The Heat Is On And The Funk Just Won't Leave Us Alone

Time to swap the football for a glitter ball, methinks....

A companion piece of sorts to my 2021 selection, I'll Surely Miss Your Tender Kiss, with seven stone cold killer disco cuts. And if you like The Brothers Johnson, then you'll feel spoiled as they appear on both!

Today's selection opens with a couple of covers, a Neil Sedaka B-side from 1959 and a Bee Gees album cut, then barely two years old. At the controls are legends such as Quincy Jones, John Luongo, Rusty Garner and, inevitably, Tom Moulton.

And fronting the disco explosion, the likes of Evelyn 'Champagne' King and Melba Moore (also today's cover stars), The Trammps and Tavares, Odyssey and Eruption.

Hmmm, maybe I should send a link to Thomas Tuchel...?

1) One Way Ticket (Long Version By Rusty Garner) (Cover of 'One Way Ticket (To The Blues)' by Neil Sedaka): Eruption (1979)

2) You Stepped Into My Life (Special Disco Version By John Luongo) (Cover of Bee Gees): Melba Moore (1978)

3) Shame (12" Disco Mix By Al Garrison & David Todd): Evelyn 'Champagne' King (1977)

4) Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel (Part 1+2) (Album Version By Freddie Perren): Tavares (1976)

5) Starvin' (Album Version By Ron Baker, Norman Harris, Earl Young & Tom Moulton): The Trammps (1976)

6) Native New Yorker (Disco Version By Sandy Linzer & Charlie Calello): Odyssey (1977)

7) Stomp! (12 Inch Version By Quincy Jones): The Brothers Johnson (1980)

The Heat And The Funk (45:45) (GD) (M)

You can find I'll Surely Miss Your Tender Kiss here.

Picking Up Where We Left Off

Last Saturday, I went to the Cotswold town of Stroud to see Blancmange live in concert. It was a night of firsts: the first time I've seen Neil Arthur and co. on stage and the first time I've been to a gig at The Subscription Rooms. It was also the first time that I met Mike, regular commenter here and on other music blogs in this friendly little corner of t'internet. 

I think it all started when I posted an Imaginary Compilation Album for Julian Cope over at The Vinyl Villain in 2020. Mike commented that he had been at the same 1987 Cope gig in Bristol that I had written about and over the course of several TVV posts and comments realised that we also currently live a few miles away from each other. Fast forward to last weekend and I finally got to meet Mike and his friend Paul in person and what better way than with a Blancmange gig?

The Subscription Rooms is a lovely old building in the heart of the town, a good sized venue, imposing from the outside and welcoming on the inside, with a stage set up that reminded me of a slightly more grand school disco (not meant as an insult). Photo borrowed directly from Blancmange's own Twitter feed.

Support came from Oblong, featuring Ben 'Benge' Edwards on drums, who has co-produced several of Blancmange's 21st century albums, including Private View, released at the end of September. A brisk, 30-minute set of instrumental songs at times channeling 1980s New Order and Ultravox B-sides with a live line-up that also echoed the former. Here's a YouTube clip of them performing The Sea At Night in Cardiff last year, which will give you a pretty good idea of their live chops. A short, snappy set chock full of great tunes and I'll definitely be investigating further.

After a 30 minute interval, including a trip to the quietest bar (no queue!) that I've ever experienced at a gig, the three-piece Blancmange took to the stage, including Simon 'Sid' Stronach from Oblong. I only discovered this shortly before the gig but Neil Arthur lives a couple of miles away from Stroud so this was a local gig in a literal sense and there were frequent nods, waves and thumbs up to friends who had turned up to provide support and have a good time. As a possible homage to 80s contemporaries The Human League, Blancmange also had a couple of enthusiastic and creative female dancers right at the front of the audience, finding a groove in every song that followed, regardless of the tempo.

The set started off with a brace of songs from Private View and the album was well represented throughout, with 5 songs aired in an 18-song set. There was also a good spread of songs from Blancmange's 21st century albums, including personal favourites Mindset and We Are The Chemicals. Of course, many of the audience were clearly here for the 80s hits and Neil didn't disappoint, with Feel Me, I've Seen The Word and Waves making early appearances, albeit closer to the updated versions from 2016's Happy Families Too... and none the worse for that.

