Youth Is Wasted On The Young

Youth aka Martin Glover could never be accused of slacking off. Since picking up a bass and co-founding Killing Joke, he's been a constant in my musical consciousness since the 1980s and shows no sign of slowing down in 2026.

Youth's CV includes production, collaboration, "supervision" and remix credits for artists ranging from Tom Jones to The Irresistible Force, Transglobal Underground to Cast, Du Blonde to Crowded House, The Orb to Shack and back again.

This ten-track, hour-long selection is rooted in the early 1990s, occasionally branches out into the 21st century and features some of my favourite reworks.

There's the Led Zeppelin-sampling cavernous boom of Björk's old band The Sugarcubes, with late period classic VItamin. 

This is preceded by a mighty dub of Killing Joke circa 1994, when the original line-up not only reformed but dove even deeper into the dub oceans they had previously explored a decade and a half before.

The remixes of Walking On Air by Frazier Chorus were a game changer, and I would have loved to have heard what Youth would have done if let loose on the entire album Ray, not just a couple of songs.

And Natacha Atlas' breathtaking ululations find a perfect complement in Youth's remix of Yalla Chant, which cropped up on a disproportionate number of my mixtapes in the mid-late 1990s.

Not that the remainder are any less of an experience, whether it's teaching old Goths new tricks (Peter Murphy, The Mission), flirting with pop (The Art Of Noise, P.M. Dawn) or going toe-to-toe with legends (Bim Sherman, Jah Wobble). Youth takes it all in his pace, weighted down with plenty of bass.

1) The Art Of Slow Love (Remix By Youth): The Art Of Noise (1991)

2) A Watcher's Point Of View (Don't 'Cha Think) (Youth Extended Mix): P.M. Dawn (1991)

3) Freaks Of Nature (Natural Dub Mix By Youth & Ott): Dub Trees ft. Bim Sherman (2000)

4) I Am My Own Name (Youth Remix): Peter Murphy (2015)

5) Another Cult Goes Down (Portobello Mix By Youth & Greg Hunter): Killing Joke (1994)

6) Vitamin (Babylon's Burnin) (Remix By Youth): The Sugarcubes (1992)

7) Tower Of Strength (Lysergic Dub) (Remix By Youth): The Mission (1994)

8) Walking On Air (Dub Instrumental) (Remixed By Youth): Frazier Chorus (1990)

9) Inspector Out Of Space: Youth Meets Jah Wobble ft. Rhiannon Sharkey (2020)

10) Yalla Chant (The Lesson Four Remix By Youth): Natacha Atlas (1995)

1990: Ray/The Baby Album (ltd 2x CD): 8

1991: A Watcher's Point Of View (Don't 'Cha Think) EP: 2

1991: The FON Mixes: 1

1992: Vitamin EP: 6

1994: Exorcism EP: 5

1994: Tower Of Strength EP: 7

1995: Yalla Chant EP: 10

2000: Nature Never Did Betray the Heart That Loved Her: 3

2015: Remixes From Lion: 4

2020: Acid Punk Dub Apocalypse: 9

Youth Is Wasted On The Young (1:00:07) (GD) (M)

Magnetic Island, Thirty Four Years Ago

A return to 1991, and my (very) occasional dips into my Australian tour diary. Twenty years old, travelling solo, and a couple of nights on the wonderful Magnetic Island, 8km out from Townsville on the northeastern coast. 

I've cut out the "touristy" bits - this isn't a travel brochure - and the minutiae of meal times, my musings on sardine sandwiches as dry on the page as they were in the mouth. 

Happy memories of BlogCon25 still fresh in my mind, I was delighted to rediscover that I'd met one of my current community's namesakes thirty four years ago, on my travels. Or was it in fact one and the same, travelling incognito with a false Canadian passport (and accent)? 

Sadly, there is no photographic evidence for me to determine one way or another...

Today's soundtrack has neatly avoided the obvious pick of The Magnetic Fields and instead I've gone for songs with 'magnetic' in the title. 

Luckily enough, Sydney-based artist Zankee Gulati had the common decency to release a song called Magnetic Island last October. The other three picks - by Juno Reactor, Sasha and Dub Trees (Youth, Greg Hunter & Simon Posford with Mark Manning aka Zodiac Mindwarp) follow a similarly electronic route. 

Looking at the UK Top 10 for this week in 1991, I can only say that I am glad I was on the other side of the world, and largely spared the horror.

