A Million Different People Still In Here

Side 2 of an end of year 'best of' C90 cassette, recorded 27th December 1997.

It was a great year for singles, wasn't it?

Side 1 featured UK Top 40 hits by Björk, James, Edwyn Collins (surprisingly) and Howie B. (even more surprisingly), plus lesser or non-charting singles by Gold Blade, Lionrock, OP8 ft. Lisa Germano, Mulu, The Aloof and Wubble-U. Oh, and a ubiquitous #1 by Tori Amos, thanks to an Armand Van Helden remix.

Side 2 is packed with hits, no #1s this time, all but 2 of the 11 songs cracking the Top 30. 

Remember Me by Blue Boy has recently had a new lease of life thanks to a car advert, but was itself a flop single first time around. It was the remix by Sure Is Pure (featuring one half of Candy Flip, fact fans) that boosted the single to #8 in February 1997.

The Saint starring Val Kilmer was Hollywood's attempt to replicate the success of similar 60s TV on-screen revival Mission: Impossible, starring Tom Cruise. I'll admit, I've never seen the film so I can't compare, but it didn't make it to a sequel. However, Orbital did a cracking version of the theme tune, charting at #3 for a week in April.

I thought Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve had at least reached the top spot, not so, it transpires. Still sounds magnificent, nearly thirty years on. Nice that The Rolling Stones eventually relinquished their royalties claim.

As does Help The Aged by Pulp. It was bold move to have this as a lead single. Then again, it became swiftly apparent that This Is Hardcore was not a straight follow up to the wildly successful Different Class. I think it's my favourite Pulp album.

And yes, I resisted the temptation to place Song 2 as track 2 on Side 2. Blur follow neatly on from Pulp and sets up beautifully for The Sunday's glorious comeback single Summertime, ironically a #15 hit in autumn 1997.

To close, AIR provide what for me is the definitive version of Depeche Mode's single Home, one of a relatively few sung by Martin Gore rather than Dave Gahan. The Gore singles never seemed to chart quite as well as the rest, though this managed a respectable #23. Those that didn't buy it missed out on some fab reworks, not least AIR's 'Around The Golf' remix.

I've reposted the link to Side 1, so that you can enjoy the full 90+ minute 1997 experience.

 

1) Remember Me (Sure Is Pure (7" Edit)): Blue Boy ft. Marlena Shaw (Remember Me EP) (#8, 09 February 1997)

2) The Saint (Single Version) (Cover of The Les Reed Brass): Orbital (The Saint OST) (#3, 13 April 1997)

3) The New Pollution (Album Version): Beck (Odelay) (#14, 02 March 1997)

4) Miss Modular (Single Version): Stereolab (Miss Modular EP) (#60, 07 September 1997)

5) Gritty Shaker (Main Mix): David Holmes (Gritty Shaker EP) (#53, 17 August 1997)

6) Bruise Pristine (Single Remix): Placebo (Bachelorette EP) (#14, 18 May 1997)

7) Bitter Sweet Symphony (Album Version): The Verve (Urban Hymns) (#2, 22 June 1997)

8) Help The Aged (Album Version): Pulp (This Is Hardcore) (#8, 16 November 1997)

9) Song 2 (Album Version): Blur (Blur) (#2, 13 April 1997)

10) Summertime (Album Version): The Sundays (Static & Silence) (#15, 14 September 1997)

11) Home (AIR 'Around The Golf' Remix): Depeche Mode (Home EP) (#23, 22 June 1997)

 

Side Two (45:52) (GD) (M)

Side One here 

Soul Food

A later than usual post; blame work commitments and a laggy computer.

This is neither soul food in its true sense, nor a selection inspired by the 1997 film of the same name. Blame me for that.

No blame about the music, though. Forty six music minutes of nourishing sounds spanning the sixties to the eighties, from Sly & The Family Stone to the Average White Band.

Soul, funk, pop, a bubbling pot of great music to fill your heart and your, well, soul.