 

My memory is a little hazy but I don't think anything from third album Believe You Me was performed and, for quite a while, nothing from second album Mange Tout until the final section, when four songs - That's Love, That It Is, Don't Tell Me, Game Above My Head and Blind Vision - popped up in fairly quick succession. 

 

A word on the setlist/today's selection: I wasn't taking notes and my short-term memory is shocking, especially when I'm 'in the moment'. I've therefore turned to Setlist and the list for the previous night's gig at Cambridge Junction. Most of the running order corresponds with my own memory of the Stroud gig. However, the Cambridge gig was missing Don't Tell Me, which I distinctly remembered from Saturday, not least for Neil Arthur's own Swedey McSwedeface moment:

 

(with thanks to Leon Amos for posting this clip on Twitter)

However, I've no idea exactly where the song sat in the setlist so I've slotted it in where it seems to best fit...

Neil was on top form, both in voice and wit, with some songs - particularly the Private View material - even more powerful live on stage. The between song banter was entertaining, as was the occasional and intentional Dad-dancing and kung fu kicks (above photo courtesy of Jonathan Duckworth). 

 

The basic set up of synths and drum pods also worked a treat, enabling the spectrum of songs to sound contemporary and complementary despite the four decade age gap between some songs. The audience (me included) had long succumbed to the irresistible urge to dance by the time the final song, Blind Vision, and sole encore, Living On The Ceiling brought things to a satisfying conclusion. 

After a few words of thanks to the audience, a request to look after each other, Neil Arthur left the stage. We didn't hang about to chat with him on the merch stall afterwards, to be honest, I was completely lost for words anyway.

All in all, a great night out with great people (thanks Mike and Paul!) and great, great music from start to finish.

1) What's Your Name (2022)

2) Reduced Voltage (John Grant Remix) (2022)

3) Feel Me (Extended Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

4) I've Seen The Word (HF2 Version) (2013)

5) Mindset (Extended Mix By Neil Arthur & Benge) (2020)

6) Last Night (I Dreamt I Had A Job) (Single Version By Neil Arthur & David Rhodes) (2016)

7) Not A Priority (Album Version ft. Hannah Peel) (2018)

8) Waves (Original Version - No Strings) (1982)

9) What's The Time? (Kincaid Remix By Joe Arthur) (2019)

10) Private View (2022)

11) That's Love, That It Is (Extended) (Remix By John Luongo) (1983)

12) Don't Tell Me (Album Version By Peter Collins & Julian Mendelsohn) (1984)

13) We Are The Chemicals (2017)

14) Take Me (2022)

15) Game Above My Head (Album Version By Blancmange & John Williams) (1984)

16) Some Times These (Album Version) (2022)

17) Blind Vision (Album Version By John Luongo) (1984)

18) Living On The Ceiling (HF2 Version) (2013)

1982: Feel Me EP: 3

1983: That's Love, That It Is EP: 11 

1984: Mange Tout: 12, 15, 17

2013: Happy Families Too...: 4, 18

2016: Red Shift EP: 6

2017: Happy Families (Media Book Edition): 8

2017: Unfurnished Rooms: 13

2018: Wanderlust: 7 

2019: Late For Sum EP (Kincaid ft. Blancmange): 9

2020: Expanded Mindset: 5

2022: Private View: 1, 10, 14, 16

2022: Reduced Voltage EP / Private View (limited edition 2x CD): 2 

 

Picking Up Where We Left Off (1:25:09) (KF) (Mega)

Please Sir, I Want Some More

Following Blancmange's shock exit from the first round of the Imaginary Compilation Album World Cup earlier this week at The Vinyl Villain, I feel it is my moral duty to present another selection by way of compensation.

This is a companion piece of sorts to Just Desserts, the CD-R compilation I put together in July 2005 and featured in a Blancmange post earlier this year. Today's selection follows a similar path of presenting 12" singles, remixes and edits. Many of the same songs pop up, albeit in different versions. 

 

Lose Your Love was the penultimate single from “phase 1” of Blancmange. I bought the 7" double pack single at the time as it included the Joseph Watt (Razormaid) remixes of That's Love That It Is - featured here - and Game Above My Head. I bought a secondhand copy of the 12" single a few years later, with an extended version which runs to over ten minutes. The version opening this selection is a shorter remix from the Canadian promo 12" single.

