Norton At The Controls

A twelve song selection of music produced (or co-produced) by Gil Norton, spanning 1982 to 2007.

The inspiration for the mixtape came via the sad news of Glen Hansard's death, and a fine tribute to Glen posted by Martin over at New Amusements.

In the comments, I recalled something I read circa 1991-92 in the NME or Melody Maker or Sounds, that Glen was a huge fan of Gil's work with Pixies and wanted him to produce Glen's band The Frames' debut album. 

As I recall, Glen put a big Pixies sticker on his motorbike, found out where Gil was working, drove there and left his bike prominently displayed to get Gil's attention. 

I finished with "Apparently it worked!"...except that it didn't, as I've subsequently read that Glen and Gil clashed over the direction and shape of the album. It isn't recalled as a positive experience in the accounts I've found online.

My awkwardness and ignorance notwithstanding, there are some mighty tunes here. The Frames come in a quarter of the way through, following The Blue Aeroplanes, The Fatima Mansions and a hidden gem of a China Crisis B-side.

There's one 21st century entry from Maximo Park. Gil also worked with them in the 1990s, along with Echobelly and Foo Fighters. Other 1980s production credits include The Triffids, The Bodines, Echo & The Bunnymen (with Ian Broudie), Del Amitri (with Julian Mendelsohn) and, closing out this collection, one of my favourite songs by Pixies.

Quite the career. I'm just scanning through the list of artists and records that I've missed this time around and there's plenty more for another selection.

For now, forget it's Sunday and turn the volume up!

1) ...And Stones (Album Version): The Blue Aeroplanes (1990)

2) Brain Blister (Album Version): The Fatima Mansions (1994)

3) No Ordinary Lover (Single Version): China Crisis (1982)

4) Masquerade (Album Version): The Frames (1992)

5) The Seabirds (Album Version): The Triffids (1986)

6) Nosebleed (Album Version): Maximo Park (2007)

7) Here Comes The Big Rush (Album Version): Echobelly (1997)

8) Therese (Single Version): The Bodines (1986)

9) The Killing Moon (Album Version): Echo & The Bunnymen (1984)

10) Move Away Jimmy Blue (Album Version): Del Amitri (1989)

11) Monkey Wrench (Album Version): Foo Fighters (1997)

12) No. 13 Baby (Album Version): Pixies (1989)

1982: No More Blue Horizons (Fool, Fool, Fool) EP: 3

1984: Ocean Rain: 9

1986: Born Sandy Devotional: 5

1986: Therese EP: 8

1989: Doolittle: 12

1989: Waking Hours: 10

1990: Swagger: 1

1992: Another Love Song: 4

1994: Lost In The Former West: 2

1997: Lustra: 7

1997: The Colour And The Shape: 11

2007: Our Earthly Pleasures: 6

Norton At The Controls (47:25) (GD) (M)

Now I'm Singing Quiet, Now I'm Singing Loud

Today's selection featuring Elliott Smith was planned for last week, a victim to a sluggish computer and an equally sluggish operator.

I should probably have held out to Thursday 6th, which would mark Elliott's 57th birthday. Sadly, we're approaching 23 years since Elliott passed. Why wait to celebrate and reflect on a supremely talented songwriter, gone far too soon?

In October 2021, I posted a brief, 10 song, 33 minute selection drawn from the limited number of albums and compilations in my collection, the majority courtesy of my friend John.

In the five years since, I've expanded this considerably, taking in studio albums as well as unreleased outtakes, demos and versions that have subsequently surfaced online. 

There's still more out there, but here's a C90 friendly 12 song, 45 minute selection pulling together a few more of Elliott's songs. 

Sonically, they hold you gently and tenderly; lyrically, they whisper their truths about the fucked up world we live in, or the beauty all around us. Sometimes, it's possible to reconcile the two; sometimes, it can get too much. Hold on.

Side One 

1) True Love (2001)

2) Needle In The Hay (1995)

3) Coast To Coast (Early Version) (1996)

4) Abused (Fritz Michaud Mix) (1997)

5) All Cleaned Out (1997)

6) Angeles (Alternate Version) (1996)

Side Two

1) Condor Ave (Album Version) (1994)

2) Fear City (Larry Crane Mix) (1996)

3) Some Song (Single Version) (1995)

4) Dancing On The Highway (2000)

5) Speed Trials (Single Version) (1996)

6) Punch And Judy (1997)

7) The Last Hour (Fritz Michaud Mix) (1996)

1994: Roman Candle: B1

1995: Elliott Smith: A2

1995: Needle In The Hay EP: B3

1996: Speed Trials EP: B5

1997: Either/Or: B6

2016: Heaven Adores You Soundtrack: A1, A3

2007: New Moon: A5, B2

2012: Alternate Versions From Either/Or EP: A6

2019: Dancing On The Highway (bootleg): B4

2021: Fritz Michaud's New Moon: A4, B7

Side One (22:52) (GD) (M)

Side Two (22:20) (GD) (M)

You might also like to listen to my previous Elliott Smith selection, What I Used To Be Will Pass Away

Okay, Who Forgot The Factor 50?

