Respectable Swindon?

This is a treat: Andy Partridge of XTC taking viewers on a tour of his home town Swindon, circa 1981.

This was the year that R.P.M., a magazine programme for the BBC West region, launched. It was sandwiched in the weekday early evening BBC1 schedule between Points West and the prime time schedule. 

I remember R.P.M. for three things:

1) Presenter Andy Batten-Foster, which would have put Kevin Keegan's poodle perm to shame;

2) Krek Bristle, a parady sketch starring Tony Robinson, based on Derek Robinson's book; and

3) The music features, which were frequently awkward and/or terribly stilted, but at least exposed me to new music.

Andy is great fun and whilst Swindon is a much-changed place - The Brunel shopping centre lasted more than 5 minutes, the Oasis is standing empty and festering - it's a fascinating snap shot.

And here's Respectable Street, which is referenced but not featured in the R.P.M. clip.

War! What Is It Good For? Two Sides Of A C60 Cassette!

Sides 1 and 2 of a C60 cassette, collating classic live compilation Urgh! A Music War, created 14th July 1992.

When I used to visit my brother's bedsit on the edge of St. Paul's in Bristol city centre, I would always try to get this album on the turntable. I was a little obsessed with it, to be honest. 

The sleeve itself was fascinating: text-heavy with a camouflage background and the illustration of a dodgy loooking character pulling a vinyl record from within his long overcoat.

My brother's copy also had, stamped firmly in embossed gold lettering, the notice that this was a promo, not for resale. For years, I mistakenly thought this meant that the album had never been officially released, let alone that it was the soundtrack to the 1981 film of the same name by Derek Burbidge.

Two slabs of vinyl squeezed into a slightly oversized sleeve (no gatefold), twenty-seven songs packed into the grooves, six on Side 1, seven on Sides 2, 3 and 4. As advertised, all previously unreleased live performances by bands that I knew and many that I didn't.

As my music obsession grew during my teens, so did my DIY cassette compilation, which continued through my twenties. I'd seize opportunities to rip my brother's vinyl to cassette and I nabbed Urgh! A Music War when circumstances meant that we were both back living with our parents, our music collections in adjoining rooms.

I'm pretty sure I could have fit most if not all of the album onto a C90 cassette, so I don't recall why I instead ended up with a cut down 17-track version on a C60 instead. Maybe there was only a limited window to get the album recorded and I didn't have a 90-min tape available. 

As such, today's selection is missing Au Pairs, The Cramps, Pere Ubu and Gang Of Four, although back in 1992 I would have been less bothered at leaving off Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, John Otway or Jools Holland.

Side 1 of the mixtape literally copies and pastes the entirety of the vinyl's first side, in order, finishing off with Side 4's opener and the closing song of Side 2.

The flip side of the C60 bounces from Side 3 to four straight songs from Side 2 to two from Side 4, before returning to Side 3 for the epic closer.

By the 2000s, and access to the internet, I had acquired not only a vinyl rip of the album - the source of today's selection - but also the ten 'bonus' performances from the film, lifted from its DVD release in the 1990s.

There are a few gems, with John Cooper Clarke, Dead Kennedys, Pere Ubu and UB40 with a great performance of Madam Medusa and, but I think the 1981 vinyl track list pretty much got it right first time.

Side One

1) Driven To Tears (Live @ The Frejus Amphitheater, Paris, 28 August 1980): The Police

2) Back In Flesh (Live @ The Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica, 16 August 1980): Wall Of Voodoo

3) Dance (Live @ The ICA, London, 05 September 1980): Toyah

4) Enola Gay (Live @ Guild Hall, Portsmouth, 19 September 1980): O.M.D.