 

Likewise, the Instrumental/Dub Version of Blind Vision appeared on the USA promo 12" single; on my copy, this was swapped out for the full length version of Waves.

 

The literally titled Side Two is the B-side of the preceding single What's Your Problem? and is an extended, re-recorded version of Believe You Me album track 22339.  

I've included one non-1980s version, a re-edit of Waves from 2010 by Berlin-based Gloyn, which takes a bit of getting used to but is a nice way to bring things to a close.

 

Blancmange reformed in 2011, although Stephen Luscombe left shortly after for health reasons. Neil Arthur has continued to regularly release albums since. Blancmange's (by my count) 14th post-reformation album, Private View, will be released on London Records on 30th September, almost exactly 40 years to the day since their debut, Happy Families. 

 

I'm seeing Blancmange live in concert for the first time the following week in Stroud, along with regular blogosphere commenter and nearly neighbour Mike, which I'm really looking forward to. Expect a "phase 2" Blancmange selection before then.

1) Lose Your Love (This Club Mix By John Luongo & Victor Flores) (1985)

2) Feel Me (Dub Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

3) Vishnu (Full Length Version By John Luongo) (1983)

4) Blind Vision (Instrumental/Dub Version By John Luongo) (1983)

5) What's Your Problem? (Razormaid Mix By Joseph Watt) (1986)

6) Side Two (Extended Version By Neil Arthur & John Williams) (1985)

7) That's Love, That It Is (U.S. Extended Remix Version By Joseph Watt) (1983)

8) Don't Tell Me (U.S. Dance Remix By Mark Kamins) (1984)

9) I Can See It (Single Remix By Greg Walsh) (1986)

10) Living On The Ceiling (Album Remix By Dennis Weinreich) (1982)

11) Waves (Extended Edit By Gloyn) (2010)

Please Sir, I Want Some More (1:10:30) (GD) (M)

Freak Yourself

Side 2 of a Cabaret Voltaire mixtape, compiled 5th June 2003. 

 

It's hard to believe that the sounds on this selection are from 30-40 years ago; even the mixtape itself is nearly two decades old, which blows my mind. Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder were always ploughing a futuristic furrow and even though there were some criticisms that their 1990s material had started to echo contemporary music where it once inspired, I don't agree. There was - and is - always something new to discover in their music that set them apart from other artists and it's something I continue to find on each return visit.

 

Around the early 2000s, I was beginning to move away from vinyl purchases and mixtapes and into internet downloads (initially with a super slow dial-up connection!) and burning CD-Rs. I was still buying CDs though and I think this mixtape was indebted to the slew of Cabaret Voltaire compilations that appeared in 2001, namely Cabaret Voltaire Remixed, The Original Sound Of Sheffield '83-'87 and Conform To Deform '82 / '90. Archive which pretty much covered all of the 12" singles, B-sides and rarities from their time on Virgin and EMI.

 

The version of Keep On which opens the selection originally appeared on the limited edition remix 12" and wrongly labelled as the Sweet Exorcist Mix by Cabaret Voltaire and Parrot. It's also not to be confused with the Western Works remix which appeared on the CD single.

 

There's an overlap with two tracks featured on the previous Cabaret Voltaire mixtape I posted in February: Just Fascination and inadvertently I Want You, having previously swapped out the album version for the 12" mix to make up for a cassette running time shortfall. This is obviously a thing with Cabs mixtapes as this side also comes in at a snip under 44 minutes; I decided not to tinker with the track listing this time.

Don't Drive Fast is taken from another essential compilation, Listen Up With Cabaret Voltaire, collecting rare and unreleased tracks from 1978 to 1981. 

 

Kino was remixed four times in 1992; this version only appeared on the 12" and CD singles accompanying the Technology: Western Re-Works 1992 album. The version number assumes that the original 1985 12" mix is #1 and 1992 album re-work is #2.

I Think appeared on Cabaret Voltaire's final album as a duo, 1994's ambient excursion The Conversation. There seems to be some debate about Mallinder's involvement in this and whether it was largely a Richard H. Kirk solo project. Either way, it's a good album, echoes of what has gone before and a peek into what would come next.

