Monday 18 March 2024

Dancing In The Shadow Of Love

The Chemical Brothers' current album, For That Beautiful Feeling, came out nearly six months ago but I've somehow managed to miss it until now despite enthusing about lead single No Reason this time last year.

Anyway, the album release coincided with a another single, Skipping Like A Stone, this time featuring Beck, who Ed and Tom last collaborated with (on Wide Open) way back in 2015.

Don't look for deep meaning in the lyrics but the video really runs away with the concept. Great stuff.
 
 
 
I'm dancing, I'm dancingIn the shadows of love
 
When you feel like nothing really mattersWhen you feel aloneWhen you feel like all your life is shatteredAnd you can't go home
 
I'll come skipping like a stoneI'll come skipping like a stoneI'll come skipping like a stoneI'll come skipping like a stone
 
I wanna go where no one goesI wanna go where no one goes
 
I don't want to let you goI don't want to lose your loveI don't want to let you goI don't want to lose your love
 
When you feel like nothing really mattersWhen you feel aloneWhen you feel like all your life is shatteredAnd you can't go home
 
I'll come skipping like a stoneI'll come skipping like a stoneI'll come skipping like a stoneI'll come skipping like a stone
 
Ooh, she changes people nowShe changes people nowOoh, she changes people nowShe changes people now
 
I, I'm dancing in the shadow of loveI, I'm dancing in the shadow of loveI, I'm dancing in the shadow of loveI, I'm dancing in the shadow of love
 
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
  
Ooh, she changes people nowShe changes people nowOoh, she changes people nowShe changes people now
 
I, I, I see the sun nowI, I, I see the sun nowI, I, I see the sun nowI, I, I see the sun now

Sunday 17 March 2024

Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Fancy a coffee? Take a seat and relax whilst I put some music on.

For someone who was born and grew up in Bristol, I've seen relatively few reggae acts live in concert and the vast majority of these will have been at either the St. Pauls Carnival or Ashton Court Festival in the 1980s and 1990s, the latter now sadly long gone. The former thankfully returned in 2023 as a bi-annual event and fundraising for 2025 is underway; you can donate here.

Over the years, I've amassed a modest collection of live concerts, some officially released, others bootleg recordings of variable quality but made more accessible via t'internet. Here's a 45-minute selection featuring some of my favourite performances.

Misty In Roots are first up with Ghetto Of The City from their debut album, Live At The Counter Eurovision 79. As the title suggests, this was a recording of a show in Belgium and is quite rightly lauded as not just one of the greatest live reggae albums of all time, but one of the greatest live albums, full stop. You'll see this happening a few times in this brief Dubhed selection and I will not be arguing to the contrary.
 
Talisman are from my birthplace, so it's very likely that I saw them at one of the aforementioned live events. Unfortunately, as I was generally under the influence and these happenings were ticketless, I have no idea if I did or not. A shame as they were clearly on fire, as this extract from 1981 shows. I picked up the excellent 2011 compilation The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983 on CD which features Wicked Dem. It's now available on Bandcamp and is highly recommended, as is pretty much everything on Bristol Archive Records, to be honest.

What can I say about Bob Marley & The Wailers that hasn't already been said and more eloquently? One of the greatest songs of all time from one of the greatest artists of all time from one of the greatest albums of all time, Bob Marley & The Wailers Live! (or Live! At The Lyceum, if you're scrutinising the vinyl label). 
 
No Woman No Cry is credited to Bob's friend Vincent Ford, but is believed to be a pseudonym that Bob used in order to evade his publishing company at the time. Clearly, the courts agreed as Marley's estate gained control of these compositions in 1987 and successfully resisted a counter claim by the label in 2014.

Speaking of Bob, the Performing Arts Center in Montego Bay, Jamaica was dedicated to him and 18 months after his death, Black Uhuru performed there as part of the Jamaica World Music Festival. The quality of this 1982 bootleg recording is a bit ropey to say the least but the quality of the music shines through.

Another bootleg of slightly better quality is UB40 with a 'short' version of Madam Medusa, their damning indictment of Margaret Thatcher and a reminder of how very good they were in their early years. This was originally featured in the seminal music film, Urgh! A Music War. The version here is a rip from the VHS release that I found online. Incredibly, UB40 didn't make the cut for the vinyl album release, itself a must-have in any record collection.

