Musik Music Musique 1979 is the fourth volume in the series from Cherry Red and is sub-titled The Roots of Synth-pop.
The 3 CD set is released on 16 January 2026. Featuring a colossal 60 tracks, the collection is made up of well-loved classics from 1979 alongside lesser-known gems. Musik Music Musique 1979 features The Buggles, Tubeway Army, The Human League, OMD, John Foxx, Visage, Yello and more. The compilation has track by track information along with sleevenotes by Electronic Sound magazine’s Mat Smith.
Video Killed The Radio Star
Disc one opens with Technopop from The Buggles Clean, Clean single (recorded in 1979 but released in 1980) and is also available on their debut album The Age of Plastic. I’m glad that the compilers avoided the obvious Video Killed The Radio Star, that is ubiquitous on compilations covering this era, plus they made the decision to include the pre-Buggles version from Bruce Wooley & The Camera Club, a more new wave tinged take on this 80s classic. Technopop is a slice of nostalgic pop, driven by Trevor Horn’s bass and vocals, and Geoff Downes multi-layered synths.
M offer Made in Munich, a track cut from the same cloth as their massive hit, Pop Muzik. Robin Scott is joined by members of Level 42 on this addictive track, that name checks John Travolta at one point. The Korgis Cold Tea saw James Warren and Andy Davis move away from their progressive rock past with Stockbridge, to this more angular electronic, 10cc on acid sound.
The first little-known highlight on this compilation comes from Dutch musician Floris Kolvenbach and his Metal Voices project, with the haunting At The Banks Of The River, an adventurous song with a mournful chorus.
Armband by Karel Fialka is a catchy piece of electronica from 1979. Fialka is also known for his singles The Eyes Have It and Hey Matthew (a top 10 hit in 1987). Life In Tokyo (Pt 1) from Japan is a collaboration with Giorgio Moroder, and is one of the bands finest singles.
Tubeway Army’s Are Friends Electric? was released on Beggars Banquet in May 1979 and soon made its way to no1 in the UK singles chart. There will be more from Gary Numan later in this compilation. Pop duo Dollar’s Star Control (B- Side Mix) was the b-side of the more tame Who Were You With In The Moonlight single in May 1979, and is a charming vocoder driven space themed oddity.
The Lone Ranger (1979 Remix) from Rupert Hine’s Quantum Jump was a top 5 hit the second time around, thanks to championing from DJ / television personality Kenny Everett.
If you know, you know. Rupert Hine was an important figure in 80s pop (and beyond), producing and working with Rush, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, the Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Stevie Nicks, Suzanne Vega as well as releasing a series of influential solo albums, including my favourite, 1982’s Waving Not Drowning.
Birmingham’s Fashiøn deliver the single Technofascist, one of the bands early tracks before line-up changes and a huge pivot in sound that led to the magnificent Fabrique album in 1982. The Technofascist line-up had a sharp post-punk sound, and I remember seeing this line-up supporting The Stranglers at The Rainbow in 1980.
The Cars sprightly Night Spots is an album track from Candy-O, the US bands second album. Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club’s early version of Video Killed The Radio Star features a line-up that included the influential musician Thomas Dolby, and is a spikier more new wave take on what went on to be an 80s classic.
Mirror Of Infinity from the US synth trio Moebius is another gem that passed me by on its original release, with progressive vocals on top of an icy synth soundtrack. The only mis-step for me appears with an awful cover of The Stranglers Hanging Around by Final Program, a cover where the musicians are playing as if they have never heard the original, far superior version. An instant skip from me!
One Rule For You
Disc two opens with an absolute banger in Gary Numan’s no 1 single Cars, that sounds as great today, as it did on its original release in 1979. Nuff said.
Donna Summer producer Giorgio Moroder offers the title track from his album E=MC², a synth pop, disco masterclass. Daft Punk fans will likely enjoy this track.
Nice Mover from Gina X Performance was produced by German producer Zeus B. Held (Fashion / John Foxx), who has his own track titled Held It on this disc. The Gina X Performance had an underground hit with No G.D.M., and were surely an influence on the mighty Propaganda in the later part of the 80s.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Almost slipped by me when I bought their Electricity 7″ single, why didn’t I play the b-side? Almost is a delicate, forlorn piece of electronica that stands up well. The Men (an early incarnation of The Human League) appear with a funky bass line driven I Don’t Depend On You.
One Rule For You from After The Fire should have been a massive hit, with Rupert Hine, Muff Winwood, Rhett Davies and John Leckie on production duties on their second album Laser Love. Thrash was the debut single from Cowboys International, a short lived pop band, who mixed new wave with synth pop.
Factory Records act Minny Pops early single Dolphin’s Spurt has an inventive guitar line running through the sparse electronics.
Producer extraordinaire Zeus B. Held bridges Krautrock and the late 70s electronic explosion with Held It from his second solo album, that will appeal to fans of John Foxx’s The Garden album. The Swedish band Secret Service round off disc two with the saccharin pop of Oh Susie. Once you hear this song, you will struggle to get it out of your brain for days.
Living By Numbers
The third and final disc opens with a track from The Human Leagues Reproduction album, the insanely catchy Blind Youth. Back To Nature from Fad Gadget (Francis John Tovey) was a dark electronic single released by Mute Records.
Landscape (featuring future acclaimed producer Richard James Burgess) contribute the 12″ version of the playful instrumental Japan, a precursor to the bands hits with Einstein A Go-Go and Norman Bates. Japan sounds like a theme tune to an 80s cop show that sadly never existed. What a bass-line too.
Frequency 7 by Visage was the b-side to their debut single, Tar, and is a sparse, dark piece of Ballard influenced electronica. Living By Numbers New Musik was an early single from the band that featured producer Tony Mansfield.
“They don’t want your name, just your number”
Suicide’s Dream Baby Dream, produced by The Cars’ Ric Ocasek, has found a new audience due to the songs use on television and in film, including Alex Garland’s disturbing Civil War.
John Foxx appears with Young Love (the 1979 version that was first released as part of a Metamatic album reissue). Forever Tonight by Hammer (featuring Jan Hammer, Miami Vice theme composer and future Styx vocalist Glen Burtnick) is a disco infused synth pop song.
Computer was included on Toyah’s debut album Sheep Farming In Barnet and has aged particularly well. Thomas Leer and Robert Rental’s Attack Decay is an album track that offers an industrial, warped peep into the future.
Don’t Dither Do It (7″ Version) from Steve Hillage (former member of Gong and future founder of System 7) is an enjoyable new wave, disco crossover. Rheinita (7″ Version) from La Düsseldorf is an instrumental shiny electronic pop piece.
Musik Music Musique 1979 disc three closes with the barely recognisable lo-fi cover of The Beatles All You Need Is Love by Instant Automatons.
Musik Music Musique 1979 is a wonderful time capsule that showcases the futuristic experimentation of the electronic / post-punk tinged sound that grew out of punk before mutating into the heady electronic pop that dominated the first half of the 80s.
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TRACK LISTING DISC ONE The Buggles – Technopop M – Made In Munich The Korgis – Cold Tea Metal Voices – At The Banks Of The River Yello – I. T. Splash Dalek I – The Kiss Karel Fialka – Armband Japan – Life In Tokyo (Pt 1) Black Rod – Going To The Country Tubeway Army – Are Friends Electric? Dollar – Star Control (B- Side Mix) Quantum Jump – The Lone Ranger (1979 Remix) Fashiøn – Technofascist The Cars – Night Spots Devo – Strange Pursuit Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club – Video Killed The Radio Star Moebius- Mirror Of Infinity Tanya Hyde – Herr Wunderbar Final Program – Hanging Around Metrophase – New Age
DISC TWO Gary Numan – Cars Giorgio Moroder – E=MC² Gina X Performance – Nice Mover Blah Blah Blah – In The Army Gerry And The Holograms – Gerry And The Holograms (Alternate Drumbox Version) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Almost The Men – I Don’t Depend On You Telex – Rock Around The Clock They Must Be Russians – Nagasaki’s Children Silicon Teens – Memphis Tennessee Henry Badowski – Making Love With My Wife After The Fire – One Rule For You Cowboys International – Thrash Jude – Mirror Mirror Minny Pops – Dolphin’s Spurt Mi-Sex – Computer Games Passage – 16 Hours Zeus B. Held – Held It The Family Fodder – Sunday Girl #1 Secret Service – Oh Susie
DISC THREE The Human League – Blind Youth Fad Gadget – Back To Nature Landscape – Japan (12″ Version) Calvin Twilight – Harmony Cuddly Toys – Madman (Original 1979 Japanese Mix) R.L. Crutchfield’s Dark Day – Hands In The Dark Visage – Frequency 7 New Musik – Living By Numbers Suicide – Dream Baby Dream John Foxx – Young Love (1979 version) The Dodgems – Science Fiction (Baby You’re So) Genocide – Pre Set Future Hammer – Forever Tonight Toyah – Computer Thomas Leer and Robert Rental – Attack Decay Plain Characters – Man In The Railings Steve Hillage – Don’t Dither Do It (7″ Version) La Düsseldorf – Rheinita (7″ Version) Tim Blake and Jean Phillipe Rykiel – New Jerusalem (Extract) Instant Automatons – All You Need Is Love
The Singles is a new 2CD 34-track chronological round up of the A and B-sides issued by Scottish Punk / New Wave legends The Skids between 1978 and 1981 (though Cherry Red were unable to licence All The Young Dudes / Hymns From A Haunted Ballroom from the Working For The Yankee Dollar 2nd 7”).
Highlights from this set includes the singles Sweet Suburbia (No.70), The Saints Are Coming (No.48), Into The Valley (No.10), Masquerade (No.14), Charade (No.31), Working For The Yankee Dollar (No.20), Animation (No.56), Circus Games (No.32), Goodbye Civilian (No.52) and Woman In Winter (No.49).
The Saints Are Coming was covered in 2006 by U2 / Green Day as a benefit single for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The booklet contains in-depth notes on each track and was overseen by The Skids official website.
Mastering for this release was by James Bragg.
The first disc
Charles (from Feb 1978) opens the collection, with the single recording that was issued on the No Bad Records label. The other two tracks from the original single (Reasons and Test-Tube Babies) were not included on any Skids studio albums, and are possibly vinyl rips (due to some audio drop-outs).
Sweet Suburbia (September 1978) was my introduction to the band and both single tracks were not included on the original track listing of the bands debut album. Open Sound remains one of The Skids finest b-sides.
The Saints Are Coming for me is the start of the bands imperial phase, and contains one of Stuart Adamson’s most iconic guitar riffs, as the key track on the Wide Open EP. Night And Day is another standout b-side.
Into The Valley is probably the bands most well-known song, and a track I hear at every home game at The Valley, the home of my beloved Charlton Athletic. The b-side T.V. Stars (Live) is still performed by the current incarnation of the band at its gigs – with a slight updating of some of the lyrics!
Masquerade is my favourite and most played Skids song, that I still own on 7“ vinyl. The production from John Leckie and Bill Nelson makes the song burst out of the speakers with such power. The release also included a key Skids track in Out Of Town, plus Another Emotion and Aftermath Dub (a Masquerade remix).
