The first few months of 2026 have gotten off to start with not one but two books that revisit, to varying degrees, the subject of the Skids and Stuart Adamson. The first of them is this slim but illuminating book from Richard Jobson reflecting ostensibly on the background to the 1980 Skids album ‘The Absolute Game’, but much more beside. The second tome is ‘Stay Alive: The Life and Death of Stuart Adamson’, by Scott Rowley and is an official biography chronicling his career and tragic death. That will have to wait for another time
^ Richard Jobson – The Absolute Game book, front cover design
1983/1984/1985 were good years for gig-going for me and alongside enjoying the show, wherever possible and budget allowed I would visit the merch stall and come away with the customary T-shirts, badges and posters.
^ ACME merchandise brochure S84 page 6 – The Cure official merch
Magazine are a long-standing favourite of mine and it’s been welcome to have seen them been back in the public eye once again over the past year with the re-releases of their studio back catalogue. A nicely curated re-issue series, refreshed and re-visited, notably absent however are any of the live albums. The subject of today’s post is something of a curio. While 1980’s ‘Play’ (and its later, expanded 2009 re-visit as ‘Play+’) live album has tended to be the go-to de facto live document, this release is worth seeking out as a short but interesting example of a slightly earlier vintage.
^ Magazine – ‘BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert’ UK CD front cover design and CD label
The UK BBC Radio 1 music station’s ‘In Concert’ series was a simple yet valuable format, one matched around the world in many differing names – ultimately, a chance to hear a well recorded excerpt of a live show, broadcast a week or two after the recording date. Established or new and upcoming bands, they were of equal interest and importance to the producers. This show was recorded on 22nd November 1978 at the BBC’s then ‘Paris Theatre’ venue, on Lower Regent Street, London, which has long since closed its doors as a venue for such live recordings. This is a short release, clocking in at the 37 minute mark, so, far from a full live show. This is partly because the broadcast was shared with another act, the short-lived Snips.
‘Cut-Throat – How to get started in the music business – and survive!’ is a newly published book drawn from the archives of the sadly now departed Nash The Slash (the late Jeff Plewman) that I received recently in its limited edition form. Published by Skill, which bills itself as an ‘outsider micro-label and press offering discerning multi-genre releases in beautifully rendered limited editions’ the wonderfully packaged limited version is now sold out, but the regular edition is available – view the Skill Bandcamp. Along with the ‘Nash The Slash Rises, Again!’ [Facebook link] documentary, this will surely help keep the interest alive.
^ Nash The Slash ‘Cut-Throat – How to get started in the music business – and survive!’ book front cover
The fourth example in a series of exclusive 7″ Kraftwerk singles made available from the German ‘MusikExpress’ magazine has just been released for the August 2023 issue. Celebrating 20 years since the release of Kraftwerk’s most recent album, ‘Tour de France Soundtracks’, the 7″ is a one-sided single with an exclusive edit of the album’s closing track, ‘Tour de France’.
^ Kraftwerk – ‘Tour de France’ MusikExpress magazine August 2023 issue German 7″ single – front cover design
Of course, the detail there is that the closing track to the album was a 2003 re-recording of the version of ‘Tour de France’ first issued back in 1983, not the new 2003 album track Etape 1 / 2 /3 versions. UPDATE: And, thanks to a comment courtesy of Staggboy, to be more precise, the edit is derived from the 2017 3-D The Catalogue/Der Katalog version, rather than the 2003 ‘Tour de France Soundtracks’ album version. Continue reading “Kraftwerk – ‘Tour de France’ MusikExpress magazine German 7″ single (Kling Klang/Parlophone, 2023)”