Anyway, enough of the preamble, it's diary time!

Saturday 15th June

I boarded the awaiting minibus and travelled from Picnic Bay to Horseshoe Bay, on the opposite end of Magnetic Island, 10km north. Geoff's Place, as the hostel was called, turned out not to be a hostel at all, but a widespread group of detached log cabins, each having four beds...and nothing else. I took the only bed that wasn't on ground level then set off for the beach.

As it was mid-afternoon, the sea had all but vanished from the bay, leaving dirty-looking sand and anchored boats behind. I explored in one direction for a little while, then settled against a half-submerged log and ate a packet of crisps, my first meal of the day. Exhaustion overtook me and I fell asleep, waking just in time to catch the sunset. The sky was beautiful that night.

Sunday 16th June

My bed was reminiscent of the one in Coolangatta: you could sleep all night long in it, but you would feel like shit as soon as you awoke. The shower and washroom were distinctly undesirable, so I did what I had to do in as little time as possible.

In a strange quirk of fate, rinsing my face after a shave, I looked into the mirror and saw The Swede from Melbourne staring back at me; he had just returned from a week's diving in Cairns. It was good to see him again.

After a brief conversation, we went to the beach, miraculously transformed by the incoming tide into a paradisal retreat, and a had a swim (twice). We were rewarded with unbelievably warm water. I love this place!

We stayed long enough to see a group of horse riders galloping along the beach and into the sea, and witness a beautiful sunset a short time later. 

On our return to Geoff's Place, I met two of my three new room-mates, all women. One is from Bristol and used to work in the clothes shop in front of Tony's Records in the city centre. Her absent friend apparently lives in Frampton Cottrell. It's such a small world, isn't it?

There were two frogs in the washroom, one big, one small, both bright green. I touched the big one. It's skin felt weird.

Monday 17th June

I slept reasonably well, woken occasionally by the sound of wandering possums, one stopping to scratch at the cabin door for a while. My room-mates had a worse night, complaining of the cold. I was quietly relieved that it wasn't my snoring...!

A large number of us were leaving Magnetic Island, so the minibus was dangerously overcrowded with people and packages, but we made it to the harbour unscathed. 

I had been walking around with The Swede, and we had just stopped to have a drink and write postcards when I spotted Chris, one half of the Canadian duo that I'd befriended in Byron Bay. Chris was also leaving the island and heading back to Townsville, albeit on a different ferry, so I made arrangements to meet up for a drink on the mainland.

Arriving in Townsville, I said farewell to The Swede, who was travelling on, and checked in at the Transit Centre Hostel, a very new building with ultra-clean white sheets and nice looking rooms, a complete contrast to what I'd left behind on Magnetic Island. 

After a short walk around town, I popped into The Shamrock Hotel bar and found Chris, with a chap called Rod from Lancashire. Chris' companion Clark had carried on to Cairns and I learned that our mutual friend John had already passed through Townsville on his way home. 

The three of us spent a couple of hours in the pub, drinking Guinness, until their (delayed) coach to Cairns arrived. All too soon, it was time to say goodbye once more.

I returned to the hostel for a much needed shower - imagine having an ice-cold shower in the midst of an English winter!!

Boy, do my boots stink, though...

You Can Take The Boy Out Of Bauhaus, But You Cannot Take Bauhaus Out Of The Boy

An unexpected treat, Peter Murphy and Boy George teaming up for a single, Let The Flowers Grow, co-written and produced by Youth aka Martin Glover.

 

Sound wise, it comes over like the closing song from the soundtrack to a Hollywood movie from the mid to late 80s, sweeping synth strings, chugging guitar and steady, muscular beat underpinning two powerhouse vocals. 

 

It took a couple of listens, but (and excuse the pun) it grew on me. Not an obvious pairing, and even if George's tends to dominate on the shared chorus, the voices complement one another well. And of course, new music from Peter Murphy is a very welcome thing.

It's been ten years since Peter's tenth studio album, Lion, also a collaboration with Youth, so we can but hope that Let The Flowers Grow is a teaser for a bigger project, an album even.

In the meantime, here's a chronological run through of Peter's promos, from his debut solo single (and Pere Ubu cover) Final Solution in 1985 through the optimistically titled HIt Song (it wasn't) in 1992, up to Eliza from Lion in 2014. Never a dull visual and those cheekbones could still cut glass over three decades.

From 2019, there's a live performance of second solo single Blue Heart and then the rather beautiful Keep Coming Back by Cheb I Sabbah from 2021, featuring Peter paired with Azam Ali.

