The soundtrack of my life

A sad story of vinyl records I foolishly sold, often for less than a pint of beer

2024-02-19T18:55:00.000+00:00

This is probably the saddest blog post I've ever written. Ok, so it's no sad on a global scale of human suffering, but on a personal level it's quite sad for me. It's about some of the vinyl records I foolishly sold in the past, for what often turned out to be for less than a pint of beer. Some I have managed to replace at a reasonable price, others for a more substantial price, and others still allude me. There are also some which, although worth a hefty sum of money today, having sold I can happily live without.

I'm going to start with Aphex Twin. At one stage I had most of Richard D James' material on vinyl. I was more than pleased a couple of months back to pick up an original 1992 pressing of Selected Ambient works 85-92 which remains one of my all time favourite albums.

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92

I've been less lucky on Selected Ambient Works volume II, where I used to be the proud owner of the triple vinyl version on brown vinyl. I'm not sure I'll ever be replacing this one as prices on Ebay currently start at over £300. Even the 2017 black vinyl, reissues seem to go for a fortune.

Surfing on Sine Waves by Polygon Window is another I sorely miss. Thinking about it, I used to own all of the vinyl releases in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series at one stage. I didn't own the coloured vinyl versions of these, with the exception I think of Incunabula by Autechre.

Next up is P J Harvey. I used to own most of the early albums and singles on vinyl and these are probably some of the ones I miss the most, in particular the debut album, Dry. I never owned the impossibly rare, limited edition version with the extra demos album, which now seems to command a price tag of £150 an upwards on Ebay.

P J Harvey - Dry, Too Pure records, c.1992

I did however manage to pick up copies of 1995's To Bring You My Love and also the 12" of Fifty Foot Queenie recently, but the bulk of the P J Harvey vinyl back catalogue still alludes me.

At one stage I had a fairly impressive collection of vinyl that was released on Manchester's Factory records, although not some of the crazily rare stuff like the Factory Sampler. Wisely, and thankfully, I held on to my Joy Division vinyl, but parted with the rest. Of all the Factory vinyl I did sell, it was only really A Certain Ratio that I regretted, and thankfully I've been able to replace all of that, including most recently their debut single from 1979, All Night Party. and debut album, To Each from 1981.

A Certain Ratio - To Each, Factory records, c.1979

As an aside on Factory records, I managed to miss out on Durutti Column at the time but have been able to track down a few of their original vinyl releases, although unsurprisingly not the original, highly sought after, first pressing of The return of the Durutti Column with the sandpaper sleeve, so I made do with a 1981 repressing instead.

The Durutti Column - The Return of the Durutti Column, Factory records, c.1980

Moving on to the Britpop era now, I used to own the first three Oasis albums on vinyl but don't actually miss them and am happy to listen in a more digital format. From that era though, albums that I did miss and managed to track down again were 1977 by Ash, Expecting To Fly by The Bluetones, and the debut Elastica album.

Elastica - Elastica, Deception records, c.1995

Gene - Olympian, the 1995 debut album by Gene remains missing from my collection but hopefully not too hard to track down.

Finally a short section on some of what I'll refer to as the second wave of punk where I had quite a few 7" singles of this era, some great and have stood the test of time, others less so. Most of these went a long time ago, but I'm still pleased that I have the UK Decay ones.

A selection of 7" singles from the second wave of punk

Before they were famous (I prefer their earlier stuff)

2024-02-11T22:51:00.002+00:00

This post was inspired by the fact that none of my friends realised that bands like The Human League and Dead or Alive had recorded anything before they hit the big time. The singles below a a handful of my favourite tracks by bands that would go on to be huge stadium fillers but that, in my case, I prefer their earlier stuff.

Let's start with The Human League who probably entered most people's consciousness in 1981 when they released their third album, Dare, and the various hit singles that came from it. I'm not necessarily saying I don't like this period of The Human League, but I find their earlier, less commercial recordings more appealing. Heralding from the industrial heartland of Sheffield, home to other electronic / experimental bands like Cabaret Voltaire, their first single, Being Boiled, was released on the Fast Product label way back in 1978. A very different sound to what they would go on to produce in the 1980's, but an essential slice of post-punk / synth-pop.

The Human League - Being Boiled, Fast Product, c.1978

The Human League also released a 12" single on Fast Product, The Dignity of Labour Pts. 1-4, with early pressings coming with a free flexi. Despite its seeming rarity there are plenty of these available on Ebay at the time of writing this post.

The Human League - The Dignity of Labour, Fast Product, c.1979

Although they signed to Virgin records after these releases, the success of their first few singles on Virgin was still minimal, although they did secure a Top of The Pops appearance with Rock and Roll Part 2, taken from 1980's Holiday EP. I cannot claim to have heard them during their stint with Fast Product, but I was introduced to them by a school friend who has a copy of Empire State Human, released on Virgin records in 1979, and then again in 1980 where it troubled the UK charts at number 62.

The Human League - Empire State Human, Virgin records, c.1979

Let's swap artists now and now and move on to Dead or Alive. A band I cannot claim to having heard before they were famous, although I was aware of the name, but one whose back catalogue I discovered recently. Their first 2 singles, I'm Falling and Number Eleven, were released on Liverpool's Inevitable records, home to other Liverpool bands like Wah! Heat (more about them later), Modern Eon, and It's Immaterial. The single I'm going to feature here however, is their 1982 12" single, It's Been Hours Now. I could have chosen any of the first three as they are all excellent, but I wanted to shine a little light on the chap at the top right hand of the front cover, Wayne Hussey, who would of course go on to be part of The Sisters of Mercy and The Mission, via Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls.

Dead of Alive - It's Been Hours Now, Black Eyes Records, c.1982

No, 'I prefer their earlier stuff' post could possibly be complete without mentioning Ultravox, or should I say Ultravox! Many people will be aware of Ultravox following the success of their hit single, Vienna, but if I'm honest it leaves me a bit cold. Each to their own, but I much prefer the period from 1977 to 1979 where their vocalist was John Foxx, when they relased 3 stunning albums, Ultravox!, Ha1 Ha! Ha!, and Systems of Romance, none of which troubled the UK charts but they did secure a John Peel session in 1977, which as far as I'm concerned is more worthy by far than having a hit.

I'm going to choose their first single release for this post, Young Savage, from 1977, mainly because it's about as far away as you could possibly get from their later, post John Foxx, sound. Becoming increasingly hard to track down, this one will set you back a pretty penny on Ebay.

Ultravox! - Young Savage, Island records, c.1977

Next up we have stadium fillers, Simple Minds. However it wasn't always that way, and their early records are quite different from the songs that would make them superstars. Prior to signing to Arista records, and then Virgin records, Simple Minds released two wonderful singles in 1979 on Zoom records, Life in a Day and Chelsea Girl.

Simple Minds - Life In A Day, Zoom records, c.1979

Simple Minds - Chelsea Girl, Zoom records, c.1979

I was going to stop there with Simple Minds but didn't feel I couldn't move on without mentioning their classic 1980 singles, I Travel and Changeling, both released on Arista records, and still largely escaping the wider public's attention. I Travel was released in both 7" and 12" formats, with early copies of the 7" coming with a free, two track, flexi disc. All versions of this release are now becoming increasingly hard to find out in the wild, although there are several on Ebay.

Simple Minds - I Travel, Arista records, c.1980

Simple Minds - Changeling, Arista records, c.1980

Having mentioned Wah! Heat above and their association with the Inevitable label, they now get their turn here. A band that somewhat confusingly changed their name from Wah! Heat, to Wah!, and then to The Mighty Wah!, and had their mainstream success with hits like The Story of the Blues, Come Back, and later with Sinful as Pete Wylie and the Oedipus Wrecks, but prior to that, as Wah! Heat, they released a couple of great singles on Inevitable records. Better Scream was released in 1979, and Seven Minutes to Midnight was released in 1980. Both brilliant songs which received acclaim in the music press at the time and featured on John Peel, for whom they recorded a session. Their debut album, Nah=Poo - The Art of Bluff, released in 1981 on Eternal records, is also a bit of a lost classic. Both of the singles turn up in the wild from time-to-time at reasonable prices, and are also fairly easy to find on Ebay.

Wah! Heat - Better Scream, Inevitable records, c.1979

Wah! Heat - Seven Minutes to Midnight, Inevitable records, c.1980

And finally for this short post, we move on to ABC. Yes, ABC, although not perhaps as most will know them. Prior to forming ABC, Mark White and Stephen Singleton were part of a Sheffield, electronic new wave / minimal synth band called Vice Versa. They released a couple of singles as Vice Versa, the first was Music 4 in 1979 on Neutron records, which is pretty much impossible to find unless you have deep pockets, and Stilyagi, in 1980, by which time Martin Fry had joined the band. Music 4 is listed at anything between £30 and £200 on both Ebay and Discogs. Stilyagi seems to go for less but still commands a hefty price tag.

Well, once again this was a post that could have continued for considerably longer, but it's now past my bedtime so I'll end it here. Other worthy contenders might have been Tubeway Army before their massive Are Friends Electric hit; the first single by The Police, Fall Out, from 1977; anything by The Psychedelic Furs prior to them hitting the big-time with Pretty In Pink, in particular their first two singles, We Love You and Sister Europe, and of course not forgetting The Leyton Buzzards (occasionally The Buzzards From Leyton) who released some quite impressive punk and new wave singles before morphing into Modern Romance.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more posts in the hopefully not too distant future.

