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)
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
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Cherry Red have released a deluxe limited edition box-set of The Turn Of A Friendly Card, the fifth album by The Alan Parsons Project, the brainchild of composer, musician and co-creator Eric Woolfson and celebrated producer and engineer Alan Parsons.
The album sessions featured contributions from musicians such as Ian Bairnson (guitars), David Paton (bass), Stuart Elliott (drums) with Eric Woolfson playing keyboards and providing lead vocals, along with Elmer Gantry, Chris Rainbow and Lenny Zakatek.
This 2023 3CD / Blu-Ray (region free) limited edition box-set includes an additional 42 tracks drawn from Eric Woolfson’s song-writing diaries, studio session out-takes and a new 5.1 surround sound mix by Alan Parsons and a high resolution remastered original stereo mix, along with the promotional videos of Games People Play, The Gold Bug and The Turn Of A Friendly Card plus a promotional television advertisement. This stunning set also features a lavish illustrated book with a new essay with photos, memorabilia, letters along with personal recollections from Alan Parsons and Sally Woolfson, along with a reproduction poster.
As with previous Alan Parsons Project albums, an array of vocalists was again utilised. Lenny Zakatek had first appeared on I Robot. Future Camel singer Chris Rainbow had made his Alan Parsons Project debut on Pyramid. While for Elmer Gantry, it was his first shot at singing with the Project (he would later go on to feature on 1982’s Eye In The Sky). The Turn Of A Friendly Card also features the very first Eric Woolfson vocal performances for The Alan Parsons Project. Woolfson features on the Nothing Left To Lose section of the album’s title track suite, and also on Time.
There is not a massive upgrade to the sound of the CD’s, which sounded amazing anyway, but this version is the definitive take on the album, and it is the best sounding version of The Turn Of A Friendly Card, so worth replacing your original CD. Spread your love of the music by buying this version and gift your original CD to a friend! Please note that the blu-ray was not provided for this review, so I cannot comment on the content on the final disc prior to release.
The original album sits on the first of the four discs, and its a top quality album that has stood the test of time. Games People Play (with a vocal from Lenny Zakatek) was a top 20 Billboard hit in the USA. The Eric Woolfson sung Time was another US Top 20 hit, with it’s sweeping, luscious strings and Beach Boys referencing vocal melody driving one of the key tracks on the first section of the album.
I Don’t Wanna Go Home is a perfect representation of the late 70s Alan Parsons Project sound, with layers of sharp, rhythmic guitars and crisply produced percussion.
From the old vinyl side two section onwards, the music offers an updating of the Project sound, with the earliest hints of an 80s sensibility creeping into the arrangement and orchestrations. The Gold Bug and The Turn of a Friendly Card suite pushes the album firmly into classic album territory.
From track 11 on the first disc, we get the first batch of extra tracks. Nothing Left to Lose [Chris Rainbow Overdub Vocal Compilation] is a fascinating insight into the multi-layered vocals, here in their glorious, isolated form. As is Games People Play [Rough Mix], which captures the energy in this early, unpolished diamond of an arrangement.
Disc two presents Eric’s Songwriting Diary, and is the disc I return to the least in this collection, but it is a unique way of “being in the room” as the songs were created. The tracks are sourced from Eric’s portable cassette recorder, and is made up of piano and vocal sketches of the ideas that led to the full songs. So lots of hiss and “la la la’s”, but a rare and very personal insight into the creative process, that is rarely heard for classic albums.
Disc three picks up the quality, with alt takes and single mixes. May Be a Price to Pay (Early version with Eric Guide Vocal and Unused Guitar solo) works well, and offers a different flavour to the albums opening track. Most of these tracks have Eric’s guide vocals left quite low in the mix. Its a shame they are buried so deep, as they offer a fascinating insight into the development of the album.
Games People Play (Early version – Eric’s Guide Vocal) shows how well developed the song was from the early sessions, and highlights how much of the vocal arrangement was followed from Eric Woolfson’s early guide vocals. There is plenty of cowbell in this early take, always a welcome bonus!
