 75, between October 81 and February 82.  It’s follow-up, the afore-mentioed Love Plus One, came into the charts the week after the debut dropped out.  It would spend 12 weeks in the Top 75, meaning that Haircut 100 enjoyed a full six months when their 45s were all over the shops.  Debut album, Pelican West, which has aged better than anyone night have expected, reached #2 in the charts, denied the top spot by Barbara Streisand……

JC

Rhythm and Faith

THE LAST WORD ON GOTH….FOR THIS WEEK, ANYWAY

That’s been two excellent Goth ICAs in recent weeks that I’m sure had the double-hit of bringing back memories as well as introducing a few new bands to some readers.  Here’s another one for you, a combo that I know nothing about other than what is contained in the notes for the 4-disc boxset, Make More Noise! : Women In Independent UK Music 1977-1987, which was released last year by Cherry Red Records.

“Led by Anna Di Stefano and Stefano Curti, Rhythm and Faith were a London based gothic rock group formed from the remnants of a couple of Italian Bands, namely TM Spa and Style Sindrome. Having relocated to London and discovered drummer Rab Fae Beith, Curti and Stefano brought the dark essence of those previous groups to a burgeoning goth scene in the capital, and issued their sole vinyl outing, the ‘Time To Run’ EP pn Future Records in 1983. The band still exists today, having reverted to the Style Sindrome moniker, and still showcases the vocal capabilities of the wonderful Anna Di Stefano.”

And here’s the track made available on the boxset:-

mp3: Rhythm and Faith – Young Too Young Girl

I think it’s rather splendid and would have been a worthy inclusion on either of flimflamfan’s or middle-aged man’s ICA.

JC

Goth

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #290 : “THE NON-GOTH’S GOTH ICA”

A GUEST POSTING by MIDDLE-AGED MAN

I feel a bit of a fraud writing this – I don’t have black hair, I haven’t ever dyed my hair black, I’ve never worn black leather trousers, I’ve never back-combed my hair. But I do like the music so here goes – I should say given my complete lack of appropriate dress sense some of the bands (and they are all bands) do not follow the dress code but to my ears sound goth.

Siouxsie & The Banshees – Playground Twist

And to start with the band which to my mind started the goth movement both musically and as a fashion choice. They may have started out as a ‘punk’ band but very quickly moved on to create their own sound and led the way.

Joy Division – Dead Souls

A band who visually don’t fit but musically – with pronounced bass, picked out guitar notes and a deep male voice coupled with a suitably morose subject matter. Its still hard to believe 40 years later than this was released as a ‘B’ side on an obscure French label with an extremely limited pressing.

Southern Death Cult – Fatman

A very short lived band who only released one single during their existence, but made a stunning TV appearance on The Tube, which was the first time a band described in the weeklies as Goth made it onto the little screen. Of course, the singer Ian Astbury went on to form the (death) Cult .

X Mal Deutschland – Incubus Succubus II

I was surprised how many of my favourite early goth songs were on the 4AD label. This is the first single released by this German band on 4AD- a firm favourite of John Peel at the time and one where the influence of Siouxsie is strong.

The Twilight Sad – Reflection of the Television

I’d never thought of Twilight Sad as Goth, but this stunner ( my fav from Forget the Night Ahead) fits the bill perfectly

Play Dead – The Tenant

Back to classic Goth – I really thought this had been released as a single, but no it was the second track on their first album ‘The First Flower’ , it should have been.

Cocteau Twins – Wax and Wane

Back to 4AD and a great track from their debut album ‘Garlands’ which barely hints at their future lighter musical path .

Danse Society – Heaven is Waiting

The Yorkshire role can not be ignored and was larger than just the Sisters of Mercy band/label- this is a great example from Barnsley. The Zig Zag magazine had by this point become the strongest printed supporter of the Goth movement and the Danse Society (from memory) were regularly featured. Released in 1983 it has a slightly softer tone and more pronounced keyboard than many of its contemporaries and is better for it.

Tanit – Can An Actor Bleed

The joys of the internet- Tanit were a French band who released this as the title track of an EP in 1983- It was probably around 2018 that I first heard it- and its brilliant – very powerful female singer (Elsa Drezner) over a bass led backing.

Killing Joke – The Raven King

Killing Joke were for me just a bit too aggressive to be truly Goth during their first incarnation but had all the required elements, having disbanded and then reformed the album ‘Absolute Dissent’ was released in 2010, this track is a celebration of Paul Raven, a band member who had passed away in 2007 from a heart attack.

Esben and the Witch- Marching Song

Released as a single in 2010 as the lead off track from their first album ‘Violet Cries’– which was described by the NME as “gothic but not goth” which to be honest is a fair description of this haunting track.

Sisters of Mercy – Amphetamine Logic

Obviously no goth selection is complete without the Sisters of Mercy who are set the tone and style for so many who followed- remember its not goth without dry ice

MIDDLE AGED MAN

Carter USM

THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW CROSS

This came up on the i-pod the other day.  I’d almost forgotten how brilliant a song it is.  I’ve written about it before, when I pulled together a Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine ICA (#229) back in October 2019  – it was actually the second ICA devoted to the duo, as SWC and Badger had done the business for ICA #50 as long ago as November 2015.

The Only Living Boy In New Cross (single, 1992)

Carter USM thrived on puns and lyrics that reflected the late 80s and early 90s culture. Their biggest hit single clearly gave a knowing wink to Simon and Garfunkel’s ballad, The Only Living Boy in New York.

For the uninitiated, New Cross is an area in south-east London, in the community from where Carter USM had emerged. It was on the unfashionable side of the river in the capital, poorly served by public transport and in the late 70s and early 80s had become somewhat notorious as a place where far-right and racist politics were thriving, albeit the majority of local people were appalled by such developments. London is a city which has long inspired songwriters to compose words and music to fit in with their surroundings, but few, if any had previously celebrated life in the SE14 postcode district. Until now.

I thought I had come up with a decent enough piece of writing…..but I should have known better.  Here is a far more detailed offering. I’ve edited it from a fabulous piece written, in November 2014, by the rather talented Andrew Collins:-

——

“Hello, good evening, welcome, to nothing much …

Quite why a band called Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine weren’t taken seriously is beyond me. Jim Bob and Les “Fruitbat” Carter were men of serious intent and righteous late-Thatcher discontent. Their place in history has long been denied them. Amid a whole wave of alternative British bands that came through at the end of the 80s and were signed by funky-vicar major labels desperate to get a piece of the independent action, Carter epitomised that quiet revolution. Not literally quiet, of course. They made a proper racket.

Much has been written about the comfort and the joy of Jim Bob’s punning titles and lyrics. Most of it by me. But a keen mind and an ear for wordplay are not a prerequisite for writing memorable power-pop songs, and if he and Fruitbat had written only instrumentals, they would have been a pretty tasty double-act. That said, it was Jim’s droll eloquence that elevated Carter to the top tier. Though it has improved like a fine port over the years and into his more thoughtful, less punny solo incarnation, his singing voice began as a can of Special Brew. Perfect for the inner-city rage within him, and as effective an outlet as Fruitbat’s squalling guitar.

The Only Living Boy In New Cross, the first single from their third album and their first Top 20 hit, its very title a hallmark of quality (you had to be old enough to know Simon and Garfunkel and metropolitan enough to know the London Underground map to get the joke), is the favourite Carter song of many Carter fans. Including me. It’s not the one that landed them with a lawsuit from the Rolling Stones, or earned them their first go at Top Of The Pops, or got them banned by the BBC during the first Gulf War…..

It may be the definitive Carter song. Think about it. It begins with a slow, quiet, contemplative passage, a moving piano prelude to earth-moving punk rock. It explodes into sequenced life with a throbbing synth line, raucous, wagon-train guitar and – that Carter building block – a joyous fanfare. Rarely has a band provided itself with so many internal reveilles. The drum pattern is one that a real drummer would never attempt in real life, and, suitably stroked by Fruitbat, adds to the urgency of the engine. Lyrically, it begins with a pun – again, one that requires you to be as old as Jim and Les, as it’s David Frost’s trademark greeting from the 70s – and quickly arrests your ears.

A no holds barred half nelson
And the loving touch

Such affection for the way the English language slots together, juxtaposing a wrestling move with something tender, and rhyming the whole thing with “nothing much”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: poetry. It would be just that without the tip-top tune, whose epic scope requires Jim to hold a note for 12 seconds at the end of the second sort-of-chorus (“New Crooooooooo-ooooooooo-oooo-ooooss!”). I like the fact that the line after “Fill another suitcase” is perpetually mis-transcribed as “with another hall”, when it’s actually “another haul.” Such is the beguiling nature of the imagery, either would work.