Finally, a step back to 2011 and Peter's appearance on What's In My Bag? at Amoeba Music in San Francisco. At under six-and-a-half minutes, it's one of the shorter entries in the long-running series, but it's a lot of fun.

Final Solution (Cover of Pere Ubu) (1985)

All Night Long (1988)

A Strange Kind Of Love (1990)

Cuts You Up (1990)

Hit Song (1992)

The Scarlet Thing In You (1995)

I Spit Roses (2011)

Seesaw Sway (2011)

Eliza (2014)

Blue Heart (Live @ The Chapel, San Francisco) (2019)

Keep Coming Back: Cheb I Sabbah & Peter Murphy ft. Azam Ali (2021)

 

Sat In The Passenger Seat, Having An Out Of Body Experience

A selection of long songs for Sunday, designed to transport you...well, take your pick from Mars or Dorset and all points in between, or just head straight out of this galaxy and see what else is out there.

 

The shortest song in this selection clocks in at a few seconds under twelve minutes, the longest contribution edges over fourteen and a half. Too many beats between them all to be considered pure ambient music perhaps, but they all have enough going on to stimulate the senses.

First stop, Japan and a couple of electronic music legends. Magic Dome by Yoshihiro Sawasaki was (I think) his debut release, first appearing on the flip of the Neocrystal 12" single, then the album Perfumed Garden, both in 1994. 

Soft Ballet was formed by Ryoichi Endo, Ken Morioka and Maki Fujii in 1986, though my introduction to them was via their remix albums featuring Western artists such as LFO, Jah Wobble, Orbital, Fluke and Global Communication. The third and final in the series reworked 1995 album Form, by which time Soft Ballet had split, although they reunited for a couple of albums in the early 2000s. 

Speaking of Global Communication, Tom Middleton resurrected the GCOM alias in 2021 for a 20-track magnum opus E2-XO. Most of them are pretty short, several clocking in at a minute or less, until you get to the album closer, Beyond The Milky Way. Just ride the stellar wave and drift into the unknown.

 

The Orb and Youth transformed ambient music in the late 80s/early 90s, whether separately or together. I've plumped for the latter, with a remix of Spanish Castles In Space, one of my favourite songs by The Orb, in any incarnation. Alex Paterson and Martin Glover have continued to work together, not least last year's Orb album, Prism.

 

Back down to Earth now, more specifically Wimborne in Dorset. Al Stewart grew up there and Robert Fripp was born in Wimborne Minster, so you know the vibes are good.  MLO were/are Jon Tye and Peter Smith; Jon continues to push the ambient envelope, as one half of Seahawks.

 

Matt Gunn is the new kid on the block, relatively speaking, with a clutch of great releases on the Paisley Dark and Electric Wardrobe labels. Matt's first album Mostly Fiction is a good jumping on point, though his EPs also come recommended.

 

Youth is back for the finale, with an end of the millennium reworking of psychedelic rockers Gong. I first discovered Steve Hillage as the credited producer on the 12" single of Sweat In Bullet by Simple Minds, later as a founder of System 7, so my journey back to Gong was full of detours and diversions, but I eventually got there. A bit like this compilation, if you will.

 

1) Magic Dome (Full Length Version): 澤崎吉広 (Yoshihiro Sawasaki) (1994)

2) No One Lives On Mars (Even Longer) (Remixed By Carl Craig): Soft Ballet (1995)

3) Beyond The Milky Way (Full Length Version): GCOM (2021)

4) Spanish Castles In Space (Extended Youth Mix By Martin Glover): The Orb (1991)

5) Wimborne (Spacetime Continuum Mix By Jonah Sharp): MLO (1994)

6) Space Drohne I & II (Album Version): Matt Gunn (2023)

7) A Sprinkling Of Clouds (Full Length Edit By Youth aka Martin Glover): Gong (1999)

 

1991: Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excursions: 4

1994: Perfumed Garden: 1

1994: Wimborne Revisited EP: 5

1995: Forms: Remix For Ordinary People: 2

1999: You Remixed: 7

2021: E2-XO: 3 

2023: Mostly Fiction: 6

Sat In The Passenger Seat, Having An Out Of Body Experience (1:30:02) (KF) (Mega)

Infinite Sunrise

The Orb's 1991 song Perpetual Dawn is one of the greatest singles and album tracks of the year, decade, all time, in any genre. I never tire of listening to it and it sounds as 'now' in 2024 as it did over three decades ago.