The Gold Bug (Chris Rainbow backing vocals) is another unique insight into the multi-layered vocals from this key album track. The Turn of a Friendly Card (Part Two) (Eric’s Guide Vocal and Extended Guitar Solo) is the pick of the alt-versions, and rounds of the sessions before the CD ends with three concise single mixes – of Games People Play, The Turn Of A Friendly Card and Snake Eyes.
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Buy the single disc vinyl version (from 2013) from Amazon
TRACKLISTING
DISC ONE The Turn Of A Friendly Card
May Be A Price To Pay Games People Play Time I Don’t Wanna Go Home The Gold Bug The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Part One) Snake Eyes The Ace Of Swords Nothing Left To Lose The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Part Two)
Bonus Tracks
May Be A Price To Pay (Intro Demo) Nothing Left To Lose (Basic Backing Track) Nothing Left To Lose (Chris Rainbow Overdub Vocal Compilation) Nothing Left to Lose [Early Studio Version with Eric’s Guide Vocal] Time (Early Studio Attempt) Games People Play (Rough Mix) The Gold Bug (Demo)
DISC TWO Eric Woolfson’s Songwriting Diaries
May Be A Price To Pay Games People Play Time I Don’t Wanna Go Home The Turn Of A Friendly Card Snake Eyes Nothing Left To Lose Tofc / Snake Eyes / I Don’t Wanna Go Home La La La Lah Next Year Someone Else Taking It All Away To Those Of You Out There
DISC THREE Recording Sessions Bonus Tracks
May Be A Price To Pay (Early Version – Eric Guide Vocal And Unused Guitar Solo) Games People Play (Early Version – Eric Guide Vocal) Time (Orchestra And Chris Rainbow Backing Vocals) The Gold Bug (Early Reference Version) The Gold Bug (Chris Rainbow Backing Vocals) The Gold Bug (Clavinet With No Delay) The Turn Of A Friendly Card – Part One (Early Backing Track) Snake Eyes (Early Version – Eric Guide Vocal) The Ace Of Swords (Early Version With Synth Orchestration) The Ace of Swords (Early Version with Piano on Melody) The Turn Of A Friendly Card – Part Two (Eric Guide Vocal And Extended Guitar Solo) Games People Play (Single Edit) The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Single Edit) Snake Eyes (single edit)
DISC FOUR – BLU RAY 5.1 Surround Sound Mix (2019) And High- Resolution Original Stereo Mix By Alan Parsons
May Be A Price To Pay Games People Play Time I Don’t Wanna Go Home The Gold Bug The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Part One) Snake Eyes The Ace Of Swords Nothing Left To Lose The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Part Two)
Visual Content The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Album Ad) Games People Play (Promotional Video) The Gold Bug (Promotional Video) The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Promotional Video)
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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The Vapors are releasing a 76 track deluxe 4CD clamshell box set containing the band’s first two studio albums New Clear Days and Magnets along with B-sides & single versions. The set also includes two discs of previously unreleased demos, rough mixes, alternative and live versions, including the band’s performance at The Rainbow, supporting The Jam on their Setting Sons tour in December 1979.
The material has been mastered from the original master tapes retrieved from the EMI Archives, and still sounds crisp and powerful.
The first disc contains The Vapors debut album New Clear Days from 1980. Containing the band’s signature track Turning Japanese, the album is much more than the massive hit single. Cold War captures perfectly the post-punk influenced new wave sound of 1979 / 1980.
My favourite track on the album is the nuclear paranoia riddled Bunkers.
“I went down the road to see the end of the movie ‘Cause I really like the part where the heroine dies She takes away so many million secrets But she tells just a few before she closes her eyes”
The agitated bass-line and wonderful drums and percussion backbeat drives this frenetic album highlight. Waiting For The Weekend and the album closer Letter From Hiro also serve as powerful statements.
The remainder of disc one collects the remaining tracks released during this period, including the single Prisoners, b-side Here Comes The Judge (Live), a single edit of News At Ten, a shortened edit of Turning Japanese and the first of three previously unreleased tracks, Move (Demo), which has a guitar sound reminiscent of the style of John McGeoch, who was a member of Magazine around this time.