Then wipe the lipstick hearts and flowers
From the glass and chrome
Take five or six hot showers
And come on home

It’s rare that a single song surveys the cultural and tribal landscape of the day, but The Only Living Boy, with its hidden-in-plain-sight HIV-panic subject line (check the condom-packet inner sleeve), does just that, with the gypsies, travellers, thieves, grebos, crusties and goths, not to mention the more obtuse “butchered bakers, deaf and dumb waiters, Marble Arch criminals and Clause 28-ers, authors, authors, plastered outcasts, locked up daughters, rock and roll stars.” (Where was the Ivor Novello nomination for this song?)

In a rare moment of autobiography, Jim declares he’s “teamed up with the hippies now” and has his “fringe unfurled”, before delivering a heartfelt plea from a weary pacifist in a post-Gulf War world:

I want to give peace, love and kisses out
To this whole stinking world

We don’t know who Rudy, David, Rosie, Abraham and Julianne are, but we wish them farewell all the same, unable not to think back to After The Watershed, which expensively bid goodbye to Ruby Tuesday, while at the same time begging the “silly cow” to come home. This song welcomes and repels at the same time. It’s what happens when you live in a stinking world. It probably explains why Carter kept reforming, promising to retire and then reforming again. Jim writes for a living. Hello, good evening, welcome and goodbye.

———-

I was sort of tempted to head today’s effort as ‘A guest posting by Andrew Collins’ but it would likely get me into bother!!!

mp3: Carter USM – The Only Living Boy In New Cross

The CD single, came (ahem) in a plain brown wrapper so that the folk at Woolworth’s. WH Smith and the other big retailers wouldn’t get into a tizzy about the condom-wrapper rich sleeve it was really meant to have. There were two other tracks…..one of their own and, as per usual, a cover:-

mp3: Carter USM – Watching The Big Apple Turnover
mp3: Carter USM – Panic

It’s been an incredibly long time since anything to do with The Smiths made an appearance round these parts…..but as it’s not actually featuring the Manchester racist, I’m happy enough to offer it up for your aural pleasure.

JC

Paul Quinn & The Independent Group

THE MONDAY MORNING HI-QUALITY VINYL RIP : Part Twenty Five : A PASSING THOUGHT

I’ve written many a time of my love for all things related to Paul Quinn, for my money, the greatest vocalist ever to come out of Scotland. While much of the stuff was on the old blog taken down by Google/Blogger, there’s a few things in the current archives which can be found using the index system or search facility. These posts   cover his entire recording career, whether as a member of The French Impressionists, Jazzateers, or Bourgie Bourgie, the collaborations with Edwyn Collins, and, best of all, as the frontman of Paul Quinn & The Independent Group.  I’ve been greatly helped along the way by Rob, the proprietor of The Punk Rock Hotel, an incredibly rich and informative on-line resource which has just about everything you ever wanted or needed to know.

One of my few regrets over the years in terms of how I’ve bought music was the timing of the emergence of the Independent Group, and indeed the second coming of Postcard Records. This was the early 90s, and it coincided with my decision to now concentrate largely on CDs instead of vinyl, mainly for affordability reasons. As such, everything from that period in time, unlike with Jazzateers, Bourgie Bourgie and Edwyn, came via the newish shiny metal/plastic creation, but I consoled myself with the thought that I could easily enjoy the albums, singles and collaborations till my heart was content.  In recent years, I’ve tried to pick up the vinyl versions of things, and in particular the two albums, The Phantoms & The Archetypes (1992) and Will I Ever Be Inside Of You (1994), but have balked at the cost and worried about the condition of the vinyl and/or sleeves. I certainly never came across either of them in any second-hand shops in Glasgow.

It was April 2020 when a few mysterious and cryptic tweets relating to Paul Quinn began to appear – I don’t do twitter, but someone kindly brought them to my attention. To cut a long story short, and to prevent you all losing your mind, it transpired that it was the beginning and continuation of a teaser campaign, involving Alan Horne of Postcard Records, which would ultimately lead to the revelation, at the end of the year, of plans and preparations for the release of a box set, covering the Independent Group years.

I immediately registered my interest and crossed my fingers that it would work out and that I’d be able to land a copy. In the meantime, I got in touch with Rob to see if he knew about it, and was delighted when he told me, on the QT, that he was in fact helping Alan and the other members of the production team out with a few things.  He also informed me that the end product was going to deliver something quite special, but he also advised that it would be limited in terms of production to just 300 copies, and so it was best to keep on top of things through social media channels.

Fast-forward to April 2021 and the sales launch of Unadulterated, the name given to the box set. I logged in as soon as the clock ticked round to the appointed time, and waited nervously for maybe 15 or so seconds to be connected – we’ve all been there when we’ve been desperate to land something on-line haven’t we? I got lucky…..

On Thursday 22 July, the parcel was delivered. Boxset #99 of 300.

It truly is a work of art beyond words. Four pieces of vinyl – both of the albums referred to above, a further album with other studio, unreleased and live recordings, and a 10″ single featuring a collaboration with Nectarine No. 9 and a previously unreleased version of Paul Blue Eyes with Edwyn Collins. There was also a 144-page hardback book, the size of a 12″ record, packed with previously unseen images, containing a career retrospective, written by Damien Love, a journalist of some note here in Scotland, mostly in the fields of music, film and television, all designed in association with the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, from Paul’s home city of Dundee. Oh, and there was a fine print of one of the photo stills which was added in as a bonus, as a way of Postcard saying thank you to everyone who had waited so patiently.

Given that all copies sold within a few hours of going on sale, and that all the information about the box set was via closely controlled social media, the chances are that they have ended up in the hands of true fans and not those trying to make a quick buck. Those who were unlucky, can pick up a digital version of the music via bandcamp…….

Unadulterated is unlikely to be reviewed by any music magazines or newspapers, as nothing was supplied to them (to the best of my knowledge). As such, it won’t probably feature in any of the end-of-year lists that will begin to appear from November 2021 onwards, and there will be little wider public awareness of its release.  Which is a pity, for I’ll simply sum things up by saying, that across the more than 5,000 albums and CDs sitting in Villain Towers, the pride of place now goes to Unadulterated, and just as I never imagine that Temptation by New Order will ever be replaced as my all-time favourite single, so it will now be with this box set.

Part of this is down to finally having two much loved albums on vinyl, but there’s just something very special about the book. It is a magnificent design and is beautifully laid out. Damien Love’s text is word-perfect, capturing everything at the time I felt about the releases and the handful of live gigs in between 1993 and 1995; he also fills in a few gaps in my knowledge, completing the picture for me, and I imagine, quite a few other life-long fans. Oh, and Rob gets a wonderfully worded and well-earned ‘thank you’ from Alan Horne in the credits.

But most of all, it’s down to what can be found on the additional 12″ piece of vinyl, and in particular the music rescued from three gigs played in Glasgow in July 1993, October 1993 and October 1994. I was only at the last of these, but I’ve written about it before:-

“Glasgow Film Theatre – October 1994. A one-off gig in a cinema. The band played as movie montages unfolded behind them. A quite incredible night topped-off when a singer from Scottish Opera hotfooted it from her performance on stage some 500 yards around the corner and provided backing vocals, still dressed in her operatic outfit, for the title track of Paul Quinn & The Independent Group‘s second LP. Truly beautiful. Truly breathtaking. And the last time that I ever got to see Paul Quinn perform on the stage. Sigh.”

It’s up there as one of my all-time favourite life experiences. Jacques The Kipper was with me, and he thinks similar. But there’s always been this nagging doubt that maybe it wasn’t quite as brilliant as we had imagined – after all, no recording from the night was ever made available. The book explains why this was the case – the master tapes went missing and were long presumed lost. Years later, it has proved possible to salvage some of the material from that night, and six tracks have made it to the box set. Judge for yourself with this version of a song, originally recorded as a stand-alone single and later re-recorded for the second studio album:-

mp3: Paul Quinn & The Independent Group – A Passing Thought (live at the GFT, 27 October 1994)

It’s quite tempting to just suddenly make this the final ever TVV blogpost, for there won’t ever be a better piece of music posted.

But I know there are still a few things to be said and done, and this blog still has a way to go as it fast approaches the 15th anniversary of the first ever posting.

In the meantime, click here for the bandcamp downloads of Paul Quinn and The Independent Group.  If you don’t have physical copies of the releases, then the full five digital package is well worth an investment.  If you do have the albums but were unlucky enough not to pick up the box set, there is an option to download only the live/unreleased material.  Trust me, you won’t regret it.

JC

Fall

THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING NEW SERIES FOR SUNDAYS (Part 8)

“We went into a studio in London just to do Lie Dream and Fantastic Life. This was the first thing we did with two drummers, though it’s mostly Karl on the single. I was demoted to percussion (both drummers were on Fantastic Life though). Lie Dream features Richard Mazda on saxophone, trying to emulate Dave Tucker’s clarinet part as per the Peel session.”

Paul Hanley, quoted in the booklet which accompanied The Fall boxset, released in 2007.