5) Ain't This The Life (Live @ The Whisky, Hollywood, California, 17 August 1980): Oingo Boingo

6) Respectable Street (Live @ The Frejus Amphitheater, Paris, 28 August 1980): XTC

7) Shadow-Line (Live @ CBGB's, New York, 21 August 1980): The Fleshtones

8) Ku Klux Klan (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London, 18 September 1980): Steel Pulse

Side Two

1) Uncontrollable Urge (Live @ The California Theater, San Diego, 20 August 1980): Devo

2) The Puppet (Live @ The Lyceum Ballroom, London, 07 September 1980): Echo & The Bunnymen

3) We Got The Beat (Live @ The Whisky, Hollywood, California, 17 August 1980): Go-Go's

4) Total Eclipse (Live @ The Ritz, New York, 22 August 1980): Klaus Nomi

5) Where's Captain Kirk (Live @ The Lyceum Ballroom, London, 17 September 1980): Athletico Spizz 80

6) Nothing Means Nothing Anymore (Live @ The Whisky, Hollywood, California, 17 August 1980): Alley Cats

7) Beyond And Back (Live @ The Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica, 15 August 1980): X

8) Model Worker (Live @ The Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica, 16 August 1980): Magazine

9) Down In The Park (Live @ The Hammersmith Odeon, London, 16 September 1980): Gary Numan

Side One (29:42) (GD) (M)

Side Two (30:06) (GD) (M)

If you have a couple of hours to spare, then treat yourself to the movie, available in full online. 

It's a thrill to see O.M.D., Echo & The Bunnymen, XTC, Steel Pulse and Magazine. The sight of Gary Numan tootling about on stage in his precursor to the Sinclair C5 is perhaps unintentionally amusing in 2026, whilst Klaus Nomi is a fantastical being that perhaps would only be imagined via CGI these days. Tragically, Klaus died barely two years after the release of Urgh! A Music War, one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS.

If you've never seen Urgh! A Music War, or haven't for a long while, give it a go. I suspect that there's nothing better on TV this Sunday (especially if you're in the UK)>

Boxing Day, Fighting Fit, Gloves Off

Boxing Day blues kicking in already?

Fear not, I've created a brand new hour-long Dubhed selection to banish the blues and hopefully not leave you seeing red!

I worried that my 2021 Boxing Day offering was too obvious, being themed around boxes. Four years later, I've clearly not learned my lesson, as today's selection is based on boxing-themed song titles. 

In fact, it turned out that I hit a rich seam of gold in my digging, unearthing enough songs for at least one more selection. 

Left out of the ring on this occasion were The Affectionate Punch by Associates, Pulling Punches by David Sylvian, Punch Drunk by Gene Loves Jezebel, One Armed Boxer by Lee 'Scratch' Perry & The Upsetters, Saved By The Bell by Robin Gibb and of course Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) by Talking Heads.

Decayed, my recent series focussing on the 1990s, also featuring boxing obsessed songs like Muhammad Ali by Faithless, Lessons Learned From Rocky I To Rocky III by Cornershop and Heavyweight Champion Of The World by Reverend & The Makers, all left in the changing room on this occasion.

I think, blow-by-blow the fifteen rounds here deliver a knockout selection, an (upper) cut above the rest and proof if needed that I'm in your corner. 

And before I stretch my efforts to insert boxing references too far, it's time to hang up my gloves, know what I mean, 'Arry?

1) The Boxer (Album Version): The Chemical Brothers ft. Tim Burgess (2005)

2) Knockout Position (DJ Muggs Remix): Kaliphz (1995)

3) Another Blow On The Bruise: Gavin Friday & The Man Seezer (1989)

4) Sucker Punch: Fujiya & Miyagi (2006)

5) Fighting Fit (Album Version): Gene (1996)

6) Southpaw (Fluke's Glassjaw Remix): Trisco (2005)

7) Lazyitis (One Armed Boxer): Happy Mondays ft. Karl Denver (1989)

8) Lightweight: Marco Rossi (2024)

9) Down And Out: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (2015)

10) The Boxer (Cover of Simon & Garfunkel): Bob Dylan (1970)

11) Still Fighting: The Sabres Of Paradise ft. Denise Johnson (1993)

12) Knuckle Sandwich Nancy: Slade (1981)

13) Reign Of Blows: XTC (1984)

14) Boxerbeat (Album Version): JoBoxers (1983)

