Tonight, For The Last Time, Nothing Can Stop Us

My second post of today is dedicated to the headline act at the Bristol Beacon on Wednesday evening. Have you guessed who it is yet?

No? Well, here's another clue...

Yes, the stars of the show were Saint Etienne, on their (sniff) final UK tour. Yet, as Sarah Cracknell replied to the collective sigh of sadness to this announcement, "this is a celebration!"

And boy, wasn't it just.

Coming on to their epic 1991 single Filthy, Saint Etienne launched into Tonight, from 2012's Words And Music. Earlier, Jane Weaver (what a support act!) had promised we were in for a treat, "a night of bangers" no less, and she was not mistaken.

Tonight had barely finished before Like A Motorway came pulsing in. One of my all-time favourite Saint Etienne songs, in a blistering hot live version. 

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted that Sarah, Bob and Pete were joined not only by long-term honorary member Debsey Wykes but also Loz Colbert from Ride on drums. 

Having seen Loz guest with The Charlatans in December 2025 and perform with his own band in September 2024, he's higher up my list of most watched artists that many of my other favourite artists!

I didn't catch the band introductions over the applause , but I think it was Augustin Bousfield to the left of Debsey and in front of me, on violin and a variety of guitars. 

Sarah was in good form, both on and in between the songs. "I'm looking at my setlist and it says 'Chat'", she informs us before apologising for talking rubbish. Did we mind? Of course we didn't!

The BPMs were high as so was the mood, as the set continued through deep cuts like Spring from Foxbase Alpha (1991) and Shower Scene from Finisterre (2002) to recent singles Glad and Brand New Me from last year's final album, International. 

The crowd went absolutely bonkers when the latter was followed by sampled voice saying, "cigarette", heralding Mario's Café from 1993's So Tough, the first Saint Etienne album that I bought. Earlier, Sarah dedicated the album's UK #12 hit single You're In A Bad Way "to Ed Sheeran".

After a third song from International, the Paul Hartnoll co-write, Take Me To The Pilot, familiar beats kicked in and Debsey whipped out a melodica to play those oh-so-recognisable chords. 

Yes, the inevitable and much-anticipated performance of their breakthrough hit, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, but wonderfully based on Andrew Weatherall's remix, which took the Neil Young original even further, weaving in samples of Jean Binta Breeze and the Augustus Pablo-inspired melodica. Saint Etienne may have been playing this version for the first time, on every tour since 1990 for all I know. All that matters is that they played it tonight and honoured The Guv'nor by doing so.

Whilst there were no appearances from Q-Tee, Confidence Man or Étienne Daho, Debsey and Loz were more than enough. But there was more. 

Catching up with social media the following day, I spotted a FB post from Keeley Morris, whose music I like very much, with photos of the gig, including this one, introducing "a sweet cat named Mike" on the left.

 

Look familiar? No? Here's one of my photos from the Jane Weaver post when I arrived for the gig. And look who's standing in the foreground.

So, it turns out that I was dancing behind Keeley and Mike for the whole night. I wish I'd realised and said hello! What I will say is that Keeley was wearing a spectacular glittery jacket (not pictured) when Saint Etienne came out and she stopped dancing only for the occasional photo or a cup of water handed out by security staff. Legend!

Even Jane Weaver got in on the act, with this rather beautiful shot of the concert in full swing, from the rear of the stalls. I really love the Beacon Hall space and Saint Etienne were raising the temperature with each song.

After an unexpected outing for Stormtrooper In Drag, which I first heard on a Gary Numan tribute album in 1997, the set came to a close with He's On The Phone. As mentioned sadly no Étienne Daho, but they did mash the song up wth 7 Ways To Love, a hit for Cola Boy which Bob and Pete co-wrote. The night started in 1991 and ended in 1991, time-hopping all over the place in between, a joyful ride.

There was a very brief stage exit, Saint Etienne returned for a two-song encore, both all the more poignant, given the occasion. Sarah sported her beloved feather boa (dedicated to Marc Bolan) and the backdrop screen began showing photos and stills from Saint Etienne's rich history, as they played The Last Time for, well, the last time in Bristol.