You’ll recall from Part 5 in this series that the then 16-year old Paul Hanley, brother of bassist Steve, had been brought into The Fall on drums to replace the Mike Leigh. One year on, and the latest change in the line-up didn’t involve any sackings or musicians walking off in a huff, but instead saw Mark E Smith decide the band would best be served by having two drummers.

The new bloke wasn’t actually new at all, as Karl Burns, who had been part of the band in 1977/78, became the first musician to return to the fold, and as you can see from Paul’s above recollection, was given a prominent role. I’ve occasionally wondered if MES had actually wanted to get rid of Paul altogether, but decided he couldn’t run the risk of antagonising Steve Hanley, whose contributions, on stage and in the studio, were becoming increasingly important.

Or maybe he was just being practical…..Karl Burns had answered an emergency call to help out the band when Paul Hanley, on the account of his age, was denied a working visa for a tour of the USA, and keeping him on afterwards was returning the favour.  In any event, the two-drummer line-up was cemented, for a short while anyway!

MES had cut ties with Rough Trade after the release of Slates in April 1981.  I can’t be entirely sure, but it may well have been the case that the band convened in the London studio to cut this new single in the summer of ’81 without having any record company deal in place.  I’m surmising this, as the next move was to a newly established indie label – Kamera Records – and that Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul/Fantastic Life was the first 45 to be issued on the label, in November 1981.

No matter what, it’s an absolute stomper of a song.  MES was at pains, a couple of years later in an interview with NME, to explain that far for ridiculing the Northern Soul scene and those involved in it, he was paying a tribute:-

“That song actually did create quite a bit of resentment in the North because people thought it was being snobby and horrible about the old soul boys, which it was never about anyway. Because I was brought up with people that were into Northern Soul five years before anybody down here (in London) had even heard about it. But they’ve all grown out of it, which is what the song is about, but it wasn’t putting them down at all. If anything, it was glorifying them, but not in the format of, where are those soul boys that used to be here?”

Richard Mazda, as well as contributing the saxophone parts, was also in the producer’s chair.  The other thing worth noting is that Marc Riley wasn’t required to contribute on guitar, being relegated somewhat to keyboards only.

mp3: The Fall – Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul

The b-side, Fantastic Life, has long been one of my favourite Fall tracks of them all.   It has both a rollocking tune and a funny, crazy and sing-a-long lyric, albeit it takes a fair bit of working out…..thankfully there are websites out there nowadays to confirm and/or correct things.   I’d never have worked out these lines, from just after the point in the song where it changes from the fantastic life stories to the fantastic lie boasts…..

The Siberian mushroom Santa
Was in fact Rasputin’s brother
And he didst walk round Whitechapel
To further the religion of forgiven sin murder
Fantastic lie!

It would, if you want my opinion, have been an excellent single of its own making, but MES wasn’t the type to hoard things for later on. Once it was recorded…bang….get it out there as quickly as possible and to hell with the commercial aspects of things.

mp3: The Fall – Fantastic Life

The previous single on Rough Trade had got to #2 in the Indie Charts, with MES firmly believing that the label didn’t work hard enough for the band.  Casino Soul got to #5. Would it have managed to crossover to mainstream success if he’d stayed put? We’ll never know…..

Next up for The Fall was album #4, released in March 1982 by Kamera Records.  Said album is going to feature in this series next week………

JC

Revolutionary Corps of Teenage Jesus

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #269: REVOLUTIONARY CORPS OF TEENAGE JESUS

OK. I admit this is a bit of a cheat as this lot aren’t really what you’d call a truly Scottish musical combo.  But one half them is.  And they are on Creeping Bent Records, which is very much from this part of the world. And, as you’ll read, they were, technically, born in Scotland…..

From bandcamp:-

“Revolutionary Corps of Teenage Jesus announced themselves as Creeping Bent’s house group remix supervisors, headed up by former Article 58 / Restricted Code / Altered Images drummer / guitarist Stephen Lironi. A techno RCTJ remix of Suicide‘s Frankie Teardrop started doing the rounds at clubs, leading to a fax being received at Creeping Bent HQ by Marty Thau (former New York Dolls and Suicide manager), who had released the debut Suicide album on his Red Star imprint. A deal was cut and Revolutionary Corps of Teenage Jesus released Frankie Teardrop as a 12″ on Creeping Bent, gaining a NME Single of the Week in the process.

Thau informed Creeping Bent that Alan Vega loved the track so much that he wanted to join RCTJ, .. ergo Lironi headed to Brooklyn to write and record with Vega. Another couple of 12″ singles (Protection Rat / Pay Tha’ Wreck, Mr Music Man) followed, garnering further singles of the week in the weeklies. The resulting album –Righteous Lite – was Vega’s best album in years.”

Originally only released on CD in 1999, Righteous Life was issued on vinyl earlier this year.  Click here for more details and ways to order it.

This is one side of a 12″ single which has a home here in Villain Towers:-

mp3 : The Revolutionary Corps of Teenage Jesus – Pay Tha Wrack, Mr Music King

See, it’s not all jingly-jangly pop.  It’s a track I’ve long wanted to post, certainly since the January 2021 reissue of the album, but I kept it to one side specifically until it came round to the turn of RCTJ in this long-running series.

JC

Curve

REPEAT POSTING WEEK : REMEMBERING CURVE

 

Held over from last week to allow the update from Germany.

From 30 December 2013.  This one doesn’t have any decent sort of back story, but given it was originally posted when traffic to the blog is traditionally low, then some folk might have missed it first time round.  It’s worth it today for the cover versions alone.

It took me a long while to write about Curve over at the old blog, and when I did, it was as part of an occasional series on cover versions. It was a post which attracted a fair number of comments, and it is fair to say that there’s a few folk out there who remember the band with much fondness and who have never got over their lust for lead singer Toni Halliday.

For the uninitiated, Curve, comprising said Ms Halliday and multi-instrumentalist Dean Garcia, came together in Manchester in 1991. At a time when the Madchester sound (Happy Mondays/Stone Roses/James etc) was very much in full flow, Curve were something a bit different. The first few releases were EPs. The music press loved them, and they were championed by John Peel.

And yet….they didn’t ever quite turn the critical praise into popular acclaim and really meaningful sales, albeit the debut LP in 1992, Doppelganger, reached Number 11, while the follow-up, Cuckoo, went Top 30.

I love an awful lot about Curve, but especially the sound of Toni Halliday’s voice. In many places it reminds me of Elizabeth Fraser, and there’s no doubt that Shirley Manson of Garbage owes a lot to Toni.

Many fans consider that they never surpassed Blindfold, which was their debut EP:-

mp3 : Curve (feat. JC001) – Ten Little Girls
mp3 : Curve – I Speak Your Every Word
mp3 : Curve – Blindfold
mp3 : Curve – No Escape From Heaven

It was an astonishing debut in so many ways and while I can understand some folk thinking they never quite hit those heights again I’m willing to stand by a number of their later releases and say that they were equally good – especially this track:-

mp3 : Curve – Fait Accompli

Going back to the March 2007 posting, here’s the two covers that were featured:-

mp3 : Curve – I Feel Love
mp3 : Curve feat. Ian Dury – What A Waste

  • The first song originally appeared on the NME album Ruby Trax and is a quite fantastic cover of the disco classic written by Giorgio Moroder and sung by Donna Summer. Evidence, if any were needed, that dance music need not be mindless pap.

The second song was recorded with Ian Dury himself, as part of a project called Peace Together that raised money for young people in Northern Ireland.

Enjoy!!

JC

Pooh Sticks, Ride

BURNING BADGER’S VINYL – THE (NEARLY) A-Z OF INDIEPOP (Part 6, P and R)

P is for Pooh Sticks

Young People (Taken from the ‘The Great White Wonder’)

I gave blood today. It was the first time I have given blood in about 25 years. In fact the last time I gave blood I was still dating OPG so it’s longer than 25 years ago, more like 27 years, 6 months and 22 days. On that occasion, OPG and her mum picked me up in their Austin Maestro from the small car park behind the church hall near Gillingham High Street, and OPG rewarded me with a Mars Bar for being such a brave boy. I was really pleased with myself not only because I’d done a good a thing, but I’d also managed to get a free cup of tea and a small packet of biscuits, and now I had a whole Mars Bar as well. Some days, you just felt like the King of the World.

I’m always reminded of the last great Tony Hancock in ‘The Blood Donor” when I give blood. I can’t help it. I love Tony Hancock and ‘The Blood Donor’ is one of my favourite pieces of television ever. Despite telling myself that I have absolutely no intention of watching ‘The Blood Donor’ before I go and donate, there I am at midday on the hottest day of the year in my lounge, chortling away to myself as Hancock delivers his immortal line to the harassed looking doctor.

