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Vibrate Generate is the sequel to Cherry Pop’s previous double-CD re-issue of Re-Flex’s The Politics Of Dancing album, and is released via Cherry Red on 24 June 2022.
Vibrate Generate brings together rare and unreleased tracks from across the bands career, including two new versions of The Politics Of Dancing, songs from their subsequent albums Humanication and Jamming The Broadcast, and tracks that were written for the soundtrack for Superman IV.
Opening with the last track Re-Flex ever recorded, Vibrate Generate heads off in a more traditional rock arrangement than their more well-known 80s recordings, with a tiny lyrical steal from an early David Bowie classic popping up and catching you off-guard towards the end of the song.
An interesting, in the spirit of the 80s remix of The Politics Of Dancing opener Praying To The Beat works well. How Much Longer, featuring Sting on guest vocals towards the end of the song, is a clipped guitar driven remix, and should have been a hit when originally released in the late 80s.
Couldn’t Stand A Day was always one of my favourite tracks from The Politics of Dancing, mainly because of its delicious chorus.
Revolution Now and on disc two, Life’s Too Dangerous were recorded for the soundtrack of Superman IV. The late Andy Gill from Gang of Four added guitar, and former Fashion vocalist Dave “Dee” Harris contributed backing vocals to these two strong tracks.
The first of two versions of the most well-known Re-Flex song, The Politics of Dancing, closes the first disc on the Vibrate Generate compilation. The remix is sympathetic to the original, with the wonderful guitar textures still front and centre in the chorus.
Opening disc two is Human, a new song with subtle nods to late 80s Bowie in its vocal styling. The powerful layered production makes this my favourite “new” song on the compilation.
The Politics Of Dancing‘s Hurt is presented in remixed form, without straying too far from it’s original incarnation. Love At First Sight (Alternative Version) is less 80s, more late 70s New Wave and offers a different take on the Re-Flex sound.
The second version of The Politics Of Dancing is a club remix, stripped back to keyboards and drum machine, with less guitar in the chorus.
The final track on disc two is one of the last songs recorded by the original Re-Flex line-up, Angry Man. Late 80s sampler technology mix with addictive guitar lines on the album closer.
Vibrate Generate works well as a “best of” or as an introduction to the music of Re-Flex, and is a perfect time capsule of the guitar and synth pop of the mid to late Eighties. The compilation includes exclusive sleeve-notes and background information written by band member Paul Fishman in 2022.
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Vibrate Generate * Praying To The Beat (Remix) How Much Longer (Remix) * Wrong Decision (Remix) * Jamming The Broadcast (Remix) * Hitline Couldn’t Stand A Day Cut It (Music Re-Action Mix) When Did You Stop Loving Me (Remix) * Revolution Now (Remix) * Sending Out A Message * The Politics Of Dancing (Remix)
Disc Two
Human * Give It Up * Jamming The Broadcast (Alternative Version – Remix) * Forever And Ever * Something About You How Much Longer (12ʺ Dance Remix) * Life’s Too Dangerous * Hurt (Music Re-Action Mix) Love At First Sight (Alternative Version) * The Politics Of Dancing (Club Mix – Remix) Over The Top (Remix) * Angry Man (Remix) *
*Previously unreleased
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As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases via this website.
Satellite Life: Recordings (1995-1996) is a 3 CD set from Billy Mackenzie, released by Cherry Red on 22 April 2022, re-assembling past recordings with plenty of previously unreleased songs.
Hailing from Dundee, Scotland, Billy Mackenzie formed The Associates with Alan Rankine and the band enjoyed huge critical acclaim, chart success and cult status but the pair parted company in 1983 and Billy continued to record, for a while as The Associates and also in collaboration with other musicians, as well as releasing music as a solo artist.
Around 1994, Billy met Steve Aungle. The pair sparked off each other, prompting a purple patch for making new music. Some recordings appeared on two posthumous albums, Beyond The Sun (1997) and Eurocentric (2001). A couple more surfaced on Auchtermatic (2004).