Richard H. Kirk revived Cabaret Voltaire in 2009, initially for remixes and production work and then a series of albums and EPs released in 2020 and 2021 before his untimely passing in September last year. 

 

Stephen Mallinder has been extremely prolific in recent years, including collaborations with Ben Edwards aka Benge, Julie Campbell aka Lonelady and Steve Cobby (Fila Brazillia). Mallinder also released his first solo album in over 35 years in 2019, Um Dada, and follows this up in July with tick tick tick ... Both are available on Bandcamp, online retail outlets and hopefully your friendly neighbourhood record shop.

 

1) Keep On (Universe Works Mix aka Sweet Exorcist Mix By Cabaret Voltaire) (1990)

2) Just Fascination (12" Remix By Cabaret Voltaire & John Luongo) (1982)

3) Don't Drive Fast (1981)

4) Kino 5 (Western Re-Work 1992 By Cabaret Voltaire) (1992)

5) I Want You (12" Mix By Cabaret Voltaire) (1985)

6) I Think (Album Version By Cabaret Voltaire) (1994)

 

Side Two (43:58) (KF) (Mega)

Today's photo was taken in Gloucester city centre, standing inside and looking up within the Kyneburgh Tower, better known locally as the CD Rack or the Kebab Stick. It was named and shamed by The Guardian in 2015 as one of the six worst works of British public art. What do they know? Standing inside it reminded me of the opening titles of Doctor Who (Tom Baker era, naturally).

Like The Sweet Sound Of Hip Music

Well, after that week, the only thing for it is two hours of disco.

15 songs intended to put a smile on your face, a spring in your step and a groove in your hips, creaks permitting...

Happy Friday, everyone!

1) And The Beat Goes On (Album Version): The Whispers (1979)

2) Check Out The Groove (Album Version By Rodney Brown, Willie Lester & François Kevorkian): Bobby Thurston (1980)

3) Hopscotch (Remix By Larry Levan): Gwen Guthrie ft. Sly & Robbie (1983)

4) Get Down (Special Mix By Rick Gianatos): Gene Chandler (1978)

5) Make Me Believe In You (A Tom Moulton Mix) (Cover of Curtis Mayfield): Patti Jo (1976)

6) Rivers Of Babylon (12" Disco Version By Frank Farian) (Cover of The Melodians): Boney M. (1978)

7) Make Love To Me (12" Version): Helen Reddy (1979)

8) Vertigo / Relight My Fire (Full Length Version By John Luongo & Michael Barbiero) (Re-Edited In 2005 By Ben Liebrand): Dan Hartman ft. Loleatta Holloway (1979)

9) You've Got The Power (A Tom Moulton Mix): Camouflage (1976)

10) Don't Stop The Music (Album Version): Yarbrough & Peoples (1980)

11) Got To Be Real (Special Disco Version): Cheryl Lynn (1978)

12) Galaxy (Album Version): War (1977)

13) Party, Party (Long Version By Frank Farian): Eruption (1978)

14) Right On Target (12" Version By Patrick Cowley): Paul Parker (1982)

15) Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus (Full Length Version By Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotte) (Cover of Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin): Donna Summer (1977)

Like The Sweet Sound Of Hip Music (1:59:44)

A Kick Up The Eighties

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded 22nd January 1990, and an early Eighties retrospective, a few weeks into the new decade.

This side firmly focuses on 1980 to 1985, with half of the tracks from 1982, now unbelievably (to this listener, at least) four decades ago. It's mostly hits and perhaps obvious choices, with a few oddities from albums and B-sides. All personal favourites.

The title is a nod to the BBC2 TV comedy sketch show of the same name that ran for two series from 1981 to 1984, featuring Rik Mayall, Tracey Ullman, Miriam Margoyles and (from the second series) Robbie Coltrane. A full episode from the first series has been posted on YouTube and is worth a look, if only for the brilliant Rik Mayall as investigative reporter Kevin Turvey.

The cover photo is a even more obscure, a scene from 1987 sci-fi movie, Cherry 2000. You wouldn't know it, but the person precariously hanging on to the car is none other than Melanie Griffith. I've watched the film once, which was possibly one time too many, but the picture seemed a good fit with the title. 