It's a wonderful closer to a wonderful album, International being a highlight of a career of countless highlights. 

Before we got maudlin though - this is a celebration, remember? - the familiar rhythm of Nothing Can Stop Us kicked in, taking us back, one last time, to 1991.

Then it was over, the house lights came on, and we all shuffled out, knowing that we had all shared in something truly remarkable. Sarah, Bob, Pete, Debsey, Agustin and Loz sent us into the stratosphere, caught us when we fell back to earth, and lowered us gently to ground, never to forget.

What I'll also never forget is that I spent the entire night dancing like it was 1991 again and I was a twenty year old. 

What I'll also also never forget is that, when I arrived home and Mrs. K was confronted by a sweat-drenched, frizzy-haired grinning loon, my brain chose that moment to cut the supply of adrenalin and remind me that I am not a twenty year old raver, but a fifty-five year old whose body is no longer fit for this sustained abuse.

My hips, my knees and my neck still ache, as I finish writing this, four days later. I don't regret a thing. 

....

In recreating the setlist for this Dubhed selection, I decided to open with Filthy, even though they didn't perform it live, because it's just too good to leave off. I also swapped the original 1991 album version of Spring for the 2009 remix by Air France; likewise, a David Penn remix on last year's Brand New Me EP meant that I could shoehorn in 7 Ways To Love at the end.

Only Love Can Break Your Heart could only be the Andrew Weatherall remix, given the version played on the night, and I've opted for Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood's Two Lone Swordmen remix of Heart Failed (In The Back Of A Taxi) which for me is the definitive take of the song.

All together, the selection more or less matches the 90 minute running time of the Saint Etienne show. I can't recreate the euphoria of the packed house, but the music speaks for itself.

What a way to bow out.

1) Filthy (Single Version ft. Q-Tee) (1991)

2) Tonight (Album Version) (2012)

3) Like A Motorway (Rick Smith Mix) (1994)

4) Spring (Air France Remix) (2009)

5) Glad (Album Version) (2025)

6) You're In A Bad Way (Single Version) (1993)

7) Shower Scene (Album Version) (2002)

8) Who Do You Think You Are (Single Version ft. Debsey Wykes) (Cover of Cover of Candlewick Green) (1993)

9) Heart Failed (In The Back Of A Taxi) (Two Lone Swordsmen Mix) (2000)

10) Pale Movie (Album Version) (1994)

11) Brand New Me (Album Version) (Saint Etienne x Confidence Man) (2025)

12) Mario's Cafe (Album Version) (1993)

13) Take Me To The Pilot (Album Version) (2025)

14) Only Love Can Break Your Heart (A Mix Of Two Halves By Andrew Weatherall ft. Moira Lambert) (Cover of Neil Young) (1990)

15) DJ (Album Version) (2012)

16) Stormtrooper In Drag ('Continental' Edit) (Cover of Paul Gardiner ft. Gary Numan) (1997)

17) He's On The Phone (Radio Edit By Motiv 8 ft. Etienne Daho) (1995)

18) 7 Ways To Love (David Penn Remix) (Cover of Cola Boy) (2025)

19) The Last Time (Album Version) (2025)

20) Nothing Can Stop Us (Album Version) (1991)

Tonight, For The Last Time, Nothing Can Stop Us (1:27:41) (GD) (M)

I was too busy dancing and cheering to attempt any photos, so I am hugely appreciative for the excellent pics taken by:

Michael Walker: 1, 5

Georgie Flawn: 2

Chris Hunt: 3, 9

Loz Harris: 4

Keeley Moss: 6

Jane Weaver: 8

Heart(Ag)low

On Wednesday evening, I zipped down the M5 to see Jane Weaver at the Bristol Beacon.

A big deal for me as I had tickets for Jane's gig at Komedia in Bath last April and I had to bail at the last minute due to a(nother) family crisis. So this was not only a chance to make amends, it was also my first time seeing Jane live in concert.

Quite the turnout, and quite the view from the far reaches of the Beacon balcony, isn't it?

Fortunately, I was in the standing/stalls area, about three deep from the stage, and my walk up a few minutes before show time was a little less obstructed.