However, Steve had long felt that the recordings hadn’t been presented or sequenced appropriately and in conjunction with Cherry Red, he has curated this new triple-CD collection, which re-assembles past recordings with previously unreleased songs, including collaborations with Dennis Wheatley and Laurence Jay Cedar, who also contribute to the CD booklet notes.
Disc one in the three CD set is titled Winter Academy, and mainly features songs from Beyond The Sun and Eurocentric. This first disc is Billy at his most melancholic, with mainly down-tempo songs. It’s perfectly sequenced, with stripped back arrangements for the early songs such as the majestic Sing That Song Again, highlighting the pure magic of Billy’s vocals. Winter Academy is the Beyond The Sun mix, not the Transmission Impossible version. An ice-cold arrangement chills, with a diamond sharp vocal performance that sits so well with the strings.
Billy’s version of Wild Is The Wind is a great companion piece to David Bowie’s take on the song. They are both classic recordings, and although I’ve lived with Bowie’s version for much longer, the held note towards the end blows my mind every single time I hear Billy perform this standard.
“Like a leaf clings To the tree Oh my darling, Cling to me”
Another cover is Sparks Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth, with just piano, violin and vocals. When The World Was Young features Steve Aungle on piano, and Billy on vocals. The sixties influenced layered backing vocals make the track sound so much richer, and it’s a highlight of this first disc.
Two previously unreleased songs sit in the middle of disc one. Tallahatchie Pass is a Mackenzie/Aungle composition, and is a 70s sounding arrangement. I wonder if this song is a reference to Billie Joe McAllister and the Tallahatchie Bridge referenced in Bobbie Gentry’s Ode to Billie Joe? Tallahatchie Pass is a fine song, and offers us a style not really heard from Billy before, as a tantalising hint of what might have been.
Also previously unreleased is the dark cover of Randy Newman’s Baltimore, recorded with Dennis Wheatley. This is my favourite of the “new” tracks on this disc. The beatless, discordant and reverb drenched strings and vocals deliver an absolute classic, that could have easily been included on one of Billy’s studio albums. The arrangement reminds me of the mood of Bomb The Bass’s Winter In July (minus the beats, of course). Heavenly!
“Oh, Baltimore Ain’t it hard just to live, just to live”
I was not surprised to see Nocturne VII and Beyond The Sun appear on this compilation, and Return To Love dials in the electronica of the second disc, Consenting Holograms.
The tempo increases for disc two. Opening with Beyond The Sun‘s manic, Middle Eastern flavoured 3 Gypsies In A Restaurant and Eurocentric‘s Falling Out With The Future, the synths are bubbling and the beats are pumping. No torch songs here.
Put This Right was recorded and written with Laurence Jay Cedar, and features a Giorgio Moroder inspired synth-fest backing, and a fine vocal from Mr MacKenzie. The unreleased tracks are a revelation! A second Laurence Jay Cedar track follows, with Diamanda. A more experimental dance track than Put This Right, with acid synths and cold soundscapes providing the perfect backing to an insistently catchy song that burrows into your brain. Disc two is made to play loud!
Hornophobic always reminds me of the Rankine / Associates Sulk era, and has aged particularly well, remaining one of Billy’s best later period pieces.
“Just walk, walk through your TVs No room for deep thought, or heat-seeking missiles”
Fear Is My Bride features a touching vocal and an addictive chorus. Sadly, I wonder about the source material for this song (and to some extent, the vocal on Eurocentric), as the audio quality falls a little below the standard of the other tracks, but for the chorus alone, Fear Is My Bride deserves its inclusion.
14th Century Nightlife works well with another of the unreleased tracks, another lyric-less piece, the jittery Consenting Holograms Have More Fun.
Following on from the cover of Eurythmics Here Comes The Rain Again comes Eurocentric, propelled by a four to the floor kick-drum and an interesting vocal arrangement. We can only wonder how all of these previously unreleased songs would have developed over time, had Billy still been with us.
Mysterious Lover is sadly very much of its time, so not one of my favourites from the Consenting Holograms disc. Return To Love 2 is a previously unheard version of the Eurocentric track, and is a much brighter, and at times, lighter take on the song.