It's all about the b-side (a journey through some of my favourite b-sides)

2024-01-28T21:09:00.006+00:00

Back in the days when vinyl was king, and I was spending all my pocket money and paper round money on records, there was nothing more exciting than going into town after school and coming home with a handful of 7" singles where typically I had only heard the a-side, and then being completely blown away by the track, or tracks, on the b-side. For today's post I've decided to share a few of my favourites, along with their cover artwork.

I'm going to start with one of my absolute favourite tracks, Pssyche, by Killing Joke. The a-side of this 7" single, Wardance, is mighty enough, but the b-side, with even more angry, snarling energy is, to my mind, even better. It was released on the Malicious Damage label in 1980. Early copies included a reproduction army call up paper with the words 'Killing Joke' stamped across it. It's had a recent re-release as a red and black splattered 12" vinyl single on Killing Joke records, with 3 versions of Wardance and 2 versions of Pssyche. As with all recently pressed vinyl it will set you back over £20. The 7" version of the single is quite hard to track down. Ebay has a few copies, most without the call up insert, at various price points.

Killing Joke - Wardance / Pssyche, Malicious Damage records, c.1980

The only problem with my first choice is that is makes it hard to follow, but I like to think I've managed with this next track. The Prisoner, was the b-side to White Man in Hammersmith Palais, by The Clash, released, in four different colour sleeves, on CBS records in 1978. There are of course plenty of other worthy Clash b-sides, but I've decided to restrict myself to one per band for this post.

The Clash - (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais / The Prisoner, CBS records, c.1978

Next up we have another band, The Jam, who had a string of great b-sides to choose from and it wasn't an easy choice. Perhaps Butterfly Collector would have been the most obvious, but instead I've decided to go with See-Saw, which was the b-side to their 1979 release Eton Rifles. A bitter-sweet love song, which lyrically reminds me of The Who's So Sad About Us which The Jam also covered as a b-side appearing on their Down In The Tube Station at Midnight single from 1978.

The Jam - Eton Rifles / See-Saw, Polydor records, c.1979

Moving on now to the first band I ever saw, The Rezillos, although I think by the time I saw them they had morphed into The Revillos. The b-side I've chosen here is Mystery Action which was the b-side to their 1978 single, Destination Venus, released on Sire records. Both outstanding tracks, but for me the b-side nails it. Their first studio album, released on Sire records in 1978, Can't Stand the Rezillos, is an incredible debut album and worth checking out if you've never heard it.

The Rezillos - Destination Venus / Mystery Action, Sire records, c.1978

Next up I've chosen Leyton Buzzards and the b-side to their 1979 single, Saturday Night Beneath the Plastic Palm Trees single, Through With You. This is a great piece of snarly punk rock. If only they had continued in this vein, but seems some of the band had other plans and formed Modern Romance (who won't be featured here).

Leyton Buzzards - Saturday Night Beneath the Plastic Palm Trees / Through With You, Chrysalis records, c.1979

Before forming Shriekback, former XTC member, Barry Andrews, released a couple of solo singles in the early 1980's, the Town and Country EP and Rossmore Road. Both are great singles but I'm picking the b-side of Rossmore Road, with its wonderful title of Win a Night Out With a Well-Known Paranoic

Barry Andrews - Rossmore Road / Win a Night Out With a Well Known Paranoic, Virgin records, c.1980

Again this is one of those blog posts which could go on for considerably longer, but I'm stopping here with My Mind Ain't So Open, by Magazine, which was the b-side of their 1978 debut single, Shot By Both Sides.

Magazine - Shot By Both Sides / My Mind Ain't So Open, Virgin records, c.1978

As always, many thanks for reading and I hope you liked the post.

Cover versions of classic tracks by punk, new wave, and post-punk artists

2024-01-25T19:59:00.001+00:00

I've posted about cover versions before but never previously had the time to include any of the artwork of the releases, so I'm putting that right now with a new blog post about cover versions of classic tracks by punk, new wave, and post-punk artists.

Let's start with Generation X and their cover version of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates Shakin' All Over which appeared on the b-side of 1979's Valley of the Dolls single. A simply great cover version, showing Generation X's rock roots rather than their punk sensibilities. Released in limited quantities on brown, marbled vinyl, although still fairly easy to find 'out in the wild' and also on Ebay for a reasonable price. Their first two albums still get regular airtime at mine, with their self-titled 1978 debut just pipping the 1979 Ian Hunter produced Valley of the Dolls album.

Generation X - Valley of the Dolls / Shakin' All Over, Chrysalis records, c.1979

I was aware of Captain Beefheart, from John Peel I'm guessing, but I never really listened to him until relatively recently, and certainly no more than 10 years ago. I was delighted to find however that the post-punk band, Magazine, formed by Howard Devoto after leaving the Buzzcocks, had covered his I Love You You Big Dummy, taken from his 1970 Lick My Decals Off Baby album, on the b-side of their 1978 single Give Me Everything. Again this single is readily available on Ebay for a reasonable price, and does appear 'in the wild' from time to time.

Magazine - Give Me Everything / I Love You You Big Dummy, Virgin records, c.1978

The Clash have many worthy cover versions to choose from but I've decided to restrict myself to those which appeared as single releases. Let's start with their cover of Toots and the Maytal's Pressure Drop which appeared on the b-side of their 1979 single English Civil War.

The Clash - English Civil War / Pressure Drop, CBS records, c.1979

And how about this for an epic cover version, again The Clash with the b-side of their 1979 single London Calling which featured a cover version of Willi Williams' track Armagideon Time. The 12" has even more cover version goodness with an 8 minute version, broken into 2 parts, Justice Tonight and Kick It Over. Both the London Calling 7" and 12" singles are becoming increasingly hard to find in their picture sleeves, of which there were different coloured versions, for a sensible price. I'm wondering now whether I should have also featured this single in one of my previous blogs posts Same record, different sleeves - a selection of punk and new wave vinyl records released in multiple sleeves.

If you're looking to track this one down, Ebay has a few at the time of writing. If you want to track down an original Willi Williams version that will undoubtedly take you longer to find and set you back a lot more.

The Clash - London Calling / Armagideon Time, CBS records, c.1979

The final Clash cover version I'll feature here is from their 1979 Cost of Living EP, with a cover of Sonny Curtis' I Fought the Law. Other tracks on the 4 track EP were Groovy Times, Gates of the West, and Capital Radio.

The Clash - The Cost of Living EP, CBS records, c.1979

Of course, by only including the singles I've missed out some other great Clash cover versions. From the reggae of Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves from the Clash's 1977 debut album, and Eddie Grant's Police on My Back, which appeared on 1980's triple album Sandinista, to the rockier cover of Vince Taylor's Brand New Cadillac, from the 1979 double album London Calling.

Next up we have the Jam who released a few cover versions on both single and album. I'm going to focus on a couple of my favourites here. Let's start with their cover version of The Kinks track, David Watts, which was released in 1978 as a double A side single with A Bomb in Wardour Street. Both tracks were taken from the Jam's 1978 album, All Mod Cons.

The Jam - David Watts / A Bomb in Wardour Street, Polydor records, c.1978

Also taken from The Jam's 1978 album All Mod Cons was the single Down in the Tube Station at Midnight which featured a cover of the Who's So Sad About Us on the b-side. The reverse of the sleeve features a picture of the Who's drummer, Keith Moon, who had recently died, so effectively a double tribute to him on this release.

The Jam - Down in the Tube Station At Midnight / So Sad About Us / The Night, Polydor records, c.1978

Other notable covers performed by The Jam include The Batman Theme from their 1977 In The City album, Martha and the Vandellas' Heatwave which appeared on their 1979 album Setting Sons, Wilson Picket's In the Midnight Hour, The Temptations' War, and The Who's Disguises which appeared as the b-side of their 1981 Funeral Pyre single.

Moving back to punk bands now, we have The Damned who released a live cover version of the MC5's Looking at You on the b-side of their 1980 single, There Ain't No Sanity Clause.

The Damned - There Ain't No Sanity Clause / Hit or Miss / Looking At You, Chiswick records, c.1979

And staying with The Damned, they also covered the glam rock classic, Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet on the b-side of their 1979 single, I Just Can't Be Happy Today.

The Damned - I Just Can't Be Happy Today, Chiswick records, c.1979

Bauhaus, the post-punk / goth band from Northampton released a couple of singles which were cover versions. The one I'm featuring here is their cover version of T-Rex's Telegram Sam, which was released on the 4AD record label in 1980, in both 7" and 12" formats. There seem to be a good few copies of this on Ebay although surprisingly quite pricey. Their other cover version released as a single was, of course, Ziggy Stardust.

Bauhaus - Telegram Sam, 4AD records, c.1980

And finally, for a bit of fun, I've chosen the Dickies cover version of Banana Splits (The Tra La La Song), released on delicious yellow vinyl. I've chosen this mainly because as a kid I loved the Banana Splits TV show, and also because The Dickies do a mean cover version.