Clearly in agreement, the full nine-and-a-half minute version from The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld has been reissued with a brand new video, visualised by Kavi-Karnapura Robin Buckley.

Alex Paterson pops up here and there, vintage footage woven into the visual fabric. Thomas Fehlmann joins him on the decks at 4:42 and Alex and Youth aka Martin Glover come together for a split-second 'then and now' segment at 4:51. 

The narrative, such as it is, either makes no sense or complete sense, depending on how you approach it but as someone who is ambivalent about AI and/or CGI, this is a compelling watch and if it introduces a new audience to the greatness of The Orb and Perpetual Dawn, all the better.

Solid Gould

Sublime sounds for Sunday courtesy of Mixmaster Morris aka Morris Gould aka The Irresistible Force.

Although he's created some deft beats and pieces, Morris is best known for defining then redefining the ambient/chillout crossover in the 1990s. The first time I heard of him though was in 1987 and an insane chopped up edit of Perfect Skin by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, tucked away on the B-side of the My Bag 12" single. 

 

I also had a 12" of Yon Yonson by The Dave Howard Singers with a couple of bonkers remixes featuring samples of 80s TV sensation and sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer but I didn't realise that these were early Morris mixes until he replied to a Tweet I posted about the record a year or so ago. A remix of the Stump single Charlton Heston the same year is similarly cracked.

Today's mix is a little more laid back...well, apart from a cheeky sneak in of one of the above near the end. Oh, and an even cheekier phone prank pulled by Richard D. James on Morris and Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner.

 

Apart from that though, it's a little more laid back, I promise. You get several of the usual suspects in the early to mid 1990s downtempo arena, plus a few 21st century remixes and a couple of reworks of his own music as The Irresistible Force. All in, a baker's dozen of tracks coming in at a wink over 85 minutes. 

This selection is not a patch on what Morris himself would mix together - for evidence, I can easily recommend any of the mixes that are available to purchase or view online. But I'm learning very slowly.

 

1) Speedlearn (Reformed By The Irresistible Force): The Higher Intelligence Agency (1994)

2) Space Is The Place (Intergalactic Ambient Mix): The Irresistible Force (1991)

3) Freeform Attractor (Remixed By Mixmaster Morris): Aural Expansion (1995)

4) Phone Pranks 1: Caustic Window ft. Morris Gould & Robin Rimbaud (1994)

5) 2046 (The Irresistible Force Remix): Saafi Brothers (2019)

6) Autumn Leaves (The Irresistible Force Full Chill Mix) (Cover of Edith Piaf): Coldcut ft. Janis Alexander (1992)

7) Duende (Mixmaster Morris Ambient Sunrise Mix): The Irresistible Force ft. Nik Turner & Youth (2016)

8) Barbarella (The Irresistible Force Remix): Barbarella (1993)

9) Scientas (Irresistible Force Mix): The Shamen (1993)

10) Yon Yonson Meets Dr. R-R-Ruth (Sex Sample Sequel #One) (Remix By Dave Howard, John King & Morris Gould): The Dave Howard Singers (1987)

11) Fish Dances (Instrumental) (Remix By Mixmaster Morris): The Irresistible Force (1999)

12) Tranquility Gate (Mixmaster Morris Remix): Bluetech (2019)

13) Hey There Look At You, Unravelling (Mixmaster Morris vs Chris Coco Remix): Coco, Steel & Lovebomb (2015)

 

1987: Yon Yonson Meets Dr. R-R-Ruth (limited edition 12"): 10

1991: Space Is The Place EP: 2 

1993: Autumn Leaves (promo white label 12"): 6 

1993: Barbarella EP: 8

1993: Different Drum: 9

1994: Caustic Window LP: 4

1994: Colour Reform EP: 1

1995: Remixed Sheep: 3 

1999: Fish Dances: 11 

2015: The Chillout Album Remixed: 13

2016: Society Of Inner Light: 7 

2019: Liquid Geometries In Dub: 12

2019: Mystic Cigarettes: Special Mixes Of Classic Flavours: 5

 

Solid Gould (1:25:10) (KF) (Mega)

No More Crying, Heartaches, Sorrows Or Pain

A "quick" post about Johnny Clarke that inevitably turned into a big detour...

Having been listening to it over the weekend, my intention was simply to post Johnny's 1977 classic Every Knee Shall Bow and a couple of accompanying versions. So, without further ado, here's the original single version, produced by Bunny 'Striker' Lee...

