Category: Small objects of desire

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Year by Year: Cocteau Twins – 1991

1990 had by far been an intense yet successful year for the band – following the release of the ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ album, the final few months of 1990 (October through December) had seen the band tour Europe, North America and Canada, which then continued on into 1991, with the North and South American tour to promote the ‘Heaven Or Las Vegas’ album that kept the band occupied during March and April of 1991. Along the way, the band also parted ways with 4AD records following some degree of acrimony, a move that would be reflected upon at a later date as not necessarily the best of moves. Simon Raymonde’s ‘In One Ear’ book also provides a bleakly dramatic tale of the human toll of the tour to support promotion of ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ by way of a rather dramatic end to the tour on a personal level. By this point in time the band were now finding that their relationship with their label, 4AD, was being brought to a close. So, its perhaps little surprise to find that 1991 was otherwise a low-activity period other than the intense touring schedule.

Cocteau Twins - 1991 - Singles Box Set - front cover
^ Cocteau Twins – 1991 – Singles Box Set – front cover

Yet, it was not a quiet year for releases, with a box set of their singles and EPs (in enhanced form with complementary bonus tracks added as appropriate) proving to be a very welcome release on CD format. Continue reading “Year by Year: Cocteau Twins – 1991”

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Blast from the past: ACME official merchandise 1984/85 vintage for The Cure, Bauhaus, Simple Minds, Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke, PiL, Big Country U2 and all that good stuff

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
^ ACME merchandise brochure S84 page 6 – The Cure official merch

Having been fortunate enough to see The Cure play live on their 1984 tour to promote ‘The Top’, at Edinburgh Playhouse, I came away from that show with a fair few of the items you see in the spread above – all long since gone now apart from some of the button badges This is a page from the promo brochure of ACME merchandise that I got a few months after the gig and a subsequent update supplement. Continue reading “Blast from the past: ACME official merchandise 1984/85 vintage for The Cure, Bauhaus, Simple Minds, Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke, PiL, Big Country U2 and all that good stuff”

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Heaven 17 ‘Fascist Groove Thang’ UK 3″ CD single (Virgin CDT21, 1988)

This curious little 3″ CD single of Heaven 17’s 1981 debut single, ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, featuring three 12″ single mixes from their back catalogue, was released as part the Virgin CDT series, a series of re-issues of classic singles from the Virgin back catalogue on the then in-vogue 3″ CD single format. The series flagged the selling point of containing ‘12” versions previously unavailable on compact disc’ by way of a flash box printed at the foot of the front cover design. The covers were tiny replicas in keeping with the original sleeve designs for the most part, and came packaged in generic Virgin records clear plastic ‘blister pack’ covers, though the choice of tracks often had odd combinations of mixes, that were not necessarily quite the intended ’12” mix’ that the hype would have you believe.

Heaven 17 - 'Fascist Groove Thang' UK 3" CD front cover design in generic Virgin 3" CD single series plastic pack
^ Heaven 17 – ‘Fascist Groove Thang’ UK 3″ CD front cover design in generic Virgin 3″ CD single series plastic pack

So, while on first sight this looks like it might include the original B side from the original single release, ‘The Decline of the West’, that is nowhere to be found and it instead included two other singles from 1981.

Tracklist:

  1. (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang (4’53”)
  2. I’m Your Money (Specially Fortified Dance Mix) (5’42”)
  3. Height Of The Fighting (He-La-Hu) (Full Length 12″ Mix) (2’55”)

Continue reading “Heaven 17 ‘Fascist Groove Thang’ UK 3″ CD single (Virgin CDT21, 1988)”

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Pete Shelley vs Power, Wonder and Love – ‘Homosapien II’ UK 3″CD single (Immaculate Records IMMAC 11CD, 1989)

2025 has been a good year for remembering the wonderful Pete Shelley, by way of various re-releases, firstly, the Record Store Day exclusive of the ‘Yesterday Is Not Here (Radio Sessions 1979 – 1983)’ album (which includes the first, acoustic guitar and vocal rendition of the song that is the subject of this post, in the form of ‘Homosapiens’), then new re-releases of Pete’s ‘Homosapien’ and ‘XL-1’ albums. But, what do we have here? Not one of these new releases, no – quite a curio in fact and one that passed me by back in the day.

Pete Shelley vs Power, Wonder and Love - 'Homosapien II' 3"CD single - front
^ Pete Shelley vs Power, Wonder and Love – ‘Homosapien II’ 3″CD single – front

Continue reading “Pete Shelley vs Power, Wonder and Love – ‘Homosapien II’ UK 3″CD single (Immaculate Records IMMAC 11CD, 1989)”

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Magazine – ‘BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert’ UK CD (Windsong International WINCD 040, 1993)

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
^ 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.

Continue reading “Magazine – ‘BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert’ UK CD (Windsong International WINCD 040, 1993)”