15) Boxing Clever: The Selecter (2023)

1970: Self Portrait: 10

1981: Till Deaf Do Us Part: 12

1983: Like Gangbusters: 14

1984: The Big Express: 13

1989: Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves: 3

1989: Lazyitis EP: 7

1993: Sabresonic:: 11

1995: Seven Deadly Sins: 2

1996: Drawn To The Deep End: 5

2005: Push The Button: 1

2005: Southpaw EP: 6

2006: Transparent Things: 4

2015: Freedom Tower No Wave Dance Party 2015: 9

2023: Human Algebra: 15

2024: Since Returning From The Moon: 8

Boxing Day, Fighting Fit, Gloves Off (1:01:50) (GD) (M)

Tell Me Easter's On Sunday

It's Easter, it's Sunday, it's time for a themed Dubhed Selection that doesn't include Easter by Patti Smith Group.. 

Ten songs, three quarters of an hour. This one's dedicated to Jez over at the excellent A History Of Dubious Taste for championing Kris Kristofferson via his Sunday Morning Coming  Down series. Jez provided my proper introduction to Kris' music, without which I'd be missing the rather wonderful opening song for today's selection.

In one of those happy coincidences, the song's synth outro segues perfectly with the intro to Easter by Repeat, despite being separated by over twenty years and several genres. 

Repeat was a mid-90s collaboration between Dave 'Not the Slade guitar player' Hill, Mark Broom and Plaid aka Andy Turner and Ed Handley. They released a few 12" singles and an album. Easter was a one-off 12" in 2001 and judging credited solely to Dave Hill and Mark Broom.

An Easter compilation would be incomplete without Easter Song by A Man Called Adam, with some lovely flute by Eddie Parker, who gets a co-writing credit on the song.

Scotland is well represented, with four - count 'em, four - bands. The first pair are Simple Minds and The Blue Nile, both from the early 80s. Simple Minds were in that transitional phase between avant garde, angular pop and overblown anthemic rock. The Blue Nile had just released their debut album, and it would be another six years before the follow up. An eternity then, a blink in the eye these days.

Psychedelic pop has managed to sustain in each decade since the 1960s. Julian Cope makes an inevitable appearance with Easter Everywhere, named after the 13th Floor Elevators' second album. Later, XTC deliver another slice of end of the millennium gorgeousness from their Apple Venus Volume 1 album. 

Anderson (Matt to his friends and folks, Anderson (26) to Discogs) is new to me, but delivers a jolly slice of electronica that bounces along nicely. I must investigate further.

The final brace of Scottish legends are Eugenius and Associates. Eugenius were initially called Captain America, until Marvel Comics knocked on their door. A forced change of name had no impact whatsoever on the quality of their music.

Associates (sometime prefixed by 'The' sometimes not) faced a different set of challenges, internal and external, but the impact of the music that Alan Rankine and Billy MacKenzie produced in their brief time together has sustained.

After a glut of Easter today, something completely different on Monday. 

1) Easter Island: Kris Kristofferson (1978)

2) Easter: Repeat (2001)

3) Easter Song (Radio Edit): A Man Called Adam (1999)

4) East At Easter: Simple Minds (1984)

5) Easter Everywhere (Album Version): Julian Cope (1988)

6) Easter Eggs: Anderson (2020)

7) Easter Parade: The Blue Nile (1983)

8) Easter Theatre: XTC (1999)

9) Easter Bunny (Single Version w/ Reprise): Eugenius (1993)

10) Tell Me Easter's On Friday: Associates (1981)

1978: Easter Island: 1

1981: Tell Me Easter's On Friday EP: 10

1983: A Walk Across The Rooftops: 7

1984: Sparkle In The Rain: 4

1988: My Nation Underground: 5

1993: Easter Bunny EP: 9

1999: Apple Venus Volume 1: 8

1999: Easter Song EP: 3

2001: Easter EP: 2

2020: Easter Eggs EP: 6

Tell Me Easter's On Sunday (46:46) (KF) (Mega)

Thousand

No prizes for guessing what post number this is. 