1) I Get High On You (Single Version): Sly & The Family Stone (1975)

2) Sweatin': Alvin Cash & The Crawlers (1965)

3) Galaxy (Album Version): War (1977)

4) Eleanor Rigby (Live At Fillmore West) (Cover of The Beatles): Aretha Franklin (1971)

5) Who's Lovin' You: The Miracles (1960)

6) You Haven't Done Nothin': Stevie Wonder (1974)

7) Back Stabbers (Cover of O'Jays): Van McCoy (1974)

8) Deep Inside Of You: Gloria Taylor (1973)

9) Miss Black America (Album Version): Curtis Mayfield (1970)

10) It Must Be Love: The Exceptions ft. Mark Greene (1977)

11) Fast Lane: Gil Scott-Heron (1982)

12) Love Your Life (Album Version): Average White Band (1976)

Soul Food (46:23) (GD) (M)

Dedicated to this little fella, who I snapped in a Gloucester side street recently. Clearly wishing he was on the other side of the gate, but hoping to get a sniff of the action at least…

What Just Happened?

I don't quite know where to start describing Boko Yout, other than... Imagine - the single and video - is a "what just happened?" moment and I love it. Founder Paul Adamah describes it a "Afro-Grunge".

I don't quite know how Boko Yout has passed me by until now, especially as their debut long player Gusto has been out for over a year. Boko Yout started out in 2022 as a solo venture for Adamah, expanding to a trio in 2025 with fellow Swedes Kevin Stierne (bass) and Joel Kiviaho (drums).

What I do know is that I'm not wasting any more time, I'm buying the album now and immersing myself in their music immediately.

Cheesy Quavers

Bicep released a triple A-side EP at the end of September, which quickly found itself in my music collection and has been burrowing into my brain ever since.

A video for Viper, the third and final track, emerged a couple of weeks ago, but I've only just got around to watching it. Visually and technically, it's stunning. It'll also strike a chord if you have ever found yourself in a field or a warehouse or both, dancing with hundreds of people to music in the darkness with no inhibitions, chemically assisted or not. 

I wasn't a bona fide raver, I never knowingly went to anything illegal and I certainly can't say that I was at the start of a scene before it got shut down, forced underground or, worse, commercialised and homogenised. But I did go out a fair bit and had a good time, all the time, no matter who I was with and what was coursing through my mind and body.

Viper is a collaboration between Bicep and Clark, with vocals from Saskia Sluce and a mad, hazy dream of a song. The compulsion to move is strong, which is all the more surprising when a closer listen reveals how sparse the percussion actually is. Yet, Viper floats and soars, whilst keeping your feet firmly on the ground and, more than that, make steps and marks.

Even more surprising is that Viper clocks in at 4:43, the other two tracks on the EP not even breaking four and a half minutes. I say this often, I know, but I would quite happily have twenty minute versions of all three. Just give me a torch and I'll head to a nearby field. Luckily, Casa K is surrounded by them, so I could take my pick.

In the meantime, here's the rest of the EP, for your listening and purchasing pleasure.

 

Came For The Haircut...Stayed For The Music

...so said @acricketschirp6665 two years ago, in the YouTube comments accompanying this video, and it's a motivation that I can get with.

This is Floh De Cologne with their 1971 song Die Luft Gehört Denen Die Sie Atmen. 

Walter will step in with an assist if my (failed) O Level German - and/or Google Translate - doesn't pass muster, but this loosely translates as "the air belongs to those who breathe it", which is perhaps an obvious statement, but one that's hard to argue with.

The Sonny Bono lookalike in the middle is Dieter Klemm. Dieter plays the tambourine with such abandon that I initially thought he was bashing himself over the head with it. That's nothing compared to his vocal contribution around the 1:46 mark.

Maybe not the best song I'll hear today, but I won't forget it in a hurry.

All You Got To Do Is Believe

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band performing Faith Healer on TV in 1973, only three minutes compared to the album version's seven-and-a-quarter, but not a second wasted.

I don't think I heard the original until the early 1990s, prompted by the cover version released as a single by Recoil aka Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode) featuring vocals from Douglas McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb).