Jane and the band came on stage, said hello and then launched into Quantify, her standalone single from 2024. From there on in, the audience was captivated. 

The band were on it: Joel Nicholson (guitar), Matt Grayson (bass) and Andrew Cheetham (drums, out of shot to the right of this photo and in my direct line of sight). Jane was coughing a fair bit between songs and maybe not 100%, but you would not know from her singing, her voice floating up and down and through the songs that was seemingly effortless.

The set itself was a heady mix of music from the last decade or so, two each from still-current album Love In Constant Spectacle, Modern Kosmology and The Silver Globe. Only one from Flock, which was my proper entry point to Jane's music in 2021, but when that one is Heartlow, how could I complain?

Jane apologised for not moving about as much as usual, due to a "very slippery" stage, but the performance was so dynamic that I didn't notice and I'm not sure anyone else did either. I was transported to a world where magic could happen and I didn't want to leave.

Sadly, it was over too soon and Jane, Joel, Matt and Andrew left the stage to rapturous applause, we were all aware that this was a special night and it was great to be a part of it.

My recreation of the setlist cannot fully do it justice, simply because the live performances were so fantastic. However, I have dropped in a session version of Perfect Storm for Marc Riley and Gideon Coe's BBC Radio 6 show, the extended 'Loops Variation' of Slow Motion and partner Andy Votel's remix of 2017 single The Architect to add an extra dimension. I love it.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that, incredibly, Jane Weaver was the support act.

Come back later today to see what I thought of the headliners.

1) Quantify (2024)

2) Perfect Storm (Riley & Coe Session) (2024)

3) Heartlow (2021)

4) Love in Constant Spectacle (2024)

5) Slow Motion (Loops Variation) (2019)

6) Mission Desire (2014)

7) The Architect (Andy Votel's Brutaliszt 250KG Readymix) (2017)

8) I Need A Connection (2015)

2014: The Silver Globe: 6

2015: The Amber Light: 8

2017: The Architect EP: 7

2019: Loops In The Secret Society: 5

2021: Flock: 3

2024: Love In Constant Spectacle: 4

2024: Quantify / Deep Perelle EP: 1

2024: Riley & Coe Session, BBC Radio 6, 8th April 2024: 2

Heart(Ag)low (43:30) (GD) (M)

Apart from my photo of the gathering crowd at stage front, a big thanks to Guy Cooper and Martin Copcutt for the additional photos, posted on Facebook following the gig. 

Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire

Beck to the rescue, as I've been unable to complete my planned post for today. If I can get my shit together, it will mean a double post for Sunday, which is a win-win, right?

Run Away appears on Beck's latest album Ride Lonesome and was released as a single on Friday. I'm aware that it's not the first single or video to come out, but it's the first that I've heard. 

If Run Away is indicative of Ride Lonesome as a whole, then we're revisiting contemplative/wistful/acoustic-and-strings Beck, which is no bad thing. I've never become obsessive about any particular Beck album or phase, but I like the fact that he moves around from time to time, sometimes breaking new ground, sometimes returning to and embellishing his previous narratives.

Run Away might not be the most memorable song in the Beck catalogue, but it's a pleasant listen. If John Lewis picked this for their Christmas TV ad campaign, it wouldn't sound out of place, but would make a welcome change from the downtempo cover versions that are often the go-to picks.

As this played out on YT, here are some of the other fresh picks from the past week or so that were stuck in the sidebar, trying to attract my attention.

That was Matt Berninger with Ask For Water, from the Type It Up EP. I know there's a lot of love for The National, including in this corner of the blogosphere, but I'm largely ignorant of their music. A quick check and I have the Cherry Tree EP from 2004, and a bunch of random songs, which suggests that the majority of these have come from music magazine cover mounted CDs. 

I have one Matt Berninger song in my collection - My Eyes Are T-Shirts - with the album listed as "The National: Uncut 2023", so this is definitely from a freebie CD. Ask For Water is considerably more uptempo and rockier than the latter, but I can't really tell you how much of a departure this is from Matt's day job. Good song, though.