Here's an eclectic 90 minutes of songs, remixes or acts featuring either '1000' or 'thousand' in the name. What was a little surprising was just how many examples are bouncing around in my collection. Even my shortlist contained roughly twice as many songs as made the final selection. 

Something for everyone, although not necessarily all together or in the right order. Ride, Hoodoo Gurus, Dengue Fever, The Sugarcubes, Gram Parsons, Gonzales, Stereolab, the selection also hops around the world a fair bit. Speaking of which...

 

Those of you who follow the excellent 27 Leggies and in particular Ernie's African Odyssey will have been hugely disappointed by the difficult decision to exclude the mighty King Ayisoba from this week's stop off in Ghana, such was the embarrassment of musical riches emanating from the country. Rest assured, his majesty makes an appearance here, with one of the songs that Ernie originally posted and part of my introduction to the Ghanaian great.

The selection closes with a two-hander from XTC and The Coral and I don't think I could have picked two better songs to wrap up. 

Viel spaß mit meiner tausendsten beitragsauswahl, meine Freunde!

1) 1000 Miles: Ride (1994)

2) Rilly Groovy (S1000 Mix By Spencer Williams & Mike Koglin): Beautiful People ft. Jimi Hendrix (1992)

3) Furious Angels (Rollo's Thousand Volts Mix): Rob Dougan (1998)

4) 1000 Miles Away: Hoodoo Gurus ft. Vicki Peterson (1991)

5) One Thousand Miles An Hour: Stereolab (1995)

6) 1000 Faces: Gonzales (2002)

7) Through It Poured The Next Day, I Never Noticed The Rain (Single Version): One Thousand Violins (1986)

8) One Thousand Tears Of A Tarantula (Album Version): Dengue Fever (2005)

9) One Thousand Years: TUU (1993)

10) Swords Of A Thousand Men: Tenpole Tudor (1981)

11) 1000 Dollar Car: The Bottle Rockets (1994)

12) Son Of A Thousand Fathers: Prince Fatty & Mutant Hi-Fi (2011)

13) 1000 Miles: Dirty Three (1996)

14) Blue-Eyed Pop (S1000 Mix By Spencer Williams & Mike Koglin): The Sugarcubes (1992)

15) 1000 Can Die: King Ayisoba ft. M3nsa & Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2017)

16) $1000 Wedding: Gram Parsons ft. Emmylou Harris (1974)

17) A Girl Like You (1000 Times) (Remix By Howard Gray): The Wolfgang Press ft. Claudia Fontaine (1992)

18) 1000 Umbrellas: XTC (1986)

19) 1000 Years: The Coral (2010)

 

1974: $1000 Wedding: 16

1981: Eddie, Old Bob, Dick And Gary: 10

1986: Please Don't Sandblast My House EP: 7 

1986: Skylarking (2016 Steven Wilson Mix): 18

1991: Kinky: 4 

1992: A Girl Like You EP: 17

1992: It's-It: 14

1992: Rilly Groovy EP: 2 

1993: One Thousand Years: 9

1994: Carnival Of Light: 1 

1994: The Brooklyn Side: 11

1995: The In Sound EP: 5 

1996: Horse Stories: 13

1998: Furious Angels EP: 3

2002: Presidential Suite: 6

2005: Escape From Dragon House: 8

2010: Butterfly House: 19

2011: Return Of Gringo!: 12

2017: 1000 Can Die: 15

Thousand (1:29:08) (KF) (Mega)

And if that's not enough for you, there are thousands of others that could have made the cut. 

Contributing today's cover photo, I bought the 12" of I Feel It/Thousand by Moby in the 1990s. I remember reading in Mixmag or DJ magazine at the time that the song achieved a Guinness World Record for having the fastest BPM tempo of any released single, peaking at approximately 1,015 beats per minute. 

 

None of which means the song is any good, of course. Rather than subject you to the full version, here's two minutes of Moby "performing" Thousand at the Electric Daisy Carneval in (I think) 2015. Health warning: strobe lights, plus a bald, pasty-skinned man topless and puffing his chest out to the largely indifferent masses. The fireworks are lovely, though.