Staying with another legendary reggae band from Birmingham, Steel Pulse are up next with Makka Splaff. The song originally featured (as Macka Splaff) on their debut Handsworth Revolution. The version here appeared on the legendary Short Circuit: Live At The Electric Circus album, released on 10" vinyl with a limited edition bonus 7". A copy on Discogs will set you back (I think a rather reasonable) £29.00, less if you're not bothered about the 7".

Another contender for greatest (live) album of all time is Aswad with 1983's Live And Direct, recorded at that summer's Notting Hill Carnival in London. I remember seeing a full-page ad in Smash Hits at the time, priced as a mini-album at £2.99. At 9 tracks (10 if you split the 2-song Rockers Melody) and 45 minutes in length, there's no 'mini' about it and the sound is as fresh and crisp now as it was three decades ago.

Closing today's selection is Matumbi, whose theme tune to the BBC TV series Empire Road was also included on the 1978 compilation Don't Walk, Boogie nestled in my parent's record collection. Both the TV show and the song made a big impression on me and - unknown to me at the time - introduced me to the genius of Dennis Bovell.

After Tonight is another classic from the Matumbi catalogue, which Dennis has revisited and re-recorded several times throughout his career, most recently in 2022 with Winston Reedy. This live version was recorded on day 2 of the Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea in December 1979. A fund-raiser for victims of the conflict in Cambodia, it was a mammoth 4-day event at the Hammersmith Odeon, kicking off with Queen, ending with Paul McCartney and Wings and featuring The Pretenders, The Specials, The Who and Elvis Costello & The Attractions.

The day 2 line-up was Ian Dury & The Blockheads and Matumbi, Dennis and other bandmates bolstering the former's line-up, followed by The Clash. What a night that must have been. You needn't wonder: with another name check for the Albums That Should Exist blog, you can find collated selections from all four days posted last summer. Zip file links are still live, though I had to close down multiple pop-ups and revisit the initial link page to eventually get the download. Well worth the effort though, as all three acts are on top form.

All that yakking and I need another brew! Let me just stick this selection on repeat...
 
1) Ghetto Of The City: Misty In Roots (1979)
2) Wicked Dem: Talisman (1981)
3) No Woman No Cry: Bob Marley & The Wailers (1975)
4) Guess Who's Coming To Dinner: Black Uhuru (1982)
5) Madame Medusa: UB40 (1980)
6) Makka Splaff (The Colly Man): Steel Pulse (1977)
7) African Children: Aswad (1983)
8) After Tonight: Matumbi (1979)
 
18 July 1975: The Lyceum, London, England: 3
02 October 1977: Electric Circus, Manchester, England: 6
31 March 1979: Cirque Royal/Koninklijk Circus, Brussels, Belgium: 1
27 December 1979: Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea, Hammersmith Odeon, London, England: 8
28 August 1980: Arènes De Frejus, Fréjus, France: 5
28 July 1981: Bath Pavilion, Bath, England: 2
26 November 1982: Jamaica World Music Festival, Bob Marley Performing Arts Center, Montego Bay, Jamaica: 4
26 August 1983: Meanwhile Gardens, Notting Hill Carnival, London, England: 7
 
Everything's Gonna Be Alright (45:08) (KF) (Mega)

Saturday 16 March 2024

Our Children Shall Rise Up Against Us Because We Are The Ones To Blame

Don't worry, there hasn't been a revolt at Casa K. Instead, here's some agit from the late 1970s, embracing punk, post-punk, post-modern, post-Mott and stick-it-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-it sounds from 15 of the best.

British Lions formed from the ashes of Mott The Hoople (via Mott) with John Fiddler (Medicine Head) taking front of stage. One More Chance To Run was their debut single and the opening track of their eponymous first album.

Quite a few self-titled debut albums featured here, now that I think about it, taking in The Clash, Tubeway Army, Squeeze, The B-52's, The Pretenders and (almost) Public Image Ltd. and Talking Heads.
 