I was familiar with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band though, or at least Alex Harvey, whose open love for comics secured him regular features in Marvel's UK weekly titles around 1973/74.

It's a magnificent song, all pulsing, growling menace and guitar riffs. 

I keep meaning to get the parent album, Next, and check out more of the band's music, but have managed to not getr around to it in three-and-a-bit decades. Even if Faith Healer proves to have been a fluke and their one good song, then it's pretty.... well, sensational.

The Manifestation Of Self-Preservation

Sticking with Saturday's theme of superlative singer/songwriters, how about Ian McNabb?

Deserter is a 2021 song but still speaks of today. The video popped up at the weekend as a reminder of not only how Ian's songs continue to hit the mark, but also just how many of them there are. Since COVID alone, there have been six full length records, plus a Fleetwood Mac covers album, a total of 84 songs added to the vast Ian McNabb catalogue.

Deserter featured on the 20-track double album Utopian. I've chosen one more from there, plus another four songs from the 2020s, up to and including current album 65, released in April.

 

 

 

 

 

So You Wanna Be A Star? I Feel For You!

Sunday morning is the new Friday night, so get your dancing shoes on and break into the kitchen disco with a trip through the 1980s, courtesy of the 12" single.

Starting with 1980 and Mtume, ending in 1989 with Lil' Louis, I'm 99.9% certain that none of these versions - in some cases, the songs or artists - have appeared in a previous Dubhed selection.

Surprisingly so, in some cases: why have I deprived you of the full length mixes (or remixes) of You're The One For Me by D-Train, Let The Music Play by Shannon or I Feel For You by Chaka Khan? 

The list of producers and remixers also reads like a who's who of club music, including François Kevorkian, Timmy Regisford, James Mtume, Reggie Lucas, Hubert Eaves III, Shep Pettibone, Kevin Saunderson and Steve "Silk" Hurley.

Despite the gap in years and the change in musical genres, these songs also chart a natural evolution, flowing from one to the next. A better person than I would create a seamless DJ mix; I've just sequenced some tunes together.

Pretty damn good tunes, though.

1) So You Wanna Be A Star (Album Version): Mtume ft. Brenda White-King, Gwen Guthrie & Luther Vandross (1980)

2) You're The One For Me (12 Inch Disco Vocal Version): D-Train (1981)

3) You Can't Stop! (12" Version By Shep Pettibone): David McPherson (1982)

4) Let The Music Play (12" Remix): Shannon (1983)

5) I Feel For You (Remix): Chaka Khan ft. Melle Mel & Stevie Wonder (1984)

6) Trapped (Hot New Mix): Colonel Abrams (1985)

7) Love Can't Turn Around (Club Mix) (Edit): Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk & Jessie Saunders ft. Darryl Pandy (1986)

8) Pump Up The Volume (Extended): M|A|R|R|S ft. E-Mix (1987)

9) Good Life (Steve Hurley's "House Of Trix"): Inner City (1988)

10) French Kiss (Innocent Until Proven Guilty Vocal Remix (Re-Layed)): Lil' Louis ft. Pasquale (1989)

So You Wanna Be A Star? I Feel For You! (1:08:11) (GD) (M)

PostWar And Before

Billy Reeves' music came to me softly, in a deluge of albums accompanying my first membership of Last Night From Glasgow. 

I really liked Billy's debut solo album Nostalgia Of The Future, though I think I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of vinyl that was being delivered, gave it a listen, moved on,  revisited it from time to time.

However, 2024's second album Steve (A Weekend In Egham, 1996) was like being slapped by the proverbial wet kipper about the face and neck. I became obsessed by the record, listening to it constantly and inevitably I enthused about it in my end of year round up.

The thing is, Steve was the first of three albums released in 2024, including a live record with Gavin Laird and third studio album, When Lord God Almighty Reads The News. The latter included more electronic elements, but continued to showcase Billy's knack for a great tune and beautifully crafted lyrics.

I was vaguely aware that Billy Reeves was in theaudience in the late 1990s, our introduction to Sophie Ellis-Bextor, but I'll admit that I didn't remember any of their songs. 

