Since last Sunday's post about Urgh! A Music War, I've been listening to a lot of music from the punk and post-punk period. So much so, in fact, that I've got two Dubhed selections in the bag.
I considered whether to include them all in one bumper post, but reason prevailed (and the realisation that it's Monday, i.e. work, tomorrow). So, it's Side 1 today and Side 2 on Monday.
In the spirit of my original Urgh! mixtape, both of these selections will fit neatly on each side of a C60 cassette.
As well as some very familiar names such as Stiff Little Fingers, The Only Ones, The Damned and The Slits, I've included a few from outside the UK that I've been introduced to in more recent times by the wonderful blogging community. A couple of examples today: The Rude Kids from Sweden with (I guess) a Stranglers diss song and, from Germany, Abwärts with the title track of the VFM 5-track Computerstaat EP.
The thing that all ten songs have in common is that they are designed to be played LOUD.
More on Monday.
1) Blank Generation (Album Version): Richard Hell & The Voidoids (1977)
2) Suspect Device (Album Version): Stiff Little Fingers (1978)
3) New Race: Radio Birdman (1977)
4) (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) (Single Version): The Stranglers (1977)
5) Stranglers (If It's Quiet Why Don't You Play?): The Rude Kids (1978)
6) Another Girl, Another Planet (Album Version): The Only Ones (1978)
7) New Rose (Album Version): The Damned (1976)
8) Gary Gilmore's Eyes (Single Version): The Adverts (1977)
9) Typical Girls (Album Version): The Slits (1979)
10) Computerstaat: Abwärts (1980)
1977: Blank Generation: 1
1977: Damned Damned Damned: 7
1977: Gary Gilmore's Eyes EP: 8
1977: Grip / London Lady EP: 4
1977: Radios Appear: 3
1978: Stranglers (If It's Quiet Why Don't You Play?) / Punk Will Never Die! EP: 5
Side 1 of an cassette compilation, recorded 27th December 1997.
An end of year 'best of' with an opening song from Björk that had charted less than a fortnight previously.
Bachelorette is an astounding song in it's original form, and the list of artists brought in to remix the single included RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. He doesn't mess with it too much, mainly a switch of beats, but it makes a big difference.
I've included the UK chart peaks for each of the singles here, which in turn highlights how many of them actually failed to crack the Top 100!
Smoking Pot by Wubble-U is no surprise as the BBC no doubt slapped a discreet airplay on it due to it's title and sampled refrain of "Why are you children smoking pot?" Lionrock and The Aloof were robbed, though.
This was the era of multi-format CD singles and offers to buy all two (or three, in some cases) for a bargain price in order to secure that all-important chart placing. Therefore, quite a few here found that the single crashed in on the first week, and disappeared without trace by the second.
Only two Top 10s, the first from James with a more commercial punt at pop, produced by Stephen Hague, following a couple of more experimental albums with Brian Eno.
The second was far more radical: Tori Amos' song Professional Widow was put through the garage grinder by Armand Van Helden, released as a single, and gave Tori her first #1 in the UK. The remix is of it's time admittedly, but it's still a thrilling listen.
Also thrilling, though for different reasons, were Gold Blade, fronted by John Robb (belated happy 65th birthday for 4th May!). I saw Gold Blade play a gig in the super cosy upstairs room at The Louisiana in Bristol in November 1996 and they were just brilliant, full oif energy and Robb resplendent in lamé and quiff.
As a nod to the excellent series at The Vinyl Villain, Edwyn Collins released The Magic Piper (Of Love), a one-off single that incredibly - and delightfully - found itself playing over the closing credits of smash hit movie Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery. You can read JC's thoughts on the single here.
It may be a little while before I get around to Side 2, though the mixtape's title gives a clue to one of the songs. Can you guess any of the other eleven?
A (slightly early) happy birthday to Toyah Willcox, born 18th May 1958.
Prompted by listening to and watching Urgh! A Music War in the past week or so, and particularly enjoying Toyah's live version of Danced, I'd already started on today's selection when I realised the upcoming birthday.