A first appearance here for Sham 69 with - what else? - Hersham Boys and inevitable returns from Siouxsie & The Banshees, Magazine, Associates and The Jam

The closing song - and inspiration for today's post title - is We Are All Prostitutes, the blistering debut single by Bristol's own The Pop Group
 
It's been nearly a year since Mark Stewart tragically left us, so much to say in 1979 and so much still to say when he passed on in 2023. This one's for Mark and anyone who has spoken up and called out wrong doing.

Even so, our children shall rise up against us because we are the ones to blame.
 
1) One More Chance To Run: British Lions (1977)
2) What's My Name: The Clash (1977)
3) Hersham Boys (Long Version By Jimmy Pursey & Peter Wilson): Sham 69 (1979)
4) Poppy Day (John Peel Session): Siouxsie & The Banshees (1979) 
5) My Shadow In Vain: Tubeway Army (1978)
6) Attack: Public Image Ltd. (1978)
7) The Light Pours Out Of Me (Album Version By John Leckie): Magazine (1978)
8) Boys Keep Swinging (Cover of David Bowie): Associates (1979)
9) Sex Master: Squeeze (1978)
10) Marooned: Wire (1978)
11) Don't Worry About The Government: Talking Heads (1977)
12) 6060-842: The B-52's (1979)
13) News Of The World: The Jam (1978)
14) Brass In Pocket: The Pretenders (1979)
15) We Are All Prostitutes (Single Version By Dennis Bovell): The Pop Group (1979) 
 
We Are The Ones To Blame (46:05) (KF) (Mega)
 

We Are All Prostitutes

We are all prostitutes
Everyone has their price
We are all prostitutes
Everyone has their price
Everyone
 
And you too will learn to live the lie
And you too will learn to live the lie
And you too will learn to live the lie
Everyone has their price
 
Aggression
Competition
Ambition
Consumer fascism
Consumer fascism
 
We are all prostitutes
Everyone has their price
We are all prostitutes
Everyone has their price
Everyone
 
Capitalism is the most barbaric of all religions
 
Department stores are our new cathedrals
Department stores are our new cathedrals
Our cars are martyrs to the cause
Our cars are martyrs to the cause
 
Our children shall rise up against us
Our children shall rise up against us
Because
Because we are the ones to blame
Because we are the ones to blame
Because
Because
They will give us a new name, we shall be
Hypocrites
Hypocrites
Hypocrites
Hypocrites
Hypocrites
Hypocrites

Friday 15 March 2024

No Games

It feels like an age since I've posted an 80s 12" mixtape inspired selection on a Friday. I haven't checked, it's probably been a couple of weeks but what the heck, repetition celebrates and devalues!

I've kept my sights firmly on 1982 and 1983 for today's deadly eight, so expect some of the emerging 'big' sounds, stuttering edits and extended breaks that the 12" format was playing with at the time. 

The only two I owned at the time were the cassette version of the Talking Heads album Speaking In Tongues, which featured exclusive extended versions of several tracks including Slippery People, and the 12" of Our Lips Are Sealed by Fun Boy Three, the 'Special Remix Version' incorporating a spoken word second half that at the time was quite a surprise but which I quickly grew to love.

I also owned Seven Singles Deep, the mini-LP collection of extended A-sides by The Icicle Works, although the version of Birds Fly is a remix that featured on the 12" single in the USA. The version of Paper House by Associates featured on the re-release of The Affectionate Punch, which was remixed and repackaged in the wake of Party Fears Two and the album Sulk. Elvis Costello & The Attractions and The Beat were very belated acquisitions in the 21st century and worth the price of admission alone, in my opinion.
 
China was a B-side on the very first 12" single release of Dance Hall Days in 1982 back when Wang Chung were called Huang Chung. Sadly, Wang Chuang were cruelly denied a place in SWC's current Rock's Greatest W series over at the frankly essential No Badger Required. Should I have the privilege of participating in a future Rock's Greatest H, I am poised to nominate...

Rounding off today's selection is The Last Film by the wonderful Kissing The Pink, whose hugely enjoyable Anthology 5CD box set was propelled through the letter box at Casa K a couple of weeks ago. They were bonkers to say the least and the three 1980s albums included are markedly different in style and sound but all the better for it. To many, The Last Film is their 'one hit wonder', a reminder of a time when quite out there pop could also be a hit.
 