“I mean, I came here in all good faith, to help my country. I don’t mind giving a reasonable amount, but a pint? Why, that’s very nearly an armful.”

I am tempted to quote Hancock to the nurse who deals with me today, but I decide not to, largely because the man in front of me does it first and the gag falls so flat on its arse that I tell myself that annoying the kind lady with the big needle is not a tremendous idea. She is also about 25 as well, and the reason why the joke is falling flat on its arse is because the nurse probably thinks that Tony Hancock is related to Matt Hancock, the totally fucking hopeless ex health secretary.

R is for Ride

Close My Eyes (Taken from ‘Ride EP’)

The nurse, who is called Vanessa, pricks my middle finger and then proceeds to squeeze some blood out of it, she is quite content with the quality of my blood and then tells me to go and sit on the reclining chairs. It is there in the reclining chairs that you give your armful of blood. It’s kind of relaxing, once you get past the needle in your arm bit that is. I lie there close my eyes and listen to the music that is playing in the room and once I realise what it is, I try and shut out the racket that is Heather Small singing ‘Proud’.

“You feeling nervous, love?” Vanessa says; it’s a bit weird being called ‘Love’ by a woman who is young enough to be my daughter, but I smile and say “Nope, I’m just trying to not listen to Heather Small’s voice”. Vanessa offers me a cushion to put behind my back, and I feel myself ageing a few more years.

After about ten minutes a machine beeps a noise similar to the noise you get when you finish a level of Super Mario Brothers, and I am told to sit up and then Vanessa asks me if I would like a drink. I ask for an Earl Grey, black and with a squeeze of lemon if they have it. She hands me a piece of card that tells me “NO HOT DRINKS FOR SIX HOURS”.

I’m also, for the next six hours, not allowed “Physical Exercise (including sex)” – it genuinely says that, “too much sun” (it’s the hottest day of the year) and “no alcohol”. I tell Vanessa that the last time I gave blood, I got a cup of tea. She looks at me strangely and asks me “When was that” as apparently, it’s a really bad idea to have hot drinks after giving blood.

I tell her it was in “1994”. She laughs and says “Christ love, I wasn’t even born then” and about 3000 of my hairs immediately turn grey, and I ask her for some water.

I am walked over to the relaxation area, where you must sit for fifteen minutes after donating. I am offered a box full of crisps and salty snacks to eat with my water (“helps your body retain water, love”) and I pick up two bags of salt and vinegar crisps and sit in one of the comfy chairs and pick up a copy of ‘Devon Life’ Magazine and read an article about the Westward Ho!

I open the crisps and munch away. I’m really hungry. I’d gone out without lunch, you see, choosing instead to watch Tony Hancock videos instead. About seven minutes after I finish the first bag of crisps, I realise that this was a mistake. My head starts to spin a bit, and then a lot, and the nurse to my right has started talking in a weird slow motion style. I pick up my glass of water, my hand is shaking, and suddenly I feel really hot, sweating buckets hot, like the moment about two minutes before you puke up last night’s alcohol.

A kind nurse called Toby wanders over and asks me if I am ok. I feel a bit faint, I tell him. Within minutes, I am lying on the floor, with a cool pillow behind my head and Vanessa is back and shoving my feet on a small box so they are higher than my head.

Vanessa looks at me and smiles, “Bless” she says.

The Pooh Sticks were outstanding, a jangly indie pop band from Wales and ‘The Great White Wonder’ was their second album and featured as a guest vocalist Amelia Fletcher from Talulah Gosh. I saw them live just once at the 1992 Reading Festival (I think) that ended with this.

I’m In You – a fifteen minute wig out of sheer brilliance.

I’m pretty sure I used to own ‘The Great White Wonder’ on tape.

The Ride EP was as we all know the first release from Ride. It remains to this day essential listening, and here for the unacquainted are the other three tracks from the EP. It is unlikely that you will hear many songs that are better today.

Chelsea Girl
Drive Blind
All I Can See

SWC

Mazzy Star, New Order

BURNING BADGER’S VINYL – THE (NEARLY) A-Z OF INDIEPOP (Part 5, M and N)

 

M has been written by SWC, so you can expect the usual rubbish.

N, however, sees a very welcome return to the blog by Lorna.

M is for Mazzy Star

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You (Taken from So Tonight That I Might See)

You probably already know this song. We probably all know it. Its beautiful. Wonderful. One of the few songs that I could generally stick on repeat and listen to for a couple of hours without ever getting bored of, even one second of it. I’ve sort of done that today, I listened to it about six times back to back and each time I am transported back to different hazy memories.

I remember a friend of mine getting married about fifteen years and his bride to be walking down the aisle (well it was a path in a rose garden) to this song and the groom just standing a crying blubbing mess of a man as Hope’s vocals floated across the garden.

I remember another of friend of mine, seconds after this came on the stereo at a house party about five years ago, telling me about the time that he split with his long term girlfriend and him just walking down the road whilst this played on his Walkman. You could see the minute the song came on the stereo his mind had gone back to that exact moment.

I remember OPG playing this song after we’d had two bottles of strong cider and us just dancing slowly to it her bedroom her head perched on my shoulder and me holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world. Which she was, at the time I suppose. She used to say that the thing about Hope Sandoval was that she looked exactly like she sounded, and she was right.

It’s that kind of song. The sort of song that makes you half smile because it reminds you of another time when you might have been happier than you are right now or just associate it with a lovely moment in your life, but it’s also the sort of song that makes you half weep because it reminds you of a time when you felt fragile or lonely or that you missed someone or never got an opportunity to right a wrong.

There is a video out there on the internet, of ‘Fade Into You’ being performed by Mazzy Star on Later with Jools Holland (Jools is barely in it, so its ok). It is incredible, perfection personified. Everything about it is brilliant, from the stunning slide guitar that kind of holds the song together to Hope’s vocals, which are just insanely wonderful.

But the one thing that does it for me is the way Hope just stands there. She barely moves during the whole track, occasionally her right hand moves up and down, when you drag your eyes away from her face, you realise she is playing the tambourine, and even that, is bloody perfect. Frankly, watching Hope Sandoval in 1993 standing still gently tapping a tambourine is the sexiest thing I have seen on TV in about twenty years.

Loads of M records in the box, I’ll skirt over the Manics and the Massive Attacks and give you this…

Mega City 4 – Iron Sky

…..which I think was the band’s biggest ever hit and as close to a pop record as the transit rock pioneers got. In fact, I knew a lad called Danny who went to Kent University who painted the lyrics to this on his student digs wall when it came out and lost his deposit because of it.

Oh, go on then

Masses Against the Classes

Bumper Ball Dub (from ‘No Protection’ – Massive Attack vs Mad Professor)

N is for New Order

New Order – Everything’s Gone Green (Taken from ‘Substance’)

‘Substance’ is as you will know, an essential record. Another record that you should all own. This is the second version of ‘Substance’ that Badger owned. I know this because the first one got destroyed, and this version came from a record shop in Birmingham (it still has the sticker on it – he paid £12 for it). But here’s Lorna to tell the tale.

“In January 1997, Tim and I bought our first house. We’d been married about a year and had previously rented a one-bedroom flat overlooking Exeter Canal. The house was an old two bed Edwardian terrace in a nice part of Exeter. Within a week we’d painted it, taken up the revolting blue carpet (like you used to get in schools, the sort that gave you an electric shock) and replaced them with fancy new designer rugs straight out of the Habitat catalogue. We painted the kitchen a smashing shade of duck egg blue and stripped the stairs back to their original wooden state.

A week later, we went skiing in the Swiss resort of Saas Fee. We travelled up to Bristol airport in Tim’s VW Polo, which was sound tracked by a mixtape he had made the night before we left. I remember this was playing as we parked the car at the airport, I know this because Tim always ended his mixtapes with New Order and this must have been the last track as knowing him he would have planned it meticulously to finish at the airport.

Confusion (new version)

I learnt to ski. Tim, who could already ski, tried his hand at snowboarding. He bruised his arse colliding with an old Italian guy, who on learning we were British, swore at him brilliantly. It was like listening to Bruno Tonioli channelling his inner Danny Dyer. Apart from that we had a lovely time, after skiing we fell into the small après-ski bar next to our boot room and get slowly drunk on Gluwein and very strong vodka.

When we returned home, we got back quite late due to a slightly delayed flight and a pile up on the M5. It was about midnight when Tim put the key in the front door, which is when we realised that a pipe or pipes had burst in the bathroom. The pipe burst was behind the bath, and it had flooded out under the bottom of the bath into the rest of the bathroom, which then finally worked through the ceiling and was now cascading into the lounge and kitchen area. It was pitch black and we were lit only by a single light from our hallway (which was largely dry) and a lamppost from across the street.