 

Someone else who's still rocking the hairspray and lippy like it's 1985 is Robert Smith of The Cure. Here's A Thousand Hours (and bonus At Night) performed last October in Los Angeles. The venue is the Smoothie King Center, presumably named after a US company/sponsor but was there ever a more appropriately named venue for ol' Bob?

Back to 1994 and The Fatima Mansions live on stage 1000%, again cutting away to some fairly blank faces. Phillistines! I saw Cathal Coughlan and crew at The Fleece in Bristol around the same time and it was one of the most blistering, incendiary gigs I've been to. A greatly missed creative genius. 

You get some strange stuff on You Tube, don't you? I love The Beloved and I really like the song 1000 Years From Today. One fan has taken this one step further and created their own video. Not the mental image I had when listening to the song previously.

 

I have one song by Lia Ices aka Leah Kessel, courtesy of a Mojo magazine cover mount CD. A bit of an insult really, given that she's released four albums since 2008. Luckily for Lia, the one song is called Thousand Eyes so it gets a mention here. Not a fan-made video, although it's cut-and-paste job shamelessly stealing from Bollywood.

And for those of you who on seeing the post title and theme have been shouting "Where's Slough's finest, Thousand Yard Stare, for feck's sake?!" at the screen ever since, I think it's about time you got your comeuppance. 

 

No, I mean the song's called Comeuppance... 

 

Wait, come back....

 

...oh, now I've gone and done it.

Unwrapped

After 2021's inaugural Boxing Day themed selection and 2022's even more tenuous link to gifts, I'm stretching credulity (and your patience) to the limit, with 14 wrap songs. That's wrap, not rap. And no, I've not hit the Harvey's Bristol Cream yet.

 

There are a couple of actual Christmassy songs in this selection, starting with Saint Etienne and a song from their fabulous festive album, A Glimpse Of Stocking. Randy Travis also makes a brief appearance, before Barry Adamson takes him around the back and duffs him up.

 

There's a bit of leftover mash (up) from Mark Vidler aka Go Home Productions - apart from The Police and Elvis Costello, how many other artists can you pick out? There's disco, Northern Soul, calypso (from O.M.D. no less), techno pop (for all you Amelia Fletcher fans out there) and some beautiful noise from The Delgados.

Green Gartside shares the mic with Annie Lennox, Idha (at least I think it's her) does the same with Edward Ball, whilst Gang Of Four clearly aren't sharing with anybody. There's a rare B-side from Sharkboy and to, ahem, wrap things up the single-that-nearly-was from XTC.

 

No refunds!

 

1) Unwrap Me: Saint Etienne (2010)

2) Shrinkwrapped: Gang Of Four (1995)

3) Wrap It Up: Eurythmics ft. Green Gartside (1982)

4) Wrapped Detective: Go Home Productions (2004)

5) Wrap My Arms Around Him: Amelia Fletcher (1991)

6) Wrap Your Arms Around Me: KC & The Sunshine Band (1976)

7) How Do I Wrap My Heart Up For Christmas: Randy Travis (1988)

8) Under Wraps: Barry Adamson (1989)

9) Gold Wrapper: Sharkboy (1993)

10) Wrapped, Tied And Tangled: LaVern Baker (1968)

11) All Wrapped Up: O.M.D. (1984)

12) Wrapped Up In Lonesome Blues: Edward Ball (1996)

13) Under Canvas Under Wraps: The Delgados (1996)

14) Wrapped In Grey: XTC (1992) 

 

Unwrapped (47:25) (KF) (Mega)

 

If you're a glutton for punishment, then click on the links at the top of the post for the previous selections from 2021 and 2022.

What Did You Wish For? What Did You Fear?

More festive fun today with Aimee Mann and Michael Penn, performing their song Christmastime on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on 15th December 2000. This post is dedicated to Rol from My Top Ten and someone who's been a fan of the Mann from the start.