1) Let Them All Talk (Extended 12" Remix By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley): Elvis Costello & The Attractions ft. The TKO Horns (1983)
2) China (American Extended Remix By Roger Bechirian): Huang Chung (1982)
3) Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (Extended Club Remix By Steve Thompson): The Icicle Works (1983)
4) Paper House (Remix By Associates & Mark Arthurworrey): Associates (1982)
5) Slippery People (Cassette Mix By Talking Heads & Alex Sadkin): Talking Heads (1983)
6) Save It For Later (Extended Remix By Bob Sargent): The Beat (1982)
7) Our Lips Are Sealed (Special Remix Version By Fun Boy Three & Jeremy Green): Fun Boy Three (1983) 
8) The Last Film (Hymn Version - Extended By Kissing The Pink, David King & Neil Richmond): Kissing The Pink (1983) 
 
No Games (44:10) (KF) (Mega)

Thursday 14 March 2024

Lady, You Shot Me

Barry Adamson releases a new single today, titled The Last Words Of Sam Cooke. In the wake of the Oscars, it seems fitting that the man responsible for a vast body of real and imaginary film soundtracks should return with a rousing blast of cinematic pop.

Over to the promo blurb:
 
Set in the Haçienda Motel in South Central Los Angeles, 11 December 1964, we glide straight into the head of the great singer, as he makes his fatal date with destiny, flashing his cash and picking up Elisa Boyer and ending up getting shot by Motel manager Bertha Franklin.
 
A tragedy set within blissful soul sounds, high on swirling gospel organ and a stomping beat, with a chorus that echoes Sam Cooke’s reported last words: “Lady, you shot me!”.
  
Or, in plainer words, another 'hit' from Mr. Adamson. I love it.

Cut To Black, which I think is Barry's tenth album and first in nearly 8 years, is out in May with a tour of the UK and Europe following hot on its heels.
 
 
I was high when I met her
I really should have known better
She was wild and licentious
Love by the hour’s unpretentious
She was hankering for attention
Neon drug store blessing
I was young and adventurous
With a buck to buy some brand new shoes

The stars they were fading
The high that I am still chasing
At the midnight Hacienda Blue
All my dreams had come true
Ahh lady, you shot me
Lady, you shot me

I’m a man and salvation is here
Temptation’s calling me loud and clear
She light me up and blow me away
King of lost souls on my knees and I pray
Cupid’s bullet loaded in her gun
Conquest feels like redemption
Angel singing a devil’s song
Don’t wait for heaven, 'cos here I come

That bad apple that tastes so sweet
Back seat girl knocked me off my feet
At the midnight Hacienda Blue
All of my love won’t save you
Ahh lady, you shot me
Lady, you shot me

Blood moon bathed in cheap champagne
Sunset strip swallowed my soul once again
At the midnight Hacienda Blue
All my dreams faded from view
Lady, you shot me

Wednesday 13 March 2024

Rummaging For Answers

Like satellites hurtling around the Earth, every so often Regina Spektor comes back into my orbit and I wonder why I don't have more of her albums.
 
The first album I had was Mary Ann Meets The Gravediggers And Other Short Stories from 2005, courtesy of my friend John. Although the title was a hint, I had no idea that this was a compilation of songs from her first three albums. 
 
Us originally featured on Regina's 2003 album Soviet Kitsch but was released as single to promote the compilation. It was also the first of her songs to be supported by an official music video. 
 
Fast forward to 11th March 2024 and Regina features in What's In My Bag?, trawling through the racks of Amoeba Records in Hollywood to pull 11 vinyl albums and explaining why and what they mean to her. It's a lovely way to spend 10 minutes, with some possibly obvious choices but a couple of surprises (including a hair metal selection) thrown in, all lifted by Regina's positive energy.