Friday's fitness workout courtesy of Janet Planet and Reggie Goodchild of Confidence Man.

Sugar Bones remains sat on his arse and Clarence McGuffie is presumably in the driver's seat, keeping the sound system going.

As for the song? Young London is could have been released on Deconstruction in 1993, with an epic remix by Fabio Paras on the flip side. 

In other words, a bangin' tune. Turn it up!

Three At Three For Free

SWC, who produces the essential and inspirational No Badger Required music blog, has just wrapped up the Rocks Greatest Number countdown. I was once again privileged to be a voting member of the Musical Jury.

These events are huge fun to participate in and a compelling read, and it's always a thrill to see where your votes land in the final ranking. This one in particular also provided moments of perfect symmetry. For example, placed at #3 were Fun Boy Three.

Not bad for a band that 'only' released two albums and a clutch of singles between 1981 and 1983. But timing is everything and Fun Boy Three arrived at just the right time for this particular music lover.

Fun Boy Three was my band, inasmuch as the other kids at primary school had turned up in their Harrington jackets and buzz cuts, into all things 2-Tone, not least The Specials. But I don't remember anyone else being the first to talk about Fun Boy Three. 

Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staple. One moody as hell, barely moving yet effortlessly cool. The other two looking for the rhythm and the good time in everything around them.

Not easy, when Fun Boy Three lyrics spanned The Troubles and childhood sexual abuse. A lot of that was completely over my head as a 10 going on 11 year old. Yet, their music, their friendship, their appearance all affected me deeply. 

Waiting was their second and final album, but the first FB3 album that I owned (on cassette) and it's hard to know how they could have followed (or bettered) it, to be honest. 

Fun Boy Three were a brief but perfectly formed moment in music.

I've picked three videos for today's post: their astonishing debut from 1981 (and worryingly relevant today), followed by the first 12" single of theirs that I bought, and finally a seasonal cover of a George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward classic, originally recorded in 1935 which Fun Boy Three absolutely made their own in 1982.

 

Don't Shoot That Singer

Annie Get Your Gun was the first - and only - Squeeze single that I bought, a secondhand 7" from Plastic Wax Records in Bristol, a few years after it peaked at #43 in October 1982.

Not that I was indifferent to Squeeze, just that everything before had been released befare I'd started buying music in earnest. Handily, Annie Get Your Gun had been released as a standalone single to promote the compilation Singles: 45's And Under, which is arguably one of the greatest 'best of' albums of all time.

There was no video for Annie Get Your Gun, but I've tracked down their live performance at the MTV Spring Break event at Daytona Beach Bandshell in Florida, USA on 18th March 1988. 

The band are in fine form, Glenn's curly locks blowing in the breeze, Jools Holland at the piano in a cowboy hat, and as far as I can tell, just this song was filmed for broadcast on MTV.

Although Squeeze spilt up shortly after the release of Annie Get Your Gun (albeit briefly, reconvening in 1985) the song shows no signs of a band in a creative rut and for me it's up there with Cool For Cats, Up The Junction and Pulling Mussels (From The Shell).

I also played the B-side a lot. Spanish Guitar didn't make the cut for the Sweets From A Stranger album, and I can see why, but a combination of it's quirky charm and familiarity through repeated listens have secured it a place in my affections.

Carry Yourself With Dignity

Etran De L'Aïr, rescuing my sanity with the video for 2024 single Imouha.

If you live north of the Equator, you may have been disturbed by an alarming noise about 6.00am GMT. That was the sound of me cussing at the computer, the darkness and generally anything around me.

In context, pathetic first world problems that, if I had any dignity, I might have handled a little better than I did. However, a sluggish PC that refused to comply with any of my requests in a timely manner - I mean, hey, I'm just trying to write a blog here - was exacerbated by an ad-hoc power cut, which we experience a lot in this neck of the woods, often with the perfect timing for optimum annoyance.

So, another post, half-written but parked for now as I don't have time to finish it before heading off to work.

Yet, as one opportunity closes, another presents itself...

"Carry yourself with dignity" is a translation of a lyric from Imouha and it may be argued that the director was testing Etran De L'Aïr commitment to this statement in the making of this video. 