I can still picture the sheer devastation it caused, all our hard work largely ruined. Our brand-new rugs ruined (I mean we were insured, so it wasn’t the end of the world), a lot of our furniture severely damaged, and work surfaces, cupboard doors and some electrical sockets were all dripping wet. I must have cried because I remember Tim hugging me and telling me it would be OK; he made a joke about the wanting to put a slide in from upstairs to downstairs anyway, which did make me laugh.

It was halfway through that hug that he swore really loudly, and I thought that was him just letting off a howl of frustration, but he broke off the hug and walked (or splashed really) slowly to the table where he had left a few records to gather dust before we left (i.e – he had forgot to put them away). They still sat there next to a small teddy (‘Herbert’) which had now seen better and drier days. The records were ruined:-

Substance by New Order
Dirk Wears White Sox by Adam and the Ants
Galore by Kirsty MacColl
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels by Dexys Midnight Runners

(and SWC will kindly pop a song from each in here I suspect, each one featured on the mixtape from the car, but it was 25 years ago, I really can’t remember all the tracks).

True Faith

Catholic Day

They Don’t Know

There, There My Dear

There’s only one other N in the box, and it’s this, but I don’t know anything about the band though.

Nirvana – Lithium

LORNA

Goth

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #289 : “GOTH – 13 SHADES OF BLACK”

A GUEST POSTING by flimflamfan

If the internet is to believed, the term Gothic Rock was coined in 1967, when John Stickney reviewed a Doors gig. Some claim that what we now know as Goth began in the late 1970s, in the UK. Others claim the roots of Goth lie in the early 80s burgeoning into a full-on scene in mid-80s – my view is more aligned to this but I don’t know enough to dispute any other view.

Like most scenes the music press garlanded this new scene only to pillory it later. Unfortunately, the scene itself, bathed knowingly in the cold blood of parody. On occasion some of the bands did dress and behave in a quite ridiculous fashion which detracted from some of the exceptional music being made.

I don’t pretend to be a Goth aficionado, but on the whole, I’d say that it’s a genre that I enjoyed. Some of my choices may be arguable, terribly obvious or possibly a tad pompous. This is intended as a flavour of Goth in no particular chronological order and definitely not sequenced – that’d take me ages.

I’ll begin where Goth entered my life (although, at this time, I’d never heard the term Goth). Hello, Dead or Alive.

I was a pain in the arse fan of Dead or Alive. The first I heard of them was the It’s Been Hours Now e.p. and I devoured all that came before and some that came after. The e.p. remains a firm favourite of mine. With a front man like Burns and the musicianship of Hussey (he’ll appear again, obviously) Dead or Alive, at this point owned Goth (all other opinions accepted). While there are several tracks that could feature here I have chosen I’m Falling.

Dead or Alive – I’m Falling (1980)

Before Cocteau Twins became synonymous with Indie, Shoegaze, Ethereal Pop, Ambient or whatever other inappropriate descriptor that was thrown in their direction they were a punk/new wave band and some will argue a Goth band – for a time. They are a band I love and I was shocked to learn that this year is 26 years on from the release of the LP Milk and Kisses. Choosing a song to add here has not been an easy task. I eventually whittled it down to two: Hazel and Perhaps Some Other Aeon. In the end I plummeted for the latter as it continues to strike me as odd that this magnificent song was initially only released on a Japanese CD reissue of Garlands (1987).

Cocteau Twins – Perhaps Some Other Aeon (1982)

I have no clear idea where I first heard Red Lorry Yellow Lorry’s Walking On Your Hands (I suspect a short-lived club night at Rooftops on Sauchiehall Street in the centre of Glasgow but can’t be sure). However, I knew instantly that I had to dance to it. It was one of the few songs played at a Goth disco that really animated some of those dancing – the speed of that floor-face pacing, exhilarating. I can smell the dry-ice now.

A truly exceptional, pulsing, pop song.

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Walking On Your Hands (1986)

Specimen band members ran the Batcave (a London club night, 1982). Bands that would appear there included Sex Gang Children and Alien Sex Fiend. Batcave was a place to be seen much like other scene clubs before it. Wikipedia informs us that regulars included: Nick Cave, Robert Smith, Siouxsie, Steven Severin, Bauhaus and Marc Almond.

I first encountered Specimen via children’s tv show (I still have the performance on VHS), the internet informs me the shows was called No. 73 with Specimen appearing on June 30th (1984) to perform the song below and Sharp Teeth Pretty Teeth.

I can’t say Lovers is one of the greatest songs in the world but I often think the bands place in history has often been overlooked or hastily papered-over in favour of their involvement with Batcave. Strange thing here is I’d describe Specimen as Goth-Glam-Rock. They really did like to ‘ham’ it up.

Specimen – Lovers (1983)

Come the late 80s/early 90s change was afoot in Goth-world at Glasgow’s premier Goth-haunt The Tech (Glasgow Caledonian University Student Union, as was).

Juliette was an aptly-named and rather attractive, young goth who was more than a little acquainted with white face make-up. She was on the periphery on my wee group (as I was on hers) but we got along rather well and were known to enjoy the Goth-shoe-shuffle together on more than one occasion. Imagine my smile when I see Juliette catch my eye just as the intro to The Cure’s Boys Don’t Cry begins.

We move towards each other from opposite sides of the dance floor. As we move closer – our heads floor-bound – there they were … a blimmin’ over-sized pair of trainers adorning her small feet. They looked like clown-shoes and cartoony on her petite frame. We danced – the trainers syncopating in and out of view – mesmerising. The song ended but I had to ask … “why are you wearing those trainers?” Apparently, Robert Smith had recently posed for a well-known music weekly wearing an over-sized, poorly-laced pair of pumps. As a consequence, trainers in Goth-world – were now ‘in’. Goth had, to my mind, a rather uncompromising uniform and this new-fangled change marked what I describe as the decline in Goth. When counter-culture embraces the mainstream it rarely works out well. Silly? Perhaps?

The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry (1979)

(Not Juliette!!!!)

It would be just too obvious to add Bauhaus’s Bela Lugosi’s Dead, wouldn’t it? It’s a song I’m extremely fond of and one I danced to whenever I got the opportunity. This was hardcore Goth-dancing that was akin to Dynamation at it’s jittery, stop-motion best. The place to dance to this was Delirium 7 (Rooftops) and a short-lived Sunday night goth-night that also operated on Sunday nights at The Cathouse. The dance floor at Rooftops is small and the back of the wall was mirrored. Those pesky goths draped a black curtain over the mirrored wall to make the place seem more dank – if you’ve ever been to Rooftops you’ll know it was dank enough to begin with. A friend and I took great pleasure in pulling the curtain aside, on occasion, as the disco-lights reflected and caught the dancing goths like vampires in the sunlight. It was very childish of us. I’d do it again.

It was at Delirium 7 that, I requested and had my first dance to, Lagartija Nick. It was an exhilarating experience. The dance-floor was full with what seemed like cocaine-fueled Goths abandoning the cooler-than-thou aloof personas for a good old, invigorating dance – like Psychobillies slamming without the Psychobillies, or the slamming.

Bauhaus – Lagartija Nick (1982)

I know very little about Macrch Violets but I do know that many felt rather precious about the band. The first and second singles were released on Eldritch’s Merciful Release label before seemingly setting up their own label, Rebirth. Religious As Hell is the song I probably know the best but the one I’d dance to more is Walk Into The Sun. There’s a palpable indie-twee feel to this which is why I favour it.

March Violets – Walk Into The Sun (1984)

One of my favourite bands of all time – Dead Can Dance. I care not a jot as to the many descriptors flung hastily in their direction – the music speaks for itself. I’d be an arse if I said baroque, so baroque it is – for now. My first purchase was the LP Spleen and Ideal and what a delight it is. I never thought of the band as Goth so was surprised when out one evening to hear Avatar belting out over the dancefloor. The dancefloor was sparsely populated but I did my best to fill it up – with my well-practiced Goth-walk.

Fast forward to 1993. I had just met my beau (aye, he’s still here) and we decided to take a wee trip to a small town in Ireland, Bundoran. As you do on holiday – we visited another town close-by – the more well-known, Sligo. As we casually sauntered down one of the main streets I stopped in my tracks.

Above us, across the entire street, was a banner with the art work for Dead Can Dance’s Labyrinth LP informing locals the band would be playing, in what I recall as a local warehouse. I scanned. I scanned. I hurriedly scanned the dates. I yelped, loudly. We’d still be in the area. Immediately a hunt was on to find out where we could get tickets. Tickets bought. Just before the band took the stage an announcement was made informing patrons that smoking was not allowed and photos were prohibited – both negatively affecting the experience the band wished to provide. Could it get any better? Oh, it did. It did. It. It did. I was my usual emotional mess and when the gig ended I was exhausted – in the best possible way. As the crowd began to shuffle the announcer returned “the band would like to invite you to an after-show party”. What, eh? “Will someone please pick me up from this floor!” We went. The band mingled. Way more gregarious than I had ever thought. I stood in what I kid you not was a nook – a small shallow kind of doorway – watching. My partner, new to me, said “why don’t you go say hello.” Clearly, he had a lot to learn. I continued watching, soaking the whole night in. One of the best nights of my life.