Give Me Time (remix) is a 9 minute exploration of the Beyond The Sun track, that also appears in it’s original form on disc 3 of this collection. The arrangement stretches and is almost a dub mix at times, with echoed percussion and deep-cut basslines. The last three minutes of this remix are a dream, with the music built around a Mackenzie harmony. Drop those depth charges baby! The original is still the definitive take, but this remix is worth returning to, and sounds so beautiful in the magical early hours.
Disc Three: Liberty Lounge includes six previously unreleased recordings, and rounds the collection off with some of Mackenzie’s more pop orientated material. Tomorrow People is a timeless piece of twisted pop-music. Possibly inspired by the early 70s UK television show, this would have made a great single, and would still sound good on the radio today. Release it to the airwaves, Cherry Red!
The Mountains That You Climb, with its whistle intro and deep strings, has a nostalgic 1960s feel. Hearing Billy’s vocals accompanied by Rhodes piano sends shivers. This song would have been the centrepiece of any future Billy Mackenzie album, in an alternative reality. The way he hold’s the vocal line before the chorus, is a Mackenzie trademark, built to tug on the heart-strings. I love the production (by White Label), and it soon became one of my favourites on the collection.
The quality does not drop with the next unreleased song, McArthur’s Son, another White Label production, benefiting from a fuller band line-up. Sounding like an out-take from a classic mid 70s album, I would have loved to have heard further recordings with this more organic style, so unlike any other songs we have heard graced with those angelic pipes. A genuine lost Mackenzie classic.
Reminding me of Bowie’s Lodger, Eurocentric‘s Liberty Lounge did not initially connect with me until I heard it on this compilation, which shows how this reimagining / sympathetic sequencing has done wonders for the material. There are no major audio improvements that I am aware of with the previously released tracks, but so many of the songs work so much better in this new environment.
We go back to Beyond The Sun for the next four tracks, and they are all killer, no filler, especially the Roxy Music art-rock of Sour Jewel and the aching Theme From Shaft meets Massive Attack influenced At The Edge Of The World. This song really highlights the raw emotion of Billy’s vocals. The album’s title track is from the Transmission Impossible album, and is another one that only really hit hard on this compilation.
A new version of a Beyond The Sun track is the next previously unheard songs. 14 Mirrors 2 strips back the instrumentation, with Billy accompanied by Steve Aungle on piano, giving this take a new, timeless appeal. Auchtermatic‘s Velvet whet’s your palette for the final two previously unreleased tracks.
Your Own Fire is a collaboration with Stiv Lestar, and sadly suffers compared to the other songs, sounding like it might have been sourced from a cassette master. Nonetheless Your Own Fire has an interesting arrangement, almost sounding like Billy backed by a rough and ready garage band.
The album ends with Von Hamburg, a haunting Mackenzie/Aungle composed piano and strings finale that is a fitting conclusion to a collection put together with so much love and respect.
I must admit to feeling a little worried about this compilation prior to hearing it, and whilst the audio quality dips on three of the songs, I agree with the inclusion of all of the unreleased material, which offers hints of what was possibly still to come from Billy, and definitely enhances his reputation as one of our most gifted singer / songwriters. Everyone marvels at his voice but don’t always give credit for his writing. Also bear in mind the timescale of these recordings – with so much quality to be heard, and such a wide musical vocabulary, all in the space of just two years, making this collection all the more remarkable, and a pure joy to listen to.
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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
NOW That’s What I Call Punk & New Wave is a new compilation that features 89 tracks across 4 CDs, and also collects 34 tracks across 2 punk-tastic neon pink vinyl LP’s.
The CD offers a mouth-watering 88 tracks (plus the Toy Dolls!) and includes most of the eras heavy-hitters (The Stranglers, The Jam, Skids, The Police, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Siouxsie And The Banshees and Ramones) but delves deeper with slightly less well-known but equally as important songs from this golden era for singles.
I was impressed to see my favourite Generation X single King Rocker, plus a song I never tire of hearing in Milk And Alcohol from Dr. Feelgood. I was also pleased to see many songs from my favourite year for music, 1979.