I was much, much later to the party and oddly enough, it was her festive offerings (of which there are many) that drew me in. Christmastime is an original song, [warning: bad pun alert] penned by husband Michael Penn (older brother of Sean and Chris), producer Jon Brion and of course Aimee herself, if the lyrics didn't make it obvious.

I've not seen this TV clip before but I've long owned a version of this song on the 1996 album Just Say Noël. It's an alternative Christmas compilation released on Geffen, featuring a dozen tracks by label artists, mixing up cover versions of traditional and more contemporary songs with original compositions. 

Christmastime first appeared the same year on the soundtrack to Paul Thomas Anderson's debut film, Hard Eight and it's been re-recorded several times since. The studio version is full of the usual festive (jingle) bells and whistles, but I also like this slightly different arrangement for television. Aimee's voice is of course the element that lifts it to another plane.

 

If the annual tweak and reissue of Now That's What I Call Xmas and the prospect of Christmas songs by Ed Sheeran & Elton John, Michael Buble or Sam Ryder have you reaching for bucket to puke in, then Just Say Noël is a pretty decent alternative and relatively easy to find secondhand or online.

The album kicks off with Beck's take on a traditional song with The Little Drum Machine Boy. There's an extract on You Tube at just under two-and-a-half minutes but be warned: the album version clocks in at over seven minutes, by which time the novelty of Beck rapping has worn off, if I'm honest. Cracking bassline, though.

Sonic Youth up next with a surprisingly faithful cover of comedian/actor Martin Mull's 1972 song, Santa Doesn't Cop Out On Dope. Well, when I say faithful, I mean in the sense of their Ciccone Youth covers of Into The Groove and Addicted To Love: structurally accurate replicas but put through the 'Yoot' mangle. Even more surprising, it's actually less disturbing than the original.

From 'Yoot' to The Roots' cover of the De La Soul perennial Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa. I like The Roots and while it's inevitably not a patch on the hip hop trio, it's worth a listen or two.

Just Say Noël is not all downtempo, downtrodden music either. XTC make a belated appearance here with their 1983 single Thanks For Christmas. It ticks all the boxes for being a festive smash but failed to make a dent in the UK chart. This is possibly (and no doubt intentionally) due to the single being released as The Three Wise Men not XTC, with songwriting credited to Balthazar, Kaspar and Melchior rather than Partridge, Moulding and Gregory. As soon as Andy's voice kicks in though, you know you're in for a treat.

My final seasonal selection from Just Say Noël is Gloria by Elastica, which first appeared as a 'B-side' to third single Waking Up in, er, February 1995 and would prove to be the band's biggest hit, coming in at #13 on it's week of release. It's got all of the Elastica hallmarks: thumping drum intro, strident bass, fuzzy guitar and Justine's slightly snotty vocals and original lyrics over a very familiar melody. What's not to love?

Burn Baby Burn

Sunday 5th November is officially Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night if you prefer, although most of the displays in my neck of the woods inevitably took place on Saturday night. 

Things have changed dramatically since I was a kid. The weeks leading up to 5th November used to see children pitched up outside the local newsagents with a badly stuffed and clothed effigy and calling out for a "penny for the Guy". This year my local shop had a copper-hued approximation of Spongebob Squarepants, no kids and no indication of whether poor ol' Bob was going to end up on the pyre come the evening's festivities.

Hallowe'en was virtually non-existent as a "thing" when I was growing up but seems to have completely taken over from Bonfire Night in the last few decades. We were in Valencia for the former, which is followed on 1st November by el Dia de Todos los Santos ("All Saints Day" itself derived from the pagan festival "All Souls Day"), a national public holiday and a time to remember and honour the dead.

From a meteorological perspective, there couldn't have been a greater contrast. Hallowe'en and All Saints Day were bright and sunny, with temperatures in the mid-high 20s; Bonfire Night was bloody freezing and it had been raining for much of the day. We've not been to the local firework display since Lady K very quickly lost interest in it as a child and this year was no exception. Bah. And humbug.