The expanded version of second album Magnets from 1981 opens with single Jimmie Jones, followed by the Bowie influenced, more experimental sound of Spiders, which showed that the band’s musical vocabulary was expanding. Spiders should have been a hit single, it was made for the airwaves of 1980.
Isolated Case is a Banshee’s influenced, post-punk slice of pop, and has aged well. Live At The Marquee has an interesting, intelligent arrangement and a killer, speed infused 60s pop chorus.
“But we’re alive at the marquee”
Its a real shame that the lack of record company promotion harmed the prospects of Magnets, as it has a much more varied sound than the debut, and deserved to be heard by more people. Maybe that time is now?
I have a lot of love for Daylight Titans, with it’s Banshees meets The Comsat Angels flavour.
“But what hurts me is I never get the time To say or do even half of what I’m feeling”
Can’t Talk Anymore adds some Dave Edmunds / Nick Lowe pop sensibility to a dark lyric. The haunting title track Magnets closes the original album running order, with a slow-burning arrangement and a powerful mantra to close the song.
“The motorcade is never-ending…”
B-side Galleries For Guns and the single / remixes, plus an archive interview with Dave Fenton, complete disc two.
Disc Three is New Clear Days (Alternative Versions). Containing demos, alternative versions and rough mixes of the songs from the album. One of the highlights is Turning Japanese (Alternative Version), which has added synths and percussion and sounds like it could be from slightly later than 1980. Its interesting to hear, but the original is still the best! Another highlight is the spirited Letter From Hiro (Rough Mix).
Just as interesting is the final disc, which comprises Magnets (Alternative Versions) & Live At The Rainbow 03/12/1979.
This disc contains two previously unreleased songs. A studio cut of Secret Noise, which probably would have been more suited to the debut album, and a live version of Caroline recorded at The Rainbow in 1979. The Rainbow show highlights the band before they were successful. Its strange hearing a live performance of Turning Japanese with no roar during the iconic intro.
The Vapors – Waiting For The Weekend: The United Artist & Liberty Recordings is a great way to collect the recordings from the first incarnation of the band, and its also a good opportunity for a timely reappraisal of the band’s second album, Magnets.
The Vapors reformed in 2016 and in 2020 released their excellent third album studio album Together, that included a career highlight in Girl from the Factory. So hopefully lots more to come from this great band.
Spring Collection Turning Japanese Cold War America Trains Bunkers News At Ten Somehow Sixty Second Interval Waiting For The Weekend Letter From Hiro
Bonus Tracks
Prisoners Sunstroke Here Comes The Judge (Live) News At Ten (Single Version) Wasted Talk Talk Waiting For The Weekend (Single Version) Billy Turning Japanese (Edit) Move (Demo)
Disc Two: Magnets (Expanded Version)
Jimmie Jones Spiders Isolated Case Civic Hall Live At The Marquee Daylight Titans Johnny’s In Love (Again) Can’t Talk Anymore Lenina Silver Machines Magnets
Bonus Tracks
Galleries For Guns Jimmie Jones (Single Version) Daylight Titans (Single Version) Spiders (Single Version) Interview With Dave Fenton
Disc Three: New Clear Days (Alternative Versions)
Spring Collection (Demo) Turning Japanese (Alternative Version) Cold War (Rough Mix) America (Demo) Trains (Rough Mix) Bunkers (Demo) News At Ten (Alternative Version) Somehow (Instrumental) Sixty Second Interval (Demo) Waiting For The Weekend (Demo) Letter From Hiro (Rough Mix) Turning Japanese (Edit) (Demo) Prisoners (Demo) Wasted (Rough Mix) Spring Collection (Rough Mix) Turning Japanese (Alternative Extended Mix) Cold War (Rough Mix Edit) America (Instrumental) Waiting For The Weekend (Rough Mix) Cold War (Alternative Rough Mix) Turning Japanese (Instrumental)
Disc Four: Magnets Alternative Versions & Live At The Rainbow 03/12/1979
Jimmie Jones (Rough Mix) Civic Hall (Rough Mix) Live At The Marquee (Rough Mix) Johnny’s In Love (Again) (Rough Mix) Galleries For Guns (Rough Mix) Secret Noise Galleries For Guns (Alternative Rough Mix)
Live At The Rainbow 03/12/1979
Caroline Somehow Bunkers Sunstroke Cold War Waiting For The Weekend Sixty Second Interval Spring Collection Turning Japanese America Prisoners
Cherry Red Records are releasing a newly remastered and expanded version of Toyah’s 1980 album The Blue Meaning, the second in a reissue programme of Toyah’s entire Safari Records catalogue. The Blue Meaning will be released on 28 May 2021.