Charade features the debut of Rusty Egan (Rich Kids / Visage) on drums, and is an intensely addictive song. Non-album b-side Grey Parade is a welcome addition, and hints at the sound that was to come with the bands final album a few years down the line. Wonderful synth lines make this one of the bands most memorable b-sides.
Disc two
Working For The Yankee Dollar opens the second disc, and what an opening. Originally another Bill Nelson production (which appears on one of the two mixes of the Days In Europa album), the single was remixed by Mick Glossop and was released in November 1979 (my favourite year for music).
Animation saw the band move into the 80s, and was a minor UK hit, though it deserved to do better. Adamson’s guitar is superb and adds real depth to one of Stuart and Richard’s finest co-writes. B-side Pros and Cons features catchy keyboard lines, and the single marked the end of bassist William Simpson and drummer Rusty Egans time in the band.
Circus Games (with one of Jobson’s finest vocal performances) was issued in edited form as a single and was backed by One Decree.
Goodbye Civilian from The Absolute Game was also issued as a single in edited form, with the final single from the album and the last to feature Adamson as a full-time band member being released in November 1989, the anthem that was Woman In Winter.
1981 saw the band stripped down to a duo of Jobson and bassist Russell Webb, aided and abetted with guests such as Billy Mackenzie / Alan Rankin (Associates), Alan Darby (Fashion) and Mike Oldfield. A selection of mixes of Fields and Iona, plus the accompanying b-sides including the final Stuart Adamson appearance for The Skids on Brave Man, round off the album.
Fields still holds up well as a great Skids single, with its rousing chorus.
The Skids – The Singles is an enjoyable compilation that covers a rich period in music history as punk / new wave switched to post-punk and then mutated into the vibrant, colourful pop of the 1980s
“Carry on, oh carry on The effort and the struggle” The Skids, Fields
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Charles Reasons Test-Tube Babies Sweet Suburbia Open Sound The Saints Are Coming Of One Skin Night And Day Contusion Into The Valley T.V. Stars (Live) Masquerade Out Of Town Another Emotion Aftermath Dub Charade Grey Parade
DISC TWO
Working For The Yankee Dollar Vanguard’s Crusade Animation Pros And Cons Circus Games One Decree Goodbye Civilian Monkey McGuire Meets Specky Potter Behind Lochore Institute Woman In Winter Working For The Yankee Dollar (Live) Fields (7’’ Version) Brave Man (7’’ Version) Fields (12’’ Version) Brave Man (12’’ Version) Iona (7’’ Version) Blood And Soil (7’’ Version) Iona (7’’ Version 2)
Parts Of The Process is a new 11CD Box Set that celebrates Kevin Godley and Lol Creme’s recordings between 1977 and 1988. The set includes all of the Godley & Creme studio albums released during this period, with an additional two discs containing single edits, alternative mixes/versions and non-album tracks.
Running to an impressive 105 tracks, the set features the albums Consequences (1977 – split over 3 discs), L (1978), Freeze Frame (1979), Ismism (1981), Birds Of Prey (1983), History Mix Vol.1 (1985) and Goodbye Blue Sky (1988), along with a disc of non-album tracks & 7” versions plus a disc containing extended versions.
Parts Of The Process also includes a 10,000 word essay by biographer Liam Newton, plus an intro from Kevin Godley.
The first three discs in the collection contain 1977’s Consequences album. The album came together after Godkey & Creme left 10cc, and featured their invention, the Gizmo, an effects device for the electric guitar and bass guitar. The album features a narrative, performed by English comedian / actor Peter Cook, and features often experimental music, some instrumental, some with vocals.
Consequences was built to be played as a whole piece, and whilst it is a challenging listen, you will either love it or loathe it. It contains the seeds of what was to come from the duo, and is a wonderful album to experience on headphones.
It was out of time and out of favour on release in 1977, as the full force of the musical revolution that was punk hit the world, but it deserves a re-evaluation and I personally think the album is built for now, with the emergence of Dolby Atmos as a viable new listening medium. Let’s hope someone has access to the original multi-track tapes and the phone number for Steven Wilson (who I know is a fan of the album), as this would make a wonderful Bluray disc in Dolby Atmos.
Whilst I have pointed out that it works best as a whole listening experience, there are a handful of stand-out tracks that I still return to regularly. The 10 minute plus The Flood is like an audio movie, propelled by stunningly treated vocals, and once you are through the flood sequence, the water adds the rhythm to a wonderful passage of music that sees the song to its watery end. Don’t listen to this track if you are desperate for the loo.
Five O’Clock In the Morning remains one of my favourite Godley & Creme songs. Sounds of the outside world sneak into the piano and massed choral voices gem of a song about the early hours before the new day is born.
“And when the one you’re holding Runs her fingers through your hair You’re on”
Lost Weekend still holds up particularly well, and features a stunning vocal performance from Sarah Vaughan. It’s Cool, Cool, Cool In The Morning takes me back to the vocal arrangements of early 10cc.
Sailor is one of the more laid-back, traditional arrangements on the album. Phased guitar, and aching vocals, underpinned by waves of backing vocals make this a timeless sea-shanty.
Disc four in this collection provides us with the duo’s second studio album, L from 1978. A much tighter and more focused affair than the triple disc Consequences, but it is still a wildly experimental collection. Whilst L was produced by Kevin Godley & Lol Creme, with Kevin and Lol providing the majority of the performances, the duo did have some help with engineering by Chris Gray & Nigel Gray, plus musical guests Andy Mackay (Roxy Music) and Jonathan Handelsman (saxophone) along with a spoken appearance from DJ / broadcaster Paul Gambaccini.
The Sporting Life has a feel of the 50s with the vocal arrangements, and some warm Rhodes piano, as discordant bass and acoustic piano creeps into the rapidly mutating arrangement – keeping the edgy feel to the song as it turns into an almost post-punk end section.
Sandwiches of You has such an interesting soundscape – a nagging beat and fuzzy guitars, undercut by frantic marimbas and kick drum to keep you perpetually surprised. Art School Canteen dials back the weirdness and features one of the duos finest lyrical journeys to date, that sits perfectly with the classic mid-70s feel of the track.
“Does getting into Zappa Mean getting out of Zen Sex has reared its ugly head at last But it didn’t look ugly then”
I feel that musically, with L, Godley & Creme were out of time again. This album feels like it was from the early to mid-80s, so was in fact ahead of its time. Punchbag is a case in point, it would not have sounded out of place a couple of years later. Shifting from messed up piano led edgy pop, to an new wave infused conclusion. As confusing as that sounds written down, the arrangement works beautifully. L closes with a scathing takedown of the music industry with Hit Factory / Business Is Business.
“Keep it simple Keep it neat Aim your hook At the man in the street”
The song sweeps in and out of genres, with an almost dream-like soundtrack, whilst the duo fire sharpened lyrical arrows at those who churn out formulaic nonsense from their (s)hit factories.
“Only the numb survive…”
1979’s Freeze Frame is my favourite Godley & Creme album. It features the duo at their experimental peak, taking chances that many others at this time would have been afraid to take. It is a very brave album. Freeze Frame saw a continuation of their relationship with Nigel Gray, as it was recorded at his Surrey Sound Studios in Leatherhead.
Straight out of the blocks, with An Englishman In New York, their intentions were clear. Godley & Crème deliver intelligent pop created with cutting edge technology, in the pre-Sampler era.
“Strange apparatus, even stranger theme”
The doubled lyric lines are slightly out of time with the main lead vocal, using the Eventide Harmoniser, an early multi-effects processor, used by David Bowie and Frank Zappa that “Fucks with the Fabric of Time”. Its an effective treatment that adds value to the song. Random Brainwave alternates between the hazy verse and a straight up disco section that appears just the once, apropos of nothing.
I Pity Inanimate Objects is an absolute delight. Also using the Harmoniser, the lyrics have never been more prescient. The lead lines screech in and out of the verses, and for a track dealing with the lifeless, the song hits hard.
“The frustrations of being inanimate Maybe its better that way The fewer the moving parts The less there is to go wrong I wonder about these things”
The title track should have been released as a single, though I suppose the Manchester Utd line put paid to that as a possibility. Clues is so beautifully produced. The chorused guitar lines mixed with the lead lines and the (ahead of its time) tribal drums make this one of the strongest songs on the album.
Mugshots is so catchy it melts my brain. Blending classic Brill Building songwriting techniques on top of quirky production experiments, leading to a wonderful song that feels the closest to classic 10cc that Godley & Creme dared venture.
Freeze Frame closes with the delicious Get Well Soon, an ode to ill-health and the late night soundtrack that can accompany insomnia.
“I’ve never liked the taste of Lucozade Another sip of hospital champagne Charge your glasses Radio Luxembourg”
It must have been very tempting to play this “straight”, but thankfully they didn’t, and Godley & Creme’s imagination runs riot, both lyrically and musically, on Get Well Soon, one of the highlights in their impressive catalogue.
Paul McCartney adds backing vocals to Get Well Soon, whilst other guests on the album include Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera on guitar on 4 tracks and Rico Rodriguez (ska and reggae musician) on trumpet and tuba on An Englishman in New York.
Ismism was released in October 1981, and was titled Snack Attack in the USA. Ismism peaked at No. 29 on the UK Albums Chart and was Godley & Creme’s best-selling studio album. Two of the album’s three singles were top 10 hits in the UK – Under Your Thumb hit no3 in the singles charts & Wedding Bells peaked at no7.
Ismism was very much a duo affair, with the only guest performer being Bimbo Acock on saxophone. To me, Ismism was perfectly in tune with the times. Album opener Snack Attack sums up the sound of the era – funky, with sharp guitars, twisted percussion and a trebly funk bassline. Under Your Thumb is one of Godley & Creme’s best singles. The story of a train journey, a mysterious haunting and hints of domestic abuse has a minimal musical backing, and a quite straight-forward (for Godley & Creme!) arrangement making this a classic 80s song. Although sleigh bells adorn the end section, the subject matter meant that this was never going to be considered as a Christmas staple.
The pitch-shifting vocals of The Problem continue G & C’s playful experimentation, continuing the tune into the next track, Ready For Ralph. The room was eventually ready for Ralph. And Roy, and Rose and Rob.
Wedding Bells no doubt became a staple of 80s wedding parties, hopefully the bride & groom didn’t pay attention to the lyrics. Sale Of The Century, like the preceding track, drew from the past, laying on the nostalgia heavy and thick.
The closing track The Party builds on the Snack Attack bassline (what a bassline!) and is a story of a party in full swing and is build around the snatches of disjointed conversations heard as the high-class and decadent event progresses. By the end of the track, Godley & Creme are throwing Tom Tom Club and Heaven 17 shades in every direction with the funky musical backing.
1983’s Birds Of Prey was the least successful Godley & Creme album, which was surprising after the success of Ismism. I think the absence of hit singles from the album was the main contributing factor. I was a huge fan, buying all albums up to Ismism but I wasn’t aware of the last few Godley & Creme albums until long after their release. Had I known about Birds Of Prey, I would have bought it at the time.