However, it does give me an excuse to pull together a (let's face it, verrrry loose) Dubhed selection based on fireworks, bonfires and fires in general. Spoiler alert: despite the title, Ash doesn't feature at all.

What you do get for starters is a one-off collaboration between The Go-Betweens and The Birthday Party from 1982. From there, a trio of 1986 treats by XTC, Elvis Costello and Ciccone Youth, with more 1980s gems from Redskins, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Tom Robinson following later.

On Thursday, Walter - he of the excellent A Few Good Times In My Life blog - waxed lyrical about the 50th anniversary reissue of classic film The Wicker Man. As noted, Bristol legend Katy J Pearson was invited to cover a number of the soundtrack's songs. Katy brought some friends along, including Drug Store Romeos, Wet Leg and Sarah Meth for a spine-tingling version of Fire Leap.  

Speaking of covers, the only song I have by Joensuu 1685 is their full-volume cover of I'm On Fire by The Boss. The Helsinki-based band comprises three Joensuus - Markus, Mikko and Risto - though only the first two are related. Their second album was released in 2020 so I assume that they're still a going concern.

It would be remiss of me not to include a Spanish band in this selection and whilst they hail from Madrid not Valencia, who better than the raucous Hinds? 

By complete contrast, things drop down to a much more sedate level for the closing song, The KLF adding a chilled country twang to Build A Fire from their seminal album The White Room.

 

1) After The Fireworks: Tuff Monks (1982)

2) Sacrificial Bonfire: XTC (1986)

3) Indoor Fireworks: The Costello Show ft. The Attractions & The Confederates (1986)

4) Burnin' Up (Mike Watt Original Demo) (Cover of Madonna): Ciccone Youth (1986)

5) Building A Fire: James & Brian Eno (1994)

6) Worn From The Fight (With Fireworks): Castanets (2009)

7) (Burn It Up!) Bring It Down (This Insane Thing) (12" Version): Redskins (1985)

8) Light/Fireworks: The Fall (1993)

9) Fire Leap (Cover of Magnet): Katy J Pearson ft. Drug Store Romeos, Wet Leg & Sarah Meth (2023) 

10) Bonfire: Lamb (1999)

11) Fireworks (12" Version): Siouxsie & The Banshees (1982)

12) I'm On Fire (Cover of Bruce Springsteen): Joensuu 1685 (2009)

13) Looking For A Bonfire (Unreleased Alternate Recording): Tom Robinson (1984)

14) Burn: Hinds (2020)

15) Build A Fire (1991 Album Version): The KLF ft. Maxine Harvey (1991)

 

1982: After The Fireworks EP: 1

1982: Fireworks EP: 11

1985: (Burn It Up!) Bring It Down (This Insane Thing) EP: 7

1986: Burnin' Up/Into The Groove(y) EP: 4

1986: King Of America : 3 

1991: The White Room: 15

1993: The Infotainment Scan: 8

1994: Wah Wah: 5

1997: War Baby: Hope And Glory: 13

1999: Fear Of Fours: 10

2009: Texas Rose, The Thaw, And The Beasts: 6

2010: I'm On Fire / Perfect Grace EP: 12

2016: Skylarking (Steven Wilson Mix): 2

2020: The Prettiest Curse: 14

2023: The Wicker Man EP: 9

Burn Baby Burn (59:13) (KF) (Mega)

Birthday Barry

Happy birthday to Barry Andrews, born 12th September 1956.

 

Not a name that would have struck a chord with me in my teens and early 20s but, as I dove deeper into the minutiae of song writers, band members and post-band projects, I'd unearth artists who kept popping up again and again. Barry was one, from early XTC to Shriekback to solo recordings, who has been a wonderful discovery.

 

So, here's a smattering of tunes to celebrate.

To begin, a performance by XTC at Viewpoint Studios in Swindon on 10th December 1978. The trio of songs were respectively written and with lead vocals by Andy Partridge, Barry Andrews and Colin Moulding (do you see what they did there?). Barry's song is Super-Tuff.