I haven't listened to new Ash music in ages, so I was looking forward to listening to their latest release, Bittersweet Blue. Whilst Tim, Mark and Rick now look like a trio of guys in their late forties, the song sounded like the band that I first heard in the late 1990s.

Then I read the small print and realised that Bittersweet Blue was written and recorded in 1996 but didn't make the cut for debut album 1977. Well, kind of.

In fact, all that made it to tape was "a usable drum take, bass, some rhythm guitars, a scratch vocal and not much else. Not even lyrics."

So, arguably Bittersweet Blue is a new song, it just took 30 years to finish writing and recording it. Well worth the wait, if you ask me.

Did you like Lykke Li? Or were you sick of Sick Of Love? I'm firmly in the former camp, a big fan of Lykke and glad that she's back. This is the Mura Masa remix of the track and whilst it sounds like it could have come out at any point in the last 25 years, it presses all the right buttons for me. I found the video exhausting, though. I hope they reached their destination on time.

The hipsters out there will already know that ohayoumadayarou (おはようまだやろう) is the solo music project of MC Rachel (渡賀レイチェル) from the Japanese rap duo chelmico. 

The single mo osoi was created in collaboration with producer Esme Mori (エズミ・モリ). Sadly, no official website or Bandcamp presence that I can see, so I am going to have to dip into Apple Music to buy this one.

YT was also trying to persuade me to share Midge Ure's newly recorded cover of Fade To Grey, the song he co-wrote for Visage and a cornerstone of the New Romantic movement.

After my initial reaction of "Why?", i had a listen but didn't make it past the first chorus. I'll leave it for you decide if you want to try it. Apparently, this is from a forthcoming compilation of Midge's 80s catalogue, called Chapters. 

Disc 2 of the 3CD version has piqued my curiosity, as it comprises reworks and remixes by 'connected' artists, including Richard Barbieri, Steve Jansen, Craig Armstrong, Blank & Jones and Wolfgang Flür. Now, if these tracks are available individually, I'd be more interested...

To Hull And Back

I was hooked on Chiedu Oraka's new single Cocoa Butter on the first listen less than 24 hours ago, and the video, reimagining America's Wild West "somewhere in the east of Yorkshire", is great.

Cocoa Butter is the lead track from the Kwechiri EP, out on 18th November, but in the meantime I've checked out Chiedu on Bandcamp and there's over a decade of music to be found and enjoyed. Like 2024 single Counselling, for example.

If you think that's good, imagine what Counselling would sound like, performed live in the room with an 8-piece orchestra. Actually, you don't need to imagine, Chiedu did it.

Hailing from Hull, the self-titled Black Yorkshireman blends compelling tunes with incisive, unflinching lyrics , all delivered with with his distinctive regional accent. "You're too high...if you're saying I'm too Yorkshire to sound black."

Another standout track from my limited dive so far is Kid From The Estate, from 2025's Undeniable EP. A sharp production by Deezkid and the memorable line,

"I'll tell you something, I'm not Craig David, so don't expect me there on a Sunday."

However, Cocoa Butter provides reassurance that today is good, as "Every day's Friday, call me Chris Tucker".

Chris Tucker, The Black Yorkshireman, Chiedu Oraka. Call him what you will, but his music speaks for itself. 

Comfortingly Discordant

Today's post title is the first comment left on the YT posting of TV Priest's new single, Just So You Know, left by @psydefekct

I know naff all about TV Priest, so here are 8 facts that a 2 minute internet trawl unearthed. Some of these may be true.

1) TV Priest formed 2019, as a four-piece comprising Charlie Drinkwater (vocals), Alex Sprogis (guitar), Nic Bueth (bass, keyboards) and Ed Kelland (drums). The four had known each other since they were 11 years old and, prior to forming TV Priest, had played together in various bands.

2) Officially, TV Priest's live debut took place inside a disused industrial freezer in Hackney, London, in November 2019. There's no record of how people turned up...or who let them out after the gig.

3) That gig - and their early music - was sufficient to attract the interest of Sub Pop Records, who signed TV Priest and released their debut album Uppers in 2021.

4) Although Uppers was pretty much fully written and recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it's release was delayed, meaning that TV Priest had to promote the album entirely from home during lockdowns. 