What I didn't know until relatively recently was that Billy's car was in a head-on collision with joyriders attempting to outrace the police, as he was driving home with his friend. 

In other circumstances, that would have been it. Thanks to the emergency services, the NHS, support and love from friends and family, and sheer bloody-minded determination, Billy and his friend Jim survived. What could have been a life-ending moment instead became a life-changing moment. Billy wrote about it for The Guardian in 2021.

Twenty five years on from that horrific event in September 2001, Billy's fourth album PostWar has become my latest obsession and - no spoiler - will be mentioned again when it comes to reflecting on my favourite records of 2026.

Billy lost three years of memory following the crash and was presented with a MiniDisc of songs he'd been working on before, but had no recollection of or connection with the person who wrote them.

Yet, Billy started to work on music again. Richard Archer (Hard-Fi) came in to produce, Mark Morriss (The Bluetones) provided a voice for Billy's songs, with further contributions from Crayola Lectern (Zofff, Departure Lounge), and Mark Peters (Engineers).

The collective was named The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost and the resulting album was called Afters, released in 2021.

This was the catalyst for Billy's second chapter as a songwriter, resulting in his first solo album the following year and a dizzying work rate, and frankly wonderful songs.

Billy's revisited some of The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost songs in the years after Afters. Today’s selection begins with Tony's Got A Car, the penultimate track on PostWar. The original version, sung by Mark Morriss, clocks in at over nine minutes. Billy's version pares it down to seven, but shares the same DNA. 

What elevates the song - and all of Billy's music -  for me is his own voice. These are Billy's own songs, and there's a depth, a humanity, a connection that only he can bring. 

Billy's songs handles difficult subject matter with a lightness of touch, but there's also so much joy, humour and just plain silliness, sometimes in the same song. 

Encyclopedi-ite, which kicks off PostWar, is a great example. The opening verse is a cracker:

Your mum let me into your room

I felt like I was raiding King Tut's tomb

Philosphy on your wall

Trophies on your shelf

Yeah, I wanted it all

I wanted it all for myself

Musically, there's a beautiful guitar motif that reminds me of “Heroes" by David Bowie, whilst there's a pleasing choral clang and clash and Billy intones the song title. All this in 215 seconds. 

If you're new to Billy's music, then I hope that this selection will be a good primer. Twelve songs, three from each of his four solo albums. Listen, then go buy them from Last Night From Glasgow.

Oh, and that's Billy's wonderful art adorning the top of this post, too. Billy regularly sells his work to raise money for the Nostrano Lounge community pantry in Staines.

1) Tony Got A Car (Cover of The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost) (2026)

2) Golden Days (2022)

3) Trying To Ride A Donkey (2024)

4) Dear Life (2024)

5) Enclyclodedi-ite (2026)

6) Soapbox! (2024)

7) Bstrds! (2024)

8) Drift (2022)

9) Stay Alive (2024)

10) Generation Game (2024)

11) My Library (2022)

12) Funny Love (2026)

2022: Nostalgia Of The Future: 2, 8, 11

2024: Steve (A Weekend In Egham, 1996): 3, 6, 9

2024: When Lord God Almighty Reads The News: 4, 7, 10

2026: PostWar: 1, 5, 12

PostWar And Before (48:09) (GD) (M)

I Can't Express The Happiness I'm Feeling

As soon as that bass and those motorik rhythms kick in, you know it's Fujiya & Miyagi, and therefore you're in good hands.

Back with album number 10 (Ten? Has it really been that long?!), the third preview song/video from New Shiny Object arrived this week. Like Point 33 Recurring and Lowest Common  Denominator before it, No Green Light is both pleasingly familiar yet as fresh and sprightly as their debut.

New Shiny Object is out on 30th October, which is one Hallowe'en treat that won't give me the chills.

 

And yes, those of you listening to the lyrics will spot that I adapted the line "I can't express the emptiness I'm feeling" for today's post title. It's Friday, after all!