The reissue comes in two formats:
A 2CD+1DVD digipak with a fully illustrated 24-page booklet containing a brand new introductory note from Toyah, plus rare and unseen imagery including album cover outtakes taken at Wykehurst Place. This expanded edition features 27 remastered bonus tracks including single mixes, live tracks, rarities and unheard demos.
I would imagine anyone reading this review will be familiar with The Blue Meaning, so no in-depth review of the main album is needed. The album has been remastered by Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering, and is the best the album has sounded.
The Blue Meaning is often both musically and lyrically darker than its predecessor Sheep Farming In Barnet, and it works well as a complete album, with a real continuity of sound and lyrical themes. Opening with fan favourite Ieya (I bet you are chanting Zion Zooberon Necronomicon in your head now), other key tracks include Ghosts, the addictive Mummies, the percussive Tiger! Tiger!, the obtuse Insects and my personal favourite, the post-punk delights of She, which still sounds great today.
As with the Sheep Farming In Barnet deluxe reissue, The Blue Meaning is overflowing with extras, and pulls together all the key live and out-take recordings from this era. Silence Won’t Do and Jack & Jill hint at the next stage in the band’s career, with the Four from Toyah EP and 1981’s Anthem album. The Merchant & The Nubile was reworked, with fresh lyrics added on top of a more fleshed out production for Four From Toyah‘s War Boys the following year.
Session versions of Sheep Farming In Barnet‘s Danced and Last Goodbye, along with Love Me from The Blue Meaning are included on the first disc. My favourite from these sessions is the version of Danced, with a Mike Oldfield sounding guitar solo.
The shortened single mix of Ieya and its b side, Helium Song (Spaced Walking), the full version of the album track, rounds off CD one in this deluxe edition.
The second disc opens with a trio of tracks recorded at the ICA London, Love Me, Waiting and Ieya. A couple of alternative vocal takes, including a longer version of Blue Meanings and a version of She with less reverb lead into a weirder, acapella version of Spaced Walking. This is crying out for someone to add their own music and give us a 2021 version. Go on, you know you want to!
Three album songs in instrumental form are next, followed by different takes of Silence Won’t Do, Jack & Jill and The Merchant & The Nubile (these are different recording takes and alternate vocals). Its interesting to hear the development of these songs, presented here in their more raw incarnations.
It’s A Mystery (Original Version) is performed by Blood Donor Feat. Toyah Willcox, and would go on to reach #4 in the UK Singles Charts when re-recorded and released in 1981 as the lead song on the Four from Toyah EP. Most of the original parts of the song are intact in this older take. The only time I saw Toyah live was around this time, in February 1981 at The Rainbow, London. I remember enjoying Huang Chung who were also on the bill. Founder member Jack Hues has said that their early album’s will be re-released on CD soon, so something to look forward to. Huang Chung later renamed themselves as Wang Chung, and went on to have huge hits in the UK and the USA in the mid to late 80s.
Back to Toyah, sorry about the slight digression. The rest of disc two is made up of good quality demo recordings, recorded at Pete Townshend’s Eel Pie Studios in late 1980. I prefer the arrangement of the demo version of Angels & Demons, and another highlight is the Banshees meets The Cure instrumental version of Sphinx. Anthem will also be familiar to fans, as this track formed the basis of the top 10 single I Want to Be Free from 1981, although the punky guitars are the stars on this version.
The final disc (not provided for review) contains three brand new features – an interview with Toyah Willcox about the album/period, a track-by-track album commentary plus an exclusive acoustic three-song session of songs from the era, filmed in October 2020. The DVD also includes rare archive BBC TV performances of Mummies and Danced from Friday Night, Saturday Morning (November 1980).