My Body The Car is a mostly acapella performance and Worm and the Rattlesnake introduces the styling for the rest of the album, with a virtually fully electronic album. Worm and the Rattlesnake shows that Godley & Creme’s knack for delivering addictive songs with clever lyrics was still very much intact at this point, while they continued to draw inspiration from the past (the vocal styling of Viva Las Vegas in this case).
Samson is a reggae-infused single, and is extremely catchy, so I am surprised that it didn’t get more airplay on release. Madame Guillotine wears its influences on its sleeve, with a seemingly Ball of Confusion inspired bassline during the verse and top and tailing the track with an earworm of a chorus. Godley & Creme were always good at drawing on music from the 50s / 60s and adding their own, unique sonic flavouring to give the recipe a unique taste.
I wonder whether Rupert Hine’s Waving Not Drowning from the previous year was an influence on Birds Of Prey as there do seem to be some similarities in some of the percussion and synth treatments.
Woodwork has a rare appearance of guitars (heavily processed in this case) but the electronics are pushed very much to the foreground. Out In The Cold closes the album. Vocoder heavy lead vocals sit atop an icy backing, that is temporarily lifted by saxophones. I get real The Shining vibes from this song.
“And now you’re gone I’m like a broken piano That no one wants to play”
1985 saw the release of History Mix Vol.1 (there was no Vol.2). History Mix Vol.1 was a remix of songs featuring the music of Godley & Creme as well as dipping into 10cc and Hotlegs material. Interviewed in 1985, Lol Creme said that the album contained demos and master recordings thrown into the Fairlight sampler, with J. J. Jeczalik (Art of Noise) and Trevor Horn assisting with production work in the album.
Wet Rubber Soup is very Art of Noise influenced, with snatches of Rubber Bullets, Life Is a Minestrone, I’m Not in Love and snippets from the Consequences album. It must be said that History Mix Vol.1 is very much of its time, but if you love your 80s mash-ups, this may appeal to you.
Cry is by far my favourite from History Mix Vol.1. Cry was a top 20 hit in the UK and the duos only chart hit in the USA. Produced by Godley, Creme and Trevor Horn, this six minute plus version still sounds amazing. The raw simplicity of the lyrics (a rarity for Godley & Creme) makes this song work so well.
Expanding The Business is another Fairlight mashup, with an effect like tuning in and out of radio stations on an old FM radio, featuring Business Is Business, How Dare You, Neanderthal Man, This Sporting Life, One Night in Paris, The Dean and I, Sand in My Face and Umbopo.
As the 80s headed to an end, it seemed that the quality of music in the last year or two of the decade sometimes dropped, as Godley & Creme released Goodbye Blue Sky, their seventh and final studio album.
The quirk on 1988’s Goodbye Blue Sky is the extensive use of harmonicas, including performances from Nine Below Zero’s Mark Feltham and a shift away from the electronic sounds offered up on Birds of Prey. The album also features vocals from Jimmy Chambers, George Chandler and Jimmy Helms (Paul Young / Londonbeat).
Goodbye Blue Sky is an outlier in the Godley & Creme catalogue. The sounds and arrangements are more traditional than on previous albums, with virtually no sign of the experimentation (lyrically or musically) that was displayed in abundance on previous releases, which really dulls the quality of the release for me.
My personal highlights from the album includes the single 10,000 Angels, one of the few pacier tracks on the album, and Sweet Memory, a song that revisits the feel of Wedding Bells. Overall, I’m sad that Godley & Creme’s catalogue ended with their weakest release.
Disc 10 of the set features non-album tracks & 7” versions, and serves up a reminder of some of Godley & Creme’s highlights. Wide Boy is a joyful piece of new wave / powerpop, that was released as a single with Submarine in 1980. Submarine is a dub influenced instrumental, with a superb dragging bassline and Hank Marvin-like guitar. A perfect example of how Godley & Creme could turn their gaze towards virtually any style of music and make it their own.
Power Behind The Throne (the b-side to Under Your Thumb) recycles the music from Submarine, with vocals added. Babies (the b-side to Wedding Bells) is a disturbing piece of twisted synth-pop.
Welcome To Breakfast Television (the b-side to Save A Mountain For Me) is a withering look at the new phenomenon on 80s breakfast tv, TV-am and its ilk.
“We’ll send you on your way to work In a happy frame of mind Seein’ all of breakfast telly Between half past eight and nine”
There are two versions of the non-album single Golden Boy, a 7″ edit from 1984 and the 1985 remix. The b-side Light Me Up is a welcome addition, and has some interesting twists and turns. Love Bombs (the Cry b-side) is a heavily percussive studio experiment, with vocal samples and sparse lyrics.
Up next are some Goodbye Blue Sky era b-sides, that follow the same template as the album, so not really offering anything different.
An interesting 7″ edit of Sandwiches Of You brings us back to the Godley & Creme that I love. Silent Running (the b-side of An Englishman In New York) in other hands would be a standard blues song, but at this point, Godley & Creme were able to put a fresh slant on whatever genre they touched.
Cry [Single Edit] is the most familiar take on this wonderful slice of perfectly baked pop. The final two tracks on this disc are ones I skip – a dated (very much of its time) acid house sprayed Snack Attack [1987 7” Remix] and the rather ordinary A Little Piece Of Heaven [7” Single Version], which is somewhat redeemed by the mighty Mark Feltham’s playing on the end section of the song.
The final disc contains a series of extended versions. Snack Attack [Extended Version] is actually shorter than the album version, work that one out! A slightly less frantic take, the lyrics never fail to raise a smile.
“Cold turkey’s what I’m going through Cold turkey’s what I need But they hung a sign on my appetite Saying “Danger Do Not Feed” I can’t eat no more I got to use a straw”
Samson [Dance Mix] places the drums in a more prominent position, and adds elements of dub to the mix. Golden Boy [Long Version 1984] is my favourite version of the song, with a lovely distortion on the main keyboard line and a Righteous Brothers production feel to the vocals in the verse.
Jack Attack Dub is very much of its time, and has sadly dated. I’d rather not jack, if you don’t mind…
Cry [Extended Remix] is a welcome inclusion here, and thankfully not a “jack” remix! The final two tracks are ones that I find myself skipping – Snack Attack [1987 Extended Remix], yep, its a damned “jack” remix, along with A Little Piece Of Heaven [Extended Mix], a slightly remixed take on the song from Godley & Creme’s final album.
So in summary, this is the most comprehensive, best sounding collection of Godley & Creme’s music by far. Its only let down a little by a few out-dated remixes and their sadly quite ordinary final album, but that’s just my personal taste. You might disagree.
The music up until 1986 is pretty much flawless, and deserves to be in everyone’s musical library.
Parts Of The Process – The Complete Godley & Creme was mastered by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR, and the music has never sounded so good.
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I was having a sort out of old paperwork recently and stumbled across some stuff I had kept from the late 1970’s. Along with flyers, cassette tapes and loads of other material gathering dust, I found a list of the gigs I attended from April 1979 to February 1983. I was scratching my head as to why the list ended in 1983, and then I realised why I stopped cataloguing my trips to concerts. I was a year into my student psychiatric nurse training in 1983, and clearly around this time I discovered women!
Looking at the list, it contained many bands who probably never made it past the support slots at my local venue, The Tramshed in Woolwich, South-East London. So this will probably be the only mention online for some of these bands. If you have memories of your own early gigs, or of gigs you attended for artists mentioned in this post, please add them to the comments.
My list starts in April 1979. It does not count my actual first gigs, that I went to with my parents – such as Val Doonican and other family forays into the cultural wasteland that is light entertainment, but my list started with the gigs I chose to attend.
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1979
APRIL 1979
So first off – what a debut, with Kate Bush at The London Palladium. Like a lot of these early gigs, I went to this concert on my own. I knew a lot of the songs, but didn’t actually own any Kate Bush albums at this point, as I was still at school and was living off the fumes of my pocket money and Saturday job. I could barely afford to pay for concert tickets, and remember, this was all pre-internet, so if you wanted tickets, you would have to queue outside venues when the tickets went on sale, in the cold, early hours.
This was the perfect way to start my history of live performances – with a mixture of dance, theatre, complex choreography and story-telling. There is no video footage (that I am aware of) from the tour, so I am left with my memories of a breath-taking show. This is the setlist from the day I “think” I went to the show (there were 5 dates at the London Palladium, and sadly, I cannot find my original ticket to confirm). I remember travelling from my parents house in Woolwich to the venue, probably by bus to save on costs, and eagerly discussing my experience the next day back in school.
Luckily I still have the ticket for my second gig, which was Thin Lizzy (supported by the Belfast band XDreamists) at the Hammersmith Odeon on Sunday 22 April 1979. This is the setlist. The tour was promoting the Black Rose album, with the line-up of Philip Lynott, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Gary Moore.
Looking online it says that the support for the tour was The Vipers but my notes from the time say XDreamists, so who knows? This will not be the first time my handwritten notes are contradicted.
The Lizzy gig was loud and entertaining. It included one of my favourite Thin Lizzy songs, Waiting for an Alibi, and live staples such as The Rocker, Don’t Believe a Word, Jailbreak, The Boys Are Back in Town and Bob Seger’s Rosalie. I had great seats for this show, and for once I wasn’t alone, going with (I think) my friends Gary and Ian. I remember us trying to piece together the set-list afterwards and disagreeing on some of the songs performed. We did not have setlistFM to help us in those days.
MAY 1979
I don’t remember much about Status Quo at Wembley Arena, in their If You Can’t Stand the Heat tour. I remember it was loud and people were standing on their seats, and there was a sea of denim all around us.
Looking at the setlists for the time, Quo played classics such as Caroline, Roll Over Lay Down, Backwater, Rockin’ All Over the World and Dirty Water.
JUNE 1979
The first smaller gig I attended was London Zoo (supported by Traveller) at the Woolwich Tramshed, my local venue. I remember really enjoying this gig and listening out for them for a couple of years. I heard a Radio 1 session, I think in 1980, with the songs Receiving End (I still have the 7″ single) and Who’s Driving This Car? but I was unaware of what happened to the band for many years. I wish more music had been released, as the band had a real pop sensibility.
London Zoo included Robert Sandall and David Sinclair, and they formed out of the ashes of a previous band, Blunt Instrument. Robert Sandall remained in the music industry and was a well-known music journalist and radio presenter, and sadly died aged 54 of prostate cancer.
I emailed Robert Sandall in the early 2000’s, telling him how much I enjoyed the bands music back in 1979, and I offered to build a small web-presence for the band, maybe sharing a few unreleased songs, as I could find so little information online about London Zoo. Robert replied that he had passed on my crazy idea to the former bandmate that he was still in touch with, but then the communication stopped as I presume his health issues understandably became his priority.
David Sinclair joined TV Smith’s Explorers and wrote for The Times, and currently performs and records as the David Sinclair Four.
Jackie Lynton’s H.D. Band (supported by Japanese Toy / Rebel) was next in my gig calendar at the Woolwich Tramshed (my notes say June or July 1979).