 

Next up is I Snub You, which Barry wrote for Iggy Pop's 1980 album Soldier, playing alongside Glen Matlock, Ivan Kral, Klaus Krüger and Steve New.

 

I didn't really start exploring Shriekback until the mid-1990s. Given that Barry co-founded the band with Dave Allen (Gang Of Four) and Carl Marsh in 1981, that was really rather tardy of me. Especially when they hit the ground running with songs like the superb My Spine Is The Bassline.

 

My introduction to Shriekback came via a remix they did of Fluke's 1995 single Tosh - brilliantly titled Shriekbackwash - which I loved. What I've only just discovered in writing this post is that Fluke and Shriekback performed this version live. Great stuff.

I subsequently came to Barry Andrews' solo album Haunted Box Of Switches, a dozen songs, essentially Barry and his piano, which I was surprised to find is now twenty years ago. I missed it at the time but my digging around has revealed that Haunted Box Of Switches Vol. 2 was released in 2020 so I will be checking that out too. From the first volume, here's Faded Flowers.

Music continues to flow from Barry; Shriekback's 17th album Bowlahoola came out last year and the official website store is bursting with product across a range of media.

 

If most of this is new to you, then prepare for a deep dive, you won't regret it.

Have a good one, Barry!

Be Seeing You

No, not my final ever post, you may be relieved or dismayed (or indifferent) to hear, but a nod to The Prisoner, a TV series that ended over half a century ago yet continues to intrigue, confound and inspire.

Likewise, the Welsh village of Portmeirion, the location of The Village in the series, has also been a go-to for music video shoots. I've included a selection here, including a couple filmed for legendary music show The Tube, produced by Channel 4 in the 1980s, which was also where I watched - and fell in love with - The Prisoner for the first time.

 

First up is The Times with I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape from 1982. Edward Ball wrote and first recorded the song as a single in 1980 as Teenage Filmstars. The Times' video was directed by Nick Morris and a recreation of The Prisoner, including what many may argue is a more satisfying ending that the TV series' controversial final episode.

 

In 1987, The Tube had a special episode, titled "The Laughing Prisoner", filmed in Portmeirion. Jools Holland was the titular character and the opening of this clip features Jools and Stephen Fry, the latter performing possibly the worst umbrella lob committed to video.

The main feature is Siouxsie & The Banshees' cover version of The Passenger. I was (and still am) a huge fan of the band and their music so it was always a thrill to see them on TV. I'm not sure I'd heard Iggy Pop's original and frankly unbeatable version at the time. Either way, the Banshees' version may have been deemed worthy of a single but it's not their finest moment. The band look super cool though.

I'm not sure I've even seen the 1982 promo for See Those Eyes by Altered Images before. If I did, I completely forgot that like The Times, this was also directed inspired by The Prisoner. Much as I enjoy seeing Ed Ball in action, I didn't have a crush on him as a pre-teen, so Clare Grogan is going to win every time, no contest.

Fast forward to 1995 and Supergrass won me over with their cheeky chappy song and video, Alright. As impressive as the lads racing around Portmeirion on Chopper bicycles is, nothing can top Gaz Coombes' mutton chops, the likes of which I'd not seen since Amos Brearly was pulling pints in The Woolpack on Emmerdale Farm.

Back to 1987 and The Tube who, prior to "The Laughing Prisoner" special, filmed XTC performing a couple of songs in Portmeirion. The Meeting Place has Colin Moulding on lead vocals and full McGoohan garb, bar his hairstyle. I think Billy Ray Cyrus was paying close attention to the latter.

I'll confess that I've never heard of Ulysses before "researching" today's post. Even more galling to discover that they're from Bath, a reasonably short jaunt from Casa K. Situation Man was a released as a single from 2019 album On Safari (sadly, not a tribute to another classic TV show and presenter, as far as I can tell). If you like what you hear, you can find the album and other Ulysses releases on Bandcamp.

Ironically, this chap released a single in May 1989 called The Prisoner and even named the 12" version "The Portmeirion Mix". Was it enough to get him a free pass to Portmeirion? Hell no.