Dead Can Dance – Avatar (1985)

Unfortunately, for Fields of the Nephilim, they were drowned in negative reviews purely because of how they chose to look rather than the music they released. I believe they were unfairly maligned and an absolutely great band. Apart from the first single I think I have everything else on vinyl. Choosing a song has been difficult. Power was the first I was aware of and in terms of club nights Blue Water, Psychonaut were featured regularly to say nothing of LP tracks. However, I’m going to choose Preacher Man as the track that best fits here. I have so many fond memories of dancing to this very popular dance-floor-filler with folks who’s faces I can see now but have no idea how they are, or where they are.

Fields of the Nephilim – Preacher Man (1987)

Shelleyan Orphan were what I describe as niche-goth and very much on the outskirts of the scene. They have been described as Baroque-Goth-Folk. I think it’s fair to say that musically they orbited the sphere of All About Eve. On this track this vocal is much more akin to Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) – never, ever a bad thing – and Everything But The Girl.

Shelleyan Orphan – Anatomy of Love (1987)

Strange thing about Polaricht by Xmal Deutschland. On first hearing it I thought it was a Siouxsie and the Banshees track that I hadn’t heard before – which at that time would have been most odd. A cracker to dance to and a superb introduction to the band. Had I not chosen Xmal Deutschland I would have chosen Clan of Xymox, Moscoviet Mosquito. It’s the only track I own by the band – appearing on the 4AD compilation Lonely As An Eyesore.

Xmal Deutschland – Polaricht (1987)

As JC recently posted This Corrosion – the impetus for this piece – it does make life a little easier in choosing a song by The Sisters of Mercy. Often regarded as ‘the’ Goth band The Sisters of Mercy captured and expertly exploited the scene. Later they attempted to distance themselves from it but I don’t believe anyone was having any of that. Again, I whittled this down to two songs Temple of Love and Alice. I opted for Alice as it too is a superb song to dance to. I feel guilty leaving Temple of Love on the shelf – it’s a cracker.

The Sisters of Mercy paved way for Wayne Hussey’s The Mission and brought greater prominence to The Gun Club with the addition of Patricia Morrison to the Sister’s ranks.

The Sisters of Mercy – Alice (1982)

As interest in all things Goth seemed to wane, in terms of a vibrant scene, a new scene was kicking and shouting to be heard – Industrial. Industrial cut its teeth in Goth clubs and Goths (well, some Goths) really took to it. The most prominent Industrial band at that time was Ministry in conjunction with alt. metal band Body Count. Goth clubs could no longer survive by playing the old favourites although some did attempt to fly the ‘true’ Goth flag, for a while. Now, such clubs would probably be full with nostalgia seekers and new-blood Goths.

Spearheading the change in electronica and what it termed ‘Electric Body Music’ was Front 242. It’s double a-side single Headhunter/Welcome to Paradise was a weekly staple of any Goth club night I attended – both sides of the single. I love it. Absolutely love it.

Front 242 – Welcome to Paradise (1988)

Bands loved by many but not by me: Virgin Prunes, Christian Death, The Mission, Ghost Dance, Inkubus Sukkubus, Skeletal Family, Lords of the New Church etc…

An argument to be had here is that the songs chosen above don’t accurately represent the breadth of the Goth scene. I’d agree with that. These songs/bands represent a small fraction of the bands involved in the scene and act as more of a personalised taster rather than a definition.

Accidentally, I chose 13 songs. The dark-force is strong in this one …

Flimflamfan

Creeping Bent Organisation, Douglas MacIntyre

A DIFFERENT KIND OF MONDAY

JC writes…..

In recent times, Mondays have been set aside for a hi-res track ripped from vinyl, direct from Villain Towers. But this week, as a one-off, there’s something a bit different.

Simply Thrilled, the club night I’m involved with alongside my good friends, Robert, Hugh, Carlo and Ash, has unsurprisingly had to take an extended break as our location, The Admiral Bar in Glasgow, has been closed for much of the past sixteen months. Things are beginning to perhaps return to normal, and the hope is we can get something organised before the year is out, failing which early 2022. A few things have been taking place on social media, which those of you who follow Simply Thrilled on Facebook or Twitter will be aware, including the introduction of the Simply Thrilled Mixtapes on an occasional basis.

Robert has been working the oracle to come up with a special guests, with the most recent being none other than Douglas MacIntyre, an absolute doyen of the Scottish music scene whose main role this past decade has been as the guru behind the Creeping Bent Organisation. Douglas not only pulled together a great mixtape, but he provided a superb commentary for each selection. I’m very pleased to be able to bring it you today.

Douglas MacIntyre

The tracks I’ve chosen for my Simply Thrilled mixtape reflect moments in time from the Scottish independent labels that have influenced me most; Fast Product, Pop Aural, Postcard, Rational, Geographic – I’ve also included two tracks from my own label, The Creeping Bent Organisation.

I was a teenager at school when the seismic explosion of punk created an environment when new possibilities opened up, inspiring many in Scotland to ultimately become musicians, artists, writers, provocateurs. The moment that the tectonic played shifted was the White Riot concert in Edinburgh on 7th May 1977, however most of the future independent movers were more influenced by Subway Sect and the Slits than headliners The Clash. Attendees at the concert would go on to form groups associated with the Scottish independent labels movement of the late 70s / early 80s.

I have chosen two tracks by each of my favourite labels, I could have chosen other tracks and artists from the labels but feel the singles I’ve included on my mixtape are a broad collection of why these labels matter to me.

Fast Product announced itself with The Mekons’ ‘Never Been In A Riot’ in Jan 1978 and propelled forward at a rate of knots. Fast releases immediately felt like artefacts and the label was a massive influence on Rough Trade, Factory and Postcard. They proved that sometimes art is an influence that harnesses negative energy and provokes reactions. The singles I’ve chosen are Scars’ ‘Horrorshow’ and The Human League’s ‘Being Boiled’. I’ve always felt the Scars single on Fast was the year zero moment in Scotland, it is still a remarkable rush. The Human League and Fast Product is an incredible story, brilliantly document by Grant McPhee in the award winning documentary he directed, ‘Big Gold Dream’. The fact that David Bowie would write to Fast founder Bob Last to praise the label and the Human League, and would go on record stating they were the future of music, was a massive vindication for Fast Product at the time. Bob Last would manage the Human League to an international number 1 single within a couple of years of their debut single on Fast.

Fast Product abruptly ceased releasing records and transmogrified into a brand new idea, Pop:Aural, who released great singles by The Flowers, Boots For Dancing, Restricted Code and Fire Engines. The tracks I’ve chosen are by The Flowers and Fire Engines, with the former being a vehicle for Hilary Morrison. Hl Ray was a partner in Fast Product, contributing to the aesthetic and providing the photographic elements and A&R impetus for Fast and Pop:Aural. Fire Engines were an art movement unto themselves, and the most exciting group of the period. ‘Meat Whiplash’ is a classic, should have been a single in its own right instead of being the B side of ‘Candyskin’.

Postcard Records announced itself with the Feb 1980 release of ‘Falling and Laughing’ by Orange Juice, with group leader Edwyn Collins running the label along with Alan Horne. Postcard quickly outflanked Pop:Aural, largely due to Horne’s brilliant media manipulation and great taste in music, relentlessly bullying and cajoling the Postcard groups to greater heights. Truly punk. I’ve chosen groups at the opposing aural ends of the Postcard spectrum; Josef K (brittle, nervous, alienated) and Aztec Camera (romantic, joyous, melodic). Josef K were my favourite Postcard group, the guitars of Paul Haig and Malcolm Ross chimed with my own tastes at that time (Television / The Voidoids), though I think ‘Chance Meeting’ is their most pop moment. Aztec Camera were my age and lived up the road from me in East Kilbride, the original Postcard trio line up should have recorded an album for Postcard, by the time ‘High Land, Hard Rain’ was released on Rough Trade the group had lost something.

Rational was an incredible label that didn’t really stand a chance against the twin towers of Fast and Postcard. The label was run by Josef K manager Allan Campbell, and released the only single by my own group, Article 58. We’d recorded a single produced by Alan Horne and Malcolm Ross, which Malcolm passed on to Allan Campbell who signed us to Rational. Article 58 supported a lot of groups at the time (Scars, Restricted Code, A Certain Ratio among others), and completed a short tour of England supporting Josef K before imploding. The tracks I’ve included from Rational are by Delmontes and Paul Haig’s Rhythm of Life. Delmontes were an amalgamation of European sensibilities meshed with US garage bands, whilst Haig’s ROL concept mirrored the Walter Tevis book, The Man Who Fell To Earth.