...followed by the self-produced extended version from 1978, featuring U-Roy and a superlative dub from King Tubby on the flipside...

...and last, but certainly not least, U-Roy's own take on the song, one of his last recordings before his untimely passing in 2021. This is huge in every sense, over 15 minutes in length and featuring Big Youth and Mick Jones, with Youth, Zak Starkey and Dave Sardy at the controls. 

And the detour? Right at the top of this post, looking on YouTube for Johnny Clarke clips, I discovered rediscovered a full set from the Mekudeshet Festival in Jerusalem on 19th September 2019, Johnny performing with Dub Asante Band and Matic Horns. Well worth an hour and a quarter of your time.

I Shed A Tear For Sapiens Who Are Already Replaced

Killing Joke released a new single, Full Spectrum Dominance, a couple of weeks ago to coincide with their gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

It's a characteristic wall of noise with flexible lyrics that can be easily applied to the current Tory government and it's abhorrent efforts to subjugate and disenfranchise the dissenting masses.

Killing Joke may not be everyone's cup of tea but personally I'm very happy that they're still around and sticking it to "The Man" after five decades.

The other side of my brain is also satisfied by the Pure Trance Youth Dub Remix of Full Spectrum Dominance, the presumably contractually-obliged reworking by bassist Youth aka Martin Glover. Again, nothing groundbreaking but it ticks all the boxes.

 

 

There's Something Going Round Inside My Head

Side 2 of a cassette compilation, recorded 23rd July 1994.

I'd forgotten how much I loved listening to this tape, especially in my car. I owned a Mini Metro with a crappy tape deck that had been bolted to the underside of the glove compartment and wired in a similarly DIY fashion with copious amounts of black electrical tape where there shouldn't be. Windows down, volume up and the morbid thrill of wondering if the crappy tape deck would chew up and spit out the cassette at some point (which happened with alarming frequency).

Thankfully, this one survived both the tape deck and the eventual ditching of the car when I lived sufficiently close to Bristol city centre and with sufficiently awful street parking that I managed without a car for several years. The compilation continued to get regular airings but nothing quite matched those rock and roll lo-fi hi-fi years in the car.

This selection is resolutely and relentlessly upbeat for three quarters of an hour. Even Youth and Thrash's attempts to inject some darkness (sampling the Stones' Gimme Shelter) into Movin' by Marathon cannot suppress it's innate joy de vivre. And World Of Twist's take on another Stones classic remixed by Fluke is about as uplifting as one can get. And that's saying something, coming hot on the heels of another of their remixes, the aptly titled Celebrate.

It all gets off to a euphoric start with The Grid's superb remix of Bow Down Mister by Jesus Loves You, which in my opinion is still a career highlight for Boy George, albeit criminally overlooked and underrated. Messrs Ball and Norris put George in the backseat for this one, letting him back up front with the choir towards the end. For the most part though, it's all about Asha Bosle and it's all the better for it.

 

Another iconic singer gets a look in later on, when the unique presence that is Nina Hagen lends her singular style to Get Your Body! Adamski's bubble of commercial success  and chart hits the previous year had burst by 1992, which is a shame as I think the singles at least were just as good, if not better than what had gone before. I picked up this 12" for pennies in a bargain bin in 1994 and it's a great track that deserved better.

Devo is sadly not a tribute to the American band but the product of progressive house duo Crunch aka Terry Marks and Kevin Brewster-White from the UK. They loved their cheese: the three mixes on the 12" single are named Mozzarella, Red Leicester and Stilton. Nothing cheesy about this song though, which I first discovered on the Welcome To The Future² compilation in 1993.

I was (and still am) a huge fan of Justin Robertson and actively sought out his work as Lionrock and his prolific remixes for other artists. If? were already on my radar due to previous 12" purchases of Open Up Your Head and Everything & More, both featuring stunning remixes by Leftfield. With Saturday's Angels, Justin Robertson is more than up to the challenge, delivering an astonishing eight minutes. Most Excellent was the name of his club night at the time but also fairly sums up his remix and this selection, if I dare say so.