Ultravox! feature with Rockwrok whilst Magazine’s Shot By Both Sides hints at the greatness to come from this seminal Manchester band. Mink DeVille deliver the Latin flavoured rock ‘n’ roll of Spanish Stroll, whilst New Zealand’s Split Enz serve up a fine slice of new wave pop with I Got You.
Midge Ure’s Rich Kids are a welcome addition along with one of my all-time favourite new wave singles in The Knack’s My Sharona.
Honourable mentions also go to Eddie & The Hot Rods with Do Anything You Wanna Do (featuring the best use of handclaps in a pop single), The Motors Airport (what, no Dancing The Night Away I hear you say?), the pop infused psychedelia of Reward from Liverpool’s The Teardrop Explodesand Blondie’s 60s beat influenced Denis. Has there ever been a more perfect pop single?
The vinyl version weighs in with a leaner 34 tracks, and for the most part sticks to the more well-known artists, but this just means you need to buy the vinyl for that authentic 70s listening experience and the CD version to wallow in this energetic late 70s time-capsule.
Buy NOW That’s What I Call Punk & New Wave CD from Burning Shed or Amazon
Buy NOW That’s What I Call Punk & New Wave neon-pink vinyl from Burning Shed or Amazon
The Clash – London Calling The Undertones – Teenage Kicks Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) The Stranglers – No More Heroes Siouxsie And The Banshees – Hong Kong Garden The Rezillos – Top Of The Pops Ramones – Sheena Is A Punk Rocker Iggy Pop – Lust For Life Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – Roadrunner X-Ray Spex – Germ Free Adolescents The Damned – Love Song Skids – Into The Valley XTC – Making Plans For Nigel Squeeze – Cool For Cats Tom Robinson Band – 2-4-6-8 Motorway Elvis Costello – Watching The Detectives Joe Jackson – Is She Really Going Out With Him? Jags – Back Of My Hand Secret Affair – Time For Action The Motors – Airport The Cars – My Best Friend’s Girl Patti Smith – Because The Night
CD 2
The Jam – Going Underground The Police – Can’t Stand Losing You The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap Blondie – Hanging On The Telephone Pretenders – Brass In Pocket Dexys Midnight Runners – Geno Ian Dury & The Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick Lene Lovich – Lucky Number Toyah – Ieya Adam & The Ants – Dog Eat Dog Bow Wow Wow – Go Wild In The Country Hazel O’Connor – Eighth Day Tenpole Tudor – Swords Of A Thousand Men Generation X – King Rocker Dr. Feelgood – Milk And Alcohol The Barracudas – Summer Fun The Piranhas – Tom Hark Sham 69 – If The Kids Are United The Vibrators – Automatic Lover Department S – Is Vic There? The Only Ones – Another Girl, Another Planet Mink DeVille – Spanish Stroll Yellow Dog – Just One More Night
CD 3
The B-52’s – Rock Lobster Devo – Whip It The Flying Lizards – Money Martha And The Muffins – Echo Beach The Cure – A Forest Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart Joe Jackson – It’s Different For Girls The Regents – 7 Teen Squeeze – Up The Junction The Tourists – I Only Want To Be With You Split Enz – I Got You The Psychedelic Furs – Pretty In Pink Simple Minds – Love Song Ultravox! – Rockwrok Marianne Faithfull – Broken English Grace Jones – Private Life The Slits – I Heard It Through The Grapevine Ian Dury & The Blockheads – What A Waste Rich Kids – Rich Kids Sham 69 – Angels With Dirty Faces The Dickies – Banana Splits Jilted John – Jilted John
CD 4
U2 – I Will Follow The Members – Sound Of The Suburbs The Ruts – Babylon’s Burning The Boomtown Rats – She’s So Modern X-Ray Spex – Identity Siouxsie And The Banshees – Christine The Jam – Down In The Tube Station At Midnight Ramones – Baby, I Love You Blondie – Denis Pretenders – Kid The Stranglers – Duchess The Teardrop Explodes – Reward Adam & The Ants – Kings Of The Wild Frontier Bow Wow Wow – C30 C60 C90 Go Public Image Limited – Public Image Magazine – Shot By Both Sides The Runaways – Cherry Bomb The Knack – My Sharona Eddie & The Hot Rods – Do Anything You Wanna Do Skids – Working For The Yankee Dollar The Vapors – Turning Japanese Toy Dolls – Nellie The Elephant