Finally, moving forward to the 90s I’ve chosen tracks released on The Pastels’ wonderful and underrated imprint, Geographic Music.

Bill Wells should be soundtracking films, his sense of melody and adventure is magnificent, whilst Gerry Love’s album under his Lightships guise is another hidden treasure, it’s an album I constantly refer back to. I set up The Creeping Bent Organisation in 1994, our first interaction was a maxi-media event (A Leap Into The Void – BENT 001) at the Tramway theatre in Glasgow. Since then we’ve issued music by a wide range of artists including Appendix Out, The Leopards, The Nectarine No9, Vic Godard, Alan Vega & Revolutionary Corps of Teenage Jesus, Sexual Objects, and many many others. The tracks I’ve chosen are at the avant-pop end of Bent, by Adventures in Stereo and The Secret Goldfish. AiS feature the angelic voice of Judith Boyle and the pop chops of Jim Beattie. Jim came to prominence co-writing ‘Velocity Girl’ and was Bobby Gillespie’s partner in the first iteration of Primal Scream during their Byrds/Love phase, my favourite period of the group. He’s a great writer and producer. The Secret Goldfish were formed by two musicians from the C86 period, Katy McCullars from the Fizzbombs and Paul Turnbull from Mackenzies, and like Adventures in Stereo took influence from 60s girl groups like The Shangri-Las.


1. Scars – Horrorshow (Fast Product)
2. Josef K – Chance Meeting ( Postcard)
3. Rhythm of Life/Paul Haig (Rational)
4. Flowers – Ballad of Miss Demeanour (Pop Aural)
5. Adventures in Stereo – Down In The City (Creeping Bent)
6. Bill Wells – Singleton (Geographic)
7. The Human League – Being Boiled (Fast Product)
8. Aztec Camera – Just Like Gold (Postcard)
9. Delmontes – Don’t Cry Your Tears (Rational)
10. Fire Engines – Meat Whiplash (Pop Aural)
11. The Secret Goldfish – Seasick (Creeping Bent)
12. Lightships – Two Lines (Geographic)

The Creeping Bent Organisation is currently utilising its Patreon site to release new and archive music, new writing, art, photography, video, ornithology. We have been releasing new album tracks by Port Sulphur, The Secret Goldfish, Monica Queen, Black Hill Transmissions, Hapton Crags, and archive tracks and bootlegs by Article 58, Bricolage, Alan Vega/RCTJ, The Nectarine No9, Gareth Sager, Sexual Objects & Vic Godard.

Subscription is monthly and can be stopped anytime, it has proved to be extremely popular, which has taken us by surprise. If you are interested in subscribing it is £5 per month, here is the link.

www.Patreon.com/creepingbent

DOUGLAS

JC adds……

Regular readers will hopefully be aware of many of the acts mentioned by Douglas, given that many of them have appeared, often on a regular basis over the many years that TVV has been in operation.  Douglas is clearly someone with very fine, almost impeccable taste, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the Scottish music scene, not to mention having the contact details of anyone who is anyone!

I’ve mentioned before, back in March, of how much I was enjoying and valuing the Patreon subscription to Creeping Bent. It’s actually hard to believe, but the output in recent times has grown, with all sorts of wonderful music, images, cuttings and streamed live performances being made available. It’s an absolute treasure trove and I really can’t recommend it highly enough.

Here’s a couple of images which Douglas provided to go with his piece for the mixtape.

The above, taken by Gavin Fraser of The Secret Goldfish features the legendary James Kirk alongside Douglas.

The colour photo is of The Secret Goldfish, just one of four groups which count Douglas as one of its members…the others being Port Sulphur, Sexual Objects, and Jazzateers. For good measure, he’s also done session and live work with Future Pilot AKA, The Nectarine No9, Vic Godard, The Bluebells….. & countless others, including as a member of The Leopards, who have backed Lloyd Cole on a number of occasions.

As it so happens, a Creeping Bent act is going to feature this coming Saturday on the long-running series on songs by Scottish singers and bands….it wasn’t deliberate, their slot came up on the alphabetical rundown. The Secret Goldfish will also be making an appearance on a Saturday in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, from 1997 and ripped direct from the 7″ vinyl here in Villain Towers are the two sides of the record with catalogue number bent 019:-

mp3: The Leopards – Theme E
mp3: Adventures In Stereo – Waves On

JC

Fall

THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING NEW SERIES FOR SUNDAYS (Part 7)

And now to something which isn’t technically an album, and so qualifies for inclusion in this series.

Slates was released on 27 April 1981.   It has six tracks on 10″ vinyl, but wasn’t eligible for either of  the single or album charts, being too long for the former and too short for the latter. (It is 24 minutes in running length).  It was, however, included in the UK Independent Singles chart, where it reached #3, but it was also ranked at #13 in the best albums of 1981 by the NME.

It was originally put on sale for just £2, (nowadays you can expect to pay more than £30, even for a battered copy of the vinyl), and was, without any question, another way in which MES tested the patience of everyone at Rough Trade. It’s a recording which is has long been among the very favourites of long-standing fans of The Fall while also being one that more recent fans cite as being among the best of the back-catalogue.

It does seem that the plan, when convening at Berwick Street Studio in London was to come up with a standard 7″ single, although which tracks would have made that up remain unclear.  I’m guessing that the label would have pushed for Fit and Working Again, with it being the most immediately accessible of the songs, and I’m sure they would have been horrified if presented with An Older Lover Etc. as it is the sort of song that would be of appeal to a very small minority of listeners, with most reaching for the off button quite quickly, or, if they stuck it out to the end, would wonder, ‘what the fuck?’

In all likelihood, it would have been Prole Art Threat that everyone initially had in mind, given it isn’t too far removed from the frantic energy put on display on the most recent singles. But given that MES was always looking to move onwards, maybe not….

The other three songs on Slates are great listens.  It’s worth noting that, thanks to Rough Trade’s US arm, Slates was available in some shops on the other side of the Atlantic (where it retailed for $5), and it can be no coincidence that its tunes, and in particular, Leave The Capitol, would become the sort of templates for the way that indie music of the non-polished variety was set to go over the next decade or so.  Pavement anyone???

The musicians on Slates are the same as on Totally Wired, indicating that the band was enjoying something of a settled period, although it would later transpire that  MES was falling out on a frequent basis with Marc Riley.

mp3: The Fall – Middle Mass
mp3: The Fall – An Older Lover Etc.
mp3: The Fall – Prole Art Threat
mp3: The Fall – Fit and Working Again
mp3: The Fall – Slates, Slags, Etc.
mp3: The Fall – Leave The Capitol

Production credits are shared among Geoff Travis, Grant Showbiz and Adrian Sherwood, which maybe explains why the sound is, for the most part, cleaner and more polished than previous releases. It was perhaps for this reason alone that MES decided he’d had enough of Rough Trade and so, within a matter of weeks after Slates hit the shops, the ties had been severed (for now!).

JC

Restricted Code

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #268: RESTRICTED CODE

Here’s a two-part story adapted from the band’s own website : https://restricted code.com

Part One : 1978 – 1981

Tom Cannavan, vocal/guitar
Frank Quadrelli, guitar/vocal
Kenny Blythe, bass/vocal
Robert McCormick, drums
replaced by Steve Lironi, drums

Friends Tom and Frank had written songs and played together in various school bands before discovering punk and going on to create Restricted Code in 1978. Influences were pretty eclectic from punk (big Sex Pistols fans) to New Wave (Talking Heads, Magazine, etc.) to funk and soul (Chic, Otis Redding, etc.).

In 1979 the band got together with fellow Glaswegian bands Positive Noise and The Alleged to release an EP called Second City Statik, which enjoyed considerable critical acclaim. Even as Second City Statik climbed the indie charts, the band recorded further demos in search of a deal. In 1980 they got a call from Bob Last, manager of The Human League and the man whose Fast Product label released seminal records by The Gang of Four, The Mekons and Joy Division. Last loved the demos, and after arranging a showcase gig, he became their manager and signed them to his new record label, Pop:aural.

Restricted Code released two further records on Pop:aural and toured extensively, including supporting The Human League in the UK and Europe and a nationwide tour with the Fire Engines, label-mates at Pop:aural, the bands taking it in turn to headline each night. They recorded sessions for John Peel and Richard Skinner at BBC Radio. Aged just 16 at the time, the increasing touring commitments led to Robert’s decision to quit the band. Steve Lironi was recruited on drums.

Restricted Code enjoyed fantastic critical success and something of a ‘cult’ following. Paul Morley in NME picked them as “band most likely to…”, in 1981 Sounds music paper claimed they delivered the “best gig of 1981”, and there were rave reviews and extensive features in magazines including The Face and Melody Maker. As one of the hottest up-and-coming bands around, one memorable gig at The Embassy Club in London saw a who’s who of musical faces in the audience including John Peel, Debbie Harry, Frank Zappa, Julian Cope and members of the Sex Pistols and dozens of other bands. There were also, as one magazine reported at the time, “dozens of record company A&R people.”

