Category: Versions, versions

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John Foxx ‘Burning Car’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5903, 1981))

A companion release from the same series as the Flying Lizards ‘Move On ‘Up’ 12″ documented in a previous post. Taking the usual cavalier attitude to track selection and sleeve design that many Japanese releases of this period had, this little beauty gathers together a selection of tracks from three of John Foxx’s 1980 singles (‘Miles Away’, ‘Burning Car’ and the extra single from the ‘No-One’s Driving’ double-pack 7 inch) in a sleeve/label design unlike any other Foxx release.

John Foxx 'Burning Car' Japanese 12 inch mini-LP
^ John Foxx ‘Burning Car’ Japanese 12 inch mini-LP

Along the way, it has also managed to include a different mix of ‘Miles Away’, the same one as used in the promo video for the single, I believe. (This mix finally made it on to CD with the late-2008 2-disc re-issue of ‘The Garden’.) Continue reading “John Foxx ‘Burning Car’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5903, 1981))”

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Flying Lizards ‘Move On Up’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5902)

Japanese releases have always been fabulously exotic and collectable to me, with their disregard for replicating the exact same releases elsewhere and willingness to mix and match tracks into new combinations, such as 12″ mini-albums and so on. Plus of course the extra attention to detail with the quality of sleeve designs, inserts and packaging in general. Virgin released a series of ‘pic label’ releases by a few of my favourites such as John Foxx, The Human League, Japan, and, in the subject of this post, The Flying Lizards.

Flying Lizards 'Move On Up' Japanese 'Pic Label' series 12" single front sleeve with Obi
^ Flying Lizards ‘Move On Up’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12 inch single front sleeve with Obi

Hailing from late 1980, this 12″ compiles various tracks from all of the Flying Lizards singles up to that point and comes in a die-cut sleeve with an over-sized 6″ picture label on show (front only) – ‘Move On Up’ (Single edit) and Portugal from the A and B side respectively of the ‘Move On Up’ 7″ single, ‘All Guitars’ from the B side of the ‘Summertime Blues’ single, ‘Money’ (the longer, album version though) from the ‘Money’ single (which was available on 12″ in some territories) and ‘Tube’ from the B side of the ‘TV’ single. Continue reading “Flying Lizards ‘Move On Up’ Japanese ‘Pic Label’ series 12″ single (Virgin, VIP-5902)”

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Love and Rockets ‘If There’s A Heaven Above’ Canadian 12″ Remix single, (Vertigo/Beggars Banquet, SOVX 2363)

I’m putting together a longer post looking at the various releases on CD of ‘Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven’, which was the first album by Love and Rockets, but ahead of that, a quick focus on a Canadian 12″ remix edition of the first single from the album, ‘If There’s A Heaven Above’.

'If There's A Heaven Above' Canadian 12" remix single sleeve - front
^ ‘If There’s A Heaven Above’ Canadian 12 inch remix single sleeve – front

This Canadian 12″ issue is radically different in all respects from the UK editions. For starters, the A side features a remix of the song (titled ‘U.S. Mix’ on the label, timed at 4 mins 26 secs), while the B side features ‘Inside The Outside’, which in the UK was released on the B side of the various versions of the earlier ‘Ball Of Confusion’ single instead. Continue reading “Love and Rockets ‘If There’s A Heaven Above’ Canadian 12″ Remix single, (Vertigo/Beggars Banquet, SOVX 2363)”

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New Musik ‘Anywhere’ UK cassette (GTO, GTMC044, 1981)

In the years before CDs became available and the eventually dominant format, record companies would tempt buyers into shelling out for cassettes by including extra tracks not found on the vinyl albums. One such example is New Musik’s second album, ‘Anywhere’, released in 1981. It includes two extra tracks that never appeared on vinyl, neither on the vinyl album nor any of the single B sides.

New Musik 'Anywhere' cassette

However, there is a slight confusion there, since the sticker of the cassette case proudly states ‘plus 2 free extra tracks not on the album – ‘Guitars’ & ‘And”. The track ‘Guitars’ DID actually appear on vinyl, as one of the B sides to the ‘While You Wait’ single. Turns out that the sticker is incorrect – ‘Guitars’ is not to be found on the cassette – the track ‘Under Attack’ is there instead, along with the other extra track, ‘And’. Continue reading “New Musik ‘Anywhere’ UK cassette (GTO, GTMC044, 1981)”

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Side by side: Skids ‘The Absolute Game’ on CD in the UK

  • Captain Oi! records (AHOY CD304), 2008
    • + Re-pressing to correct errors, 2009
  • Track records (TRK1006CD), 2001

Well, another issue of Skids’ ‘The Absolute Game’ album has appeared on CD in recent months – bit of a botched route though. On Captain Oi! records (AHOY CD304), it first appeared on 17 November 2008, only to be withdrawn due to some errors and sleeve notes controversy, detailed below. This Captain Oi! issue is the second time the album has appeared on CD in the UK, it first appeared in the shiny silver disc format in 2001 courtesy of Track records.

Skids 'The Absolute Game' UK CD issues - Track records issue (left) and second Captain Oi! issue (right)

^ Side by side – Skids ‘The Absolute Game’ UK CD issues – Track records issue (left) and second Captain Oi! issue (right)

As well as the original album it also has a number of bonus tracks from singles of the period (‘Circus Games’ (7″ Single Version), ‘Goodbye Civilian’ (7″ Single Version), ‘Monkey McGuire Meets Specky Potter Behind Lochore Institute’) plus bonus tracks from the free album, ‘Strength Through Joy’ that originally came with the initial 20,000 copies of the vinyl album release (‘An Incident In Algiers’, ‘Grievance’, ‘Strength Through Joy’, ‘Filming Africa’, ‘A Man For All Seasons’, ‘Snakes And Ladders’, ‘Surgical Triumph’, ‘The Bell Jar’). Continue reading “Side by side: Skids ‘The Absolute Game’ on CD in the UK”