1) Bow Down Mister (Floating In The Ganges - Grid Mix By Dave Ball & Richard Norris): Jesus Loves You ft. Asha Bhosle (1991)

2) Devo (Mozzarella Mix): Crunch (1993)

3) Saturday's Angels (Most Excellent Vocal Remix By Justin Robertson): If? (1992)

4) Movin' (Original) (Translunar Injection Burn Mix By Youth & Thrash): Marathon (1992) 

5) Get Your Body! (12"): Adamski ft. Nina Hagen (1992) 

6) Celebrate (Magimix By Fluke): Horse (1994) 

7) She's A Rainbow (Right Foot Yellow Mix By Fluke): World Of Twist (1991)

 

Side Two (45:01) (KF) (Mega)

All Their Promises Come So Easy

In July 1991, The Psychedelic Furs released what would prove to be their first and only album of new material in the 1990s...and 2000s...and 2010s. In fact, it was something of a surprise and delight when in July 2020, they released a further album, Made Of Rain.

World Outside is a far better album than history suggests, tucking it away as the last gasp of a band struggling to keep up with the changing times and sounds. The two singles accompanying the album - Until She Comes and Don't Be A Girl - are cracking, even if the latter does come across like Happy Mondays' more snarky older cousin.

 

The 12" single of Don't Be A Girl came with a trio of remixes by Youth, including the Dancehall On Fire mix, which I featured on a 1993 cassette compilation. If you didn't know of the original song or the band, you'd be hard pressed to identify the remix as a Furs song but it remains one of my favourite songs touched by the hand of Martin Glover.

I thought I'd posted at least one side of a cassette of The Psychedelic Furs from the early 1990s but apparently not. It's that or a recreated set list from one of the three times I've seen them live in concert. Either way, watch this space, the Furs are coming back (fairly) soon.

My Moral Code's On Overload

I may have heard them prior to that, but Killing Joke made an indelible impression on my teen brain with Love Like Blood, Eighties and the Night Time album as a whole.

 

I've stuck with them, albeit fairly loosely, over the years, picking up the occasional album and catching up with their early 1980s material. I've also been a huge fan of their forays into remixes and dub soundscapes, guided by original and returning bassist Youth aka Martin Glover. Throughout, Jaz Coleman's state of the world lyrics and "savagely strident vocals" remain undimmed.

 

The original Killing Joke line-up reformed in full in 2008, have released several albums of new material and are touring in 2023, including an appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 12th March.

Today's selection starts in 1985, with a track from Night Time, and ends in 2014 with a remix from the In Dub 3CD collection. In between you'll find remixes, album tracks and singles and some seriously heavy sounds. Brace yourselves.

1) Europe (Album Version) (1985)

2) Wardance (The RAF Mix By Zeus B. Held) (1986)

3) Seeing Red (Jagz Kooner Remix) (2004)

4) Mass (Campaign Collection Mix By Youth & Paul Wright) (1996)

5) Love Like Blood (Gestalt Mix By Chris Kimsey, Chris Nagle & Killing Joke) (1985)

6) Democracy (United Nations Mix By Black Sun aka Youth & Ott) (1996)

7) Loose Cannon (Album Version) (2003)

8) Exorcism (Vatican Ambient Dub) (Remix By Youth) (2014) 

9) America (Single Version) (1988) 

 

1985: Love Like Blood EP: 5

1985: Night Time: 1

1986: Sanity EP: 2

1988: America EP: 9

1996: Democracy EP: 4, 6

2003: Killing Joke: 7

2004: Seeing Red EP: 3

2014: In Dub: 8

 

Moral Code's On Overload (47:03) (KF) (Mega)

The New Creation

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 7th September 1997.

Does it get much better than this? It's hard to believe that I recorded this cassette over 25 years ago, pulling together tunes that are now over three decades old. From the opening seconds of Farley and Heller's mix of Come Together, I'm transported and that feeling of euphoria continues for the next 45 minutes.

That wonderful moment when indie and dance came together and before the phrase "there's always been a dance element to our music" became something of a joke. Terry Farley and Paul Oakenfold are prominent on both sides of this mixtape, though it will be no surprise that Andrew Weatherall and Youth slightly had the edge for me.

Adam & Eve's remix of Your Love Takes Me Higher, from a freebie Record Mirror 7" single, is perhaps my favourite of the multiple mixes of the song. Adam & Eve are Jon and Helena Marsh, Helena joining Jon in The Beloved following Steve Waddington's departure.

 

The selection closes with World Of Twist covering The Rolling Stones, the second such cover on this selection. The explosion of the indie/dance crossover also meant plundering music history for songs to present to a new generation. The Beatles and The Stones were obvious go to bands, but artists from The Doors to The Monkees to Neil Young to T. Rex to Elvis Presley were all fair game, with variable results.