 
 
Us 

They made a statue of usAnd then put it on a mountain topNow tourists come and stare at usBlow bubbles with their gumTake photographs of fun, have fun
 
They'll name a city after usAnd later say it's all our faultThen they'll give us a talking toThen they'll give us a talking to'Cause they've got years of experience
 
We're living in a den of thievesRummaging for answers in the pagesWe're living in a den of thievesAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagious
 
We wear our scarves just like a nooseBut not 'cause we want eternal sleepAnd though our parts are slightly usedNew ones are slave labor you can keep
 
We're living in a den of thievesRummaging for answers in the pagesWe're living in a den of thievesAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagious
 
They made a statue of usThey made a statue of usThe tourists come and stare at usThe sculptor's mama sends regardsThey made a statue of usThey made a statue of usOur noses have begun to rust
 
We're living in a den of thievesRummaging for answers in the pagesWe're living in a den of thievesAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagious
 
And it's contagiousAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagiousAnd it's contagious

Tuesday 12 March 2024

Save Me From Tomorrow

Celebrating Karl Wallinger, 19th October 1957 to 10th March 2024.

I woke up to this terribly sad news. Faced with the choice of trying to articulate a few words of tribute and posting a video or two, or pulling together a personal selection, with some words (when I can find them) to follow in an update later on, I chose the latter.

So, here's forty three minutes and thirty seconds of World Party music. Come back later today for some more words and thoughts.

Rest in peace, Karl.
 
1) Nature Girl (1990)
2) When The Rainbow Comes (1990)
3) She's The One (Live) (2012)
4) S.E.X. (1990)
5) All You Need Is Love (Cover of The Beatles) (2006)
6) Kuwait City (2012)*
7) Ship Of Fools (Live @ Kilburn Empire, London) (1990) 
8) Vanity Fair (1997)
9) I'm So Tired (Cover of The Beatles) (1993)
10) Trouble Down Here (Edit) (1987)
11) Where Are You Going When You Go? (2012)*
 
1987: Ship Of Fools EP: 10
1990: Goodbye Jumbo: 2
1990: Message In The Box EP: 1 
1990: Way Down Now EP: 4
1993: previously unreleased: 5 9
1997: Vanity Fair EP: 8
2006: previously unreleased: 5
2012: Arkeology: 3, 6, 7, 11

* I've no idea when either of these were recorded, but Arkeology was released in 2012.

Save Me From Tomorrow (43:30) (KF) (Mega)



Some More Words And Thoughts (1.30pm GMT)
 
So the first thing I saw was Pete Paphides' tweet from last night. Nothing unusual in Pete picking a song from the archives and sharing it, although his closing thank you to Karl was a little unusual. 

 
But it quickly became clear from the comments that followed that Karl was gone. A few looks around and the tributes had been steadily pouring in overnight. Yet, the usually trusty BBC News website had nothing, right up to the point that I uploaded my post and Dubhed selection earlier this morning.

And then this. 

Note the second sentence: ",,,who also fronted solo project World Party...". 
 
So, the band that Karl formed and led for the best part of 4 decades, which released 5 albums, three of which went Top 40 and one Top 10 in the UK, not forgetting four Top 40 singles and a UK #1 courtesy of a cover version by Robbie Williams, merits little more than a "...who also..." in the opening summary? Much as I recognise The Whole Of The Moon by The Waterboys as a classic, for fuck's sake!

I didn't even know Karl was in The Waterboys at first because frankly I wasn't that bothered by them (or The Whole Of The Moon) at the time. My introduction to Karl was seeing the video for World Party's Private Revolution which had this cool-yet-geeky looking guy in Lennon frames and a shaven headed angel miming along to a retro-future pop song.

Then I heard Ship Of Fools and I was completely sold. I had a white label 12" of this single, though it bore no difference to the standard 12" other than it was missing the cool artwork and labels. But the music was fantastic and, in the flip side's cover of Nowhere Man, the first of a growing number of nods to The Beatles over the course of World Party's recordings. In Oct 2020, the brilliant Albums That Should Exist blog posted an imaginary compilation album (hey, that sounds familiar!) of Karl's takes on 10 Beatles songs. And very good it is too.

Karl's love of The Beatles was never far from the surface but it never felt like pastiche or parody. Although World Party songs were infused with the spirit of Lennon and McCartney, Karl's passion and prodigious talent as a songwriter in his own right always shone through. Other touchstones inevitably included Bob Dylan and The Beach Boys and Kuwait City, Karl's social commentary as surf classic, is jaw-droppingly brilliant.

