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Gang of Four – ‘Another Day/Another Dollar’ US Special Edition 12″ EP (Warner Brothers Records, MINI 3646, 1982)

‘Another Day/Another Dollar’ is a 12″ vinyl EP by Gang of Four, released in January 1982 in the US. It gathers together stray tracks previously unreleased in the US from the two UK singles that were issued immediately before and after 1981’s ‘Solid Gold’ LP – plus some exclusive material in the form of a couple of live recordings, again of ‘Solid Gold’ tracks, only available on this EP.

Another Day/Another Dollar front cover design
^ Another Day/Another Dollar front cover design

For me, this period of the Gang of Four was absolutely spot on – whether it be the funk stylings bringing that extra edge to proceedings while the caustic intensity of Andy Gill’s guitar interrupts as much as it drives, or the multi-vocal barrage – in particular the ‘To Hell With Poverty’/’Capital (It Fails us now)’ single was something special. Sadly, it marked the last outing for Dave Allen on bass from this original line-up, who would depart during a US tour. Continue reading “Gang of Four – ‘Another Day/Another Dollar’ US Special Edition 12″ EP (Warner Brothers Records, MINI 3646, 1982)”

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Skids – ‘Animation’ UK 7″ single (Virgin, VS323, 1980)

Included for no other reason than it happens to be one of my all-time favourite sleeve designs, graced with an artwork from none other than Russell Mills [http://www.russellmills.com/], who is identified with the Eno/Sylvian end of the musical spectrum more often than not, I’d say.

Skids 'Animation' front cover design
^ Skids ‘Animation’ front cover design

This ended up being the third single release from ‘Days in Europa’ – I’m sticking firmly to the original 1979 release when I say this – I know that the 1980 remix/re-release also includes ‘Masquerade’, so technically you might say it is the fourth single peeled off the album – but any Skids fan who knew the original first probably finds the 1980 version difficult to swallow, even with a tacked on single from a year before. (And, my goodness, a year was a long time indeed in the late ’70s/early ’80s – in the current era where bands take years between album releases, Skids themselves managed to release two original albums in 1979 – and they were far from the only band with that kind of work ethic.) Continue reading “Skids – ‘Animation’ UK 7″ single (Virgin, VS323, 1980)”

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Propaganda – ‘(The Beta Wrap Around of) P: Machinery’ UK 7″ single (ZTT, ZTAS21, 1985)

One of my own personal favourite mixes of a track from the meisterwerk that is ‘A Secret Wish’, this second release of ‘P: Machinery’ appeared at the tail of 1985, Propaganda (in their live incarnation) having toured with their ‘Outside World’ live shows. Sadly, it fared no better with chart success than had the first release. For me, this 7″ mix had a darker feel, perhaps due to the more ominous intro, the easiest to spot change from the original version, while the end brass work out repeats to fade rather than slamming to a dead halt, another easy recognition.

Front cover/label design
^ Front cover/label design

Continue reading “Propaganda – ‘(The Beta Wrap Around of) P: Machinery’ UK 7″ single (ZTT, ZTAS21, 1985)”

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Drinking Electricity ‘Cruising Missiles’ UK 7″ single (Pop:Aural, POP 008, 1980)

Smash Hits magazine has a lot to answer for, let me tell you. An ostensibly mass-market, teen-focussed glossy fortnightly publication, its modern day equivalent would barely be worth a glance, filled no doubt with focus-grouped fodder dreamt up in high-security labs to a weapons-grade mass appeal, if vapid in content. But in its prime, how much oddness did the magazine help to foist upon eager young ears? I can’t imagine the modern-day equivalent of something as obscure as a Drinking Electricity scoring such prime-time coverage. Perhaps the persuasive manner of Bob Last, for it is he of the Pop:Aural label (and earlier Fast Product pedigree) that was home to this post’s musical goodies, that levered the band such a space?

The article in question is reproduced below. As you might guess, it was enough to foster my curiosity and to urge my feet of a Saturday afternoon to yonder record shop to fetch ‘Cruising Missiles’. Not because I had heard it. Noooo… Simply because… well… it all looked and sounded so damn interesting. As it happened, I could only come across ‘Cruising Missiles’, ‘Shake Some Action’ would have to wait till another time

Drinking Electricity 'Cruising Missiles' pictures sleeve design - front
^ Drinking Electricity ‘Cruising Missiles’ pictures sleeve design – front

Continue reading “Drinking Electricity ‘Cruising Missiles’ UK 7″ single (Pop:Aural, POP 008, 1980)”

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Specimen – ‘Batastrophe’ US Mini-Album (Sire, 1-25054, 1983)

Ahhh, the mini-album. Here in the UK these tended to be fairly few and far between, more of a custom delicacy. An act would normally have precise intent to indulge in such a format – something more than an EP (which were the more popular format), but not the full-on assault of an album. Think of something such as the wonderful ‘Chimera’ by Bill Nelson, for example. But overseas… well. These territorial releases would be (more often than not) a chance to glue together several earlier single releases, 12″ remixes or the like into a more substantial offering. The most common markets to proffer these goodies would be Japan, the US and Canada. And I’ve certainly featured a few examples in the past, such as these Japanese examples from Flying Lizards and  John Foxx and an Australian Ultravox! item.

Best of all would be the releases that brought something new to the party. Not simply content with just cobbling a few old singles together, these would include a couple of otherwise unavailable tracks, or new versions/mixes. ‘Batastrophe’ by the Specimen is just such an example. Although the band had a fair repertoire to draw on, while they lived the first time around, they released very few records – not even so much as an album. ‘Batastrophe’ is as close as it would come in their first life.

Specimen 'Batastrophe' US Mini-Album front cover design
^ Specimen ‘Batastrophe’ US Mini-Album front cover design

Continue reading “Specimen – ‘Batastrophe’ US Mini-Album (Sire, 1-25054, 1983)”