Part 2 of this short series, this time around the focus is on the badges which were on sale at the merch stall for the 1984 UK tour to promote the album ‘The Top’.
New Musik ‘From A To B – The Sony Years’ 2023 CD box set (Lemon Recordings, CDLEMBOX249, 2023)
New Musik will always be a favourite of mine and there has been no shortage of previous VersionCrazy coverage, what with ‘The Planet Doesn’t Mind’ version craziness, ‘Greatest Hits’ Promo 7″ EP (GTO, XP112, 1981) and New Musik ‘Anywhere’ UK cassette (GTO, GTMC044, 1981) posts. They have also been relatively fortunate in that their back catalogue has been re-issued fairly regularly since the 1990s onwards, so they have never been left behind and forgotten about. My slightly sanguine ‘relatively fortunate’ is because over the years the re-issues have had a tendency to play a little fast and loose when compiling extra tracks as bonuses to the standard album track lists.
Button Badge Goodness: The Cure (Part 1)
One of a short series on button badges from back in the day dedicated to The Cure that I was more than happy to make space for on jacket lapels and the like to show off that eager teenage fandom!
In part 1, some early badges of various nature, including the three badges sold on the tour to promote the ‘Pornography’ album, ‘Fourteen Explicit Moments’. (Its a wonder that there has never been a bootleg release of that name from the tour given that’s what the band themselves named it…) Continue reading “Button Badge Goodness: The Cure (Part 1)”
Side by side: Xmal Deutschland ‘Sickle Moon’ UK singles (Xile/Phonogram XMAL2 / XMAL212, 1987)
Another post of mine that holds a torch for Xmal Deutschland, who I was seriously into in the 1980s and was fortunate to see play live a few times. This time around, the final single release by the five-piece version of the band, ‘Sickle Moon’, the second single from the ‘Viva’ album of 1987.
Released in 7″ and 12″ formats in the UK, it managed to contain two versions of the A side, ‘Sickle’ Moon’, and two versions of the shared B-side, ‘Illusion’, as well as 12″-only track, ‘In Onyx’. Continue reading “Side by side: Xmal Deutschland ‘Sickle Moon’ UK singles (Xile/Phonogram XMAL2 / XMAL212, 1987)”
David Sylvian compilations across the years – Part 3
The fourth, and to date last, of the main David Sylvian related compilations featured in this series – two versions, side-by-side, of the ‘Sleepwalkers’ CD, which compiles collaborations with other artists from the early 2000s onwards.
First released in 2010, there was a re-mastered version in 2022 and on this occasion a micro-site to promote the 2022 release (an updated variant of the page for the original September 2010 release) presents some very useful detail spanning both versions. The notes from the site nicely encapsulates the spirit behind the compilation with the following summary;
‘in the 00s, DAVID SYLVIAN produced two of his strongest and most solitary statements, BLEMISH and MANAFON. but those records don’t tell the whole story. during that the same period, SYLVIAN created an alternate body of work: a series of collaborations and side projects with leading talents of pop and improv, electronic and contemporary classical music. the best of these recordings are gathered here on SLEEPWALKERS, meticulously sequenced and remixed: the fruits of one-off meetings and lifelong partnerships, they jump from bliss to intrigue, romance to sensuality, as arch experiments lead into the lushest pop.’
The compilation isn’t a be all and end all – David Sylvian has collaborated on many other occasions not compiled here and in some cases the tracks selected provides a taster of further work that can be sought out (e.g. the Nine Horses and Tweaker works).
Nevertheless, let’s take a look at the compilation to hand and the variants between the two editions. Continue reading “David Sylvian compilations across the years – Part 3”