A Friday night record

So no comments for the Way of the West post. I can’t pretend I’m not disappointed, they are pretty good records after all. I know just the thing to get you all going. How about a record featuring Chas Jankel and Kenny Young, writers of ‘Ai No Corrida’ no less? Not that I would pretend these songs are in the same class but ‘Muchas Gracias’ is a ‘fun’ party record with an unmistakeable Chas feel and b-side ‘Limelight’ should really have been the a-side.

The Pack - Muchas Gracias (1981)

(Kenny Young/Chas Jankel)
Produced by Kenny Young, Chas Jankel, Chris Warwick

The Pack - Limelight (1981)
(Kenny Young/Herbie Armstrong)
Produced by Kenny Young

So eighties...

Back in the early 80s when a group of us were house sharing one of the guys was also an avid record buyer and had similar tastes to my own. This gave a competitive edge to record buying which was good because you always wanted to be the one to come home with that great record from some undiscovered band. Occasionally one of us would rave about their latest discovery and the other just didn’t get it, which was pretty much the case with these two records. To my ears they weren’t contemporary enough, for that read not electronic enough. When we moved on we made tapes from each others record collections and I put these two songs at the end of a C90 more or less to use up the tape and because I quite liked them. The last few bars of Drum were chopped off and I was a perfectionist when it came to making tapes but I let it go, an indication of how essential I thought it was.

Fast forward about 30 years and one day I couldn’t get these tunes out of my head so I’ve managed to acquire new copies. Now the production sounds quintessentially 80s to me. Don’t know what I was thinking. Back in the day clippety-clop percussion part in Drum irritated me. I find I can live with it now but I’m sure it still has the potential to irk if I put it on in the wrong mood, say after one of my epic battles with the kids.

Way of the West - Drum (It’s Just A March In Time) (Social Mix) (1981)

Way of the West - See You Shake (1981)

Bargain



There are a lot of things I like about this record. For a start there’s the synthy/new wavey/power poppy A-side. Then there’s the wonderful instrumental B-side which, just when you think it’s going to just repeat the same riff all the way through, goes into a sparkly bridge/middle eight before the wordless vocal in the final verse almost takes it into ‘Telstar’ territory. I strongly urge you to listen to both sides of this 45.


Best of all it only cost me £1 at a record fair last May. I love a bargain. It was almost like the old days when I would take a gamble on a single because it looked like the sort of thing I might like.

I’m pretty sure this single represents the entire recorded output of The Corvettes which is a shame.

The Corvettes - Love To Hate You (1980)

The Corvettes - Heartbeat (1980)

Penny Heathcote - Vocals
Robyn Banks - Keyboards
Blotto Williams - Bass
Mike Stand - Drums
Jeremy King – Guitar

For more info on the Corvettes check out this website on the Brighton punk scene.

P.S. I know it's been a while but so please leave a comment so I know you're all still out there.

Cedric Sharpley

Just heard the sad news that Cedric Sharpley, drummer of Tubeway Army and Dramatis has died. I really liked his style. To put it bluntly he made some of Gary Numan's more dirgey efforts listenable.

Love Dance

Sheffield band Vision's only UK chart hit (plus b-side), No 74 in July 1983. It's classic 80s synth music but you get the feeling as it fades out that you've listened to half of a really good 12-inch single. I'll probably be buying the 12-inch in the coming weeks so stay tuned and we'll see if I'm right.

Vision - Love Dance (1983)
Vision - Vision (1983)

Mystery

If I see an interesting looking single from the late 70s/early 80s that I’ve never heard for the right price I take a punt. That’s how I got today’s offering. I’d never heard of Scarlett Von Vollenman and Google didn’t help much. There’s a Scarlett Von Wollenmann who sang backing for Kissing the Pink and had some sort of car accident in the 90s that left her in a wheelchair who may or may not be the same person. Anyone out there know?

As for the record, I think it would have gone down well on alternative night in the clubs back in 1981. If you like Hypnotised try the b-side. It’s pretty much more of the same.