AUGUST 1979
The Who, with special guests Nils Lofgren, AC/DC and The Stranglers played at Wembley Stadium (then called The Empire Stadium) on 18th August 1979. The Stranglers were my favourite band, and this was the first time I was able to see them live (my parents made sure I didn’t see them in 1977 or 1978). I was under a parental banning order with regards to the Meninblack and all their offshoots.
I remember seeing the gig mentioned on Nicky Horne’s slot on a weekly TV music news show he presented, I think on ITV. I liked The Who as well so this was an exciting gig to attend, and it was also my first Stadium show. I was seated on the side of the stadium, quite high up and I think the “seating” was uncomfortable concrete benches, miles away from the more corporate Wembley Stadium experience of today.
Nils Lofgren opened the evening, and I knew none of his material at the time, but he kept us entertained by occasionally jumping on a trampoline whilst playing guitar. AC/DC were next. This was the original Bon Scott line-up, and the 9 song set included Highway to Hell, Whole Lotta Rosie and If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It). The set was marred a little by PA problems (which did not stop the band performing) but it was a good, loud rock set.
The Stranglers setlist shows that the band avoided the hits for this guest spot, and showcased their forthcoming album The Raven. Opening with the live debut of Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus), the set included some of their more acidic, progressive songs such as Genetix and Down in the Sewer. The then recently released single Duchess went down well and The Stranglers closed their thirteen song set with Toiler on the Sea accompanied by an impressive fireworks display, that revealed The Raven logo.
A similar fireworks display (filmed at an earlier gig, I think at the Loch Lomond Festival) was featured on Tomorrow’s World.
My mind was blown by my first Stranglers live experience, and it wouldn’t take me long to see them again, in fact it was my next gig!
The Who were on good form at this gig. Mixing songs from the previous years Who Are You album (the final Who album to feature drummer Keith Moon, and my favourite from the band) with classics such as the timeless Baba O’Riley, Behind Blue Eyes, My Generation and Won’t Get Fooled Again.
The Who’s audience was mostly rockers at this gig, with their following soon to mutate somewhat with the release of Quadrophenia the same week as this gig, and the burgeoning UK Mod revival. Getting home from Wembley to South-East London was hair-raising, as the Tube station was shut and we had to jump the barriers due to over-crowding.
NOVEMBER 1979
My first full headline gig from The Stranglers was on 1 November at The Rainbow, with the band supported by Curves. Here is the setlist.
I recall the Hugh Cornwell & Robert Williams White Room single being played on the PA pre-gig, a rare chance to hear the recently released single, as it received so little airplay.
The Stranglers set leaned heavily into songs from their current album The Raven, along with gems such as 1978’s brutal 5 Minutes single. As I mentioned earlier, I never got to see the band in 1977 or 1978, so 1979 to 1981 gave me some of my most memorable gigs from the band.
DECEMBER 1979
My final gig of 1979 was another historic one, with The Police and their special guests Squeeze at Lewisham Odeon on 22 December 1979. It was a Capital Radio Help A London Child gig, with the bands introduced by Capital Radio’s Roger Scott, if my memory services me correctly.
Squeeze were on first and this line-up included Jools Holland, who left the band the following August. A rare local gig during their first taste of success, the band played songs from their debut album and Cool for Cats. I have seen the band four more times since, and they now have such a vast catalogue to draw from, that their shows are even more enjoyable now.
Looking for setlists online, some people mentioned Joe Jackson appeared at the end of the Police set. I was far back in the balcony, so must have missed this, as I have no recollection of him appearing. Also, apparently Debbie Harry was in the audience. I can confirm that she wasn’t sitting in the balcony with me and my friends.
This was the first of two Police gigs I attended, as I also saw them at Wembley Arena after the release of Synchronicity. The 1979 gig was a few months after the release of their second album, Reggatta de Blanc, and featured songs from their first two albums. They may also have played their debut single Fall Out, but sadly no setlists seem to be online to confirm this.
1980
April 3 1980
The Stranglers and Friends, supported by The Monochrome Set, Hazel O’Connor, Fashion and Blood Donor was my next live gig (setlist). This was one of two shows from The Stranglers celebrating The Rainbow Theatres 50th anniversary. Unfortunately, Hugh Cornwell was unavailable due to a spell in Pentonville following a drugs possession conviction, so he was “replaced” by a cast of musicians from the era, including:
Robert Fripp
John Ellis
Toyah Willcox
Peter Hammill
Hazel O’Connor
Robert Smith
Matthieu Hartley
Phil Daniels
Basil Gabbidon
Wilko Johnson
Nicky Tesco
Nik Turner
Richard Jobson
John Turnbull
Davey Payne
Ian Dury
Larry Wallis
Jake Burns
Steve Hillage
The performances were ramshackle at times but it was an enjoyable gig, with artists from across musical genres chipping in to support Hugh and the band.
Now this is where my notes let me down. I thought I went to the first gig on the 3rd as I still have the ticket for this date, and my notes say April 3rd with Blood Donor, Fashion and Hazel O’Connor as support. By the way, this was the Luke Sky led, post-punk line-up of Fashion, not the De Harriss / Fabrique version of the band that followed in late 1981 / early 1982.
I distinctly remember Do the European being performed on the night (a JJ Burnel solo song) and that appears to have been performed only on the second show on the 4th. And its an old memory, from pre-internet, so very little information exists online, and details of the support acts also varies across different posts about the gig. Which means I likely went to the 2nd night on the 4th and so I got to see one of the last Joy Division gigs (which I have a vague memory of).
So did I go to both gigs or are my notes and my ticket wrong? I lost my tour programme and replaced it via eBay many years later, so it is possible the ticket came with the programme, but my notes? It is also possible that I could have enjoyed the first night and returned for the second gig, which I don’t think was sold out. I will never know and no-one else in the world will care…
June 1980
I caught my first Nine Below Zero gig, with the band supported by Reptiles, at The Tramshed, Woolwich, on June 1st. This was a couple of weeks before the band recorded their classic debut album, Live at the Marquee, and was shortly before the release of their single Homework. I was aware of the band by reading about them in the music press, and I remember it was a packed and lively gig. The first of many I attended by the band, and I have also seen the reformed line-up many times in recent years.
The rest of the year
I saw three more Nine Below Zero gigs in 1980. Firstly a return to The Tramshed on 7 August 1980. I must have been knackered that day, as I did not make a note of the support band. Such poor behaviour. My excuse was that I had arrived back in the UK that afternoon after an overnight train journey from a school trip to Engelberg, Switzerland, and I headed straight to the gig on my return. To paraphrase Motörhead, no sleep ‘til Woolwich!
I also saw the band (supported by the Pick-Ups) at The Tramshed for the final time on October 2nd and at a larger venue, Thames Polytechnic (supported by The Rookies) at an un-recorded date later in October 1980.
Next up was a gig I have no memories of, The Vibrators supported by the Gerry Scales Band in September 1980 at The Tramshed. I also saw the Nicky Moore Band supported by The Fool, sometime in the summer of 1980, again, no memories of this, its just in my notes, not in my brain. The Tramshed was a short bus ride or 45 minute walk from where I lived, so I would often pop in to see bands I did not know.
I saw out the year with further gigs at The Tramshed in Woolwich. I saw Idiot Dancers supported by the very 70s named Cheap Perfume in June or July, Deaf-Aids supported by Pick-Ups and Lightning Raiders (November 1980) and finally Pick-Ups supported by Idiot Dancers and Always Calling on December 28th.
1981
1980 through to 1981 saw a gradual shift away from new wave being my main musical diet, with a transition to post-punk and new pop creeping into my musical palette, and this is referenced in the gigs I was attending from now on.
Clearly the Pick-Ups were a popular band with whoever booked gigs at Woolwich’s Tramshed venue, as 15 February saw me back at the venue to see Pick-Ups with A Bigger Splash and Strictly Business.
On 9 February 1981 I saw Nine Below Zero for the final time before they split, supporting The Who at Lewisham Odeon, with NBZ promoting their Don’t Point Your Finger album.
The Who setlist is here, and this was also my final time seeing The Who live. My main memory of The Who gig is that Daltrey and Townshend seemed to be a little tetchy on stage.
February to May
This was a busy period for gigs, clearly I was spending all of my Saturday job money on live music. My first of four Stranglers gigs this year was up next, with the band supported by Modern Eon at the Hammersmith Odeon on 15 February. The Stranglers setlist is here, with a healthy number of songs from The Gospel According to the Meninblack and The Raven albums.
Modern Eon were my favourite Stranglers support act. For at least one of the gigs, their drummer (Cliff Hewitt) had an arm injury and so the drums were on tape, instead of performed live.
I recommend their debut album, Fiction tales, its as good as many releases from the era by bands such as Teardrop Explodes, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Comsat Angels, early Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Wah! Heat. It has a consistent sound, and contains one of my favourite songs of the early 80s, Child’s Play.
On 21 Feb 1981, myself and two friends (Andy and Laurie) decided to make a last minute trip to The Rainbow to see Toyah, supported by Wasted Youth and Huang Chung at The Rainbow. This was around the time of the band’s first major success with It’s A Mystery from the Four from Toyah EP, although we were already fans of the Sheep Farming in Barnetand The Blue Meaning albums. Huang Chung were a post-punk band who soon became Wang Chung and had major hits later in the 80s.
My second The Stranglers gig from 1981 was at The Rainbow on 7 March (setlist here), with support from Dirty Strangers and Modern Eon (my final time seeing the band, who split at the end of this year).
On 19 March I was back at The Tramshed for a further run of gigs, starting with Reluctant Stereotypes, supported by Pick-Ups (them again!) and Tranzista. Reluctant Stereotypes were a Coventry band who delivered arty new wave / ska influenced pop, with vocals from Paul King who later found success in the mid 80s with the band King before moving into presenting / producing on MTV / VH1.
On 7 April I saw Strictly Business, The Business and Everest The Hard Way at The Tramshed. I remember enjoying Everest The Hard Way, and listening to their only single on Spotify, I can see why I liked them, with Tightrope‘s early Simple Minds influenced bass-line.
April 3 saw me going to see Reluctant Stereotypes again, this time supported by Bumble & The Beez. Bumble & The Beez were as enjoyable as the headliners. I went on to buy Bumble & The Beez’s 1982 single The Room Above. The band featured Mykaell Riley, a founding member of Steel Pulse, who went on to form the influential Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra in the late 80s.
On April 28 I saw Carpettes, OK Jive and Airstrip One at The Tramshed. Airstrip One released the single Social Fools in 1982, and it was one of my favourite singles from that year, the 12″ still sounds amazing.
On May 14th I saw Tenpole Tudor, supported by The Business and Bad Actors at The Tramshed. Swords of a Thousand Men had reached the UK top 10 a few weeks before, so this was a packed gig, with the band dressed in full medieval outfits. As you do.
July to December
I saw Siouxsie & The Banshees supported by John Cooper Clarke at the Woolwich Odeon on 23 July. This gig was part of the JuJu tour, and the set-list is here.