I should have held it over until Monday, but I don't have any 'spare' posts good to go, so here it is, three days early!
When I was ten years old, I wanted to marry Toyah. I wasn't bothered by the 12 year age gap, or the fact that she was extremely busy with her recording, touring and TV commitments. I overlooked the fact that my only set of wheels was of the bicycle variety and that my only income was pocket money.
As i gazed at the poster-cum-fact-file of Toyah, ripped from the pages of Look-In, the clear and uncontested fact of our connection was right there. We were both 5' 1".
It maybe should have occurred to me that even that tenuous connection would be fleeting, as Toyah's height had presumably stabilised whilst my growth was still (literally) on an upward trajectory. It stalled at 5' 11", if you're wondering.
Next to Toyah was a poster of Adam Ant and they are forever linked in my formative music years. Perversely, whilst I actually shelled out my pocket money for Adam's albums, I didn't own any Toyah records until I found Ieya on 12", plus the Four From Toyah and Four More From Toyah 7" EPs in Plastic Wax Records later in the 1980s.
Instead, back in the day, my Uncle Mike, who lived in London at the time, borrowed Toyah's albums The Blue Meaning and Anthem from his local library (along with Dirk Wears White Sox) and ripped them onto a C90 cassette. He didn't think much of either, but it opened up a whole world for me.
I saw a link to a reprint of a 1980 interview with Toyah in The Guardian that labelled her "The thinking man's punkette", a riff on an equally risible phrase. I was a bit late for punk, but I never made that connection. Mainly due to the visuals more than the music, I didn't see much difference between Toyah, Adam, Steve Strange, Kate Bush and the flamboyance of the New Romantic movement.
When I bought the secondhand vinyl years later, I was struck by the prog elements of Toyah's music. There were some early parallels with Kate Bush in that respect, though whilst Kate's music evolved, progressed and transcended any further categorisation, Toyah's pop music became, well, less popular with the music buying hordes.
I'd lost interest by 1982, drawn more to Annie Lennox/Eurythmics and Alison Moyet/Yazoo... ah, fickle childhood!
It's been a joy to see Toyah and hubby Robert Fripp find a whole new fanbase via their Sunday Lunch series on YouTube, and I still have a soft spot for the music she made that’s rooted in my childhood.
So, it'll be no surprise that today's selection focuses squarely on recordings by Toyah the band, circa 1979 to 1983, rather than her considerably more expansive career as a recording artist.
Split into two sides, which should fit onto one side of a C90 (in tribute to Uncle Mike RIP), my picks lightly touch on the first two albums, one-off singles, B-sides and EP tracks. I will admit that the studio version of Danced isn't a patch on the live version that I featured last weekend, and Ieya remains my favourite Toyah song of all time, but I love 'em all.
I can't tell you much about Caroline Rose for the simple reason that, approx. five and a half minutes before deciding to write this post, I'd never heard of them.
The five and a half minutes is crucial, because that's how long it took me to listen to new single, Yip Yip Yow, think "wow!" then listen to it again.
Though when I say new single, I should also say old song, as it was written over ten years ago. Exhibit A: Caroline's performance of Yip Yip Yow as the support act for Violent Femmes at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York in October 2016.
Going back to August 2015, Yip Yip Yow was the opener of a 3-song Tiny Desk Concert.
So why so long between writing, recording and releasing Yip Yip Yow? Over to Caroline Rose:
"I wrote Yip Yip Yow 10 years ago
about feeling like I was born in the wrong time,
in the wrong place
and probably in the wrong body.
10 years later
the only thing that is different is
I finally have a recording of it I like."
After Jon Spencer's bluesy, scuzzy rock on Wednesday, it feels a natural step into Caroline's brand of countrified rockabilly, fizzing with energy and full of fun.
Yip Yip Yow is available from all the usual suspects. Personally, I'll be taking the long route through their six albums and one-off singles to date.