The Dickies - Banana Splits, A&M records, c.1979

Other worthy contenders would be:

A Certain Ratio - Shack Up

Knox - Gigalo Aunt (originally by Syd Barrett)

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence & Helter Skelter (originally by The Beatles)

Skids - All The Young Dudes (originally by David Bowie, and then Mott The Hoople)

Wedding Present - pretty much all of the b-sides they released in their series of 12 Hit Parade singles from 1992. Plenty of opportunities on Ebay to track down the 12 individual 7" singles, or easier maybe , although perhaps less fun, to buy the Hit Parade compilation album instead.

I could probably have continued at some length on this topic but it's time to end the blog post now.

A trawl through the music and artwork of the singles released by The Skids

2024-01-22T20:57:00.006+00:00

Having recently blogged about the singles of one of my favourite bands, XTC, I was wondering what I could blog about next which perhaps had a similar theme of singles released in different formats, limited editions, etc. One band which sprang to mind was The Skids who released numerous singles on coloured vinyl, picture disc, double singles, etc.

To make the discography complete however, I need to start with their first single, which was released in a conventional picture sleeve and on black vinyl. Having formed in the summer of 1977, The Skids first single, Charles, also referred to simply as The Skids EP, was released on No Bad records in 1978. The other 2 tracks were Reasons and Test-Tube Babies, all written by lead guitarist Stuart Adamson. Being released on a small, Scottish independent record label, this release is now quite hard to track down 'out in the wild'. Ebay does have a few copies but they will set you back £15 and upwards.

The Skids - Charles, No Bad records, c.1978

After their first release The Skids signed to Richard Branson's Virgin records in 1978 and released a handful of albums and singles. The first of these was Sweet Suburbia, which was released as a limited run on white vinyl. At the time of writing, Ebay has a few copies on both black vinyl and white vinyl, for reasonable prices, although the white vinyl version will cost you more.

The Skids, Sweet Suburbia, Virgin records, c.1978

The next single by The Skids was a 4 track E.P. called Wide Open, released in 1978. This came in both 7" and 12" formats, with the 12" format being pressed on red vinyl. The E.P. charted at number 48 in the UK charts, with The Saints Are Coming regarded as the lead track. The other 3 tracks were: Of One Skin, Night and Day, and Contusion, all of which appeared on their first John Peel session.

The Skids - Wide Open EP, Virgin records, c.1978

Moving on to 1979, which was probably The Skids most commercially successful year, they released 4 singles and 2 albums. Their first single release of 1979 was the track they are probably most remembered for, Into The Valley, taken from their first album, Scared To Dance. Limited copies were pressed on white vinyl. The b-side was TV Stars, featuring a role call of soap actors (Ena Sharples, Stanley Ogden, Albert Tatlock and Annie Walker from Coronation Street, and Sandy Richardson, David Hunter and Meg Mortimer from Crossroads), and also John Peel and Kenny Dalglish. Into the Valley reached number 10 in the UK charts and also featured in John Peel's Festive 50 of 1979 at number 37. Black vinyl versions of the single are fairly easy to come by on Ebay and discogs, the white vinyl version less so.

The Skids - Into the Valley, Virgin records, c.1979

Their next single, Masquerade, featured Bill Nelson on keyboards, and he also has production credits. The track did not appear on their Scared To Dance album. Initial copies of the single were released as a limited edition doublepack in a gatefold sleeve. The other tracks were Out of Town, Another Emotion, and Aftermath Dub. This single charted at number 16 in the UK charts.

The Skids - Masquerade, Virgin records, c.1979

Later the same year, The Skids released their second album, Days In Europa, from which 3 singles were released. The first of these was Charade, with Grey Parade on the b-side. No coloured vinyl or free single with this release, which charted at number 31 in the UK charts. Again Bill Nelson is credited as the producer and also has a writing credit on the b-side.

The Skids - Charade, Virgin records, c.1979

The Skids last single release of 1979 was Working For The Yankee Dollar. This was released as a limited edition double single in a gatefold sleeve. The other tracks were Vanguard's Crusade, All The Young Dudes (the David Bowie song where Richard Jobson swaps out the lyric "who needs TV when I've got T-Rex" with "who needs TV when I've got Subway Sect", and Hymns From a Haunted Ballroom, which was taken from a John Peel session. The single made number 20 in the UK charts.

The Skids - Working For The Yankee Dollar, Virgin records, c.1979

As we move into 1980, the final single to be taken from the Days in Europa album was Animation, with Pros and Cons on the b-side. This reached number 56 in the UK charts.

The Skids - Animation, Virgin records, c.1980

1980 saw a change of personnel for The Skids with William Simpson leaving and being replaced by Russell Webb in time to start work on their 3rd album, The Absolute Game. I won't cover this in any detail here as this post is just about the singles, but early pressings of The Absolute Game album came with an extra album, Strength Through Joy.

The first of 3 singles to be taken from The Absolute Game was Circus Games which was released with a free colour poster of the band. The single peaked at number 32 in the UK charts.

The Skids - Circus Games, Virgin records, c.1980

The 2nd single to be released from The Absolute Game was Goodbye Civilian. This was released as a limited edition picture disc, as well as in a conventional picture sleeve. The b-side was the curiously titled Monkey McGuire Meets Specky Potter Behind the Lochore Institute.

The Skids - Goodbye Civilian, Virgin records, c.1979

The final single to be released from The Absolute Game was A Woman in Winter. The b-side featured a live version of Working For The Yankee Dollar. The single was issued in a gatefold sleeve (stating 'Comic Book') including an 8 page comic booklet titled "Skids Pirate Gold".

The Skids - A Woman in Winter, Virgin records, c.1980

Shortly after this release, both Mike Baille and Stuart Adamson left the band, the latter to form Big Country. The Skids continued with Richard Jobson and Russell Web, creating their fourth album, Joy, in 1981. Two singles were released from the album, but neither troubled the UK charts and The Skids dissolved in 1982.

Fields was the first single to be taken from Joy. It was released in 2 different 7" single sleeves, one with Richard on the cover, the other with Russell. It was also released on 12" where the covered featured both members. The b-side on all releases was Brave Man.

The Skids - Fields, Virgin records, c.1981

The Skids final single, also taken from the Joy album, was Iona, with Blood and Soil on the b-side.

The Skids - Iona, Virgin records, c.1981

So , we come to the end of The Skids single releases. Once again, many thanks for reading, and if you're interested why not check out some of my other blog posts.

Same record, different sleeves - a selection of punk and new wave vinyl records released in multiple sleeves.

2024-01-19T12:47:00.000+00:00

As many record collectors will perhaps painfully know, if a record has been released with several different picture sleeves, even if the record is no different there is almost a compulsion to collect them all. This post features a handful of my favourite such releases, mainly punk, new wave and post-punk singles and albums from the 1970s and 1980s.

Let's start with one of the punk pioneer groups, The Damned. On reforming in 1979 they came back with a vengeance releasing Love Song as the first single taken from their Machine Gun Etiquette album. The record was packaged in four different sleeves, one showing each of the band members. From left to right they are Algy Ward, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies. And if this wasn't enough for the collectors, it was also released on red vinyl, making a combination of 8 different versions to collect. And if anyone wants to get really serious about this, Love Sing was reissued on Big Beat records in 1982, again with the 4 different sleeves, but this time on both blue vinyl and black vinyl, giving the collector a further 8 pieces to collect. Most versions are readily available on Ebay, selling for between £10 and £15.

The Damned - Love Song, Chiswick records, c.1979

Another band of the same era, Generation X, also released a single, King Rocker, with 4 different covers, again one for each band member. From left to right these are Tony James, Billy Idol, Mark Laff, and Bob Andrews. As with The Damned's Love Song these also came on coloured vinyl as well as the conventional black vinyl, so again 8 for the collectors to track down. Plenty of these on Ebay too, with the coloured vinyl versions regularly going for £20 - £40.

Generation X - Kind Rocker, Chrysalis records, c.1979

Staying with the punk genre, another band who released a sleeve for each of their 4 band members was The Lurkers on their I Don't Need To Tell Her single from 1978, released on Beggar's Banquet, BEG 9. From left to right they are Howard Wall, Pete Stride, Nigel Moore and Manic Esso. A few of these are available on Ebay at the time of writing at various prices.

The Lurkers - I Don't Need To Tell Her, Beggar's Banquet records, c.1978

No band members pictures on this release from The Psychedelic Furs, but 1979's We Love You 7" single was released with 3 different coloured sleeves. Their debut, self-titled album was also released with different coloured sleeves, pink, green and orange.

The Psychedelic Furs - We Love You, CBS records, c.1979

Manchester's finest, Buzzcocks, released their 1979, Steve Diggle penned single, Harmony In My Head, in 2 different coloured sleeves.

Buzzcocks - Harmony In My Head, United Artists, c.1979

The Clash released their 1978 (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais single with 4 different coloured die-cut sleeves. It also came in a die-cut, black CBS sleeve. Plenty of the latter on Ebay at reasonable prices, but the versions with the coloured sleeves command a fairly high prices these days.

The Clash - (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais, CBS records, c.1978

Dr Feelgood released their 1979 single, Milk and Alcohol on black, white and brown vinyl, and with a variety of different coloured sleeves with 8 combinations in all.

Dr Feelgood - Milk and Alcohol, United Artists, c.1978

Martha and the Muffins, best known for Echo Beach but did release an impressive run of other material too, released their 1980 single, Saigon, with 3 different coloured sleeves.