I am so glad that I got to see my favourite Banshees line-up, that included the (sadly missed) John McGeoch on guitar and the mighty Budgie on drums and percussion, joining mainstays Steven Severin and the iconic Siouxsie Sioux.
Spellbound and Arabian Knights remain two of my favourite singles by the band, with album track Into The Light an ice-cold post-punk classic.
My final two gigs of 1981 were The Stranglers (supported by French band Taxi-Girl) at the Hammersmith Palais on 17 November (set-list), with the London City Ballet dancing to the opening Waltzinblack and at The Rainbow on 4 December (supported by Taxi Girl and Mr Spratt’s 20th Century Popular Motets) – the La Folie heavy set-list is here.
1982
1982 started as 1981 finished, with The Stranglers, this time at Hammersmith Odeon on 8 Feb (set-list), with support from Boys in Darkness and Mr Spratt’s 20th Century Popular Motets.
Gigs for the next few years were harder to get to, as I had started working in the NHS as a trainee psychiatric nurse, living on-site and training away from major public transport links in a Kent hospital. Shift work definitely got in the way of getting to London.
1 May saw myself and a couple of friends heading to the Hammersmith Odeon to catch The Cure (set-list) plus support from Irish band Zerra 1, a few days before the release of Pornography. This meant that we did not know a good chunk of the material, and so the concert was hard work, and it was brutally loud and so we did not stay for the encore. If I could travel back in time, I would stay to the very end (with ear-plugs in place) and I would enjoy the gig more.
May 24th saw a much lighter gig, Judie Tzuke supported by Bloomsbury Set at Hammersmith Odeon. I remember the concert opened with Heaven Can Wait, the opening track from her current album, my personal favourite from Judie Tzuke, Shoot the Moon.
On 27th July I saw Bumble & The Beez again, this time supported by Escorts. I also saw Escorts again on 21 October at The Tramshed, supporting Frankie & The Flames.
The remainder of my 1982 gigs were dedicated to Dennis Greave’s post Nine Below Zero band, The Truth. The first was at The Tramshed on 23 September, with Escorts (them again!), followed by gigs at Hammersmith Palais on 7 November (as support to George Thorogood & the Destroyers), 11 November back at The Tramshed and then ending the year at The Marquee on 20 November.
1983
My notes are sparse for this year, so unfortunately lots of gigs are missing. This is what I do have…
On 4 Feb I saw The Truth at The Marquee.
On 15 February I saw The Stranglers at Hammersmith Odeon, with the band promoting their recently released Feline album. The set-list is here. I got on the train to meet friends at Charing Cross for the second night at Hammersmith Odeon on the 16 Feb, but my friends never arrived, so I thought I had been abandoned. Woe is me.
On ringing one of my pals to find out what was happening, they told me it was on the (radio) news that the show had been cancelled due to some fans ripping up seats in the front row on the previous night. Stranglers fans in seat horror / shock! This was pre-internet, so news travelled slowly and I was forced to trudge home, gig less and alone. Woe is me once again.
My last listed gig is for The Truth + Escorts at the Tramshed on 24 Feb, my final time seeing the band.
I can add one more to the list, as I still have the concert programme. I saw The Police at Wembley Arena in late December 1983, towards the end of their Synchronicity tour. I don’t have the ticket anymore, so I cannot tell exactly which show I attended.
This was The Police at the height of their initial success, and it was a stadium rock show, a million miles away from when I saw them in 1979 at the much smaller and more intimate surroundings of Lewisham Odeon. Their final show (before their 2007–2008 reunion tour) took place in March of 1984, so I saw one of their final original UK shows.
I hope you enjoyed reading my early gig memories. My gigs didn’t stop in 1983, I’ve been to (and still continue to attend) many shows each year, its just that my list stopped here.
Not having physical tickets has also made it more difficult to catalogue gigs I have attended. Searching through thousands of emails to find e-tickets is not the same as looking at printed tickets, so a follow-up to this post (stop cheering) is unlikely.
If you want to add your own memories of early gigs, or have information about some of the more obscure bands I have mentioned, please add your thoughts in the comments section of this article. Thanks for reading…
Cherry Red have released Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club – The Definitive Anthology 1977-1981, a 3-CD selection. The set stretches to 69 tracks from the period 1977 to 1981 and includes 41 previously unreleased tracks taken from the bands unreleased second album plus two live concerts, along with an expanded version of the English Garden album including the original versions of the Ivor Novello Award-nominated Video Killed The Radio Star and Clean Clean, both of which Bruce Woolley co-wrote with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes and went on to become hit singles for The Buggles.
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The collection is packaged in a deluxe clamshell box with a fully illustrated 28-page booklet containing rare and previously unseen images and a brand new annotation featuring quotes from band members Bruce Woolley, Dave Birch and Thomas Dolby. The sleeve-notes are amongst the best I have seen on recent anthology releases – honest, informative and self-deprecating.
Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club were founded in 1979 with Bruce Woolley on vocals, Dave Birch on guitar, Thomas Dolby on keyboards, Matthew Seligman on bass and Rod Johnson on drums. They released their debut album English Garden in 1979 and supported its release by touring in England, USA and Canada. Unfortunately, they disbanded after two years largely spent on the road following on from CBS Records’ refusal to release their second album.
I have the original English Garden album on vinyl, but this 3 CD set offers a fuller glimpse into the bands intriguing story. Bruce Woolley will always have a special place in music history due to his contribution to Video Killed The Radio Star, but there is so much more to his story. Along with the obvious Buggles (Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes) links there is plenty for the Thomas Dolby fan to savour as well – with Thomas appearing as band member on many of the tracks, as well as contributing to some of the song writing plus the appearance of Matthew Seligman, who went on to become a key part of Dolby’s band for many years, and who backed (with Thomas) David Bowie at his legendary Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985. Matthew also contributed bass on the late period Bowie classic Absolute Beginners. Sadly Matthew died in 2020.
The first disc – English Garden expanded
Disc one is an expanded version of the English Garden album. The album is a perfect example of late 70s new wave / pop. Drawing on influences from the highly lyrical pop of Deaf School, the angular new wave artiness of Bill Nelson’s Red Noise and the occasional tip of the musical hat to David Bowie, there is a real pop sensibility to the album. The title track is a pacey, energetic opener before the first appearance on this collection of Video Killed The Radio Star. I’m obviously (who isn’t?) very familiar with the timeless Buggles version, but Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club’s take has all of the signature lines in-situ and a beefier, less synth led arrangement. It works very well and should have got more attention at the time.
Johnny is a Trevor Horn co-written song, with the “Johnny” refrain seemingly sneaking into The Buggles Johnny on the Monorail later that year. You Got Class powers along at pace, with some fine Seligman bass runs.
WW9 is a short (under one minute) Bruce Woolley/Thomas Dolby written instrumental, that hints at the future sound Mr Dolby would produce for The Flat Earth. Clean Clean will be known to many because of the Buggles version from The Age of Plastic. This edgier new wave version works particularly well, especially with the addition of Bowie V-2 Schneider referencing drums in the outro.
Get Away William was written by Bruce Woolley, guitarist Dave Birch and Thomas Dolby, and is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It has that amazing 1979 sound, where new wave aesthetics are mixing with pure pop.
Goodbye To Yesterday adds Magazine to the influence list, with its opening rhythm heavily indebted to The Light Pours Out Of Me, as the song mutates into a jazzier, Rhodes driven pop piece. Goodbye To Yesterday (reprise) is a twisted take on the preceding song.
The album proper ends with You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown), and it’s killer of a chorus.
13 extra tracks complete disc one. Highlights include US versions of Clean Clean, Video Killed the Radio Star and Goodbye To Yesterday (shorn of its Magazine influence and sounding quite Buggles like).
You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) (B-Side) features Geoff Downes on keys and Trevor Horn on bass.
Needletime was written by Bruce Woolley, Trevor Horn and Rod Thompson, and has hints of XTC meets 10cc and a bit of City Boy slipped in for good measure. Basically lots of band’s with C in their names.
The final track is Sugar Daddy (8 Track Demo), a song Bruce Woolley recorded a few times, but subsequent recordings apparently never bettered this 8 track demo. This feels like a good ending to the revisited album, as the new wave style is washed away.
Disc two – the unreleased second album and later material
Disc two is Polaroid – Snapshots Of Sound, material that would have made the second album alongside other unreleased material. I Set Fire To You was rescued from the original 24-track, 2” analogue tapes, so unlike a lot of extra material that finds its way onto expanded album releases, these studio tracks are high quality recordings.
Ghost Train was co-written with Thomas Dolby, and is my favourite track on disc two. Featuring the return of Matthew Seligman on bass and produced by the mighty Mike Howlett, for Dolby fans, this song will be like finding gold in them there hills. Its a delightful song.
Killer On The Dancefloor (Olympic Studios) features Dave Birch on guitar, Nigel Ross-Scott on bass, Nigel Glockler on drums, and Simon House (who appeared on David Bowie’s Stage & Lodger albums) on keyboards. Simon also appears on the later track Morning Shadows, another highlight of the later period Camera Club.
Only Babies Can Fly has a gentle but highly addictive arrangement and is one of the last Camera club recordings, featuring a final appearance from Thomas Dolby on keyboards. Blue Blue (Victoria) is another Mike Howlett production. House Of Wax is a surprisingly never before released song. This track would have been perfect as a single in 1979 or 1980.
The final song is Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love), of which I know nothing of its origins, as its not mentioned in the PDF of the sleeve-notes provided with the digital review copy, so maybe a last-minute addition? Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love) is a bittersweet piece, reminding me a little of The Korgis, mixed with the poppier side of The Teardrop Explodes. Luscious guitar and warm harmonies hint at a further switch away from the earlier band sound. A fine farewell to the studio music of Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club.
Disc three – on the road forever!
Disc three is comprised of live recordings from 1979 and 1980. The 1979 set was provided by Steve Warren, who was XTC’s sound engineer at the time. Although recorded onto cassette, this straight from the mixing desk, very early band gig recording stands up pretty well. The live line-up includes Richard Wernham on drums (aka Ricky Slaughter from The Motors).
The 1980 set was broadcast on WLIR FM, from My Father’s Place in Roslyn, New York and is understandably a more polished recording, with a more seasoned performance from the band, who had been touring pretty much non-stop at this point. You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) is an explosive opener, and Get Away William is another highlight. “Accept no substitute” welcomes in the final track on the disc, a live take on Video Killed The Radio Star.
Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club – The Definitive Anthology 1977-1981 is a rare beast – a collection full to the brim with alt-takes and unreleased music, but absolutely no fillers. Given the age of the material, it has remained in pretty good shape, with the risks of baking the master tapes aside!
If you are a fan of the English Garden album, you will love this collection, which also offers plenty to enjoy for fans of the era as well as Trevor Horn/ Buggles and Thomas Dolby fans.