Happy listening!

1) Visage (Album Version): Visage (1980)

2) Today (Single Version): Talk Talk (1982)

3) Europa And The Pirate Twins (Album Version): Thomas Dolby (1981)

4) The Chase (Album Version By Stephen Lipson & Trevor Horn): Propaganda (1985)

5) The Beach: New Order (1983)

6) Blind Vision (Album Version By John Luongo): Blancmange (1983)

7) Night Suit: John Foxx (1981)

8) We Take Mystery (To Bed) (Single Version): Gary Numan (1982)

9) Mad World (Album Version By Chris Hughes & Ross Cullum): Tears For Fears (1982)

10) The Ring: Fad Gadget (1984)

11) The Walk (Album Version): Eurythmics (1982)

1980: Visage: 1

1981: The Garden: 7

1982: The Golden Age Of Wireless: 3 

1982: The Hurting: 9

1982: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This): 11

1982: Today (7" single): 2

1982: We Take Mystery (To Bed) (7"): 8

1983: Blue Monday (12" single): 5 

1983: Mange Tout: 6

1984: Gag: 10

1985: A Secret Wish: 4 

Side One (45:27) (Box) (Mega)

There's 70 Billion People In There

Side 1 of a Cabaret Voltaire mixtape, compiled by my brother in September 1990 as a going away gift just before I went off to Australia for a year, 19 years old, naive and fearless... well, that last bit wasn't quite true. If I thought too long about it, I was bricking it at the prospect of going to the other side of the world solo and essentially making it up as I went along. But I also sensed it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and I didn't want to pass it up. One of the best decisions I ever made...even more incredible, given some of the poor choices I'd made in the previous couple of years...!

I digress. My brother is a huge Cabaret Voltaire fan, so I listened to a lot of their music blasting from the bedroom next door when we both lived at home and subsequently in his bedsit in Bristol's Stokes Croft area in the latter part of the 1980s. To be honest, I liked Cabaret Voltaire but I'd always gravitated towards their more poppy (if that's the right word for it) or dancefloor oriented material. This is probably reflected in the choice of tracks on this mixtape.

I was blown away by the Yashar 12" (my brother had the original Factory release, of course), both of the John Robie mixes cropping up on mixtapes of my own around that time. I remember getting the coach driver to stick a couple of my cassettes on during a Biology field trip to the Forest of Dean, which will have included Yashar, largely to the indifference of my schoolmates. 

I've tweaked today's selection slightly. Side 1 originally closed with Landslide from 1981's Red Mecca. As with many mixtapes I made or received, there'd often be a 2 minute 'filler' track to pad out a side of a cassette. Good though the track is, I suspect this was the case with Landslide, so I've dropped it and closed with Sensoria instead. To balance the running time, I've also swapped the album version of I Want You for the 12" Mix. 

The mixtape title, as I learned relatively recently, is a mishearing of the vocal sample used on Yashar. The correct wording is, "There's 70 billion people of Earth, where are they hiding?", taken from a 1964 episode of American TV series, The Outer Limits. The episode in question is Demon With A Glass Hand, episode 5 of season 2, written by Harlan Ellison and with the sampled phrase voiced by Robert Culp. Cabaret Voltaire revisited this episode for samples on other tracks on the albums The Voice Of America (1980) and Plasticity (1992).

1) Automotivation (1985)

2) Hypnotised (D.M.D.O.R. Mix By Daniel Miller) (ft. Ten City) (1989)

3) I Want You (12" Mix) (1985)

4) No Escape (Cover of The Seeds) (1979)

5) Yashar (John Robie Mix 2) (1982)

6) White Car (Album Version By Cabaret Voltaire & Adrian Sherwood) (1987)

7) Just Fascination (12" Remix By Cabaret Voltaire & John Luongo) (1982)

8) Sensoria (Album Version By Cabaret Voltaire & Flood) (1984)

 

1979: Mix-Up: 4 

1983: Crackdown/Just Fascination EP: 7

1982: Yashar EP: 5

1984: Micro-Phonies: 8

1985: Gasoline In Your Eye (VHS): 1

1985: I Want You EP: 3 

1987: Code: 6

1989: Hypnotised EP: 2

 

Side One (45:15) (KF) (Mega)

Just Desserts

CD-R compiled 21st July 2005, collecting Blancmange "singles, remixes and side servings", and one of the earliest examples of my newly acquired capacity to rip my vinyl collection. Blancmange aka Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe emerged in 1979 and enjoyed a flush of commercial success between 1982 and 1984, before calling it a day in 1986. 