Jon Spencer is back, sans HITmakers, with new song Orange Slice Blues. Reassuringly, it follows the tried and tested blueprint, ever since he stepped from the ashes of Pussy Galore into the Blues Explosion. A lot of fun packed into a brisk two minutes, with a dayglo video to boot.
It's not the first time that Señor Spencer has expressed an interest in the colour (or fruit, if you prefer). In the autumn of 1993, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion recorded a BBC session for John Peel, including the title track of fourth album Orange, which emerged a full 12 months later.
And, for little other reason than it's a great song and the video features Winona Ryder (sigh) impersonating Mr. Spencer in an orange shirt, here's Talk About The Blues from 1999.
Sadly, I'm going to miss the Jon Spencer trio on their UK tour, starting later his month, as the Bristol date is the night after another gig that I'm going to, but you can check full dates and places here.
Mrs. K and I have been avidly following Married At First Sight Australia (MAFSAUS) on TV, which as ever has proved to be treasure trove of narcissism, mendacity, affectation and drama.
With the exception of one couple, who genuinely seem to have developed strong feelings for each other - they use the 'L' word a lot, but let's see how things are at the 'weeks later' reunion - we're surprised that any other couple made it to the 'final vows' ceremony.
As the couples left their temporary home/bubble in Sydney in last night's episode, I thought of my stay in the city during my backpacking tour of Australia. As it happens, Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May 1991 coincided with the tail end of my time there, and a memorable night time tour of King's Cross.
Looking back from a distance of three and a half decades, I'd forgotten how wet behind the ears I still was at twenty years old...
Take it away, er, me....!
Saturday 11th May 1991
The day didn't start too well, weather-wise, so I chose to stay in and write. Talking with my room-mate Jonathan on the roof of the hostel, it transpired that he was also a writer, which led to some interesting conversation.
Later, there was a new arrival from Canberra in our room. My suspicions were aroused when he praised the city, the totally opposite reaction to everyone else I've met who's been there. He complained that he was lonely after a few months' travelling. I was unsympathetic; I mean, how hard is it to make friends here?! After our tedious small talk, he decided to go for a walk.
Jonathan reappeared with an American girl, called Michelle. They'd bumped into each other earlier: it was Michelle's last day in Sydney, she'd run out of money, so was it alright for her to crash in our room? No problem.
The hostel had largely been taken over by the Malaysian national Dragon Boat team, who were competing in the annual race in the harbour over the weekend. I don't remember quite how this happened but, as night drew in, Jonathan, Michelle and I, and four of the Malaysian team, decided to go on a tour of King's Cross, Sydney's notorious red light district.
The Malaysians didn't actually speak a lot with us, and I didn't catch any of their names, although they all appeared to work for Malaysia Airlines. They seemed affable, but they were not destined to be with us for very long.
Arriving in separate taxis, we disembarked and walked along the main street. It was unbelievable. Every second building, it seemed, was a strip joint, with three or four men outside, trying to entice people to enter.
Most of them looked stoned and didn't waste time on a person, quickly moving on to the next passerby. Prostitutes and pimps were intermingled with street salesmen and panhandlers, and numerous police paraded the area, pretty much turning a blind eye to all that was taking place around them.
I'd been walking with Michelle, when we realised that the others were no longer with us. Pausing next to a 'Gypsy Rose Lee' and watching her read tarot cards for a punter, Jonathan eventually caught up with us and explained that the Malaysian quartet had succumbed to temptation a few strip clubs back. They'd made some vague promise to meet us outside McDonalds at 10.30pm.
We wandered around some more, taking in the sights: the drunk being forcibly evicted from a club by a mean-looking bouncer; a fight breaking out between two rival 'gangs' of security staff; a prostitute calmly waiting in a café for her 'pickup', then stepping into a white Rolls Royce, and the cocaine scales and equipment on display in the window of a tobacconist.