Which leads to Arkeology, released in 2012. Having taken an enforced break for 5 years due to a brain aneurysm, World Party's run of albums had effectively ground to a halt with Dumbing Up in 2000. Karl was able to resume touring from 2006 but there were sadly to be no more albums of new recordings.

However, Arkeology (subtitled "Diary & Music Collection") was a mammoth 5CD collection housed in a beautiful, ring-bound "any year" diary and containing 70 tracks. Some were previously released on B-sides, some were live versions and covers, many, many had never seen the light of day up to that point. Several examples are included in today's selection.

I was on the fly this morning, wanting to pull together some personal favourites and limited by time to make some very quick choices. That said, I'm very happy with the end result though if I was doing the same tomorrow I would probably come up with an entirely different selection, including Is It Like Today? or World Groove (Do The Mind Guerrilla) for example.

In other words, I felt that the BBC news report - and many others, to be honest - fell far short of capturing just how many hundreds of great songs Karl had written in his lifetime. Not just a few. Hundreds.

Quite the legacy. And from the tributes paid, a wonderfully rich, complex and entertaining human being, to boot.

Bon voyage, Karl.

Monday 11 March 2024

#Colours Top 20 (Second Shade)

The second half of the (E)x-Twitter 'countdown' that I've participated in for the past 20 days, featuring songs, artists or lyrics featuring a colour.

As with the first ten, I've stuck with just song titles throughout, with my second round up coming in at one second under 40 minutes.
 
I also continued with my 'method' (I use the term loosely) of trying to make sure that the subsequent colour complemented the one that had preceded it. This limiting my choice of songs each time but hopefully provided for some interesting segues from, say, Cathal Coughlan to Peaches
 
I only did one swap throughout the entire run. My original pick for #17 was Coral Moon by John Cale from his 1973 album, Helen Of Troy. Realising that the pick would coincide with International Women's Day, I replaced it with A Coral Room by Kate Bush, which on reflection I think was a better choice and made for a good segue from Echo & The Bunnymen.
 
This late change also meant that I was able to find another (complementary) John Cale song and tweet it on the following day, which also happened to be his 82nd birthday. Win win, I'd say.
 
The final song of the 20 wouldn't have appeared at all had it not been for Ernie Goggins' end of year round up over at 27 Leggies back in December 2022, a reminder of how much music I discover thanks to you lovely people out there in the blogosphere. And in my opinion, it's a great way to wrap up what has been a fun series to participate in.
 
11) Into The White (Single Version): Pixies (1989)
12) Lime Tree Arbour (Album Version): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1997)
13) Tangerine: Cathal Coughlan (2022)
14) I Feel Cream (Album Version): Peaches (2009)
15) Silverblade (Single Version): The Jesus & Mary Chain (1990)
16) Turquoise Days: Echo & The Bunnymen (1981)
17) A Coral Room: Kate Bush (2005)
18) Bamboo Floor ("Slow Dazzle" Session Outtake): John Cale (1975)
19) Olive Avenue: Port Sulphur ft. Jay Stansfield (2018)
20) Golden Spoon Maroon: Yasus Afari (2021) 
 
1981: Heaven Up Here: 6
1989: Here Comes Your Man EP: 1 
1990: Rollercoaster EP: 5 
1996: The Island Years: 8
1997: The Boatman's Call: 2
2005: Aerial: 7
2009: I Feel Cream: 4 
2018: Paranoic Critical: 9
2022: E.P. Of Co-Aklan EP: 3
2022: Golden Spoon Maroon: 10
 
Second Shade (39:59) (KF) (Mega)

Sunday 10 March 2024

Maman Chérie

Celebrating Neneh Cherry, born 10th March 1964, and in my opinion one of the greatest artists ever to grace this planet.
 
Sometimes, this blog virtually writes itself, the planets aligning to provide serendipitous moments and opportunities.
 
Realising a short while ago that it was Neneh's 60th birthday today kick started this week's entire birthday-themed posts. 
 
Today is Mother's Day. Sundanese is the second largest language spoken in Indonesia. The Sundanese word for mother is...Neneh.
 