Martha and the Muffins - Saigon, Dindisc records, c.1980

The first album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark was originally released in 4 different die-cut sleeves before it was finally reissued with a printed sleeve.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Dindisc records, c.1980

There are probably many I have missed, but these are the first handful which sprang to mind.

Other worthy contenders for this list are:

New Order - Procession / Everything's Gone Green, released in 9 different sleeves.

The Tubes - Prime Time, released in 6 different coloured vinyl, all with the same sleeve.

Dr Feelgood - As Long As The Price Is Right, 3 different sleeves, 3 different coloured vinyl.

Ian Dury - Do It Yourself LP, 12 different wallpaper design sleeves.

Tenpole Tudor - Swords of a Thousand Men, 2 different sleeves

The Rumour - Emotional Traffic, 3 different coloured vinyl, all with the same sleeve (I can't help thinking Stiff records missed a trick here but not having the cut out in the traffic light which exposes the vinyl match the colour of the record. All sleeves have the space where the red light would have been cut out, regardless of the colour of the vinyl inside).

A trawl through the music and art work of XTC's single releases (part 3)

2024-01-18T09:52:00.000+00:00

And so for the third and final installment of my trawl through the music and artwork of XTC's vinyl single releases. If you've not seen the previous posts then check out part 1 and part 2.

This post sees us in 1986, where XTC released a new album, Skylarking, but just one single, Grass, written about a park in Swindon as opposed to cannabis, was taken from the album. Grass was written by Colin Moulding, with the b-side track, Dear God, written by Andy Partridge, which would go on to become a single in its own right in later years, although again not without controversy over the lyrics. The 12" version contains the additional track, Extrovert. The single only managed to get to number 100 in the UK charts.

XTC - Grass, Virgin records, c.1986

Moving on to 1987 now, the next single release by XTC was the Colin Moulding penned track, The Meeting Place, again taken from the latest album, Skylarking. The track tells the tale of a man meeting his wife outside a factory, in this case the Swindon railway works, whose hooter features as the track starts. The b-side is The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul, written by Andy Partridge. Initial copies of the 7" single came on clear vinyl in a printed plastic sleeve. It was also released with a conventional picture sleeve.

The 12" version has both the 7" tracks on the a-side, with 4 XTC home demos on the b-side: Terrorism, Let's Make a Den, Find The Fox, and The Troubles. Although many of the earlier XTC singles turn up 'in the wild' from time to time, this one never seems to, in any of its formats. Ebay currently has a few copies with the prices reflecting the seeming rarity of the release.

XTC - The Meeting Place, Virgin records, c.1987

XTC's next single was Dear God, which had already been released as the b-side of Grass. Lyrically contentious, questioning the existence of God and the existence of evil, Partridge again attracted hate mail. The record only made it into the very lower reaches of the UK chart, and although not included on early pressings of Skylarking it does feature on later re-pressings. The b-side is Big Day, written by Colin Moulding. The 12" release features an extra track, Another Satellite, written by Andy Partridge.

Although this post is only about vinyl, I will make an exception briefly to mention the CD version of Dear God, which includes all 6 songs from the Homo Safari series, which as far as I'm aware have never been released on a single vinyl compilation, only as b-sides to their various singles.

XTC - Dear God, Virgin records, c.1987

1988 was a fallow year for XTC, with no releases at all. In 1989 XTC released another studio album Oranges and Lemons, from which a further 3 singles were taken. First to be released was Mayor of Simpleton, written by Andy Partridge with Colin Moulding's One Of The Millions on the b-side. There were 2 different 12" versions of this release. A conventional one, featuring a cover version of Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) song, Ella Guru, taken from his 1969 Trout Mask Replica album. The other version of the 12" was a limited edition release containing 3 previous singles: Dear God, Senses Working Overtime, and Making Plans For Nigel. The single reached number 46 in the UK charts.

XTC - Mayor of Simpleton, Virgin records, c.1989

The next single to be release from the Oranges and Lemons album was King For a Day, written by Colin Moulding, with the Andy Partridge penned, Happy Families on the b-side. A 12" version was released which featured a 12" mix of King For a Day, as well as the 7" version and Happy Families.

XTC - King For a Day, Virgin records, c.1989

The final XTC single to be released in 1989 was The Loving, again taken from the Oranges and Lemons album. The Loving was written by Andy Partridge, with Colin Moulding's Cynical Days on the b-side. The original version of this release had white paper labels but later versions have silver injection labels. The 12" version has an extra track, The World Is Full of Angry Young Men, written by Colin Moulding. The release failed to make any impact on the UK charts.

XTC - The Loving, Virgin records, c.1989

There now followed a 3 year hiatus before we were treated to another XTC release. 1992 saw the release of their album Nonsuch. This was the time when CDs were much more prevalent than vinyl, and original vinyl pressings of this and their subsequent albums go for quite a hefty sum on Ebay. The first single to be taken from Nonsuch was Disappointed, an Andy Partridge composition about people who have been turned down romantically and have come together to join "the disappointed". On the b-side was Colin Moulding's The Smartest Monkeys. It was also released as a 10" single, with Humble Daisy, written by Andy Partridge, as an additional track. The single reached number 33 in the UK charts but was the last time XTC troubled the UK Top 40.

XTC - The Disappointed, Virgin records, c.1992

The second single to be released from Nonsuch was The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, telling the story of a man who helps the poor but is then killed off by the government. The b-side is Wardance, written by Colin Moulding, Ebay has plenty of this release for sale on CD, but not so many copies on vinyl, and it would seem, according to the discogs pricing history, that it's relatively hard to find.

XTC - The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, Virgin records, c.1992

The third and final single to be released from Nonsuch was the Andy Partridge penned, Wrapped In Grey, however it was quickly withdrawn by Virgin with only a few thousand copies having been pressed. As such it's quite a collector's item. The CD version goes for £100's on discogs, but no one is selling the 7". Following this release XTC effectively went on strike following a dispute with Virgin records. The b-side features 2 versions of the track Bungalow, written by Colin Moulding.

XTC - Wrapped in Grey, Virgin records, c.1992

And so we come to the end of XTC's vinyl single releases. They did not release another single until 1999's Easter Theatre, but that along with subsequent singles were only released on CD, so I've not included them here.

Once again, thanks very much for reading. I hope you've enjoyed it. If you missed them then part 1 and part 2 are also available to read.

Here are links to a few books about XTC which may be of interest:

Complicated Game, Inside the Songs of XTC, by Andy Partridge

The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls

XTC - Chalkhills and Children, the Definitive Biography

A trawl through the music and art work of XTC's single releases (part 2)

2024-01-17T09:25:00.000+00:00

Following on from my previous post, a trawl through the music and art work of XTC's single releases (part 1), below is the second installment in the series. In my previous post, we finished at the end of 1980, with Towers of London and so to start this post we kick-off with XTC's first single release of 1981, and another track taken from their fourth album, Black Sea, Respectable Street. Once again the lyrics to one of their songs courted controversy, and the album version of this track was rewritten to replace some of the wording which the BBC did not favour, namely 'contraception' and 'abortion'. Despite this forced change however, it would seem that the BBC still did not give any airtime to Respectable Street and it failed to chart.

The b-side featured 2 tracks, Strange Tales, Strange Tails (Andy Partridge) and Officer Blue (Colin Moulding). Unlike many of their previous, and indeed future, releases, the sleeve of the single did not feature any 'gimmicks' that I'm aware of.

XTC - Respectable Street, Virgin records, c.1981

Moving on to 1982, next up is XTC's best selling single, Senses Working Overtime, which reached the dizzy heights of number 10 in the UK charts. This was the first of 3 tracks to be released as a single from their fifth album, English Settlement. The a-side was written by Andy Partridge. The b-side featured 2 tracks, Blame the Weather (Colin Moulding) and Tissue Tigers (Andy Partridge). Early copies of the 7" single were released in a fold out sleeve showing each of the 5 senses and included the lyrics. There are a fair few of these on Ebay, although most seem to be the version without the foldout sleeve.

XTC - Senses Working Overtime, Virgin records, c.1981

This single was also released on 12", making it their first 12" release since the 3D EP back in 1977. The only additional track on the 12" version was Egyptian Solution (Homo Safar Series No. 3), written of course by Andy Partridge.

Following on from the success of Senses Working Overtime, XTC went on to release a second single from English Settlement, Ball and Chain, written by Colin Moulding about the over development in his home town, Swindon. Unlike the single before however, it only graced the lower end of the UK charts. The b-side features 2 Andy Partridge tracks, Punch and Judy, and Heaven Is Paved With Broken Glass. This single release comes in a conventional picture sleeve, with no 'enhancements' although perhaps the story behind the picture did not require any embellishing. The picture is of Peter Uzzell's house in Swindon which he refused to move out of when all the surrounding houses were being demolished. The track was apparently played at his cremation.

It was also released in 12" format with an additional track, Cockpit Dance Mixture, written by Andy Partridge.

XTC - Ball and Chain, Virgin records, c.1982

The third and final single to be taken from their English Settlement album was No Thugs In Our House, which despite the success of earlier singles failed to chart at all. The a-side was written by Andy Partridge and chronicles the antics of Graham, who has joined a far right group and spends his time drinking and being violent, to the (seeming) ignorance of his parents. The b-side has 3 tracks, Chain of Command (Andy Partridge), Limelight (Colin Moulding) and Over Rusty Water (Andy Partridge). Chain of Command and Limelight were originally available on the 7" that was given away with early copies of their 1979 Drums and Wires album.