There was a little boy, he must have been about eight years old, watching everything with disinterested eyes as he sucked Coca Cola through a straw [yes, he was accompanied by an adult - K]
I mean, parts of Bristol were full on, but this was something else entirely!
After a drink at McDonalds and no sign of our newfound (and lost) Malaysian friends, we carried on to the outer limits of the district. We saw another prostitute, wearing a bikini and an overcoat, climbing into an expensive car. I hate rich people.
Our taxi ride home was a nightmare. The cab driver was literally half asleep, and admitted as much. What he didn't admit to was his flatulence, which he generously expelled for the entirety of the interminable journey. Even the windows wound down couldn't shift the fug.
Needless to say, we were surprised and relieved to get back to the hostel in one piece.
Post Script: Sunday 12th May 1991
We got up at 8.00am to get ready for the Dragon Boat races and, to be honest, we didn't make too much of an effort to be quiet. Our new room-mate stared at Michelle uncomprehendingly and said, "What brings you here?"
MIchelle replied (and I love her for this), "Oh, you know, these guys found me in King's Cross last night and I had nowhere to sleep, so they brought me back".
He said nothing, but the expression on his face was priceless.
In 2007, Tracy Thorn recorded a beautiful cover version of King's Cross. I've also picked four other theme-appropriate classics to accompany this sordid tale.
Why Can't We Live Together by Timmy Thomas entered the UK singles chart in February 1973 and a month later peaked at #12.
I don't think the song will have made much impression on two-year old me but, since rediscovering the original via Sade's cover version on her 1985 debut Diamond Life, it's now guaranteed to send a shiver down my spine ever time I hear it.
Is it minimalist music, just a swirling organ and programmed percussion, that moves me?
Is it Timmy's aching, yearning voice, the sound of a man who has made this plea so many times, yet has not given up hope for change.
Is it the courage to go 1 minute 33 seconds into a song that is only 3 minutes 45 seconds, before Timmy utters his first line?
Is it the song's simple yet powerful lyrical message which, after the horrifying yet perversely unsurprising outcome of the UK elections last week, are as relevant now as they were half a century ago?
It's all of these things, of course, which make this one of the greatest songs ever written. Much covered, never bettered.
Sides 1 and 2 of a C60 cassette, collating classic live compilation Urgh! A Music War, created 14th July 1992.
When I used to visit my brother's bedsit on the edge of St. Paul's in Bristol city centre, I would always try to get this album on the turntable. I was a little obsessed with it, to be honest.
The sleeve itself was fascinating: text-heavy with a camouflage background and the illustration of a dodgy loooking character pulling a vinyl record from within his long overcoat.
My brother's copy also had, stamped firmly in embossed gold lettering, the notice that this was a promo, not for resale. For years, I mistakenly thought this meant that the album had never been officially released, let alone that it was the soundtrack to the 1981 film of the same name by Derek Burbidge.
Two slabs of vinyl squeezed into a slightly oversized sleeve (no gatefold), twenty-seven songs packed into the grooves, six on Side 1, seven on Sides 2, 3 and 4. As advertised, all previously unreleased live performances by bands that I knew and many that I didn't.
As my music obsession grew during my teens, so did my DIY cassette compilation, which continued through my twenties. I'd seize opportunities to rip my brother's vinyl to cassette and I nabbed Urgh! A Music War when circumstances meant that we were both back living with our parents, our music collections in adjoining rooms.
I'm pretty sure I could have fit most if not all of the album onto a C90 cassette, so I don't recall why I instead ended up with a cut down 17-track version on a C60 instead. Maybe there was only a limited window to get the album recorded and I didn't have a 90-min tape available.
As such, today's selection is missing Au Pairs, The Cramps, Pere Ubu and Gang Of Four, although back in 1992 I would have been less bothered at leaving off Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, John Otway or Jools Holland.
Side 1 of the mixtape literally copies and pastes the entirety of the vinyl's first side, in order, finishing off with Side 4's opener and the closing song of Side 2.