In March 2021 BMG / Warner will reissue Japan‘s Quiet Life album from 1980, in several formats, the highlight of which is the deluxe 1LP/3CD edition. The deluxe edition features a 2020 Abbey Road half-speed remaster of the original album, alt mixes, b-sides, singles, rarities and live material.
The 3CD/1LP version comes in and out of stock on Amazon, so keep an eye on the site. It is available from other retailers, including Burning Shed (link below).
Musik Music Musiqueis a 3 CD compilation from Cherry Red, chronicling the beginnings of the synth-pop music revolution that was to dominate the charts for years to come. Whilst containing well-known names from the era (Buggles, The Human League, Ultravox and Spandau Ballet) the tracks chosen from these artists are not the obvious big-hits.
The real discoveries and delights in this compendium are the more obscure tracks, from the likes of XYNN, Nick Nicely and other acts who often released just a handful of songs before disappearing forever.
The first of the 3 CDs contains one of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s finest earlier songs, the naggingly addictive Messages. The Human League are represented by their cover of Mick Ronson’s Only After Dark, taken from the final album produced by the line-up that featured Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who left the League to form Heaven 17 with Glenn Gregory later in 1980.
Victims of the Riddle was the debut single from Toyah (it was actually released in 1979, but we will let that slip!). A keyboard driven song, with minimal guitar, it sits well on this compilation. Waiting by Ultravox is a good choice, as is Hazel O’Connor’s Sons And Lovers, with tribal drums offsetting the sax and synth squelches.
My favourite track on Disc One is from one of the most under-rated albums of the 80s, Sympathy from the debut (and only) album from Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls. Pauline was the vocalist in new wave band Penetration, and this Martin Hannett produced album saw Murray move in a more electronic direction. If you haven’t heard this album, its definitely worth investigating.
The compilation’s title track is from Zeus aka producer Zeus B. Held (Fashion’s Fabrique, John Foxx’s The Golden Section, Pete Wylie Sinful) and is a charming vocoder delivered pop song. XYNN (German multimedia artist Michael Winter) delivers the sparse and haunting Computed Man.
Gina X Performance (another Zeus B. Held collaboration) is represented by Vendor’s Box, a fuller arrangement than a lot of the purely electronic tracks on this compilation.
Lawnchairs by US band Our Daughter’s Wedding uses a similar synth sequence to the OMD track that kicks off the first CD, and is a regular on alternative 80s compilations / 80s themed radio.
Two of my favourites (from the songs I was unaware of previously) sit on the first CD. Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne by Suicide was produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars, and DCT Dreams by Nick Nicely is a lo-fi masterpiece, overflowing with more than it’s fair share of pop hooks.
The second disc opens with a key early Spandau Ballet track Glow, and a hidden gem from Robin Scott’s M in Official Secrets (avoiding the obvious Pop Muzik, great song as it is).
Galactica from French space-rock band Rockets is well sequenced next to Kim Wilde’s album track Tuning In Tuning On and Landscape’s European Man, which pre-dated their most well-known song from 1981, Einstein a Go-Go. Admit it,that song is stuck in your head now, isn’t it?
Melbourne band The Metronomes provide a “Ray Bradbury inspired tale of star-crossed love between two computing devices” with their contribution A Circuit Like Me, that cosies up to one of John Foxx’s early, icy slice of the future singles No One Driving.
The most well-known track on this compilation is the Midge Ure assisted Philip Lynott (Thin Lizzy) single Yellow Pearl, a song that was used as the theme for Top Of The Pops during the first half of the decade.
Dalek I Love You (Destiny) by Liverpool’s Dalek I is a premium slice of electronic new wave influenced pop. French band Taxi Girl contribute an early single in Mannequin. Fans of The Stranglers will remember Taxi Girl from the 1981 La Folie tour and the JJ Burnel produced / Jet Black featuring Seppuku album in 1982.
This World Of Water, a no 31 with a bullet UK singles hit by New Musik, a band formed by producer Tony Mansfield, sits in the track list just before one of my favourite Japan songs, the Roxy Music Manifesto influenced Quiet Life.