The band gamely play on whilst superimposed onto a backdrop of footage, mainly of camels and riders and Land Rovers racing across the desert. To keep it spicy, there are frequent extreme camera angles and zooms in and out of band members. About a minute in, the four are in a line clapping, each one cleverly managing to avoid matching the actual rhythm of the song. Some look more happy to be there than others.

It's wonderful and almost immediately cleared any grumpiness that I was feeling minutes before.

Etran De L’Aïr, which translates as the "Stars Of The Aïr", are the longest running wedding band in Agadez, formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger.

Imouha is from their album 100% Sahara Guitar, on the excellent Sahel Sounds label, and is typical in that every single song is wonderful. Like Erkazamane, for example.

On that note, I must run, I'm late for work! 

You Got Me In A Stupor

Spectacular by Graham Coxon was released as a single this week 22 years ago. About 22 hours ago (my time), the video was uploaded to YouTube, the first time I've ever seen it.

Spectacular opens Graham's fifth album, Happiness In Magazines. Coincidentally, JC was revisiting another of the album's singles - the, ahem, spectacular Freakin' Out, just last week over at The Vinyl Villain. 

His comment that "Nobody paid all that much attention" to Graham's previous albums was spot on in my case; Happiness In Magazines was the first that appeared on my radar. It was perhaps of greater interest as being the first album that Graham had made following his depature from Blur in 2002.

Happiness In Magazines proved to be Graham's highest placed albums in the UK charts, reaching #19 on entry in May 2004, a position mirrored by Freakin' Out when it was re-released as a double A-side with All Over Me that October.

Spectacular entered at #32 in the singles chart for the week commencing 1st August. It dropped to #60 the following week, then out of the Top 100 altogether the week after that, before making a third and final appearance at #83 the week of 22nd August.

The video is a lot of fun, though some have been quick to point out the similarities in visual style and tone to 7 Nation Army, a hit for White Stripes the previous year. 22 years later, it's perhaps even less important that it was at the time.

Spectacular is a fun song, sonically and visually, and the lyrical theme - a love song of sorts to someone the narrator "Saw [...] in my computer" - is simple, effective and resonates as much in 2026 as it did in 2004. 

What more do you need from a 169-second pop song?

A Slice Of Creamy Bree

Jonathan Bree to the rescue, as my planned Dubhed selection took a bit of a nosedive due to the usual "technical issues".

What a fallback, though. I'm completely unfamiliar with Jonathan Bree, and happened across the video for Game, trailing his sixth album, Don't Call It Love, out in August.

On the strength of Game, Live to Dance (ft. Princess Chelsea) and Savour My Love (ft. Rachel Clarke), I'm in like Flynn with the pre-order.

I'll be coming back to this one in greater detail in a future post.

 

Madonna, Maradona, Maverick And Movies

"Gangway, Heroes!" Today brings a bespoke collection of covers of songs from 1986. 

Last night I stumbled across Scanner aka Robin Rimbaud's unexpected and delightful cover of Word Up! by Cameo. Originally recorded for WFMU Radio in New Jersey back in February, it was officially released a couple of days ago. If you're more familiar with Scanner’s 1990s music, it's quite the departure.

Similarly inspired, I trawled through my music collection and pulled a shortlist of 1986 songs, reworked and reimagined by other artists. I had over 40 to choose from and settled for a dozen, which meant some tough decisions, but I hope you'll enjoy my selection.

As the post title suggests, there is a Madonna cover - Live To Tell - albeit right at the end, courtesy of Catherine Anne Davies (The Anchoress) and Bernard Butler (Suede and a gazillion other things). Don't tell Ms. Ciccone, but it's better than the original.

1986 was chock full of singles that appeared in movie soundtracks. Live To Tell appeared in At Close Range, starring her then-husband Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. I must have seen it at the time, but I have little recollection of the film now.

But Not Tonight started as a Depeche Mode B-side, but an appearance in the film Modern Girls (starring Daphne Zuniga and Virginia Madsen) prompted their US label Sire to flip the single, relegated Stripped to side 2 and promoting But Not Tonight instead. Nearly two decades later, Jimmy Somerville gave it the high-pitched, Hi-NRG treatment.

And of course there was the memorable soundtrack to Pretty In Pink, not just the The Psychedelic Furs song that inspired the movie, but If You Leave, which proved to be a smash hit for OMD and still features in their live set today. Here, Angel Olsen ups the heartache in her own inimitable style.

The mention of Maverick, Tom Cruise's character in Top Gun, is a red herring and I apologise. Take My Breath Away by Berlin seemed to be #1 in the UK for an eternity (actually, only 4 weeks throughout November 1986). I have a couple of covers of the song, by Sharleen Spiteri and The Flying Pickets, but neither of them made the final cut.