The sleeve on this release has to be one of the most intricate of XTC's many singles. The sleeve opens out into a theatre with the characters (Graham's parents, the policeman and the judge) on a separate cardboard insert.

XTC - No Thugs In Our House, Virgin records, c.1982

As we move into 1983, we see another XTC album release, Mummer, from which 3 more singles were taken, staring with Great Fire. All tracks were written by Andy Partridge. The b-side on the 7" is Gold, and on the 12" version the extra tracks are Frost Circus (No. 5 In The Homo Safari Series) and Procession Towards Learning Land (No. 6 In The Homo Safari Series). This should have concluded the Homo Safari series, although number 4 comes later, which we'll come to in a few record's time.

Initial copies of the Great Fire 7" single came in a plastic sleeve with a wavy pattern on it. The sleeve of the record fits inside this and also has a wavy pattern on it. Removing the sleeve from the plastic sleeve creates a fire-like effect.

XTC - Great Fire, Virgin records, c.1983

The next single to be take from the Mummer album was the Colin Moulding penned Wonderland, with Jump by Andy Partridge on the b-side. It was released as a limited edition picture disc as well as in a conventional picture sleeve. It only managed to reach number 104 in the UK charts. This release was not issued on 12". The non-picture disc version of the 7" seems fairly common on Ebay but the picture disc version less so.

XTC - Wonderland, Virgin records, c.1983

The final track to be taken from Mummer as a single was Love On A Farmboy's Wages. Every bit as good as Senses Working Overtime, this single only managed to reach number 50 in the UK charts, which seems surprising. The a-side was written by Andy Partridge, and was perhaps surprisingly covered by Fairport Convention on their Sense of Occasion album from 2007. The b-side features a Colin Moulding song, In Loving Memory of a Name. There was a limited edition double single version of this release, in a gatefold sleeve which opens up like a wallet. The tracks on the extra single, both written by Andy Partridge, are Desert Island and Toys.

This single was also release on 12" and, perhaps unusually, features 3 completely different tracks compared to the double 7" single. These 3 tracks are Burning With Optimism's Flame (Andy Partridge), English Roundabout (Colin Moulding), and Cut It Out (Andy Partridge), the last 2 of these being live recordings from the Hammersmith Odeon in May 1981.

XTC - Love On A Farmboy's Wages, Virgin records, c.1983

Moving on to 1984 now sees the release of yet another XTC album, The Big Express, again producing 3 singles. This album has some innovative sleeve design, but I think that will have to wait for another day. The first single to be released from The Big Express was All You Pretty Girls, written by Andy Partridge, with Washaway on the b-side. There was a limited edition version of the single which features a die-cut outer sleeve designed like a sailor's top, with a printed inner sleeve showing the tattoo adorned sailor's chest, which houses the vinyl.

The single was also released on 12" with an extra track, Red Brick Dream, written by Andy Partridge.

XTC - All You Pretty Girls, 7" Virgin records, c.1983

The second single to be released from The Big Express was This World Over, written by Andy Partridge about nuclear weapons. The single sleeve came with 6 mini postcards attached, with "Greetings from" each of Paris/Berlin/Tokyo/Moscow/New York/London. The b-side is a track called Blue Overall, also written by Andy Partridge. The 12" version of the release does not include any additional tracks but the version of This World Over is the full length version.

XTC - This World Over, Virgin records, c.1984

Just the 2 singles in 1984 before we head on into 1985 for the third and final single taken from The Big Express album. This time it's Colin Moulding's track, Wake Up. On the b-side are 2 Andy Partridge compositions, Take This Town and, finally number 4 in the Homo Safari series, Mantis On Parole, thus completing the 6 parts of this series, albeit not quite in the right order. No particular extensions to the sleeve artwork on this one as far as I can see, almost marking the end of such antics. The 12" version of Wake Up includes 3 additional tracks, Making Plans For Nigel, Sgt Rock, and Senses Working Overtime, almost like a mini greatest hits compilation.

XTC - Wake Up, Virgin records, c.1985

So, that's the end of the second installment. Many thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully the third and final part will follow shortly, starting with Grass from 1986.

Before I do bring this post to an end, here are links to a few books about XTC which may be of interest:

Complicated Game, Inside the Songs of XTC, by Andy Partridge

The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls

XTC - Chalkhills and Children, the Definitive Biography

A trawl through the music and art work of XTC's single releases (part 1)

2024-01-15T17:26:00.001+00:00

If ever there was a band who, as far as I'm concerned anyway, have never released a bad record, it's XTC. With 12 studio albums and over 20 singles, that's an impressive achievement. Releasing their first record in 1977, the heyday of punk, they continued to release some quite brilliant records right through to the early 1990's, and after a hiatus of a few years again in the late 1990's and early 2000's.

For those of you not familiar with XTC's work, a great place top start would be one of their singles compilations. Fossil Fuels is a collection of their singles from 1977 to 1996, starting with Science Friction and going through to Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, which I think may only be available on CD. Alternatively there are 2 other compilation releases, Waxworks, Some Singles, 1977 - 1992 and Beeswax, Some B-Sides, 1977 - 1992, available on both vinyl and CD.

As I sit working my way through their impressive back catalogue, I'm not only struck by the sheer brilliance of the tracks, but also the art work and the extras which often accompanied each release. I'm going to focus on the singles here but may come back to cover the albums at a later stage, as not only are they all musically wonderful, the packaging of several is worthy of discussion.

So, without further ado, let's make a start as this may take a while.

First up we have Science Friction, released on Virgin records in October 1977, with She's So Square as the b-side. It was originally released as a 7" single but quickly withdrawn to be replaced by a 12" version with an extra track, Dance Band. The 12" version, also referred to as the 3D EP is reasonably common 'out in the wild', i.e. in second hand record shops, and also on Ebay, and Amazon, but I don't think I've ever seen the withdrawn 7". There are a couple of copies of the 7" single on Discogs, without the picture sleeve, for over £200. One for serious collectors I guess - I'm happy to make do with the 12" version.

XTC - 3D EP, Virgin records, c.1977

As 1977 drew to a close and 1978 began, the first wave on punk morphed into new wave, a scene and genre perhaps more fitting for XTC's talents and sensibilities, and they released 3 further singles, as well as 2 studio albums, White Music and Go 2.

Their first single of 1978 was the Andy Partridge penned Statue of Liberty, with Hang On To The Night on the b-side. Early copies has the blue Virgin labels on both sides, whereas later copies have the green and red Virgin labels. I was not aware of this at the time, but perhaps explains its lack of any chart presence, that Radio 1 banned it for the lyric, "In my fantasy I sail beneath your skirt". Hardly offensive or scandalous compared to the lyrics in some of today's music, but enough to get the BBC all flustered back in the day.

Despite being released in 1978, it's reasonably easy to track down a copy, although the sleeve is made from quite thin paper and subject to dirtying and tearing, so finding a decent copy may be more of a challenge. Again Ebay seems to have quite a few.

XTC - Statue of Liberty, Virgin records, c.1978

April 1978 saw the release of XTC's third single, This Is Pop?, written by Andy Partridge, with Colin Moulding's Heatwave on the b-side. The a-side also featured on their debut album, White Music, but the 7" version is different.

XTC - This Is Pop, Virgin records, c.1978

Still yet to trouble the music charts, well at least from a singles perspective, XTC's final single release of 1978 was Are You Receiving Me? Written by Andy Partridge, with Colin Moulding's Instant Tunes appearing on the b-side. The single was released in a fairly minimal picture sleeve, again made of very thin paper and easy to tear, with a huge question mark taking up the majority of the front cover, and a similarly sized exclamation mark on the back of the sleeve. The band's name and song title appear beneath in small type.

XTC - Are You Receiving Me?, Virgin records, c.1978

And so we come to 1979, probably the year most people will have become aware of XTC. Their first single of that year to be released was Life Begins At The Hop, written by Colin Moulding about his experiences as a youth going to 'youth dances' in Swindon. The b-side is Homo Safari, an instrumental written by Andy Partridge, which would become the first of a six part series of ambient tracks gracing the b-sides of this and future XTC 7" and 12" releases.

Life Begins At The Hop is also the first XTC single with, for want of a better phrase, enhanced artwork and sleeve design. Not only did the release come in a clear plastic sleeve, designed to look like a record player, but the vinyl itself was clear too. I had imagined that this limited edition version on clear vinyl would have been hard to track down these days, but Ebay seems to have a few at reasonable prices at the time of writing this article.

XTC - Life Begins At The Hop, Virgin records, c.1979

And now perhaps, if you were to ask someone who had heard of XTC but was not necessarily a die-hard fan, what would be their most recognisable song, then it's highly likely to be their next single release from 1979, Making Plans For Nigel. The track was written by Colin Moulding and taken from their 1979 Drums and Wires album and was their first Top 20 hit. The b-side of the single featured 2 tracks written by Andy Partridge, Bushman President and Pulsing Pulsing, the former being the second in Andy Partridge's Homo Safari series.

Not only a brilliant track, but the packaging of the record was innovative too. The first 20,000 copies of the 7" single came in a fold out sleeve that opened out into Nigel versus his parents version of the Snakes and Ladders game. There seem to be plenty of these available on Ebay but most seem to be the version without the game.