 

The duo reconvened twenty years later as a live act and a new album, Blanc Burn, was released in 2011. As a consequence of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, Stephen Luscombe left Blancmange shortly after and Neil Arthur continued as the sole remaining member. Arthur's musical output since has been prodigious, more than tripling the original duo's number of album releases, in addition to side projects with producer Ben Edwards aka Benge as Fader and son Joe Arthur aka Kincaid. 

 

During Blancmange's hiatus, Stephen Luscombe released an album in 1989 as West India Company, which featured an updated version of 1983 B-side Vishnu; there was also a 12" single featuring remixes by The Orb and Andrew Weatherall. Neil Arthur released a solo album in 1994, with single remixes by The Grid. Both of these will undoubtedly pop up in future posts.

This pre-revival collection focuses squarely on the extent of my Blancmange vinyl collection at the time. I've had to swap out the version of Game Above My Head. The original CD-R featured the (in my view) superior U.S. remix by Joseph Watt, but my vinyl rip is so crackly that I've replaced it with the extended mix that reappeared on the deluxe CD reissue of 2nd album Mange Tout. Some of the other tracks remain as vinyl rips - and it shows - but it maintains the integrity of the original track listing. 

A memory from 1982 is my 15-year old brother coming back from the hairdressers with a perm. My parents unsurprisingly went apeshit, but he eventually persuaded them it was a tribute to footballer Kevin Keegan. Personally, I was convinced he'd asked for a "Neil Arthur".

1) Feel Me (7" Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

2) God's Kitchen (12" Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

3) Blind Vision (Long Version By John Luongo) (1983)

4) Game Above My Head (Extended Remix By Blancmange & John Williams) (1983)

5) Vishnu (Instrumental Version By John Luongo) (1983)

6) Living On The Ceiling (Re-Mixed By Dennis Weinreich) (1982)

7) That's Love, That It Is (New Dance Mix Version By John Luongo) (1983)

8) I Can See It (Extended) (Remix By Greg Walsh) (1986)

9) I've Seen The Word (7" Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

10) The Day Before You Came (Extended Mix By Chris Porter) (Cover of ABBA) (1984)

11) Don't Tell Me (12" Mix By Peter Collins) (1984)

12) What's Your Problem? (Extended Version By Stewart Levine) (1985)

13) Waves (12" Mix By Dennis Weinreich & John Williams) (1983)

Just Desserts (1:18:37) (GD) (M)

Der Trommelschlag Knackt Im Takt

A random selection for Friday, the only connection being that I haven't listened to any of these songs in far too long. The title is a German translation of 'the drum beat cracks in time', a line from The Anvil by Visage, although in the German version of the song the line becomes 'magisch schlagen die trommel' which translates into English as 'beat the drum magically'. 

 

1) Inner City Life (Rabbit In The Moon's Return To Vocalic City): Goldie ft. Diane Charlemagne (1996) 

2) Shining Bright Star (Zongamin Remix): Black Strobe (2007)

3) Kowalski (Automator Mix): Primal Scream (1997)

4) Runark (Jokers Of The Scene Remix): Congorock (2009)

5) Aqualung (Dub): Spooky (1994)

6) Der Amboss (Vocal) (Remix By Visage & John Luongo): Visage (1982)

7) Little Bit (Loving Hand Remix By Tim Goldsworthy): Lykke Li (2008)

8) Laugh (Vox-Reverse Tele) (Remix By DJ Vadim): Low (1998)

9) Teardrop (Scream Team Remix): Massive Attack ft. Elizabeth Fraser (1998)

10) Fast Forward The Future (Buckets & Bongs Mixture By The Orb) (Album Edit): Zodiac Youth (1991)

Der Trommelschlag Knackt Im Takt (1:03:26)