Despite the critical acclaim, an extremely loyal fan-base and universal praise for their live gigs, the band didn’t sell the volume of records that they, or their record company, expected. The single First Night On topped the NME indie charts – but that didn’t mean huge sales in 1980 – and while Love to Meet You sold well, it didn’t break though into top 40 success. The band split up late in 1981, perhaps down to the pressures of not acheiving real breakthrough success despite such critical acclaim. Each of the members formed or joined other bands in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh, with some success. But life moved on, with the members developing careers in everything from teaching to aircraft engineering.

mp3: Restricted Code – First Night On
mp3: Restricted Code – Love To Meet You

(JC adds…….the first is from the 7″ that’s part of my vinyl collection; the latter was included on the Big Gold Dreams boxset referred to quite often throughout this particular series).

Part Two : 2018 – present

It took more than three decades until Restricted Code got together again. Having rekindled their friendship via social media a few years earlier, one day the crazy idea came to Tom and Frank of getting together to write and play again. There was no plan, no great ambition, just a desire to get the guitars out and see where it took them. They were already in touch with Kenny via social media, and with Robert, but knowing he no longer played drums, they approached Les, a friend from the old days.

Soon, the four piece band was together again, re-learning the old songs and enjoying making music. One day, quite by chance, they bumped into Robert outside a Glasgow rehearsal studio. They arranged a jam for the following week which went so well that for the first time Restricted Code became a five piece, with keyboards.

New songs soon began to emerge, Tom and Frank hitting a rich seam of renewed creativity, and the band continued to rehearse the old and new material. A support gig appeared on the horizon, then another, then another, and suddenly they were headlining their own gig at Glasgow’s 13th Note to a sell-out crowd.

Recording the new material became the focus in the middle of 2019, slightly delayed by Kenny breaking a finger, Les busting his toe and Frank ending up in hospital with an ankle injury. Were the gods against them? Well, eventually they did get into the studio at the end of 2019, recording the four tracks for their self-funded E.P. that was released in February 2020.

I Got Lost has picked up extensive radio play on BBC radio, Astounded Radio and other stations, with lots of enthusiastic critical comment. As fate would have it, the coronavirus lockdown struck just as CDs were manufactured and their official launch gig scheduled. The gig has been postponed, but the CD is available from the official website (link above) as well as all major download and streaming services.

The band cannot wait until lockdown is lifted and they are able to play again. The story goes on, and the band says, “The truth? It’s like we have never been apart.”

Various

REPEAT POSTING WEEK : LISTENING TO ADVICE FROM READERS

I’ve always said that this place would be far poorer if it wasn’t for the views, thoughts, contributions and postings from others,  Here’s some evidence from back on 19 February 2014:-

In recent weeks, in response to what has been posted on T(n)VV, a number of readers have made suggestions about tracking down some songs. Here’s what I mean:-

“Heard CHVRCHES version of Bela Lugosi?” : from London Lee on 5 February

“On the other hand, Lightspeed Champion has made some pretty good records. I loved ‘Madame Van Damme’.” : from The Robster on 31 January

“Last year, Kylie sang vocals on a track called ‘Whistle’ by Icelandic electronica meisters Múm. It’s probably my favourite thing she’s ever done, even topping that Nick Cave duet and her Dr Who appearance. I very strongly urge you to check it out.” : from The Robster on 29 January

“The Flaming Lips have a pretty good version of I Can’t Get You Out of My Head” : from Brian on 29 January

“Frank Sidebottom did a tremendous Kylie tribute track which is worth tracking down” : from Charity Chic on 29 January

So as The Chemical Brothers once chanted on a hit single of theirs (but, as pointed out to me by acid ted, who is my oldest non-Glasgow based blogging mate, it was originally on “The Roof is on Fire” by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three)……..

……HERE WE GO!!!!!

mp3 : CHVRCHES – Bela Lugosi’s Dead
mp3 : Lightspeed Champion – Madame Van Damme
mp3 : Mum – Whistle
mp3 : Flaming Lips – I Can’t Get You Out Of My Head
mp3 : Frank Sidebottom – I Should Be So Lucky

Thanks again everyone for keeping the faith this week (he types optimistically before seeing the responses these past few days).  I’m hoping normal service will be resumed next week.

JC

Clash

FROM OUR GERMAN CORRESPONDENT(S)

I’m interrupting the planned schedule to bring you some news from Germany.

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in being horrified watching the scenes of carnage and devastation from the unprecedented flooding which recently hit many parts of central Europe, and in particular Germany. The death toll is at 171, while 155 people remain missing, with the president of the country’s disaster relief organisation now saying she does not expect rescuers to find any more survivors.

My immediate thoughts were for two very good and old friends of this corner of t’internet, Dirk and Walter, both of whom came to Glasgow a few years ago when a small group of bloggers decided a meeting in person was long overdue. I was sure that Walter would be fine, as his home city of Stuttgart had been spared the worst of the downpour. Dirk, however, I wasn’t so sure about, and this was confirmed with this part of the response from Walter to the e-mail I had sent to both of them:-

“Hi Jim,

many thanks for your mail. Everything is fine with me and slowly normal life comes back as we knew in the times before the pandemic. Although I suspect it won’t be too long. Thank God I am not affected in my region by the rains and the floods, but as far as I know the area in the Dirk lives the full force of the storm hit him.”

Two anxious days passed before an e-mail dropped in from Dirk. It was short, simply saying that he and his family were OK but that he wasn’t at home just now, adding that he would get back to me in detail once he had returned. He was as good as his word:-

“Hello JC, hello Walter,

First of all thanks VERY much for being worried/taking care/asking. I can assure you though that everything is fine over here, and although I live in a region which basically was surrounded by the floods, nothing at all happened to the village. Also, I live on a bit of a hill anyway, so all I had to do was to empty the swimming pool a bit before I left for a few days away on Thursday. And that trip was the only reason why I couldn’t write earlier, I just HATE to write longer messages on my mobile … too old-fashioned, me, I suppose …

In fact, we went to a vineyard in Rhineland-Palatinate where I probably ate and certainly drank too much, but also this region was not affected. But I crossed the Mosselle river as well as the Ahr river on my way and what I was able to see from the motorway down in the valleys was really shocking.

I mean, people who live at the rivers are used to high tides and all the villages have high tide protection systems and plans. But what happened there last week was so “special”, there was no way whatsoever for them to cope with it in the shortness of time. I just watched an interview on the telly with the mayor of Schuld – a small village which by and large fully got destroyed – and he said that they had a high tide of 3.60 meters in 2016. After which they improved their system, but no-one could do anything at all against the masses of water which hit the village last week in the middle of the night. The wave was 8.86 (!!) meters, he said, and apparently it didn’t slowly build up, but came rushing down instead within seconds.

The only “family and friends – damage” I know about was in my sister’s cellar, but they had mostly everything in shelves, perhaps the floor can even be saved, but first of all it has to dry fully before they know for sure. And if not, well, it’s just a bloody floor, a bit of laminate, nothing serious.

Nothing serious anyway compared to the hundreds of people who lost their lives, are still missing and/or haven’t got a home any longer. One problem will turn out to be the various forms of insurances here in Germany. If you have a house, you have to insure it. But if you’re not specifically insured against natural hazard, you will get nothing from the insurance for the house, just for what was in it. Now every bloody politician says: ‘No need to worry, we will take care of you”. But I know German bureaucracy, believe me, and I’m willing to have a small bet that those poor people will wait forever for any government money.

So, hard times indeed, luckily not for me. All in all, I coped rather well with Covid, mainly because it meant that I could work from home three weeks out of four. Which I enjoyed very much. Still do, in fact, because – as Walter said – with all the lowered restrictions, it’s just a question of time when the whole mess will start again. But before it does, I will be away again (the week after next) to the Baltic Sea with my brother-in-law’s caravan. Very much looking forward to this as well, because basically it will turn out to be a repetition of the vineyard-trip. Only with beer instead of wine, I suppose.”

Dirk’s e-mail went on to explain why he had been quiet of late, offering all sorts of wholly unnecessary apologies. Not surprisingly, like all of us in these unprecedented times, his priorities have shifted increasingly towards his family and his own physical and mental well-being, and he’s not spent too much time browsing round music blogs in the way he used to. He has, on the plus side, built himself a Tiki-bar!!

Our exchanges ended on a positive note, with me promising that, as soon as travelling becomes more possible and enjoyable again, to make a trip over to Germany to meet up with both Dirk and Walter, two of the nicest and most genuine folk on Planet Earth.

As Dirk is a huge Clash fan, the title of this one seems appropriate today:-

mp3: The Clash – Safe European Home

Thanks for reading.

JC