Disc A The Clash – London Calling The Undertones – Teenage Kicks The Stranglers – No More Heroes Siouxsie And The Banshees – Hong Kong Garden The Rezillos – Top Of The Pops Ramones – Sheena Is A Punk Rocker The Members – Sound Of The Suburbs The Ruts – Babylon’s Burning Iggy Pop – Lust For Life
Disc B The Jam – Going Underground The Police – Can’t Stand Losing You The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap Blondie – Hanging On The Telephone Pretenders – Brass In Pocket X-Ray Spex – Germ Free Adolescents Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – Roadrunner The Runaways – Cherry Bomb Jilted John – Jilted John
Disc C The B-52’s – Rock Lobster Devo – Whip It The Flying Lizards – Money Squeeze – Cool For Cats XTC – Making Plans For Nigel Tom Robinson Band – 2-4-6-8 Motorway Joe Jackson – Is She Really Going Out With Him? Patti Smith – Because The Night
Disc D U2 – I Will Follow Skids – Into The Valley Adam & The Ants – Dog Eat Dog Dexys Midnight Runners – Geno Ian Dury & The Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick Martha And The Muffins – Echo Beach The Cure – A Forest Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Level 42 are releasing a 10 CD set titled The Complete Polydor Years: Volume 2 (1985-1989), that contains all the Level 42 albums from that era plus further discs containing B-Sides, 7” mixes, remixes and rare tracks.
Regarded as the bands most commercial period, this collection features all the hits from the era including Running in the Family, Lessons in Love and Leaving Me Now.
Discs 6 -10 contain all the B-Sides, 7” mixes, remixes and rare versions from 1985-1989. Level 42 – The Complete Polydor Years: Volume 2 was compiled in conjunction with Level 42 and band experts Paul Wallace, Paul Waller and Simon Carson.
The comprehensive sleeve notes were written by Record Collectors Daryl Easlea who has spoken to band members current and past.
The collection kicks off with the 1985 live album A Physical Presence on the first two discs. I spent my teenage years in Woolwich, but had moved away and so missed this tour, that included a show at The Coronet in Woolwich, one of the gigs featured on this album, along with tracks recorded at The Hexagon (Reading) and Goldiggers in Chippenham.
A Physical Presence captures the band at their jazz-funk peak, before the more mainstream success that followed with the next few albums. Highlights include a crowd-participating Turn It On and the flawless second disc, with six killer tracks in a row, including a powerful version of Hot Water.
World Machine saw the band start to move away from their signature style, towards a more electronic pop sound. Known for the massive hit singles – Something About You (a truly great pop song) and Leaving Me Now, other highlights include the sublime arrangement of the title track, the percussive Coup D’etat and the Rhodes driven Lying Still, with some wonderful Steely Dan sounding harmonies.
Disc four contains the Running In The Family album from 1987. The album opens with a staple of 80s nostalgia radio stations, Lessons In Love, which is simply one of the band’s finest singles. There is a real consistency in the song-writing and performances on this album, resulting in 5 of the 8 album tracks being released as singles.
“All the dreams that we were building We never fulfilled them”
Children Say has a lovely refrain and other highlights include It’s Over, the band’s final UK Top 10 hit and album closer Freedom Someday. Brothers Phil and Boon Gould left the band after the release of Running In The Family.
Guitarist Alan Murphy (Kate Bush / Go West) and drummer Gary Husband joined for Staring at the Sun, the last studio album in this collection, which appears on disc five.
Heaven in My Hands was the biggest hit from the album, peaking at No12 in the UK single charts. I love Alan Murphy’s guitar style, particularly from his work with Kate Bush as well as his strong contributions to this album, sadly his only appearance with the band, as he died in 1989. Sting guitarist Dominic Miller also features on the album.