Scarlett Von Vollenman – Hypnotised (1981)
Scarlett Von Vollenman – Warm Love (1981)

Friday treat

Somehow I missed this back in 1979 despite the fact it got to No 28 and the band appeared on Top of the Pops. I stumbled on it whilst messing around on Youtube a few weeks ago and I had to have it. This copy, still in its HMV shrink wrap cost me just 99p from Ebay. It’s a sort of mutant Blondie with nice Mick Glossop production.

The Doll - Desire Me (Extended Version) (1979)

Some classic synthpop to reboot the blog

Did you know that after Sailor George Kajanus went all Buggles on us and made some great synthpop? Listen to this:

Data - Fever of Love (1981)

My comparison doesn't do it justice. It is Buggles-ish but much better.

Intermission

As you have no doubt noticed this blog is in the middle of a summer break. I’ve been finding it hard to find the time or inclination to blog since returning from Scotland way back in June. This lethargy coupled with having to deal with three kids on their summer holiday means thing are not likely to improve in the immediate future.

Normal service will be resumed…one day…probably.

Meanwhile, for your enjoyment here’s Bill Nelson playing ‘For Stuart’ at his recent ‘Legends’ show at Metropolis studios. The Stuart in question is Stuart Adamson of The Skids and Big Country.

To cut a long story short this reminds me of something…

Dave from Planet Mondo declared last Fridays offering “the most eighties sounding record I’ve ever heard.” This is another candidate from 1981. It occupies the same musical territory as the first two Spandau Ballet singles.

That’s considered a good thing around these parts.

To Kalon - Coming To Get You (Dance Mix) (4:49) (1981)
To Kalon - Coming To Get You (3:41) (1981)

I recommend the short version for a quick fix. The longer version is a classic early 80s extended mix with echo-y drums and vocals.

Pretend a stranger is my friend

This is a record I got from ebay for 99p a few weeks ago. It was advertised as rare English synthpop and I had never heard of it so I thought I would give it a go. It’s from 1985 so when she sings ‘Pretend a stranger is my friend’ she’s not referring to Facebook, Twitter, blogs etc. but that’s what the title makes me think of. That and the love-in that’s developed under my Jeanette post.

Talking Drums - Pretend A Stranger (1985)

Jeanette

I promised you all something special and here it is. These lovely minimalist songs are by Jeanette, real name Jeanette Dwyer (possibly related to Gary Dwyer of Teardrop Explodes) also known simply as Jean on This Mortal Coil’s Filigree & Shadow album.

According to Discogs she recorded three singles and two albums between 1983 and 1988. This is the only one I’ve got but I love both sides so much I really must rectify that. Expect some more tunes when I do.

Side one features just vocals, synthesiser and percussion, side two just multilayered vocals and percussion. It’s close but I think I like the b-side best.

Jeanette - In The Morning (1983)
Jeanette - Sun Arises (1983)

There probably won’t be a tune next Friday because I’ll be in Scotland by then. There’s a record shop called Groucho’s always visit when I’m up there so I hope to come back with something interesting.

Raiding the proggy archive

It’s been a while since I pissed people off by indulging in my penchant for progressive rock (of the symphonic kind). All you conscientious objectors will have to be patient and you will be duly rewarded with something special on Friday.

The concept of this record is brilliant; a medley of The Dambusters March and Land of Hope & Glory on a blue vinyl record that resembles the RAF symbol. The actual execution of the medley doesn’t totally work for me but there are lots of things to enjoy: The proggy guitar overture at the start, the Dambusters March, the playful segue with its snippet of The Sailors Hornpipe and the final few chords are all great but the Land of Hope & Glory part is like a sample from Last Night of the Proms and all that flag waving shit, which is the point of course but I just hate that song.

I’ve actually always prefered the b-side which is a lovely version of The Skyeboat Song.

The Enid - Dambusters March/Land Of Hope & Glory (1979)

The Enid - The Skyeboat Song (1979)

Mind Made

It’s been a while since I featured a more guitar based new wave record. This one’s from 1980 and has an XTC-ish quality without quite having their verve and panache. That’s not to say it’s a bad record. This single may require a couple of listens but trust me it’s a grower. My advice is to play it loud.

Google doesn’t throw much light on Thieves Like Us except the drummer on this record is John Parish who went on to play on several P J Harvey records.