English Garden Video Killed The Radio Star Dancing With The Sporting Boys Johnny No Surrender Flying Man You Got Class WW9 Clean Clean Get Away William Goodbye To Yesterday Goodbye To Yesterday (Reprise) You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) News (Eden Studios)* The Killers – No Surrender The Killers – Killer On The Dancefloor Clean Clean (US Version) Video Killed the Radio Star (US Version) Goodbye to Yesterday (US Version) Bruce Woolley – Bobby Bad Bruce Woolley – You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) (B-side) Bruce Woolley – You Got Class (Soundsuite Studios)* Bruce Woolley – Going To The City* Bruce Woolley – Needletime* Bruce Woolley – Sugar Daddy (8 Track Demo)*
* Previous Unreleased
DISC TWO Polaroid – Snapshots Of Sound
I Set Fire To You* Bruce Woolley – Ghost Train Killer On The Dancefloor (Olympic Studios)* Trouble Is Only Babies Can Fly All Real Americans* Morning Shadows* Ghost Train (Olympic Studios)* All At Once Warning Shadows* Bruce Woolley – Blue Blue Victoria Bruce Woolley – 1000 MPH Bruce Woolley – The Black Girls Understand* Bruce Woolley – Ghost Train (Club Mix) How Do You Say Goodbye?* Too Late For Tears (Demo Version)* Bruce Woolley – Blue Blue Victoria (Demo Version)* Bruce Woolley – You Got Class (Revox Demo)* News (Olympic Studios)* House Of Wax Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love)*
* Previous Unreleased
DISC THREE In Concert – all recordings previously unreleased Live at High Wycombe Town Hall 6th May 1979
You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) You Got Class Too Late For Tears Clean Clean The Problem Goodbye To Yesterday Johnny Video Killed The Radio Star No Surrender Dancing With The Sporting Boys News Flying Man
Live at My Father’s Place, Long Island, USA 25th March 1980
You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) News You Got Class Trouble Is Johnny Get Away William Dancing With The Sporting Boys I Set Fire To You No Surrender English Garden Video Killed The Radio Star
The 4 CD version has 58 tracks exploring the creativity and progressive spirit of alternative British music from 1979-1989 featuring Wire, XTC, The Cure, Tears For Fears and Kate Bush. The CD and 7 LP versions include an expanded booklet (80 pages for the CD / 40 pages for the 7 LP) with extensive liner notes by James Nice and an introduction from Steven Wilson. The 2 LP version has a 12 page booklet.
The compilation was mastered by Phil Kinrade at AIR Mastering.
I presume that the idea for this compilation came from Steven Wilson & Tim Bowness’s successful, and always entertaining, The Album Years podcast. Its refreshing to see a compilation digging a little deeper, and avoiding the obvious hit singles.
Personal highlights for me include A Better Home in the Phantom Zone from Bill Nelson’s Red Noise, one of my favourite tracks from The Stranglers (the title track from their 1979 prog-punk masterpiece The Raven), Astradyne from Ultravox (here in its Steven Wilson Stereo Mix version), along with tracks from Tony Mansfield’s New Musik, post-Ultravox John Foxx, and the Associates.
Kudos to Mr Wilson for including the extended version of I Travel from Simple Minds and the rarely celebrated Sealand by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark from their wonderful Architecture & Morality album from 1981.
SW has also chosen a couple of less obvious choices from some of the eras big-hitters – Talking Drum from Japan, Faith by the Cure, Tears for Fears Memories Fade, the sublime Brilliant Trees by David Sylvian, and Waking the Witch from Kate Bush, in its first appearance on a compilation to my knowledge.
There are also several tracks from artists who I hope can receive more attention following this collections release – namely the haunting Airwaves from Thomas Dolby’s debut album, the epic Dream Within a Dream from Propaganda, Ivy and Neet by This Mortal Coil (their trilogy is a highlight from the 80s) and a band that have given me so much pleasure over the years, Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness’s no-man with Night Sky, Sweet Earth.
“This is my personally-curated attempt to redress the balance, and to perhaps introduce any ‘80s-sceptics out there to the idea that conceptual thinking and ambition didn’t suddenly evaporate after ’77… ambitious, weird and thrilling music was all around you in the ‘80s —if you looked in the right places.”
Steven Wilson
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I Should Have Known Better – Wire A Better Home in the Phantom Zone – Bill Nelson’s Red Noise Back to Nature – Magazine Complicated Game (Steven Wilson 2014 Mix) – XTC Careering – Public Image Limited The Raven – the Stranglers Puppet Life – Punishment of Luxury Astradyne (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) – Ultravox Contract – Gang of Four I Travel (Extended Version) – Simple Minds Sketch for Summer – the Durutti Column Health and Efficiency – This Heat Burning Car – John Foxx Cognitive Dissonance (Steven Wilson 2022 Mix) – Robert Fripp and the League of Gentlemen Fatal Day – In Camera
Disc: 2
I Can’t Escape Myself – The Sound The Eternal – Joy Division Big Empty Field – Swell Maps Enemies – Art Nouveau The Joy Circuit – Gary Numan The Gospel Comes to New Guinea – 23 Skidoo All My Colours – Echo and the Bunnymen Ghost Town (Extended Version) – The Specials They All Run After the Carving Knife – New Musik The Him – New Order White Car in Germany (Single Edit) – The Associates Hit – Section 25 Sealand – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Talking Drum – Japan Faith – the Cure
Disc: 3
Three Dancers (Steven Wilson 2021 Mix) – Twelfth Night Airwaves – Thomas Dolby Are You Ready? – Crispy Ambulance The Outsider – Rupert Hine Knife Slits Water – A Certain Ratio Memories Fade – Tears for Fears Patient – Peter Hammill Donimo – Cocteau Twins In a Waiting Room – Mr and Mrs Smith and Mr Drake Close (To the Edit) – The Art of Noise Dalis Car – Dalis Car Rawhide – Scott Walker Brilliant Trees – David Sylvian Dream Within a Dream – Propaganda
Disc: 4
Waking the Witch – Kate Bush Ivy and Neet – This Mortal Coil Beehead (7″ Version) – Perennial Divide This Corrosion – The Sisters of Mercy Ascension – O Yuki Conjugate No Motion – Dif Juz Gutter Busting – Slab! Murderers, the Hope of Women – Momus The Host of Seraphim – Dead Can Dance R.E.S. – Cardiacs Good Morning Beautiful – The The Omega Amigo – The Shamen Night Sky, Sweet Earth – No-Man The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule – Kitchens of Distinction
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A Better Home in the Phantom Zone – Bill Nelson’s Red Noise Back to Nature – Magazine Complicated Game (Steven Wilson 2014 Mix) – XTC The Raven – The Stranglers Puppet Life – Punishment of Luxury Astradyne (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix) – Ultravox Sketch for Summer – The Durutti Column Health and Efficiency – This Heat Cognitive Dissonance (Steven Wilson 2022 Mix) – Robert Fripp and the League of Gentlemen Three Dancers (Steven Wilson 2021 Mix) – Twelfth Night
Disc: 2
Airwaves – Thomas Dolby Knife Slits Water – a Certain Ratio Donimo – Cocteau Twins Beehead (7″ Version) – Perennial Divide No Motion – Dif Juz Gutter Busting – Slab! The Host of Seraphim – Dead Can Dance R.E.S. – Cardiacs Night Sky, Sweet Earth – No-Man
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NOW Yearbook Extra 1979 is a 3 CD (sadly no vinyl for these “extra” releases”) compilation, highlighting an additional 67 tracks from the charts of 1979, and acting as a companion piece to the recently released NOW Yearbook 1979 (orange vinyl / CD).
As I constantly mention (on this blog, to my cats and to anyone who will listen), 1979 is my favourite year for music, so if I was in charge of compiling these collections they would be 10 CD sets at least. The main collection and now this “extra” companion compilation, collect some of the essential singles from the year, along with some less obvious (and sometimes skippable) tracks to highlight the diversity of the charts in 1979.
The three CDs contain some absolute classics – Kid by The Pretenders, Roxy Music’s Angel Eyes, Reasons to Be Cheerful (Pt. 3) by Ian Dury and The Blockheads, Sparks The Number One Song in Heaven, Lost in Music from Sister Sledge and that’s just disc one.
The first 12 songs on disc two would make a great new wave compilation in their own right. Featuring a run of amazing singles from The Jam, The Stranglers, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash and the Skids finest single in my eyes, Working for the Yankee Dollar, plus one of my favourite singles from 1979, Milk and Alcohol by Dr. Feelgood.
Life in Tokyo by Japan and Electricity from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark hint at the electronic wave that was starting to crash into the charts, heralding the eventual new romantic movement that followed over the next few years.
Disc 3 has a few easy listening and novelty hits, but is otherwise filled to the brim with wonderful tracks such as Blondie’s Sunday Girl, Billy Joel’s Honesty (meaning The Boys Hughie Campbell will buy this compilation), plus Get It Right Next Time from Gerry Rafferty, The Ballad of Lucy Jordan by Marianne Faithfull, Toto’s Hold the Line, BA Robertson’s Knocked It Off and one of the last great Thin Lizzy singles Waiting for an Alibi.
So if you can’t afford (or invent) a time-machine, this wonderful compilation is the next best thing and it will transport you back to one of the great years for pop singles. Strap yourself in.
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Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen Message in a Bottle – The Police Union City Blue – Blondie Kid – The Pretenders Last Train to London – Electric Light Orchestra Angel Eyes – Roxy Music Them Heavy People – Kate Bush Up the Junction – Squeeze Diamond Smiles – The Boomtown Rats Reasons to Be Cheerful (Pt. 3) – Ian Dury and The Blockheads The Number One Song in Heaven – Sparks The Runner – The Three Degrees Dim All the Lights – Donna Summer Lost in Music – Sister Sledge My Feet Keep Dancing – Chic Is It Love You’re After – Rose Royce Gotta Go Home – Boney M. Let’s Fly Away – Voyage The Prince – Madness Duke of Earl – Darts Blue Peter – Mike Oldfield Daytrip to Bangor (Didn’t We Have a Lovely Time) – Fiddler’s Dram
Disc: 2
The Sound of the Suburbs – The Members Babylon’s Burning – The Ruts Strange Town – The Jam English Civil War – The Clash Duchess – The Stranglers Playground Twist – Siouxsie and the Banshees Death Disco – Public Image Ltd Working for the Yankee Dollar – Skids Jimmy Jimmy – The Undertones C’mon Everybody – Sex Pistols Milk and Alcohol – Dr. Feelgood Banana Splits – The Dickies Time for Action – Secret Affair Back of My Hand – Jags The Loneliest Man in the World – The Tourists Life in Tokyo – Japan Electricity – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Take That to the Bank – Shalamar This Is It – Dan Hartman H.A.P.P.Y. Radio – Edwin Starr It’s a Disco Night (Rock Don’t Stop) – The Isley Brothers My Forbidden Lover – Chic The Boss – Diana Ross Take Me Home – Cher
Disc: 3
Sunday Girl – Blondie Painter Man – Boney M. My Simple Heart – The Three Degrees Sail On – The Commodores After the Love Has Gone – Earth, Wind & Fire Just the Way You Are – Barry White Honesty – Billy Joel The Ballad of Lucy Jordan – Marianne Faithfull Get It Right Next Time – Gerry Rafferty Hold the Line – Toto Whatever You Want – Status Quo Waiting for an Alibi – Thin Lizzy Car 67 – Driver 67 Knocked It Off – BA Robertson Luton Airport – Cats U.K. Some Girls – Racey Get It – Darts Who Were You With in the Moonlight – Dollar Mirrors – Sally Oldfield One Day at a Time – Lena Martell Wonderful Christmastime – Paul McCartney
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Art / Empire / Industry: The Complete Red Noise is a new six disc boxed set of the complete recordings made by Bill Nelson’s Red Noise – comprising four CDs and two NTSC/region free DVDs. The boxed set is released by Cherry Red on 26 August 2022.
