Needle Time

  Stockholm Monsters - Fairy Tales [FAC 41 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] How on earth do I follow that last post? How about this.... and while I will never make a habit posting 176.4kHz seven inch singles, I thought why the hell not! Fairy Tales was the debut single by Burnage ruffians, Stockholm Monsters, released by Factory Records in January 1982 in a very expensive leather effect sleeve conceived by Mark Farrow, printed by Garrod & Lofthouse and paid for by Tony Wilson.  Fairy Tales was produced by Martin Hannett and shows off his trademark delayed snares, the flipside was produced by band mentor, Peter Hook. Original Monster Ged Duffy has recently put his story into print and produces a really good read if the Mancunian music scene from the seventies through to those Factory years & beyond is your thing. You also get a chance to improve your Burnage dialect and discover who really are the bin dippers. A1 Fairy Tales B1 Death Is Slowly Coming

  The Stockholm Monsters - Alma Mater [FACT 80 UK 1984 24-Bit FLAC] Coaxed from a well used thirty-seven year old album in glorious higher definition, a full spectral version is also available (this won't be a permanent thing). Here is a brand new rip after an even deeper clean than my last back in December 2018. These days high resolution rip websites are laden with multiple impressions of rock albums from Pink Floyd, Yes, The Beatles etc .....how's about some Stockholm Monsters? Burnage's finest, with a lot of help from Peter Hook, released one of the most important albums of 1984. Those of you in the UK may recall the NME review which slated Alma Mater , whereas Sounds loved it. I too love this record and played it to death for years since release. This new rip reveals more clarity, punch and depth, tracks such as the opening Terror are not so 'toppy' and for me the segue from Life's Two Faces into Your Uniform is a moment of pure joy. Stockholm Monsters ...

Stockholm Monsters - How Corrupt Is Rough Trade? [FBN 46 BEL 1985 24-Bit FLAC] ...well I'm not sure they were that corrupt, just a little bit disorganised - something Factory Records mastered in. Produced by Peter Hook at Suite 16 in Rochdale, this single was snuck out in Benelux rather than the main UK label, we can all wonder why Factory left it until the weaker Partyline to promote Stockholm Monsters. Unsurprising therefore, that single was to be their last as they struggled to improve on Alma Mater . Tony Wilson wanted to make a statement on his feelings about his label's main distributor ....maybe Belgium wasn't the best choice. Factory eventually switched to Pinnacle Distribution when Rough Trade went bust a few years later.  Make up your own minds about the story, most of the main protagonists have gone, or left the business, the A-side will leave you puzzled but please find reassurance in the fine Kan Kill! which adorns the b-side with it's thumping bass line...

Stockholm Monsters - Miss Moonlight [FBN 19 BEL 1983 24-Bit FLAC] It's too late now to start looking back .... Undoubtedly the best band to ever come out of Burnage were The Stockholm Monsters! This was their third single for Factory Records (although relegated to the Benelux division), with it's solemn reflective a-side, these lads and lassies get back to those familiar fairground melodies on The Longing and then dish up some good old punk rock'n'roll on the upbeat Lafayette . Peter Hook loans instruments/produces/sorts the whole thing out and then the whole thing is packaged in a very splendid sleeve. A1 Miss Moonlight B1 The Longing B2 Lafayette

Stockholm Monsters ‎- All At Once [FAC 107 UK 1984 24-Bit FLAC] Another new rip for 2019, again from a flimsy Factory vinyl pressing but this time with a more professional production from the bearded one. This is Stockholm Monsters at their punchiest and their best, All At Once and its b-side National Pastime are my favourite tracks by the band and set a mark for their only album, Alma Mater .  It was just a pity we had to wait another three months for the album, after what must have been another tale of Factory inefficiency.  A1 All At Once B1 National Pastime

Stockholm Monsters - Happy Ever After [FAC 58 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] A new rip from an original flimsy Factory Records pressing in a Mark Farrow wraparound sleeve - classic Stockholm Monsters produced by Peter Hook. Toy town melodies, manic vocals and out-of-tune organs & trumpets ....there was never anything quite like The Stockholm Monsters and there probably never will be again! Errol Flynn! A1 Happy Ever After B1 Soft Babies

The Stockholm Monsters - Alma Mater [FACT 80 UK 1984 24-Bit FLAC] Coaxed from a well used thirty four year old album in glorious higher definition. Burnage's finest with a lot of help from Peter Hook released one of the most important albums of 1984. Those of you in the UK may recall the NME review which slated Alma Mater , whereas Sounds loved it. I too love this record and played it to death for years since release. My vinyl copy was safely stored away following the expanded LTM reissue -  I last ripped a copy during my Factory Xmas extravaganza on ESWA a few years ago, until recently when I dug it out to rip once more to 24-Bits. There likely has been no better album ever recorded with borrowed instruments. A1 Terror A2 Where I Belong A3 Decalogue A4 Winter A5 Five O'Clock B1 Life's Two Faces B2 Your Uniform B3 E. W. B4 To Look At Her B5 Something's Got To Give A treasure chest of happiness