There are a couple of side projects and aliases going on, which I need to shed some light on. The man behind The 6ths is Stephen Merritt, better known to the world as the genius behind The Magnetic Fields. Stephen got his old mucker Lloyd Cole on board to sing for his contribution to a tribute to The Human League. 

The Hot Rats are Gaz and Danny from Supergrass in disguise, whose 2010 covers album Turn Ons featured their takes on artists including Roxy Music, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Pet Shop Boys, The Cure and my pick today, Beastie Boys. Well worth tracking down.

If you have an urge to scan the track listing before subjecting yourself to my rambling "sleeve notes", you will have spotted the inclusion of First We Take Manhattan, recorded by R.E.M. and credited as a cover of a Jennifer Warnes song. Yes, R.E.M.'s version appeared on I'm Your Fan: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen in 1991, but Laughing Len gifted it to Jennifer first, her recording released in October 1986, Cohen's version following in January 1988. Personally, I think Stipe, Berry, Buck and Mills smash it.

And another red herring (or was it the hand of God?) with the reference to Maradona and, by association, that fateful 1986 World Cup. New Order didn't realise their own World Cup song until 4 years later, but 1986 saw one of their finest singles in Bizarre Love Triangle. Often covered since, I've gone for a relatively obscure version by Charlotte Martin, which I like very much.

As for the rest of this selection, you can enjoy The Smiths as covered by Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, sounding as potent in 1992 and it did six years previously. Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie show some solidarity with fellow Scots, with a wonderful cover of Somewhere In China by Shop Assistants. 

Last but certainly not least, one from my hometown heroes, The Blue Aeroplanes covering Paul Simon's Top 30 hit The Boy In The Bubble. Sadly, history didn't repeat in 1991, though it should have done.

1) Word Up! (Cover of Cameo): Scanner (2026)

2) Human (Cover of The Human League): The 6ths ft. Lloyd Cole (2000)

3) But Not Tonight (Cover of Depeche Mode): Jimmy Somerville (2004)

4) Bizarre Love Triangle (Cover of New Order): Charlotte Martin (2007)

5) Panic (Cover of The Smiths): Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (1992)

6) Somewhere In China (Cover of Shop Assistants): Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie (1989)

7) The Boy In The Bubble (Cover of Paul Simon): The Blue Aeroplanes (1991)

8) First We Take Manhattan (Cover of Jennifer Warnes): R.E.M. (1991)

9) If You Leave (Cover of O.M.D.): Angel Olsen (2021)

10) Absolute Beginners (Cover of David Bowie): Saint Etienne (1993)

11) (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!) (Cover of Beastie Boys): The Hot Rats (2010)

12) Live To Tell (Cover of Madonna): Catherine Anne Davies & Bernard Butler (2020)

1989: Fish Heads And Tails: 6

1991: I'm Your Fan: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen: 8

1991: The Boy In The Bubble EP: 7

1992: The Only Living Boy In New Cross EP: 5

2000: Reproductions: Songs Of The Human League: 2

2004: Home Again: 3

2007: Reproductions: 4

2008: Boxette (#4: Eric Random): 10

2010: Turn Ons: 11

2020: In Memory Of My Feelings: 12

2021: Aisles EP: 9

2026: Word Up! EP: 1

Madonna, Maradona, Maverick And Movies (47:25) (GD) (M)

Three Times In The Night

No, not a reference to the number of nocturnal bathroom visits now that I am of a certain age, but a nod to Beck's new single In The Night.

This is Beck in reflective, heart-aching mood once more, acoustic guitar and emotive strings underpinning his soft yet deep voice. It's a brief song, clocking in at just under three minutes, but enough to get under your skin and seep into your subconsciousness.

Stick with the video, it's forty seconds in before the first musical note strikes, but casting Denis Lavant was a masterstroke, minimalist performance, maximum emotional impact.

There are two other songs in my music collection titled In The Night that I've plucked for posting, the first by Bauhaus, from their 1982 album The Sky's Gone Out and a bit of overlooked gem. 

The song wasn't a single and therefore wasn't furnished with a video back in the day. However, someone has cleverly cut scenes from 1927 Gothic short Prelude to the music, to great effect.

Last but certainly not least, In The Night by Pet Shop Boys, which you'd be forgiven for thinking was a single, but wasn't. In fact, for me and many other teen fashionistas in the late 80s, it was instantly familiar as the theme tune to The Clothes Show on BBC1.

After such a dramatic intro, presenters Jeff Banks and Caryn Franklin couldn't hope to be as cool as Neil and Chris. The Arthur Baker remix appeared in it's entirety on the Pet Shop Boys' first Disco album in 1986.

I had no idea that there was a video for this song!