The collection features a newly remastered edition of the album Sound On Sound along with new 5.1 surround sound and new stereo mixes by Stephen W Tayler (Rush, Peter Gabriel, Howard Jones, Kate Bush, Rupert Hine).
Sound on Sound was originally released in February 1979 on Harvest / EMI and spawned the singles Furniture Music and Revolt Into Style. One of my favourite albums from the late 70s, this collection from Cherry Red is the definitive Red Noise release. Disc one comprises an excellent remaster from the original master tapes. It packs more of a punch and has a sonic sparkle missing from previous CD re-issues.
The spikey new wave / drums and guitar of Stay Young sound newly powerful with this remaster. The album delivers a mix of glam / art rock and new wave styles that populated so much good music from 1979, which also happens to be my favourite musical year. Sorry for repeating myself, I know I’ve said that before in this blog.
Feeling at home with the likes of The Stranglers, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Skids and Magazine, Sound On Sound is the only album Bill Nelson released with this art-rock spiked with new wave hybrid style. Subsequent releases headed off into a more synth driven style with Quit Dreaming And Get on the Beam (1981), The Love That Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart) (1982) and one of my other Bill Nelson favourites, the mini-LP Chimera (1983). Such a rich vein of form.
“Your relatives are white and all your children have record players They listen to Tom Robinson, the Beatles and the Byrds and Leo Sayer” A Better Home In The Phantom Zone
Sound On Sound would have still been popular with fans of Be-Bop Deluxe, as the music was a natural evolution, not a cash-in on the popularity of the late 70s new wave acts that were a feature of the charts during this era. Nelson’s guitar work shines through, his solo on The Atom Age remains one of his finest from this period. The arrangements are rich, with new layers and moods rising to the surface throughout the songs, which are short and sharp. Nelson’s pop sensibility remains intact, even though the edges are rougher than what came before.
The original album ends with Art / Empire / Industry, with its delightful Autobahn meets Buzzcocks end section and the song that was my introduction to Red Noise, the classic single Revolt into Style. I’ve still got my treasured 7″ vinyl copy, and it still sounds so like the future.
“And though I know the time is almost 1984 It feels like 1965″
The bonus tracks are not just included to pad out the release. The slower pace of Wonder Toys That Last Forever and Acquitted by Mirrors feels like a bridge between Red Noise and what would come next for Bill Nelson. The urgency displayed in the February 1979 BBC Friday Rock Show session tracks is a delight, and the performances sound fresh and representative of the Red Noise live sound, more of that on the next disc in the boxset.
“Oh, Oh Here comes the red noise Absolute a go-go Wonder toys that last forever”
Disc Two is Red Noise Live At The De Montfort Hall, in Leicester, recorded on 8 March 1979. This previously unreleased live set is a delight, and was originally engineered by John Leckie. The recordings for this disc were mixed from the original 24-track master tapes at Chimera Arts, Box, Wiltshire in March 2022 by Stephen W Tayler. I often find that live albums included in deluxe editions are the discs I rarely return to, but not in this case. The concert is one of the most exciting parts of the boxset. The arrangements and vocals differ enough to bear up to repeated listening. For Young Moderns is a highlight, as is the inclusion of Red Noise’s take on two tracks from Be-Bop Deluxe’s Drastic Plastic album, Possession and Superenigmatix.
Disc Three is where things get really interesting. These new stereo mixes, with all tracks remixed from the original 24-track master tapes in March 2022 by Stephen W Tayler, are an important part of the boxset. Comparing the two mixes, I’ve lived with the original album since 1979, so it is always going to be my preferred version, but these new mixes are wonderful. They are in the main slightly less abrasive and more widescreen, with drums processed more than on the original release and synths / keyboards often pushed to the fore. The difference with tracks such as For Young Moderns is very noticeable. Its almost Be-Bop Deluxe play Red Noise!
Stay Young is a standout of the new stereo mixes, with the bass more prominent, along with the enhanced synth and organ lines. The Atom Age sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday, and the early Roxy Music influence on the album shines bright on this track, more than any other.
I was not so keen on the new mix of Revolt Into Style, which does not hit the mark for me (I don’t like the effects on the drums), but its the only minor mis-step for me of these fresh new mixes. Wonder Toys That Last Forever feels superior to the original mix, with a fuller sound and a great bass upgrade. My Light is a previously unreleased song, recorded for the Sound On Sound album. I can see why it was not included. Its a good song, but would not have fitted with the frenetic pace of the original album. New mixes of Instantly Yours, Ideal Homes and Disposable, tracks recorded at RAK Studios, London during May 1979, are welcome additions and would possibly have formed part of the shelved follow-up to Sound On Sound.
The new mixes are never going to replace the original album, here in all its remastered glory, but the idea and the execution is good.
Discs four and five (not supplied for review) features a 96 Khz/24-Bit 5.1 Surround Sound Mix of Sound On Sound and 96 Khz/24-Bit 5.1 Surround Sound Mixes of the bonus material, plus video content – a promo video for Revolt into Style, plus Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric), Furniture Music and Stay Young from BBC TV’s Old Grey Whistle Test, originally broadcast in 1979.
Disc 6 consists of Bill Nelson’s original 1978 demos for Sound On Sound. They are a fascinating insight into the original thoughts behind the songs, but are not recordings that are likely to be returned to often, unlike the other discs in the collection.
The booklet includes an introduction written by Steven Wilson, and a lengthy piece about the background to the formation of Red Noise and the Sound On Sound album and live shows.
Art / Empire / Industry: The Complete Red Noise is a well put together box-set, and will appeal to all fans of the Red Noise era. If you are new to the album, but are a fan of late 70s new wave and art-rock, I would recommend the 2 CD version of the album, that includes the remastered album plus the new stereo mixes.
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Art / Empire / Industry: The Complete Red Noise (6 disc box-set)
Disc One: Sound On Sound Remastered
Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) For Young Moderns Stop / Go / Stop Furniture Music Radar in My Heart Stay Young Out of Touch A Better Home in the Phantom Zone Substitute Flesh The Atom Age Art / Empire / Industry Revolt into Style
Bonus tracks
Wonder Toys That Last Forever Acquitted by Mirrors (B-side of ‘Furniture Music’ EP) Stay Young (BBC session 17.02.1979) Furniture Music (BBC session 17.02.1979) Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) (BBC session 17.02.1979) Out of Touch (BBC session 17.02.1979)
Disc Two: Live At The De Montfort Hall, Leicester 1979 Previously Unreleased
Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric)(live) For Young Moderns (live) Furniture Music (live) Out of Touch (live) Stop-Go-Stop (live) Atom Age (live) Possession (live) Superenigmatix (live) Substitute Flesh (live) Phantom Zone (live) Radar in My Heart (live) Art / Empire / Industry (live) Revolt into Style (live) Stay Young (live) For Young Moderns (Encore) (live)
Disc Three: Sound On Sound New Stereo Mix
Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) For Young Moderns Stop / Go / Stop Furniture Music Radar in My Heart Stay Young Out of Touch A Better Home in the Phantom Zone Substitute Flesh The Atom Age Art / Empire / Industry Revolt into Style
Bonus tracks
Wonder Toys That Last Forever Acquitted by Mirrors My Light (previously unreleased) Recorded for the “Sound on Sound” sessions Instantly Yours Ideal Homes Disposable
Disc Four: Sound On Sound
96 Khz/24-Bit 5.1 Surround Sound Mix
New Stereo Mix Original Stereo Mix
Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) (5.1 mix) For Young Moderns (5.1 mix) Stop / Go / Stop (5.1 mix) Furniture Music (5.1 mix) Radar in My Heart (5.1 mix) Stay Young (5.1 mix) Out of Touch (5.1 mix) A Better Home in the Phantom Zone (5.1 mix) Substitute Flesh (5.1 mix) The Atom Age (5.1 mix) Art / Empire / Industry (5.1 mix) Revolt into Style (5.1 mix)
Disc Five Additional Red Noise Sessions 96 Khz/24-Bit 5.1 Surround Sound Mixes
New Stereo Mixes Original Stereo Mixes
Wonder Toys That Last Forever (5.1 mix) Acquitted by Mirrors (5.1 mix) My Light (5.1 mix) Recorded for the “Sound on Sound” sessions Instantly Yours (5.1 mix) Ideal Homes (5.1 mix) Disposable (5.1 mix)
RAK Studios, London May 1979
Video Content
Previously Unreleased
Revolt into Style (Promotional video 1979) Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) (BBC TV Old Grey Whistle Test – 1979) Furniture Music (BBC TV Old Grey Whistle Test 1979) Stay Young (BBC TV Old Grey Whistle Test 1979)
Disc Six Bill Nelson Red Noise Demos
1978 – Previously Unreleased
Acquitted by Mirrors (demo) For Young Moderns (demo) Stop Go Stop (demo) Furniture Music (demo) Radar in My Heart (demo) Stay Young (demo) Out of Touch (demo) A Better Home in the Phantom Zone (demo) Substitute Flesh (demo) The Atom Age (demo) Revolt into Style (demo) Waiting for the Night (demo) My Light (demo)
Sound On Sound (2 CD set)
Disc One: Sound On Sound Remastered
Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) For Young Moderns Stop / Go / Stop Furniture Music Radar in My Heart Stay Young Out of Touch A Better Home in the Phantom Zone Substitute Flesh The Atom Age Art / Empire / Industry Revolt into Style
Bonus tracks
Wonder Toys That Last Forever Acquitted by Mirrors (B-side of ‘Furniture Music’ EP) Stay Young (BBC session 17.02.1979) Furniture Music (BBC session 17.02.1979) Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) (BBC session 17.02.1979) Out of Touch (BBC session 17.02.1979)
Disc Two: Sound On Sound New Stereo Mix
Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) For Young Moderns Stop / Go / Stop Furniture Music Radar in My Heart Stay Young Out of Touch A Better Home in the Phantom Zone Substitute Flesh The Atom Age Art / Empire / Industry Revolt into Style
Bonus tracks
Wonder Toys That Last Forever Acquitted by Mirrors My Light (previously unreleased) Recorded for the “Sound on Sound” sessions Instantly Yours Ideal Homes Disposable
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Cherry Red are continuing their review of the late 70s music scene, with the latest 3 CD set Revolt Into Style released on 21 January 2022 and concentrating on 1979, which just happens to be my favourite year in music.