Thieves Like Us - Mind Made (1980)

Another request (sort of)

This is for Paul who left a comment on my Bethnal post to the effect that a Friday disco workout would be welcome. I haven’t had one of those for a while but for reasons that will become apparent this one had to wait for a Saturday.

This is one of the five disco 12 inchers I got from a charity shop back in February. It’s my 2nd favourite but it’s also the one in least good condition. This was obvious at the time but with Norma Jean Wright from Chic singing and Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards producing there’s no way I was leaving it there.

Norma Jean - Saturday (Remix) (1978)

According to the label it’s 129 B.P.M. for those who care about such things.

Request (again)

I posted this last night but Blogger went offline for maintenance purposes and it disappeared. Fortunately I had a back-up.

I may not be the fastest blogger in the west but I get there in the end. These two are for Kaggsy who requested them way back in April when I posted another song from the same LP.

There’s not a lot of information on the web about Eddie Maelov & Sunshine Patterson. They were previously in Gloria Mundi and…that’s about it. Couldn’t find a decent picture either.

As with a lot of their contemporaries there seems to be a Velvet Underground influence at work on these songs.

Eddie Maelov & Sunshine - Patterson Man For Sale (1981)
Eddie Maelov & Sunshine - Patterson Echo (1981)

Both from Fools Rush In Where Angels Dare To Tread recorded live at Cabaret Futura in spring 1981.

At least before it vanished Kaggsy downloaded the songs and sent thanks.

This week I have been mostly listening to…Fashion

As I’ve mentioned before I was sure in the early 80s that Fashion were going to cross over and be huge. With hindsight I should have known it wasn’t going to happen by the time today’s tune was released. If the excellent Move On and Streetplayer couldn’t crack the singles chart there was little hope for this, the 3rd or 4th choice single from the Fabrique LP.

This is the 7.30min 12-inch version which possibly stretches things too far. You can hear the original on the re-issue of Fabrique (plus bonus tracks) called The Height Of Fashion available from the usual outlets. I’ve been grooving to it all week in my car.

Fashion - Something In Your Picture (Motor Drive) (1982)

Bonus Saturday post because I missed Friday

Belatedly got a copy of the Hicks From The Sticks sampler today (about 30 years too late as it happens) so you’re likely to see the odd song from that LP popping up here over the next few months.

For starters how about this lovely XTC sound-a-like from Airkraft. I believe they only ever released one single and I can’t find any pictures of them on the internet to illustrate this post.

Airkraft - Move In Rhythm (1980)

Depeche Mode with balls

There’s not a lot of information about Makaton Chat on the internet. The best place to look is this site written by a former member (and where I got the picture). The best description I’ve read of them is “Depeche Mode with balls.”

These three songs are from the same 12-inch single. Federal State Chance was the A-side but I’m not sure if that would have been my choice. There’s not a lot to choose between them.

Makaton Chat - Federal State Chance (1982)
Makaton Chat - It’s His Life Story (Hail The Wild!) (1982)
Makaton Chat - Communicate (1982)

Anthony Lindo – keyboards, lead vocal
John Hodgson – keyboards, backing vocal
Paul Fowler – drums
Richard Holmes – bass guitar

This band was from Teeside. Did you know I lived in Teeside from 1988 to 1990? I’ll tell you about it one day

Forgot I had this...

Found today’s song on the ‘Fools Rush In Where Angels Dare To Tread’ compilation LP which mostly consists of live performances of varying quality recorded at the Cabaret Futura club in spring 1981. The sort of thing you would expect to find on this blog in fact. The main reason I haven’t featured this LP before is I’ve hardly played it in the 30 years I’ve had it. I think when I bought it I was expecting more of a ‘Some Bizarre Album’ compilation. I know some of the songs weren’t ‘electronic’ enough for me at the time.

The only studio track is Don’t Hide In The Shadows by Kissing The Pink which was also their debut single. I’ve no idea if this differs from the single version but I suspect it’s the same mix as it’s produced my Martin Hannett.

Kissing The Pink - Don’t Hide In The Shadows (1981)

As always all comments are welcome.