Staring at the Sun feels very different from earlier Level 42 albums, with a shift towards a more pop/rock sound. Key tracks include the top 30 single Take A Look (what a chorus, by the way), the addictive Silence and the rare later period instrumental Gresham Blues.
The final five discs round up b sides, 7″ and 12″ mixes plus live tracks from the period. My personal highlights from these tracks include one of my favourite 80s 12″ mixes, Something About You (Sisa Mix), World Machine (Shep Pettibone Remix), the very much of it’s time, drum-less Heaven In My Hands (Guitarpella Mix), the surprisingly effective “funky drummer” take of Take A Look (Remix) and the 2nd version of Starchild (Remix) on disc 9, that clocks in at nearly 8 minutes.
The Complete Polydor Years: Volume 2 (1985-1989) is a great way to collect the Level 42 albums from the most commercially successful period of the bands career, and is an 80s music fans dream.
UMC / Polydor have released a new Style Council collection: Long Hot Summers: The Story Of The Style Council.
The collection is available on CD and vinyl, and contains key single and album tracks from the band formed by Paul Weller & Mick Talbot after The Jam split.
This impressive collection features many of the great singles / EP and album tracks such as My Ever-Changing Moods, The Paris Match, Speak Like a Child, Have You Ever Had It Blue as well as less celebrated songs such as the stark Ghosts Of Dachau and the breezy How She Threw It All Away.
The collection includes tracks featuring drummer Steve White and vocalist Dee C. Lee, and was endorsed and co-compiled by Paul Weller.
Long Hot Summers: The Story Of The Style Council contains two previously unreleased recordings – a demo of the top 5 single My Ever Changing Moods (with strings), and an extended version of Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse (the original version featured on the band’s first album, Café Bleu).
The release ties in with a Sky Arts documentary about the band, featuring interviews with all key members, fans and collaborators.
Headstart for Happiness Long Hot Summer My Ever-Changing Moods Walls Come Tumbling Down! Party Chambers Wanted (or Waiter, There’s…) Shout to the Top! It Just Came to Pieces in My Hands Come to Milton Keynes Why I Went Missing Waiting Ghosts Of Dachau Down in the Seine The Paris Match Boy Who Cried Wolf Life at a Top People’s Health Farm Homebreakers Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse (Extended version)
Disc two
Speak Like a Child The Lodgers (Or She Was Only…) Money Go Round You’re the Best Thing How She Threw It All Away A Man of Great Promise The Piccadilly Trail A Solid Bond in Your Heart All Gone Away Sweet Loving Ways Promised Land Have You Ever Had It Blue It Didn’t Matter Spin’ Drifting Here’s One That Got Away A Woman’s Song Changing of the Guard My Ever-Changing Moods (Demo) Shout To The Top (Instrumental)
Vinyl Tracklisting:
Side A Headstart for Happiness Long Hot Summer My Ever-Changing Moods Walls Come Tumbling Down! Party Chambers
Side B Wanted (or Waiter, There’s…) Shout to the Top! It Just Came to Pieces in My Hands Come to Milton Keynes Why I Went Missing Waiting
Side C Ghosts Of Dachau Down in the Seine The Paris Match Life at a Top People’s Health Farm Dropping Bombs On The Whitehouse (Extended version)
Side D Speak Like a Child The Lodgers (Or She Was Only…) Money Go Round You’re the Best Thing How She Threw It All Away
Side E A Man of Great Promise The Piccadilly Trail A Solid Bond in Your Heart Sweet Loving Ways Promised Land It Didn’t Matter
Side F Have You Ever Had It Blue Spin’ Drifting Here’s One That Got Away Changing of the Guard My Ever-Changing Moods (Demo)
The 79 tracks (from a marketing view-point, maybe there should have been 78 tracks!) cover the well-known punk and new wave hits from the year, along with lesser-known regional acts from Manchester, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The collection also includes an entertaining 48-page booklet that includes details on every track included in the compilation.
