Tubeway Army - That's Too Bad

The first single from Gary Numan, in the form of Tubeway Army. When this came out we all thought it was punk, and we all loved it, same with the excellent second single "Bombers" (which I will post later).

Both sides of this single are brilliant. Most of you will know Gary Numan's later electronic material, if you didn't like it, do not be put off, this single is well worth a listen.

The cover for me is an indication of how ahead of his time he was, he clearly wanted to be making some kind of futuristic music (check out his name on the back cover - Valeriun!). Also check out how he was dressed.

Band: Tubeway Army
Label: Beggars Banquet
Year: 1978
Tracks:
1. That's Too Bad
2. Oh Didn't I Say

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:


His first album, originally called the blue album is also excellent. So if you like this then go and buy this remastered version

Tubeway Army: Remastered

and also some interesting versions of early material on this one:

The Plan + 12 Bonus Tracks

The Human League - Being Boiled

I Know, I know, what are 'The Human League' doing on a mainly punk blog.

Well first of all I don't think a lot of people are aware of the very early 'Human League (before they went into all the crap "Don't you want me baby" stuff. This was their debut single back in 1978.

I actually bought this because it was on the excellent FAST label and as 'The Mekons' and 'Gang Of Four' were also on the same label, I thought It must be good. 'Being Boiled' is a little too cold and primitive for me, but the b-side 'Circus of Death' I actually like, and believe it or not I went out and bought a couple more of their early singles (I will post one more only - I promise).

The other reason I wanted to post this was a very tenuous link, and that was 'Johnny Rotten' was asked in 1978 what he thought of 'The Human League' and this debut single. He dismissed them as a "bunch of trendy hippies", made me laugh at the time.

Band: The Human League
Label: Fast
Year: 1978
Tracks:
1. Being Boiled
2. Circus Of Death
Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:

If you like this then you will like this, their debut album(this is still nothing like their popular chart stuff, and does have some decent songs on it):

Reproduction

The Human League - Holiday '80

I said I would post one more Human League song, and this is it. I posted this one for three reasons, firstly I don't think the a-side version on this single is readily available, and secondly the a-side is a cover of a 'Gary Glitter' classic (shame he turned out to be a perv - kind of makes it bad to like any of his songs) and I wanted to tell a story about the best audience heckle I have ever heard. The third reasons will come at the end of this story.

I went to see Bauhaus at Guildford University circa 1980 and Gary Glitter was supporting, the audience was a mixture of punks and goths. Glitter blasted through all his songs to a pretty appreciative crowd (obviously it hadn't got out about his private life yet), when he came to 'The Leader of The Gang' he launched into it and in the chorus he is singing:

'I'm the Leader. I'm the Leader, I'm the leader of the Gang I am"

and then he stops, its totally quiet.....

..... he looks at the audience, waits for a while.....

...... and then shouts

"Whose The Leader?" (Expecting the audience to shout back "You're The Leader")

..... More quiet......

and then someone in the audience (I wish it was me) shouts....

"Not you, you Fat Bastard"

Well it made me laugh (still does).

So now I've told the story here is the third tenuous link to why I posted this.....

What's the best audience heckle you've ever heard? (In the comments please)

Band: The Human League
Label: Virgin
Year: 1980
Tracks:
1. Rock 'N' Roll
2. Being Boiled
3. Dancevision

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:


If you like this you can get another version of Rock 'N' Roll mixed with Iggy pops Nightclubbing (pretty good actually) plus the rest of the album (which is also very good), then get this:

Travelogue

Cabaret Voltaire - Nag Nag Nag

Cabaret Voltaire's second single on Rough Trade. You either love or hate Cabaret Voltaire's early material. I always liked 'Nag Nag Nag', a mix of electronic and punk. The b-side does not appear to have been released, so here it is, I think this one is only for the Cabaret Voltaire die-hards, it definitely doesn't work for me.

Often called 'The Cabs' by their fans and named after a nightclub in Zürich Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada (I'm not gonna do a history lessons so you'll have to look it up yourself) movement . If you like them there is lot's more on their official site just follow the link.

Give them a try and see what you think, and leave a comment.

For you real trivia people out there, you will find 'Another Porky Prime Cut' etching on the a-side.