 

She's A Rainbow was first released as a double A-side with The Storm in November 1990 and scraped to #42 in the UK singles chart. The song was re-released as a standalone single in February 1992 with a pair of gorgeous remixes by Fluke but unfortunately only managed to get to #62. A much underrated band, much missed.

"The New Creation" isn't a nod to Alan McGee's label, although this compilation does feature a couple of Creation label mates (Primal Scream being one, the other's on Side 2). It's an ad-libbed phrase from one of the backing singers on I'm Free by The Soup Dragons. It's definitely there on the acapella version but I might have missed it listening back to the Terry Farley remix featured here. Either way, it felt like an apt title, capturing that feeling as the 1980s became the 1990s that something new and exciting was happening, musically speaking at least.

 

1) Come Together (12" Version By Terry Farley & Pete Heller): Primal Scream (1990)

2) I'm Free (Terry Farley Remix) (Cover of The Rolling Stones): The Soup Dragons ft. Junior Reid (1990)

3) Your Love Takes Me Higher (Depth & Desire Mix By Adam & Eve): The Beloved (1990)

4) The World According To Sly & Lovechild (Soul Of Europe Mix By Andrew Weatherall): Sly & Lovechild (1990)

5) Rave On (Club Mix By Paul Oakenfold & Terry Farley): Happy Mondays (1989)

6) Kiss Them For Me (Kathak Mix By Youth): Siouxsie & The Banshees (1991)

7) She's A Rainbow (7" Version By Martin Hannett & World Of Twist) (Cover of The Rolling Stones): World Of Twist (1990)

 

1989: Rave On EP: 5

1990: Come Together EP: 1

1990: I'm Free EP: 2

1990: The Fame And Fortune EP: 3

1990: The Storm / She's A Rainbow EP: 7

1990: The World According To Sly & Lovechild EP: 4

1991: Kiss Them For Me EP: 6

Side One (45:20) (Box) (Mega)

SunDub

Another Sunday dub excursion, with a generous helping of Rob Smith. Mad Professor and Prince Fatty, with a side serving of Adrian Sherwood, Youth and Gaudi.

 

1) Yak Dub: Alien Dread (2004)

2) Dub Mentality (Live @ Festimad Festival, Madrid, 2nd May 1998): Asian Dub Foundation (1998)

3) Free South Africa (Dub) (Remix By Lindel Lewis & Mad Professor): Benjamin Zephaniah (1983)

4) Bad Man (Dub By RSD aka Rob Smith): Horace Andy ft. Million Teeth (2013)

5) Ragga Muffin Style (Dub) (Remix By Rob Smith): Jah Stitch (2015)

6) North, East, West, South (Prince Fatty Dub): The Last Poets (2019)

7) Idi Amin Dub: Mad Professor & Prince Fatty (2015)

8) Afghani Dub (Version By Adrian Sherwood): The Mothmen (1981)

9) Kung Fu Battle Ina Brixton (Dub): Prince Fatty (2012)

10) Hip Dub: Vivian Weathers (1978)

11) Ganjaman (Deep Fried Dub Remix): Youth & Gaudi (2020)

1978: Bad Weather: 10

1981: Wild Paarty Sounds: 8

1989: Rasta (bonus tracks): 3

1998: Black White EP: 2

2012: Kung Fu Battle Ina Brixton EP: 9

2013: Broken Beats: 4

2015: Mad Professor Meets Prince Fatty In The Clone Theory: 7

2015: Mixwork In Dub: 5

2017: Conquering Dub (Expanded Edition): 1

2019: Understand What Dub Is: 6

2020: Astronaut Alchemists Remixes: 11

SunDub (42:57) (GD) (M)

Bono On The Fourth Of July

Today's selection is a U2 mixtape, recorded 24th August 1997. Thanks to those of you who didn't click and close as soon as you saw the post title and opening sentence. 

Judging by the date, this compilation tape was most likely recorded in a slightly different form for my friend Stuart as a) his birthday was a few days prior to this and b) he is a lifelong fan of U2. It's a testament to how good a friend Stuart is, that he let me borrow his collection of U2 7" singles to take into school for a class presentation. We weren't even at the same school, let alone in the same class, yet he trusted me enough not to let him down. The look on his face when I told him I'd sold the lot to "Frankie" Stein for five quid and a mega bag of Wotsits was priceless...I'm joking, of course. Or am I?

