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Propaganda – ‘The Nine Lives of Dr Mabuse’ cassette single (ZTT, CTIS101, 1984)

An incarnation of Propaganda recently reactivated and performed ‘A Secret Wish’ in full at a couple of sold out shows at ‘The Garage’ in London, under the monicker of xPropaganda. I never thought I would get a chance to hear this album performed live, so it was quite the event, one that simply had to be attended if at all possible. Many highlights, inevitably, ‘Dr Mabuse’ chief amongst them. What better way to celebrate the re-emergence than to take a look back at the ‘singlette’ edition (as ZTT were wont to call their cassettes) of their debut single…

Propaganda - The Nine Lives of Dr Mabuse - cassette single inlay and case - front
^ Propaganda – The Nine Lives of Dr Mabuse – cassette single inlay and case – front

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Colin Newman, ‘Not To’ UK LP (4AD CAD201, 1982)

Early 1982 saw Colin Newman’s third solo album ‘Not To’ revisit a good number of songs that Wire had first performed live but never recorded as studio takes, in equal turns sating a curiosity but also further underlining Wire’s extinct status. ‘Not To’ dusted off and updated ‘Lorries’, ‘We Meet Under Tables’, ‘Safe’, ‘5/10’ and ‘Remove for Improvement’, all of which had seen live Wire outings previously (and would be documented in rough, live recordings too – initially in 1981 on ‘Document and Eyewitness’, then many years later the remainder on ‘Turns and Strokes’). (There is also ‘You, Me And Happy’, though any Wire recording of this seems to be unheard of.)

Now, it was not only Colin Newman re-purposing this source material – Gilbert & Lewis and their ‘Dome’ project also made use of ‘And Then…’ on ‘Dome 1’ and ‘Ritual View’ on ‘Dome 2’, while Colin Newman himself had already revisited ‘Inventory’ for his initial solo album, 1980’s ‘A – Z’. ‘Alone’ from that same LP shares writing credits of Newman/Lewis, so a Wire connection there too perhaps.

Colin Newman 'Not To' LP front cover design
^ Colin Newman ‘Not To’ LP front cover design
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Tiger Lily ‘Monkey Jive’ UK 7″ single (Dead Good Records, DEAD11, 1980)

As I pen this piece, Ultravox! have enjoyed a moment in the sun once more, with the issue of the ‘Island Years’ CD box set gathering their three Island-era LPs (and rarities) and coloured vinyl reissues of their first three long players. So, it is as good a time as any to look back on the proto-Ultravox! single recorded by Tigerlily, namely ‘Monkey Jive’ / ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’, the particular version featured here dating from October 1980. (A small piece about it in Smash Hits of the era can be viewed here.

Tiger Lily 'Monkey Jive' UK 7 inch single front cover
^ Tiger Lily ‘Monkey Jive’ UK 7 inch single front cover

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Peter Murphy – ‘Love Hysteria’ – singles and versions

The previous post focussed on Peter’s debut LP and the many versions of the tracks that exist – a similar story in this post, but somewhat less in the way of numbers. Still a fair few to round up, however.

All Night Long

The first single to be released from the album, it is a reasonably straightforward story here – originally the main variants being 7″ mix and 12″/album mix. However, note that the UK and US 7″ mixes are different lengths. The UK 7″ (Beggars Banquet, BEG207) saw a longer edit, at approx. 4’30”. The 2011 CD re-issue of ‘Love Hysteria’ saw the release of a ‘demo’ mix of the song as well though. In the UK, standard 7″ (the A side a 4’30” edit) and 12″ (same version as the LP) singles featured a non-LP B side in the shape of ‘I’ve Got a Miniature Secret Camera’, while the 12″ came with an extra non-LP track, ‘Funtime (In Cabaret)’, Peter’s lounge lizard take on the more frenetic ‘Funtime’, which would surface on the ‘Love Hysteria’ LP. Both of the B sides would be added to the ‘Love Hysteria’ CD (the latter with a slightly different title in ‘Funtime (Cabaret Mix)’) in the UK.

'All Night Long' UK 7" front cover
^ ‘All Night Long’ UK 7″ front cover

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Peter Murphy – ‘Should The World Fail To Fall Apart’ – singles and versions

Having walked away from the stalled Dalis Car, Peter Murphy would release his debut solo album, ‘Should The World Fail To Fall Apart’ in the middle of 1986 and as this post will document, it would spawn a large number of version-craziness for most of the album tracks. From late 1985’s first single, ‘Final Solution’, into 1987 and the release of the title track as a 12″ remix, along the way, a unique Canadian release of the LP would see a totally different album cover design and selection of tracks for good measure, all pointing to quite a bit of mixing and re-mixing going on around this release.

UK Should The World Fail To Fall Apart LP front cover
^ UK Should The World Fail To Fall Apart LP front cover

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