Band: Cabaret Voltaire
Label: Rough Trade
Year: 1979
Tracks:
1. "Nag Nag Nag."
2. Is That me (Finding Someone At The Door Again?)

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:


If you like this then buy this, all the a-sides are on it, the b-sides are not. If you just want a nice clean digital version of the a-side you can this on itunes:

The Original Sound of Sheffield: the Best of Cabaret Voltaire 1978-1982

Pauline Murray and the Storm - Holocaust

This one is definitely for Pauline Murray completists, and be warned this is not like her other material, this is more dance/electronic.

There are two sides to this 12", one with Pauline Murray and the Storm, and on the other side Pauline Murray and the Saint, I don't know what the difference is, does anyone know out there?

For me 'Holocaust' is the best track, even though this is not my genre of music, and I admit I bought it just because it was Pauline Murray, so i was very surprised when I played it. So try it out and leave a comment to say what you think of it.

Band: Pauline Murray and the Storm
Label: Polestar
Year: 1984
Tracks:
1. Holocaust
Band: Pauline Murray and the Saint
Tracks:
1. Don't Give Up
2. Aversion

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:


If you do like this, I can't find anything else out there to recommend, does anyone know if there is any other material available?

Fad Gadget - Back To Nature

Fad Gadet's (aka the late Frank Tovey) debut single was this dark but brilliant single 'Back To Nature' released on the legendary Mute label. This for me is more superior to many of the sparse and cold electronic records released around this era, it has a big sound to it, as if it's from a film soundtrack, how he got that sound from a synthesizer is outstanding.

The b-side 'The Box' is also good, but 'Back To Nature' is the stand out track. Fad Gadget released a number of decent singles such as 'Ricky's hand' and 'Fireside Favourites', but for me this release was his finest moment.

Try it out, and leave a comment to say what you think.

There is one etching on the b-side 'No Comment'.

Band: Fad Gadget
Label: Mute
Year: 1979
Tracks:
1. Back To Nature
2. The Box

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:


if you like this then your in luck, if you want to know everything about Fad Gadget then go for this:

Frank Tovey - Fad Gadget [2dvd+ 2cd]

If you just want to sample the best of then try this:

The Best of Fad Gadget

Shock - Angel Face 7"

I know, I know your all thinking what the.... is this doing here. But I've always said I'm a sucker for covers especially if their done differently, so an electronic version of the Glitterbands Angel Face has to fit. I actually bought this from Woolworths classic 'out of the charts box for 25p' (not sure if it ever got in the charts but it was supposedly a dance floor hit)

Shock were a music/mime/dance/pop group that were notable in the early 1980's for supporting bands such as Gary Numan, Adam and the Ants and Depeche Mode. This was their debut single produced by Rusty Egan (ex Rich Kids, Visage fame).

So you get an electronic/dance version of the classic glam hit 'Angel Face' which could never match the original, but it's worth a listen. The b-side has a pretty bland instrumental. They did release one further single, although as I never heard it, I can't comment.

Band: Shock
Label: RCA
Year: 1980
Tracks:
1. Angel Face
2. R.E.R.B.

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl

If you like this then you could look for their second single 'Dynamo Beat', I haven't got a clue what its like.

Dalek I - Freedom Fighters 7"

First thing to say is this post was inspired by Rupert's posting over at Turntable Revolution here.

Now onto the music, "Dalek I Love You" were a synth pop group formed in 1977 by Alan Gill and David Balfe. Balfe wanted to call the band "Dalek" (after the Dr. Who villains mentioned in Rupert's posting) and Gill wanted to name the band "I Love You", so both their choice were combined to form "Dalek I Love You". The ironic part of this story is that for their debut single "Freedom Fighters" the record label Phonogram shortened the bands name to "Dalek I" without telling them.

"Freedom Fighter" is a classic and if you already have the album Compass Kumpass you will already have it, however the single is 7 seconds longer with a slightly different ending. The b-side "Two Chameleons" is also a gem, but for me the stand-out is "Freedom Fighter".

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl

Band: Dalek I
Label: Vertigo
Year: 1979
Tracks:
1. Freedom Fighters
2. Two Chameleons

If you like this you can still buy their second album "Dalek I Love You" at iTunes, for me their best is "Compass Kumpass" but it doesn't seem to be around any longer, so you will have to start searching.

You can also download their rare third cassette album Naive here.