XTC - Making Plans For Nigel, Virgin records, c.1979

After the success of Making Plans For Nigel, XTC should have gone on to be more of a household name, but their next single, the Andy Partridge penned, Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down, did not sell well and did not even chart. The b-side was Colin Moulding's Ten Feet Tall, taken from the Drums and Wires album, which was also the used as the first single by the band to be released in the USA.

XTC - Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down, Virgin records, c.1980

As 1980 continued, XTC released their fourth studio album, Black Sea, which spawned 3 more hit singles, and 1 that missed, all with interesting art work and in some cases additional tracks. The first single to be taken from Black Sea was Generals and Majors, written by Colin Moulding, with the b-side, Don't Lose Your Temper, written by Andy Partridge.

The single dented the Top 40, peaking at number 32. The first 15,000 copies were released as a double 7" in a gatefold sleeve with the additional single containing 2 further tracks, Smokeless Zone (Colin Moulding) and The Somnambulist (Andy Partridge).

XTC - Generals and Majors, Virgin records, c.1980

Following on from the modest chart success of Generals and Majors came another, limited edition, double single release, which was to be the second single taken from the Black Sea album, Towers of London, written by Andy Partridge. The b-side was a live version of Colin Moulding's Set Myself on Fire, with a live version of Battery Brides and a John Peel session version of Scissor Man making up the extra 7".

The records in the limited edition double release come as 2 separate singles in separate pictures sleeves, encased in a plastic outer sleeve with a silhouette of London skyline printed on it.

XTC - Towers of London, Virgin records, c.1980

And finally for part one of my wander through XTC's singles, is the third track to be released from the Black Sea album, going on to what would be their biggest hit to date, the Andy Partridge written, Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me). Its lyrical content seems however to now be a source of embarrassment to him now, with what was supposed to be an ironic take on comic book action heroes being taken at face value and attracting hate mail.

The single features 2 live tracks on the b-side, Living Through Another Cuba and Generals and Majors, which were recorded at the Lyceum in October 1980. Early pressings of the single included a poster.

XTC - Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me), Virgin records, c.1980

So, that's the end of the first installment. Many thanks for reading, If you enjoyed it then you can find the second part of this 3 part post at a trawl through the music and art work of XTC's single releases (part 2) which starts with Respectable Street, courting more lyrical controversy with the BBC, but more about that later.

But before I do finally sign off, here are a few links to books about XTC which may be of interest:

Complicated Game, Inside the Songs of XTC, by Andy Partridge

The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls

XTC - Chalkhills and Children, the Definitive Biography

Vinyl from the mod revival of the late 1970's

2024-01-13T14:27:00.000+00:00

Following on from my earlier post, inspired by The Chords album, So Far Away, I started thinking about the other bands from the late 70's mod revival. I'm not so much thinking of The Jam, although of course they fit into this category quite nicely at times, but I'm thinking more of the other bands like Secret Affair, The Lambrettas, Purple Hearts, The Chords, Squire, The Vapors and The Merton Parkas.

Probably the first mod revival record I heard was Time For Action by Secret Affair, taken from their debut album, Glory Boys. The single was released in 1979 on I-Spy records. Early versions came in a brown paper bag style sleeve, with no writing on the front of the sleeve, just on the back. Later versions came in a black I-Spy sleeve which just a small keyhole on the front of the cover. Copies released in other countries all seem to feature a picture of the band though.

Time For Action was their biggest hit, reaching number 13 in the Top 40. This was followed by Let Your Heart Dance and My world, both also making the Top 40, but after that their singles were less successful and the band split in 1982.

Secret Affair - Time For Action, 7" single in its original brown paper bag sleeve, c.1979

Secret Affair - Time For Action, 7" single in its I-Spy label sleeve, c.1979

Time For Action also lent its name to a book, '79 Time For Action, The Mod Revival by Garry Bushell.

And on the subject of sleeves, one of the early singles by The Lambrettas, Another Day, from 1980, was issued in what they referred to as an Emergency Sleeve. The reason behind this was that the song was originally called Page 3 but when The Sun newspaper threatened to sue, the name of the song was changed and the sleeve also. Like Secret Affair, they were also quite a short lived band, and with interest interest in the mod revival waning, they split in 1982 after a couple of studio albums and a handful of singles, although did reform some time in the 1990's.

The Lambrettas - Another Day, 7" single in its 'emergency bag' sleeve, c.1980

Another mod revival band from the time were Purple Hearts, who took their name from a drug popular with the mods of the 1960's. As with most of the mod revival bands though, they only enjoyed modest chart success, with their single Millions Like Us being their highest Top 40 placing at number 57. They were tour mates with fellow mod revivalists, Secret Affair, and also featured in the March of the Mods tour. They released a couple of studio albums and a few singles, mostly on the Fiction records label.

Purple Hearts - Millions Like Us, 7" vinyl released on Fiction records, c.1979

Millions Like Us features in this 4 CD set, also called Millions Like Us, which according to the label, is the first-ever box set to properly document the Mod Revival scene of the late Seventies and Eighties. Across 100 tracks by all the key bands, the story of the Mod Revival is told, from its roots in Punk/New Wave through to its commercial heyday in 1979 with bands like Secret Affair and The Lambrettas and its resurrection in 1985 with The Untouchables and Makin’ Time.

The Vapors, again another short lived band, probably best known for their single Turning Japanese, also released a number of other singles and a couple of albums in the late 1970's and early 1980's. I'm not sure if they can truly be classified as a mod revival band, but their association with The Jam perhaps puts them as contenders, although I think perhaps they lean more towards new wave.

The Vapors - Prisoners 7" single & News At Ten 7" single, from 1979 and 1980 respectively

And finally, although I wrote about The Chords recently, I didn't think I could leave them out of this mini trawl though my mod revival vinyl selection, so here are a couple of my favourite singles of theirs, which both feature on their only studio album, So Far Away.

The Chords - Maybe Tomorrow & Something's Mission single, from 1979 and 1980 respectively

A couple of other items associated with the mod revival which may be of interest:

Eddie Piller presents The Mod Revival

Millions Like Us, The Story of the Mod Revival, 1977 - 1989

The Chords - So Far Away

2024-01-08T16:55:00.000+00:00

December proved to be a good month for shortening my ever growing vinyl wants list. One of the records I was very pleased to unearth 'out in the wild' was the debut (and only) studio album by The Chords, So Far Away, released on Polydor records in 1980. I'd bid on Ebay copies in the past but they always seemed to go for more than I wanted to pay, so was more than happy to find this copy for £10. It doesn't have the free 7" that was included with initial copies, but there's always the chance that I'll find that separately another time.

I'd had most of The Chords 7" singles for a while, although 'One More Minute' still alludes me, but this was the first time I'd ever owned the album, and what a treat it is. Labelled as a mod revival band, they also take their influence from the UK punk and new wave scenes, sounding, in places, not to dissimilar to The Jam circa 1978/1979. The album kicks off with probably their most recognisable track, 'Maybe Tomorrow', which was released as a single in 1980, troubling the Top 40 at number 40. When their other singles charted, if at all, they were all just outside the Top 40. Side two of the album also kicks off with another of their singles, 'Something's Missing'.

The majority of the tracks on the album were written by lead guitarist Chris Pope, one co-written with Billy Hassett, and one attributed to Billy on his own. There are also a couple of great cover versions: 'Hold On I'm Coming' and the Beatles 'She Said, She Said'.

The Chords remain yet another band who 'could have been', or more likely 'should have been'. Their career however was blighted by a series of incidents, some self-inflicted, but many inflicted upon them. After a couple of John Peel sessions, a couple of Top of the Pops appearances, supporting The Jam and The Undertones, a solitary studio album, and a handful of modestly placed singles, they decided to call it a day in 1981.

Other items associated with the mod revival which may be of interest:

Eddie Piller presents The Mod Revival

Millions Like Us, The Story of the Mod Revival, 1977 - 1989

Cover versions

2022-08-16T13:17:00.001+00:00

In today's blog post I thought I'd share a few of my favourite versions of tracks covered by artists in the punk, post-punk and new wave genre. In no particular order

Let's start with Generation X and their cover version of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates Shakin' All Over which appeared on the b-side of 1979's Valley of the Dolls single. A simply great cover version, showing Generation X's rock roots rather than their punk sensibilities. Their first two albums still get regular airtime at mine, with the self-titled 1978 debut just pipping the 1979 Ian Hunter produced Valley of the Dolls album.

I struggled to choose just one Clash cover version, so have listed a few of them. From the reggae of Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves from the Clash's 1977 debut album, Toots and the Maytal's Pressure Drop released as the b-side of English Civil War and Eddie Grant's Police on My Back, which appeared on 1980's triple album Sandinista, to the rockier covers of Vince Taylor's Brand New Cadillac, from the 1979 double album London Calling and Sonny Curtis' I Fought the Law, they are all, to my mind anyway, simply wonderful. But ah, I almost forgot the cover / interpretations of Willie William's masterpiece Armagideon Time, which appeared as the b-side of the London Calling single, which is another gem in the Clash's cover repertoire.

And finally, for a bit of fun, I've chosen the Dickies cover version of Banana Splits (The Tra La La Song), mainly because as a kid I loved the Banana Splits TV show, but also because The Dickies do a mean cover version.