The four hours of music contained in the 3 CD’s includes more obscure offerings sitting alongside some of the major new wave artists who were spewing out three minute classic singles that are on offer here, along with choice album cuts from The Stranglers, Madness, Tubeway Army, Ian Dury, Squeeze, XTC and more.
Disc One opens with the track that gives it’s name to the compilation. Former Be-Bop Deluxe front-man Bill Nelson, with the second single from his band Red Noise’s only studio album Sound-on-Sound. The single version of Magazine’s Rhythm Of Cruelty is included and is a perfect example of how there was a real pop sensibility seeping into the new wave and alternative music of 1979.
The Dr. Feelgood R&B / new wave of The Cannibals You Can’t is one of the less well-known songs on this compilation. The Only Ones are represented by the fine 7″ version of You Got To Pay, and another highlight on the first disc is a rarely heard gem by Scotland’s Fingerprintz, with the unbelievably catchy Night Nurse.
The Staircase (Mystery) is one of the finest early Siouxsie And The Banshees singles, and as a non-album track, is a welcome addition here. ReplicasMe, I Disconnect From You by Tubeway Army signals the beginning of Gary Numan’s firm hold on the UK charts that would last for several years into the mid-80s, with Numan continuing to delight his audience right up to the present day.
The final X-Ray Spex single Highly Inflammable is a more synth infused pop song than their earlier four iconic single releases, and the first incarnation of the band split soon after this release in mid 1979. Victims Of The Riddle (Part 1) was the first single from Toyah and features on the wonderful Sheep Farming In Barnet deluxe edition that was released by Cherry Red in 2000.
Despite the mighty Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 being released in 1979, Cherry Red have included an album track for this compilation, choosing Sink My Boats from Do It Yourself. The inclusion of this fine track will hopefully turn more people on to this excellent album.
Disc Two opens with Up The Junction, one of Squeeze’s finest singles (and one of the bands greatest lyrics). The quality continues with one of The Clash’s lesser known tracks, Groovy Times from The Cost Of Living EP.
The Skids Masquerade was produced by Bill Nelson, and remains one of the band’s strongest singles, of which there were many!
Former Deaf School guitarist and 80s production heavyweight Clive Langer with his band The Boxes contribute The Whole World, that also features future Siouxsie And The Banshees / The Creatures drummer Budgie on bass (and of course, drums). An early Zoo Records recording of Read It In Books from Echo And The Bunnymen is another highlight of the second disc, as is the Gang Of Four’s At Home He’s A Tourist.
The Jags Back Of My Hand was a top 20 hit and was all over the airwaves in 1979. Bouncing Babies (Zoo version) from The Teardrop Explodes still sounds great (as does the whole of the band’s catalogue). Adam and the Ants Whip In My Valise was the b side to the Zerox single, and was recorded by the pre-Kings of the Wild Frontier line-up of the band. The next version of Adam and the Ants from 1980 onwards were one of the 80s biggest and most influential bands.
Birmingham band Fashion offer a John Foxx / Ultravox sounding single Citinite. A later line-up of the band released one of my favourite 80s albums in 1982, with Fabrique. The Undertones were another great late 70s singles band and Here Comes The Summer was one of their most memorable early hits.
The Pretenders second single Kid is a piece of pure-pop perfection from the original, classic line-up of the band led by one of the best new wave vocalists and songwriters, Chrissie Hynde. When You’re Young by The Jam was a non-album single, but was included on a later re-issue of Setting Sons and on compilations such as About The Young Idea: The Very Best Of The Jam.
The Ruts Something That I Said was a top 20 hit for the band, and was re-recorded for their album The Crack. A rare mis-step on the compilation is the inclusion of The Stranglers Don’t Bring Harry, not one of the bands finest moments, and the fact that any track on their 1979 album The Raven (Duchess, the title track or Baroque Bordello) would have represented the bands output from this year so much better.
The final disc in the compilation opens with one of XTC’s greatest singles, and their first big hit, Making Plans For Nigel, with a drum sound that would be so prevalent over the early years of the next decade.
Manchester band Passage contribute the wonderful stop / start Taking My Time single and one of Kirk Brandon’s early bands The Pack are represented with the Rough Trade single Number 12.
The Human League’s Empire State Human has always been one of my favourite tracks from the band, along with their near perfect take on You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ from the same album as Empire State Human, Reproduction.
Work All Week by The Mekons has an intro similar to The Vapors Turning Japanese, whilst Public Image Ltd offer the single version of Memories, which, of course, is followed by punk pastiche band The Monks (featuring former Strawbs members Richard Hudson and John Ford) with Johnny B Rotten.
Chris Sievey (later known for the comic persona Frank Sidebottom) and his band The Freshies are represented by Children Of The World from the EP The Men from Banana Island Whos Stupid Ideas Never Caught On in the Western World as We Know It. Prisoners is the debut single from The Vapors and starts the journey for a band that are still releasing quality music today – check out their 2020 album Together that features a career highlight with Girl From The Factory.
Another rarely heard track is 7 Teen by The Regents, a top 20 hit late in 1979. The Boys (who also released Christmas songs as The Yobs!) supply the Chris Spedding (Motor Bikin’) meets Roxy Music influenced Kamikaze.
The Carpettes Easy Way Out was a Beggars Banquet single from late 1979, and still sounds powerful today. A raw, early Scritti Politti track Messthetics from the Work In Progress EP is rhythmically and musically challenging but does hint at the wonderful music that was to come in the next few years from Green Gartside’s band.
Spizzenergi’s classic Where’s Captain Kirk? is another highlights from this year. I’ve still got the 7″ single somewhere.
1979: Revolt Into Style is a great collection, and also does a good job of highlighting some of the less well-known alternative / new wave songs from 1979, whilst documenting the rapid move into the post-punk and electronic era of UK music.
Bill Nelson’s Red Noise – Revolt Into Style Eddie And The Hot Rods – Media Messiahs Andy Arthurs – I Feel Flat Magazine – Rhythm Of Cruelty (single version) The Cannibals – You Can’t John Cooper Clarke – ¡Gimmix! Play Loud Dead Fingers Talk – The Boyfriend The Only Ones – You Got To Pay Glaxo Babies – Who Killed Bruce Lee? Sham 69 – Questions And Answers (single version) Fingerprintz – Night Nurse Siouxsie And The Banshees – The Staircase (Mystery) The Squares – Stop Being A Boy The Fall – Rebellious Jukebox Alternative TV – Graves Of Deluxe Green Patrik Fitzgerald – All Sewn Up Tubeway Army – Me, I Disconnect From You The Outsiders – White Debt The Members – Soho-A-Go-Go Three Party Split – Dubious Parentage X-Ray Spex – Highly Inflammable Jonnie And The Lubes – I Got Rabies Toyah – Victims Of The Riddle (Part 1) Ian Dury And The Blockheads – Sink My Boats
Disc Two
Squeeze – Up The Junction The Clash – Groovy Times The Records – Girls That Don’t Exist The Skids – Masquerade Clive Langer And The Boxes – The Whole World Echo And The Bunnymen – Read It In Books The Faders – Library Book Gang Of Four – At Home He’s A Tourist Joy Division – Disorder The Numbers – Alternative Suicide 11 The The Jags – Back Of My Hand The Teardrop Explodes – Bouncing Babies (Zoo version) The Cravats – Burning Bridges Adam And The Ants – Whip In My Valise Fashion – Citinite The Undertones – Here Comes The Summer Cult Figures – Zip Nolan (extended mix) Pretenders – Kid The Quads – There Must Be Thousands The Jam – When You’re Young The Cheetahs – Radio-Active The Ruts – Something That I Said The Teenbeats – I Can’t Control Myself The Stranglers – Don’t Bring Harry The Barracudas – I Want My Woody Back
Disc Three
XTC – Making Plans For Nigel The Revillos – Where’s The Boy For Me? The Monochrome Set – The Monochrome Set (single version) Passage – Taking My Time Swell Maps – Real Shocks The Zipps – Friends Disco Zombies – Disco Zombies The Pack – Number 12 The Human League – Empire State Human The Wall – Kiss The Mirror The Mekons – Work All Week 999 – Found Out Too Late The Outcasts – Self Conscious Over You Public Image Ltd – Memories (single version) The Monks – Johnny B Rotten The Freshies – Children Of The World The Vapors – Prisoners Madness – Bed And Breakfast Man Secret Affair – Glory Boys Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Dance Stance (demo) The Regents – 7 Teen The Lurkers – New Guitar In Town The Boys – Kamikaze The Carpettes – Easy Way Out Scritti Politti – Messthetics Spizzenergi – Where’s Captain Kirk? Notsensibles – I’m In Love With Margaret Thatcher
Cherry Red Records are releasing a remastered and expanded deluxe version of Toyah’s debut album Sheep Farming In Barnet as the first release of a reissue programme of Toyah’s entire Safari Records catalogue. The 2CD/1DVD set is released on 4 December 2020, with a limited edition white vinyl version of the main album also released on the same day.
The main album has been given a quality remaster by Nick Watson. Key tracks such as Neon Womb, Victims Of The Riddle, Danced and Race Through Space sound crisper and clearer than the previous CD release, and if you are a fan of this album, you will love this 2020 remaster.
The album is expanded with the single tracks Bird In Flight & Tribal Look, plus rare / unreleased recordings, the highlights of which are the almost hard-rock Gaoler, an early version of The Blue Meaning‘s Love Me and four tracks from the BBC drama Shoestring – live in the studio recordings of Our Movie, Waiting, Neon Womb and an electrifying version of Danced.
The second disc is dedicated to rare and archive material, including many early demos. Whilst the demos are not of the same high quality as the main album, they give a unique insight into the band’s development. Close Encounters (Demo) would later become Danced and some of Watch Me Sane‘s lyrics ended up on Waiting.
My favourite track from the demos is Problem Child, featuring an expansive arrangement, veering from the pop / new-wave sound of the time to a lovely almost progressive outro.
The alternative mixes include a version of Neon Womb with no saxophone (I’m so used to the sax version, this take jars a little for me), and a less produced, more live sounding alt mix of Our Movie.
My favourite alt version on this disc is Waiting (Alternate Vocal Mix), I’ve always loved the bubbling synth lines underpinning the deep bass line on this track, and Waiting also has one of my favourite Toyah vocals. This alt mix goes on a little longer than the album version, with no fade out.
The final disc is a DVD featuring two 2020 interviews with Toyah Willcox (The Story Behind The Album and Track-By-Track Album Commentary), a 1979 What’s On interview plus TV appearances from 1979 and 1980 (including The Old Grey Whistle Test) and a 2020 acoustic Session featuring performances of Neon Womb, Computer & Bird In Flight featuring Toyah Willcox (vocals) & Nigel Clark (guitar). Note: the DVD’s visual content & the remastered vinyl was not provided for this review.
The sleeve notes for the 2 CD/ 1 DVD version feature a scene-setting intro from Toyah Willcox and August 2020 notes from Craig Astley with input from former band-member & co-writer/guitarist Joel Bogen, along with lots of band pictures from the era making this the definitive version of Sheep Farming In Barnet.
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 