The first CD features some of the era’s big-hitters. Opening with Sham 69’s Borstal Breakout from January 1978, followed by one of the hardest-hitting singles by The Stranglers, 5 Minutes. The percussive Emergency by 999 is another highlight, as is the early Gary Numan release – Oh! Didn’t I Say by Tubeway Army.
Automatic Lover by The Vibrators fits in with the short-lived power pop movement of bands such as Tonight (Drummer Man) from the Spring of 1978. She’s So Modern by The Boomtown Rats reminds you what a powerful force the band were from 1978 to around 1981, with an amazing run of pop / new wave hit singles.
A pre-fame Japan offer Don’t Rain On My Parade and are a world away from the sound they settled on from Quiet Life in late 1979, that showcased their move from new wave guitars to something more sophisticated on the cusp of the 80s synth-pop explosion.
Concrete Jungle by The Coventry Automatics is an early track from the band that would soon become The Specials, with their mix of new wave and ska already starting to develop into the style they would use so successfully from 1979 onwards. The Only Ones Another Girl, Another Planet was unbelievably never a hit but is a classic single from this year, and sits well in this collection.
Magazine contribute the early single Touch And Go. Irish band Pretty Boy Floyd And The Gems Spread The Word Around is a song I missed at the time, but is worthy of inclusion here. The Steve Lillywhite produced When The Tanks Roll Over Poland Again by The Automatics has a great guitar sound and Jilted John’s only hit single (produced by Martin Hannett!) is one of the biggest selling tracks on this album.
The second CD opens with the track that gave the compilation it’s name, X-Ray Spex with The Day The World Turned Day-Glo, a song that has aged well. What a guitar sound! Up Against The Wall by the Tom Robinson Band is driven by a powerful guitar riff from the late, great Danny Kustow.
Tyne and Wear band The Carpettes (who I saw at least once in my local venue, Woolwich Tramshed) supply 2ne1, whilst the Midge Ure fronted Rich Kids offer the title track from their only studio album, Ghosts Of Princes In Towers, an album I still love.
Another couple of favourites sit on CD 2 – the John Foxx fronted Ultravox with Slow Motion and the Status Quo pastiche / Mike Oldfield mentioning Heads Down No Nonsense Mindless Boogie by Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias. I’ve still got a double 7″ vinyl of this single somewhere. I must dig it out.
The third and final disc opens with my favourite Public Image Ltd song, their debut single Public Image. Stiff Little Fingers 2nd single Alternative Ulster and Life’s A Gamble by Penetration are also highlights. Penetration’s Pauline Murray releases a new solo album in the Autumn.
Johnny Thunders full-length album version of You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory is included here, although I prefer the short, stripped back Pete Wylie (Wah!) version, as part of the Hope (I Wish You’d Believe Me) single in 1983. The Saints Are Coming by the Skids features some of Stuart Adamson’s earliest incendiary guitar lines. Again, the compilers choose a deeper cut from one of the era’s biggest bands with In The Crowd from The Jam’s All Mod Cons album.
The punk-pop of Destination Venus by The Rezillos is a forgotten tune from this era. Flashing In The Subway by pub-rockers Tyla Gang comes from the more blues / Dr Feelgood side of new wave rock. RIP Sean Tyla. 10:15 Saturday Night by The Cure is a less obvious choice for this compilation, and so stands out amongst some of the more standard new wave blueprint tracks.
If you are a fan of punk and new wave and want to delve deeper than the hit singles, this Cherry Red compilation offers good value for money and is an entertaining collection from a vintage year for music.