Other worthy contenders would be

The Jam - So Sad About Us (originally by The Who)

The Damned - Looking At You (originally by MC5)

A Certain Ratio - Shack Up

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Helter Skelter (originally by The Beatles)

Skids - All The Young Dudes (originally by David Bowie, and then Mott The Hoople)

Check out my previous blog post about my short(ish) love affair with Manchester's Factory records label and my regret in having sold some of them many years ago for less than a pint of beer.

I'm in love with The Factory

2022-08-04T19:19:00.001+00:00

When Richard Butler (aka Butler Rep) of The Psychedelic Furs wrote "I'm in love with the factory" in their 1979 single We Love You I'd always assumed it related to Andy Warhol's Factory, but it may of course have been referring to Manchester's enigmatic Factory Records. As a teenager at the time, and a disciple of the post-punk era, I had amassed a fair few records on the Factory label. Sadly I sold many of these for less than the price of a pint of beer, but more about that later.

More recently, much more recently in fact, I bought a copy of Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album as a little treat for myself. It's really quite a wonderful book for anyone interested in Factory records, not just for the music but perhaps more specifically the artwork and overall concept of the label, and if nothing else it reignited my interest.

Whilst I do regret selling some of the vinyl I had, most noticeable the Stockholm Monsters, Tunnel Vision and ESG singles, there are others that I can happily live without. At the time however it was a bit of a mission, or a quest, to try and get as many as I could, although I never realistically expected to complete the collection. I've always been a bit of a completist, which has led me down some strange record and CD collecting paths, probably stemming from or linked to my earlier childhood hobby as a train spotter, so it made sense, at the time anyway, to try and get as many as I could. I went down a similar path much later in life with Pete Namlook's Fax label. I had pretty much completed the set but then realised that I didn't listen to most of them, so sold them off too. Not a decision I regret as I managed to sell those at the top of their small market and the cash came in handy at the time.

Anyway, back to Factory Records. Apart from Joy Division and New Order, who will need little or no introduction, there were some Factory artists with whom I've had a longer enjoyment. Probably the group at the top of that list, after Joy Division and early New Order, is A Certain Ratio, named after the Brian Eno Song "The True Wheel" from his 1974 Album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). Starting off with 1979's All Night Party, and fairly quickly followed by the 1980 releases of Flight, Do The Du, and the album To Each, Factory label manager Tony Wilson is quoted as saying they were "beginning to forge links between post-punk industrial and dance-floor funk". Their first few releases were certainly more on the post-punk side, whereas their later releases clearly were moving into more of a dance direction. This is probably best illustrated by their album The Old and the New, of which side 1, assuming you're listening on vinyl, is a collection of their earlier, darker post-punk material, although still a bit funky, and side 2 is more of a nod to their dance side. I was lucky enough to catch them at Rough Trade East, in Shoreditch, a couple of years ago, and again at this year's Latitude Festival where, although without the temporary absence of Jez Kerr, they still performed a wonderful set, showcasing tracks from across their repertoire. Fortunately I've managed to track down vinyl copies of the A Certain Ratio items I sold, well all apart from All Night Party that is, which seems to command quite a high price tag.

Other Factory records that I sold, I don't miss so much for the music, but more the artwork. One thing that Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album did bring home to me was that these were more relevant to be kept as an art collection, rather than a music collection.

Bram Tchaikovsky - Strange Man, Changed Man, c.1979

2015-08-27T21:42:00.001+00:00

The next album I have chosen to review is a new wave / power pop masterpiece from way back in 1979. Following the demise of the Motors, Bram Tchaikovsky (aka Peter Bramall) set about creating his own band, confusingly also called Bram Tchaikovsky. I had heard a few of their songs, most likely on the John Peel radio show or something similar back in the late 1970's but never owned any of their records. This was all put right a few weeks ago when I was lucky enough to find a copy of Strange Man, Changed Man in a second hand record shop.

Bram Tchaikovsky - Strange Man, Changed Man

Side one opens with the title track, Strange Man, Changed Man, which opens with a beautiful, punky guitar riff, joined later by drums and bass, and then finally the vocals as the song builds into a fine example of later 1970's power pop. It merges almost seamlessly into Lonely Dancer which continues along the same lines. Track 3, Robber, is another strong track with tinges of the Beatles' Dr Robert, in fact you can almost replace Robber for Robert. The next track, Bloodline, starts with an almost heavy metal riff, but of course nothing wrong with that at all, and it's still overlaid with wonderful, power pop / new wave style vocals. The final track on side one, Turn on the Light, ends the side well although a little less power pop and more country rock oriented.

Side two kicks off with Girl of my Dreams. with the opening line of "Judy was an American girl". I'm not sure what it is about the use of the name Judy in songs but in me in conjures up a dream of America that I had growing up as a kid, long before I ever visited, that was also of course bolstered by a healthy does of US 1970's television programmes. I was also reminded of Judy is a Punk by The Ramones, and "Judy's in the bedroom, inventing situations" from Found a Job by Talking Heads, and Judy Says by The Vibrators, although the latter being British rather than American kind of spoils the thread here. Track two, Nobody Knows features a mean and dirty bass sound that would not be out of place on an early Stranglers track. Oddly, the next track Lady from the USA, did not actually evoke any teenage imaginings of the US for me, probably as it's more of a country rock ballad. It's not a bad song but seems a little out of place here. Track four is what I can only describe as a Status Quo cover version of I'm a Believer and sadly reduces a quite wonderful song to monotonous, repetitive chords. Track five, Sarah Smiles, returns with another perfect slice of power pop, before veering downhill again into the final track, Turn On the Light, which seems to be another Quo inspired riff.

Overall though, apart from a couple of blips on the second side, a fantastic album which would sit well in anyone's new wave, power pop collection.

The June Brides - There are Eight Million Stories, c.1985

2015-08-05T20:21:00.001+00:00

I only ever owned one June Brides record, which I think was No Place Called Home, but alas that's long gone in what was a somewhat over enthusiastic clear out several years ago. I'm very pleased to say that I managed to pick up up a copy of their album There Are Eight Million Stories a couple of weeks ago whilst crate digging in a London record shop ... and what a delight it is to behold. It's quite a short album, and in fact probably qualifies as a mini-album, with just 8 tracks, but what great tracks they are.

Side one kicks off with The Instrumental which is a lovely, slightly lo-fi, indie pop tune, with guitar and trumpet, and vocals, so not instrumental as the title would suggest, and reminiscent of early Orange Juice and Josef K. Track two I Fall and the third track on side one, Sunday to Saturday, are both near perfect, jangley, catchy, indie pop tunes. And finally on side one we have Sick, Tired and Drunk, which is quite the indie masterpiece with its fast strum guitars and once again the trumpet, reminding me just a little bit of The Teardrop Explodes.

Side two starts with Every Conversation which follows on from where side one left off. Track two, Comfort, has a rockier feel to it that the other tracks and reminds me a little of Tom Verlaine's Television. Track three Heard You Whisper returns back to the indie groove, with its infectious guitar riffs. The final track on this wonderful album is listed on the label but not on the sleeve. When it started playing I thought I recognised it, and sure enough it was a cover version of the Radiators From Space track Enemies, and a pretty darned good cover too.

The version of this wonderful album I found, of which I've shared a couple of pictures below, is the blue sleeve version. It was also released in a red sleeve.

The June Brides - There Are Eight Million Stories

Every track is a winner.

Cowboys International - The Original Sin, Virgin records, c.1979

2015-08-03T18:14:00.002+00:00

I have neglected this blog for far too long. 2015 has seen me buy a brand new turntable, a Denon DP 200 USB, for anyone who's interested. Not the highest spec by a long way, but it does the job nicely and has reignited my passion for vinyl. Most of 2015 has seen me ferreting around in second hand record shops looking for records I used to have as a spotty teenager, along with ones I missed out on. A few have not stood the test of time very well, but many still sound wonderful today, and it's those ones that I plan to start writing mini reviews of in this blog.

So, to get things going I have decided to start with Cowboys International, or more precisely, their album The Original Sin. The version of this I picked up recently is the beautifully packaged, UK release on Virgin Records, from 1979, that came in a thin black inner sleeve with orange plastic outer sleeve, which when the inner was inserted into the outer, obscured the blue coloured lettering. The version of this on amazon.co.uk has a completely different cover to the one I picked up, which I've pasted in a few pictures of below, but the tracks are the same.

Cowboys International - The Original Sin, outer sleeve

Cowboys International - The Original Sin, inner sleeve

Side one opens up with Pointy Shoes. Featuring harmonica, guitar, drums and piano, this is probably the album's most new wave track. Something about it reminded me of another artist. I want to say Robyn Hitchcock, but not quite sure that's it. The next track is the very catchy Thrash, is more synth based and reminiscent of one of the early, new romantic bands, before they got famous, and is probably my favourite track on the album. Track 3, Part of Steel, mixes new wave and synth to great effect. Next up is Here Comes A Saturday which to my ears has shades of David Bowie, and yet again I'm hearing Robyn Hitchcock. Side one ends with the title track, The Original Sin, which is another catchy synth-pop track.