The flip side of the C60 bounces from Side 3 to four straight songs from Side 2 to two from Side 4, before returning to Side 3 for the epic closer.
By the 2000s, and access to the internet, I had acquired not only a vinyl rip of the album - the source of today's selection - but also the ten 'bonus' performances from the film, lifted from its DVD release in the 1990s.
There are a few gems, with John Cooper Clarke, Dead Kennedys, Pere Ubu and UB40 with a great performance of Madam Medusa and, but I think the 1981 vinyl track list pretty much got it right first time.
Side One
1) Driven To Tears (Live @ The Frejus Amphitheater, Paris, 28 August 1980): The Police
2) Back In Flesh (Live @ The Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica, 16 August 1980): Wall Of Voodoo
3) Dance (Live @ The ICA, London, 05 September 1980): Toyah
If you have a couple of hours to spare, then treat yourself to the movie, available in full online.
It's a thrill to see O.M.D., Echo & The Bunnymen, XTC, Steel Pulse and Magazine. The sight of Gary Numan tootling about on stage in his precursor to the Sinclair C5 is perhaps unintentionally amusing in 2026, whilst Klaus Nomi is a fantastical being that perhaps would only be imagined via CGI these days. Tragically, Klaus died barely two years after the release of Urgh! A Music War, one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS.
If you've never seen Urgh! A Music War, or haven't for a long while, give it a go. I suspect that there's nothing better on TV this Sunday (especially if you're in the UK)>
The Guerilla record label shone briefly but oh so brightly. Launched in 1990 by William Orbit and Richard O'Dell aka Disc O'Dell, it ran until 1994 (although it was 2003 before the company was formally dissolved).
The sight of the custom camouflage 12" single designed by Steven Cook - sometimes in blue, sometimes in green - in the record rack was a happy moment, a guarantee of quality locked in the grooves.
Guerilla was instrumental in bringing progressive house music to a wider audience and in particular introducing me to artists such as Spooky, D.O.P.and React 2 Rhythm, who have remained required listening ever since.
William Orbit debuted Bassomatic (or Bass-o-matic, if you prefer) on the Guerilla before a deal with Virgin Records beckoned, and released the seminal Water From A Vine Leaf, featuring Beth Orton and remixes from Spooky and Underworld. An edit of the original version closes this selection.
Spooky and Underworld teamed up for a classic remix of the former's single Schmoo, getting today's mixtape off to a rousing start.
Spooky make three further appearances, firstly remixing Jo Bogaert (the brains behind Technotronic) and The Chameleon Project aka D.O.P. aka Kevin Hurry and Kevin Swain.
There's also Persuasion, their frankly stunning collaboration with Billie Ray Martin on the Throbbing Gristle song, with D.O.P. returning the favour on remix duties.
D.O.P. (Dance Only Productions, if you were wondering) released two volumes of Musicians Of The Mind, which don't get the attention and respect afforded to contemporary albums by Underworld, Orbital or Fluke, but were must-have purchases at the time and still hold up, thirty years on.
I could go on about the rest of the selection, the glaringly obvious omissions, the expertly curated compilations that Guerilla issued in those golden years. Instead, I'll just point you to the music for the next 87 minutes. I'd love to hear what you think.