The third and final disc opens with one of Buggles finest songs, Astroboy (And The Proles On Parade). Last year there were rumours of a new, third Buggles album. Here’s hoping….
The second song titled Mannequin is from Glasgow’s Berlin Blondes, with a great mixture of new wave basslines and electronic synth lead lines. Yello supply a scratchy, discordant Bimbo and the pure-pop quota is increased by The Lonely Spy from David Balfe and Bill Drummond’s Lori And The Chameleons project.
Blood Donor serve up a quirky Doctor Who homage and The Korgis Drawn And Quartered highlights a different side to the band who had a huge hit with the dreamy Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime.
The debut album from Visage was so influential, and single Mind Of A Toy features here. The handclaps and slap-bass mutant funk of Mataya Clifford and the track Living Wild adds a wild sense of fun to the final disc.
Karel Fialka’s The Eyes Have It was a near-hit in 1980, and received lots of radio play at the time. The Russians Are Coming by The Red Squares is a short track driven by cold war paranoia.
The compilation ends with La Düsseldorf and their boozy sounding Dampfriemen, drawing on early Kraftwerk and what sounds like too many visits to Bavarian Bierkeller’s. Dampfriemen is the only song on the album featuring a kazoo solo along side the electronic instruments, so a fitting end to this entertaining glimpse into the birth of 80s synthpop.
Disc one
Messages – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Musik, Music, Musique – Zeus Coitus Interruptus – Fad Gadget Computed Man – XYNN Metal Love – Rod Vey Vendor’s Box – Gina X Performance Lawnchairs – Our Daughter’s Wedding Tokyo – Science Only After Dark – The Human League Victims Of The Riddle – Toyah DCT Dreams – Nick Nicely Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne – Suicide Waiting – Ultravox Money – Moebius Falling Years – The Fallout Club Da Vorne Steht Ne Ampel – Der Plan No, Nothing, Never – Dark Day Sons And Lovers – Hazel O’Connor Sympathy – Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls
Disc two
Glow – Spandau Ballet Official Secrets – M Chip n Roll – Silicon Teens Galactica – Rockets Tuning In Tuning On – Kim Wilde European Man – Landscape Can’t You Take A Joke? Ha Ha Hi Hi! – Henriette Coulouvrat A Circuit Like Me – The Metronomes No One Driving – John Foxx Kebabträume – D.A.F. Harmonitalk – Gary Sloan And Clone Yellow Pearl – Philip Lynott Dalek I Love You (Destiny) – dalek I Mannequin – Taxi Girl This World Of Water – New Musik Quiet Life – Japan Chase The Dragon – Kevin Harrison Diskomo – The Residents
Disc three
Astroboy (And The Proles On Parade) – Buggles Mannequin – Berlin Blondes A Certain Way To Go – The Passage Between – Sic Bimbo – Yello Images Of Delusion – Genocide The Lonely Spy – Lori And The Chameleons Lucy – Craze I’m A Computer – The Goo-Q Doctor …? – Blood Donor Brushing Your Hair – Alex Fergusson Drawn And Quartered – The Korgis Mind Of A Toy – Visage D’ya Think I’m Sexy – British Standard Unit Living Wild – Mataya Clifford Private Lives – Systems The Eyes Have It – Karel Fialka Suis-je Normale – Nini Raviolette China Blue Vision – Eyeless In Gaza The Russians Are Coming – The Red Squares Dampfriemen – La Dusseldorf
UMC / Mercury are releasing the first two Teardrop Explodes albums on vinyl in August 2019.
Kilimanjaro (originally released in October 1980) features:
Ha Ha I’m Drowning Sleeping Gas Treason Second Head Reward Poppies Went Crazy Brave Boys Keep Their Promises Bouncing Babies Books The Thief of Baghdad When I Dream
Wilder (originally released in December 1981) features:
Bent Out of Shape Colours Fly Away Seven Views of Jerusalem Pure Joy Falling Down Around Me The Culture Bunker Passionate Friend Tiny Children Like Leila Khaled Said …and the Fighting Takes Over The Great Dominions
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 