Side two opens up with Aftermath, which was the first of the band's two singles from the album, on orange vinyl, the other being Thrash, which appeared later with the non-album track, Nothing Doing, being released in between. I remember this one being played on various Radio One night time shows but remembered it as being slower. Track two is Hands which again has hints of David Bowie in Ken Lockie's vocals, layered on top of a guitar and piano backing track. Next up is the synth-laden M(emorie)62 which again fits more into the synth-pop arena that strictly new wave. Track four is another synth pop, catchy number, Lonely Boy. Nearing the end of the album now, track five, The No Tune, is more of a ballad, and if I'm honest doesn't really sit well on the album, spoiling the flow somewhat. Overall I'd say that side one is the stronger of the two sides, with the album petering out slightly towards the end, with a bit of a recovery in the final track Wish.

Obviously a bit of a cliche but definitely one of the groups that fits the "best band you've never heard of "category. Often cited as a supergroup as the band, amongst others, consisted of Public Image's Keith Levene, Terry Chimes formerly of The Clash, Marco Pironi from Adam and the Ants fame, and Jimmy Hughes from The Banned. Although they were short-lived, only running from 1979 to 1980, quite how this band were overlooked at the time is a mystery.

Stop Making Sense ... not sure I ever started

2011-12-28T00:33:00.000+00:00

Oops! I just created a new blog post called Stop Making Sense, so you can probably guess what it's about, but for some reason I posted it on one of my other blogs instead of this one ... I blame the red wine and the man-flu.

Theme Thursday - Tomorrow

2011-11-24T19:28:00.001+00:00

Well I was completely stuck for something to fit in with this week's Theme Thursday of 'tomorrow'. Neither my vintage postcards nor my vintage magazines offered any inspiration, but then fortunately I remembered this fantastic psychedelic band called Tomorrow from the late 1960's. On researching into them a little more for this blog post I discovered that they were the first band ever to record a John Peel session. I have read John Peel's excellent biography, Margrave of the Marshes, but must confess to not remembering this fact. Perhaps it's time I gave the book a second read.

Tomorrow - Tomorrow

Deeper into folk - Espers, Meg Baird, Devendra Banhart

2011-09-04T19:24:00.000+00:00

I found myself in London again last week, with just enough time to spare to go CD shopping again. I'm still on a folk quest and this time picked up some more recent folk offerings. I had read mixed reviews about Devendra Banhart but the 3 albums I tracked down are all excellent. My favourite after the first listen is probably What Will We Be, closely followed by Rejoicing in the Hands. I also found some Espers, both as a band and in their various solo guises. The favourite of this bunch would have to be Meg Baird - Dear Companion, which is a truly beautiful album and if you've never heard it I urge you to track it down.

Another great find of the week was an album which has been on my wants list for a while now, Jackson C.Frank from way back in 1965. However I'm almost afraid to say that Rendezvous by Sandy Denny was quite a disappointment compared to her other albums. So, apologies to any die-hard Sandy Denny fans out there. I'll give it another listen but for now remain to be convinced.

All the links in this post are to amazon.co.uk, but all these CDs are also available on amazon.com

Folk - acid, free, phreak and psychedelic

2011-08-24T13:33:00.000+00:00

Well, I am pleased to say that I finally finished reading Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk. It was a great read and not quite sure why it took me so long. The only downside of reading the book is that I now have an even longer CD wants list than is probably humanly possible to ever listen to. I knew a reasonable amount about the 60's and 70's folk scene from other readings, but was surprised me was how lively the scene was in recent years. I've managed to hear a few tracks by Espers, Charalambides, Marie Sioux, Meg Baird, and a several others which have all made it on to the wants list. The only recent folk albums I've tracked down so far are Joanna Newsom - Ys which is quite different to how I imagined it having read the book, but a great album nevertheless, and Vashti Bunyan - Lookaftering which is also very good.

However my highest praise would have to go to a 1970's lost classic which I was over the moon to find, Linda Perhacs - Parallelograms, closely followed by Steeley Span - Hark! The Village Wait.

All the links in this post are to amazon.co.uk but all of these recommended items are also available from amazon.com

Heron - Upon Reflection, the Dawn Anthology

2011-07-09T18:40:00.000+00:00

Those of you who follow me on twitter (@dakota_boo) will be aware that I've just tracked down an album by Heron. Heron have been on my wants list for a while now, having been inspired reading about them in the wonderful Electric Eden book. I had hoped to find an album on my recent record shopping trip in London but was delighted to find a double CD set with both their albums, singles and some unreleased material - a mighty 43 tracks in all, on a compilation called Upon Reflection, the Dawn Anthology. The comprehensive notes are a great point of reference, providing details about the recordings where the band shunned convention and recorded both albums outside rather than in a studio.

I listened to the album from track 1 right through to track 43, and was struck by the enormous contrast of material, some brilliant, some less so. I'm enjoying the tracks from their 1970, self-titled debut album. Car Crash is particularly good, closely followed by Yellow Roses, but must admit that some of the tracks on their second album, Twice as Nice and Half the Price, don't particularly resonate with me ... in particular their cover of This Old Heart of Mine seems very out of place.

Overall though, an enjoyable listen, and with 43 tracks for probably less than a tenner it's worth buying for the first disc alone.

My top 10 musical (re)discoveries - 6 months into 2011

2011-07-05T17:43:00.000+00:00

For me, 2011 has already been a great year for discovering/rediscovering music. Thought I'd share a list of my favourite musical (re)discoveries ... and as the more observant of you will notice there are in fact 12, and not 10. To be honest I could probably have listed more but decided to restrict myself to a single album by each artist. The UK and US links after each album take you to amazon.co.uk or amazon.com respectively where these fantastic albums are available, usually at bargain prices and also many with bonus tracks.

Incredible String Band - The 5000 Spirits UK / US

Pentangle - Basket of Light UK / US

Bridget St. John - Songs For the Gentle Man UK / US

Bert Jansch - It Don't Bother Me UK / US

Donovan - Hurdy Gurdy Man UK / US

Captain Beefheart - Safe As Milk UK / US

Trees - The Garden of Jane Delawney UK / US

John Renbourn - Another Monday UK / US

Mr Fox - Join Us In Our Game UK / US

The Holy Modal Rounders - 1 and 2 UK / US

Tom Rapp - Sunforest UK / US

Fairport Convention - Unhalfbrickling UK / US

No question about it ... there's a definite folk/acid folk theme going on here and the majority of these great albums were brought to my attention by 2 excellent books, Electric Eden by Rob Young, and Seasons They Change by Jeanette Leech.

Theme Thursday: Soft

2011-06-23T19:51:00.000+00:00

I was initially stumped by this week's Theme Thursday, Soft. Believe it or not I was about to post photograph of a strawberry from my garden, which accidentally came out in soft focus when I was trying for a detailed close-up. However, something made me look up from my computer screen and I caught sight of The Doors - Soft Parade. Of course once I'd noticed this, great albums by each of The Soft Boys, Soft Cell and Soft Machine all sprang to mind, now leaving me with a decision of which to post for this week's theme.

The Doors - Soft Parade, c.1969

Bizarrely, well bizarrely to me anyway, I chose The Doors - Soft Parade. I didn't choose this because it's my favourite Doors album or because it has some standout tracks. I chose it because when I looked at the track listing I cannot honestly say I know any of the tracks, so the reason for choosing it is that I'm now listening to it to refamiliarise myself with it.

This week I have mostly been listening to The Holy Modal Rounders

2011-06-11T16:52:00.000+00:00

Trying to manage 4 blogs simultaneously, I tend to find that one of them gets left for a few weeks. This has definitely happened to this blog as recently my focus has been going into my vintage postcards blog and my In Search of Space blog. So, it's about time I put this right. Over the past few weeks I've been reading Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk which has opened my eyes to some great music from the late 1960's and early 1970's so far. I've even managed to track some of it down and am now the proud owner of The Holy Modal Rounders 1+2. I was a bit 'nervous' buying it as I thought that the tracks I'd heard on lastfm may not be representative, but it is a really great compilation ... slightly quirky, as I guess it was meant to be, but great nevertheless.

Other recent purchases include the excellent Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica, Sandy Denny - Sandy, Nico - Chelsea Girl, and Bert Jansch - It Don't Bother Me. All of these are brilliant albums, even the Nico one which again I was a bit 'nervous' about as she tends to polarise opinion (bit like marmite I guess) and I have read some fairly harsh reviews. But, as with marmite, I like Nico.

Acid and Psychedelic Folk

2011-05-30T12:51:00.000+00:00

After procrastinating for much too long about whether to buy it, I have now bought Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk by Jeanette Leech. Initially the book didn't cover much that I was not already aware of, but now that I'm about 90 pages in, it has alerted me to some fantastic bands I'd never heard of before, as well as providing some interesting new information on bands and artists with whose work I was already familiar.

Probably the most interesting 'new' band to me was an outfit called The Holy Modal Rounders, musical contemporaries and collaborators with The Fugs, who I had heard of. Musically they are almost impossible to categorise, but the little I've heard to date on lastfm would seem to fit into the country-folk-psychedelic bracket, although even that seems inadequate. Other artists whose description in the book has been sufficient to get me searching around the web for more info and albums includes Michael Hurley and Pat Kilroy. Pat Kilroy's Light of Day album is especially good, and again another album that's really hard to classify. Plus I've 'rediscovered' Jackson C Frank, who I 'found' several months ago but seemed to have forgotten all about.

I'll post again as the days go by and I make my way through the book, and 'discover' more great music. For now, here's a small selection of what I've been listening to as a result of the book.

from amazon.co.uk ...

and also from amazon.com ...