1) Schmoo (Underworld Mix): Spooky ft. Heather Sian Wildman (1993)
2) Go Getta Nutha Man (The Whole Shabang Mix By Phil Kelsey): Bassomatic ft. Divine & Glory B (1991)
3) I Still Want Ya (Nooshty Mix By Lisa Loud & Mat Clark): Outer Mind (1992)
4) Ooh La La (Album Version): D.O.P. (1993)
5) Your Face In My Mind (Pat Pong Ghekko Blast Mix By William Orbit): Lizzie Tear (1990)
6) Rhythm Addiction (Lea Bridge Road Mix By Sugar J. & F.C. Harmony): React 2 Rhythm (1990)
7) Alchemy (Phasers On Dub Mix By Orbital): Drum Club ft. Kate Holmes (1993)
8) Water (Spooky's Heavy Water Mix): Jo Bogaert (1994)
9) Feel (Spooky Remix (Part 1)): The Chameleon Project (1993)
10) Persuasion (D.O.P. Mix) (Cover of Throbbing Gristle): Billie Ray Martin & Spooky (1993)
11) United State Of Love (The Slam Remix): Supereal ft. Janet Cofie (1992)
12) Fight Back (Rootsman Version By Digidub aka Lee Berwick): The Moody Boys (1994)
13) Water From A Vine Leaf (Album Edit): William Orbit ft. Beth Orton (1993)
1990: Rhythm Addiction EP: 6
1990: Your Face In My Mind EP: 5
1991: Go Getta Nutha Man EP: 2
1992: I Still Want Ya EP: 3
1992: United State Of Love EP: 11
1993: Alchemy EP: 7
1993: Guerilla Remix EP: At The Moment Of Impact: 9
Bookending the week, with a companion to Monday's post, collecting another dozen picks from my May Day music haul, once again a mixture of new releases and new discoveries.
Broken Chanter starts off with a song from latest album This Could Be Us, You, Or Anybody Else, which is just fantastic from start to finish. Birding, the debut from deary, is one that I'd describe as a grower. It's hasn't had the immediacy and impact of Broken Chanter, but it's shoegaze-inspired soundscapes are gradually seeping in and taking over with each listen.
More selections from the PRAH label, by way of their 'Scratching The Surface...' samplers, this time highlighting uh, aka siblings Dominic & Fionnuala Kennedy, and Donna Thompson.
Another compilation (two, actually) that comes highly recommended is The Beautiful Flowers Wait For Peace, issued by Partick Sailing Club via Bandcamp. Each 10-track compilation costs a fiver, proceeds "donated to The Sameer Project, a mutual aid organisation run by Palestinians in Gaza, providing food, water, medical aid and essential supplies to those in need."
Monday's and today's selection features a pick from Volumes 1 and 2, 100 Poems and Cosmikuro respectively. If I add that other artists include Bedford Falls Players, Rude Audio, Airsine, Ben Hunt and Katakana's delightful remix of Cocteau Twins' Cherry Coloured Funk, and everyone donated their music for free, then surely it's a no-brainer. Buy now.
From the archives, a belated EP purchase from Billie Ray Martin's back catalogue, a remix of Steve Jansen featuring brother David Sylvian that languished in the archives for fourteen years, and an unreleased Julian Cope outtake from the Peggy Suicide sessions that has been dusted off for the latest release in the essential Cope's Notes book & CD series.
Happy Friday, everyone!
1) Atrocity/Adverts/Idiocy: Broken Chanter (2026)
2) After All (Original Version): Billie Ray Martin (2014)
3) nostos: uh (2025)
4) Frog Lick: Cosmikuro (2026)
5) Summon (East Coast Love Affair Mix): Joe Goddard ft. Hayden Thorpe (2024)
6) You Remind Me Of You: Julian Cope (1991)
7) Deadman's Cut ('Ballad Of A Deadman' Remix By Rhinoceros): Steve Jansen ft. David Sylvian (2008)
8) Baby's Breath: deary (2026)
9) Sneakanon Pt2 (6161 + Andrew Remix): 6161 (2026)
10) Rapture In Blue (Midnight Version): Daniel Avery ft. Cecile Believe (2025)
11) Matchstick: Donna Thompson (2022)
12) Return To Coney (Attrition Mix By Martin Bowes): Warriors Of The Dystotheque ft. Ella Joy (2016)
2014: After All EP: 2
2016: Return To Coney EP: 12
2022: Deadman's Cut EP: 7
2022: Something True EP: 11
2024: Summon Remixed: 5
2025: pleroma EP: 3
2026: Birding: 8
2026: Cope's Notes 8: Peggy Suicide: 6
2026: Partick Sailing Club PSC#002: The Beautiful Flowers Wait For Peace Vol. 2: 4