Given that I wasn't particularly a U2 fan and knew much more about other music artists that I did like, made my choice of class presentation a little odd, to say the least. Maybe class 5M wasn't ready to be enlightened about Julian Cope, had little interest in The Sisters Of Mercy and would have raised an eyebrow at Prefab Sprout. This wasn't the oddest thing I did at school, but the reaction of the class to my 10 minute talk on Bono and chums is thankfully lost in the mists of time.

Whilst I was largely indifferent to the appeals of a U2 album, I'll admit that I did enjoy a U2 remix and as the late 1980s turned into the early 1990s, there were plenty to choose from. If nothing else, the band (or their team) got some decent DJs and producers in to increase the BPM and reduce the BS: Paul Oakenfold, Steve Osborne, Terry Farley, Pete Heller, Tim Simenon, David Morales, Trevor Jackson, Dave Dorrell, Stereo MC's, Apollo 440, DJ Muggs, Rollo, Rob Dougan, even Massive Attack.

In 1995, U2's fanzine Propaganda provided members with a special CD release called Melon, compiling nine of the band's best remixes. Melon was heavily bootlegged and I came across a copy in Revolver Records off Clifton Triangle in Bristol. Revolver was a brilliant record shop but an intimidating experience. I fully expected a disdainful stare when I took my clutch of purchases to owner Roger at the counter, the Melon bootleg tucked away between some more worthy purchases. I didn't; perhaps on this occasion he was just relieved to finally be shot of the thing.

This particular CD was a great quality bootleg, but soon a veritable feast of similarly-themed bootlegs began to appear: Kiwi, Orange, Mango, Banana, Grapes, Papaya, More Melon; with diminishing returns in terms of artwork and sound quality. I picked up the first three secondhand from Replay Records to round up some of the rare, promo-only mixes that I was interested in, but skipped the rest. Naming the mixtape Fruit Salad was a nod to the source material of the original compilation.

 

In 2002, U2 released The Best Of 1990-2000, a (not very) limited edition with a bonus disc of B-Sides that included some of the remixes from the bootlegs, albeit in truncated, early fade edits that are best avoided. The remix of Desire is the version from the UK 12" single, but there is a promo 12" out there featuring the full length Hollywood Remix, stretching to over nine minutes. You have been warned.

The original Fruit Salad mixtape closed out Side 2 with a snippet of the Momo's Reprise remix of Lemon by David Morales for no other reason than the tape was running a bit short. I've left it off of today's recreation. Little consolation if you hate Bono and friends' music with a passion (or Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne, for that matter, as there's a fair bit of them too). However, if you specifically dislike Larry Mullen Jr's drumming, you're in for a real treat. 

 

Normal service will resume tomorrow.

 

Side One

1) Zooropa (911 Mix By John M. Pillin Jr.) (1993)

2) Lemon (The Perfecto Mix By Paul Oakenfold & Steve Osborne) (1993)

3) Until The End Of The World (Short Life Mix By Ultra Hot Razor Crew) (1996)

4) Night And Day (Steel String Remix By Youth) (Cover of Fred Astaire) (1990)

5) Stay (Faraway So Close!) (Underdog Mix By Trevor Jackson) (1995)

6) Mysterious Ways (The Perfecto Mix By Paul Oakenfold & Steve Osborne) (1991)

7) God Part II (The Hard Metal Dance Club Mix By Louis Silas Jr. & David Bianco) (UK 12” Edit) (1988)

Side Two

1) Even Better Than The Real Thing (The Perfecto Mix By Paul Oakenfold & Steve Osborne) (1992)

2) In The Name Of The Father (Unidare Mix By Tim Simenon): Bono & Gavin Friday (1994)

3) Lady With The Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix By Alan Moulder) (1992)

4) Desire (Hollywood Remix By Louis Silas Jr. & Taavi Mote) (UK 12" Edit) (1988)

5) Salomé (Zooromancer Remix By Terry Farley & Pete Heller) (Full Length) (1992)

6) Can't Help Falling In Love (Mystery Train Dub Edit By Dave Dorrell) (Cover of Elvis Presley) (1992)

7) Numb (Gimme Some More Dignity Mix By Rollo & Rob Dougan) (Full Length) (1995)

Kiwi: A4, A7, B3, B4

Mango: B2

Melon: A2, A5, A6, B1, B5, B7

Orange: A1, A3, B6

Side One (46:03)

Side Two (45:35)