Chérie translates from French as darling, but Neneh also adopted the name for an EP of remixes by French artists in 1997. 
 
So really, it was always going to be Neneh Cherry today, whether I was consciously aware of it or not. 
 
On the surface, Neneh has 'only' released four solo albums since Raw Like Sushi turned the world on its head in 1988. But her work and cultural impact goes much deeper and wider than that.
 
School drop out at 14. Arriving in London at 15 and hooking up with The Slits. The Cherries. New Age Steppers. Rip Rig + Panic. Hanging out with The Wild Bunch in Bristol and the origins of Buffalo Stance as a B-side remix for Morgan-McVey (the latter soon-to-be husband and musical partner Cameron McVey).
 
And then there's Neneh continual collaboration and reinvention, with Matt Johnson (The The), Tricky, Seven Seconds with Youssou N'Dour, appearing on Top Of The Pops whilst pregnant, effortlessly brilliant in the 2007 BBC2 cookery show Neneh and Andi – Dish It Up with bezzy mate (and Rip Rig + Panic bandmate) Andi Oliver.

Continuing to astonish in the 21st century, Neneh has worked with Swedish trio The Thing and formed cirKus with husband Cameron McVey, daughter Lolita Moon and Matt Kent. Neneh's last two albums have been a further evolution of her music in partnership with Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet.
 
Bearing all of this in mind, there's no way that I could do justice to Neneh with merely one Dubhed selection. So, to celebrate, here are two one-hour selections, twenty-two tracks strong. Not a comprehensive career-spanning collection - no New Age Steppers, for example - but it does attempt to convey why I think Neneh is one of the greatest artists ever to grace this planet.
 
There's a self-deprecating comment attributed to Neneh as a "singer that does a bit of rapping". She is - and always has been - so much more. An icon and a legend, in the true sense of the words.
 
Happy birthday, Neneh, and thank you. You are loved.
 
Volume One
1) Money Love (Perfecto Mix By Paul Oakenfold & Steve Osborne): Neneh Cherry (1992)
2) You're My Kind Of Climate (Party Mix): Rip Rig + Panic (1982)
3) Weightless (Album Version By Kieran Hebden): Neneh Cherry (2014)
4) Buffalo Stance (Give Me A Muthuf***ing Breakbeat (Sukka Mix) By The Dynamik Duo): Neneh Cherry (1988)
5) Unattended Bag (Whatever/Whatever Unreleased Mix By Justin Strauss & Bryan Mette): cirKus (2009)
6) Kong (Parris Remix By Dwayne Parris-Robinson): Neneh Cherry (2018)
7) Kisses On The Wind (Moody Mix By David Morales): Neneh Cherry (1989)
8) You've Got Me Thinking (Unreleased Mix): The Beloved ft. Neneh Cherry (1993)
9) Think Twice...: Groove Armada ft. Neneh Cherry (2002)
10) Undecided (Deep Radio Mix By Deep Forest): Youssou N'Dour ft. Neneh Cherry (1994)
11) Buddy X (Masters At Work R&B Version): Neneh Cherry (1993)
12) Had You In Me: Neneh Cherry ft. Tricky (1998)
 
Volume Two
1) Bob Hope Takes Risks (12" Version): Rip Rig + Panic (1981)
2) Slow Train To Dawn (12" Version): The The ft. Neneh Cherry (1986)
3) Dream Baby Dream (Remixed By Four Tet aka Kieran Hebden) (Cover of Suicide): Neneh Cherry & The Thing (2012)
4) Crack Baby: Neneh Cherry (1996)
5) Koochie (Air Remix By Jean-Benoît Dunckel & Nicolas Godin): Neneh Cherry (1997)
6) Together Now: Nearly God ft. Neneh Cherry (1996)
7) Everything (Vilod High Blood Pressure Mix By Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer): Neneh Cherry (2014)
8) Accordion (Jim O'Rourke Remix): Neneh Cherry & The Thing (2012)
9) Manchild (Smith N Mighty Remix By Rob Smith & Ray Mighty): Neneh Cherry (1989)
10) Woman (La Funk Mob Remix): Neneh Cherry (1998)
 
Volume One (1:04:26) (KF) (Mega)
Volume Two (1:01:54) (KF) (Mega)