Borstal Breakout – Sham 69 5 Minutes – The Stranglers Emergency – 999 Don’t Tango On My Heart – The Doll Oh! Didn’t I Say – Tubeway Army Automatic Lover – The Vibrators I’m A Boy – Cyanide Bad In Bed – The Electric Chairs Lost Lenore – Attrix Stuck With You – Zones Party Clothes – Subs You’re A Disease – The Outcasts She’s So Modern – The Boomtown Rats I’m Civilised – Menace Moonmidsummer – The Freshies The Kids Are Alright – The Pleasers Don’t Rain On My Parade – Japan Concrete Jungle – The Coventry Automatics Another Girl, Another Planet – The Only Ones Touch And Go – Magazine Spread The Word Around – Pretty Boy Floyd And The Gems When The Tanks Roll Over Poland Again – The Automatics Stella’s Got A Fella – Social Security Chloroform – The Bleach Boys Jilted John – Jilted John Rat Up A Drainpipe – The Members Glandular Angela – The Exits Why Don’t You Do Me Right? – Alternative Tv
Disc Two
The Day The World Turned Day-Glo – X-Ray Spex Up Against The Wall – Tom Robinson Band Central Detention Centre – Gyro Ain’t Got A Clue – The Lurkers The Backstreet Boys – Patrik Fitzgerald Nobody Loves You When You’re Old And Gay – Dead Fingers Talk I Can’t Resist – The Reaction I Can’t Wait – The Jolt Kinnel Tommy – Ed Banger Loving A Killer – The Stoat A.C.A.B. – The Rowdies Start All Over Again – No Sweat I Believe – The V.I.P.S 2ne1 – The Carpettes Ghosts Of Princes In Towers – Rich Kids Kung Fu International – John Cooper Clarke Ringing In The Streets – The Ripchords Slow Motion – Ultravox Love Is Blind – Nightshift Rock’n’roll Ain’t Dead – The Questions Cortina Cowboys – Blue Steam Birmingham Reggie – The Others Live In A Car – UK Subs It’s Alright – The Turn Teenage Vice – The Teardrops Heads Down No Nonsense Mindless Boogie – Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias
Disc Three
Public Image – Public Image Ltd Alternative Ulster – Stiff Little Fingers Light At Your Window – The Detonators Fibre – Spizzoil Life’s A Gamble – Penetration 28/8/78 – Scritti Politti Europeans – Europeans Take The Cash (K.A.S.H.) – Wreckless Eric You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory – Johnny Thunders The Saints Are Coming – Skids It’s The New Thing – The Fall Alphaville – The Monochrome Set In The Crowd – The Jam Starry Eyes – The Records Weekend Girl – The Bozos Destination Venus – The Rezillos Flashing In The Subway – Tyla Gang 10:15 Saturday Night – The Cure Larger Than Life – The Parrots Wrong Street – Nicky & The Dots New Town – The Vitamins Love Song – Passage What She Wants, She Needs – Eater Never Met Suzi – Time Machine White Christmas – Slush
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
Recorded in the winter of 1977, but released a year later – the album is a double disc featuring live tracks recorded at the festival from The Stranglers, The Wilko Johnson Band, XTC, Dire Straits, X-ray Spex, The Only Ones, Steel Pulse and more.
The Jam are re-issuing their long out-of-print vinyl compilationSnap! in October, for the first time on heavyweight vinyl.
Snap! is my favourite compilation from The Jam, and is made up of a mix of singles, b sides and album tracks. Released by UMC / Polydor on 25 October 2019, the double vinyl also includes a 7″ single containing live tracks.
The 2019 re-issue of Snap! is housed in a gatefold sleeve, with original artwork, printed inner sleeves and the original ‘free’ live 7” EP.
This 2019 version has been remastered at Abbey Road, and for the first time is available on heavyweight vinyl, with a download card (well-done record label – this always helps sway me towards a vinyl release).
7″ – Side A Move On Up (Live) Get Yourself Together (Live)
7″ – Side B The Great Depression (Live) But I’m Different Now (Live)
LP1 – Side A In The City Away From The Numbers All Around The World The Modern World News Of The World Billy Hunt English Rose Mr. Clean
LP1 – Side B David Watts A’ Bomb In Wardour St Down In The Tube Station At Midnight Strange Town The Butterfly Collector When You’re Young Smithers-Jones Thick As Thieves
LP2 – Side A The Eton Rifles Going Underground Dreams Of Children That’s Entertainment Start! Man In The Corner Shop Funeral Pyre
LP2 – Side B Absolute Beginners Tales From The Riverbank Town Called Malice Precious The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow) Beat Surrender
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 