5) When not fronting TV Priest, Charlie Drinkwater's other occupation is as a visual artist and designer. Aside from the band's artwork, he has designed album covers for other artists, including A Hero's Death by Fontaines D.C., The Art Of The Lie by John Grant, Sucker Punch by Sigrid and Cannonball by Man/Woman/Chanisaw.

6) Following an exhausting promotional cycle and tour for second album, My Other People, throughout 2022, Nic and Ed departed from the band. TV Priest has returned with Just So You Know, a precursor to new album Cartoons, as a duo of Charlie and Alex.

7) Cartoons is out on 6th November, described as a concept album tracking the "daily unspooling of the worlds we thought we knew" and framing modern life as "a cartoonish struggle between surveillance, sanctuary, and increasingly blurred lines between heroes and villains."

8) TV Priest will also be taking to the road to promote Cartoons. starting with an album release day gig at Rough Trade in London. Bristol gets not one but two shows: Rough Trade Bristol (9th Nov) and The Louisiana (25th Jan).

This is a song about leisure

Our fears and pleasure

Automatic dreams

And 65” screens

Just so you know

Just so you know

Just so you know

You can reach me any time

Darling, you’re not the first to own the night

But maybe

We are the first to notice the price

And I am,

The lounge lizard by the lagoon

And I am,

Our ruined honeymoon

And I am,

Your ticket to the moon

(Hey hey hey)

Just so you know

Just so you know

Just so you know

You can reach me any time

There’s a drive-thru at the end of the world

And it’s waiting to take our order

There’s a brass section at the bottom of this barrel

And it’s playing at our funeral!

There’s a drive-thru at the end of the world

And it’s waiting to take our order

There’s a brass section at the bottom of my bottle

And it’s playing at your funeral!

Just so you know

Just so you know

Just so you know

You can reach me any time

What's Your Destination?

When ABC returned in 1985 with a new line-up comprising founder members Martin Fry and Mark White, plus David Yarritu and Eden aka Fiona Russell Powell, it seemed to be met with an unfair level of sniffiness.

Admittedly, ABC had set the bar impossibly high with their debut album The Lexicon Of Love a mere three years previously and the follow up, Beauty Stab, but commercially speaking, less successfully attempt to do something different.

Third album, How To Be A Zillionaire, was somewhere between the two: songs were peppered with classic ABC musical motifs, Fry's lyrics were typically sharp but accessible; on the other hand, the production reflected the shift in the times and the image...? Well, could it have been more mid-80s/MTV-friendly?

I think some of the ire directed at ABC may have been because the newbies weren't 'proper musicians': David Yarritu was a photographer, Eden a journalist. But what did it matter, really? 

The singles were great, the look was striking, not just Eden and Yarritu, but Mark White with his Tin Tin quiff and Martin Fry swapping his gold lamé suit for drainpipe trousers and a huge belt circling an impossibly thin waist.

There were four singles from How To Be A Zillionaire, only one of which cracked the Top 30, peaking at 26 in April 1985, two places higher than the parent album six months later.

Be Near Me is one of my favourite ABC songs. Although I didn't buy my own copy on 12" until a few years later, I was surprised to find that it wasn't a bigger hit at the time. Then again, the competition at the top was stiff: Philip Bailey & Phil Collins, Pie Jesu by Sarah Brightman, Tears For Fears and Go West; even the #2 success of the umpteenth single from Frankie Goes To Hollywood's debut album was also a sign that the wheels were coming off the bus.

A couple of years later, ABC would have another hit single (When Smokey Sings) and Top 10 album (Alphabet City), but Be Near Me stands out as a classic single that should have been on the radio everywhere back in 1985.

Feline Groovy

"Losing a cat is like losing a lover", opines Momus in the opening line of his new song, Lost Cat. 

I have checked and Catty K is accounted for, seemingly comatose about three metres from where I'm sitting, but for the odd whimper as she no doubt dreams of small mammal massacre (thankfully not something that she is in any way competent at in the waking world).

Lost Cat's intro misdirected me towards This Is The Day by The The merged with Fade Into You by Mazzy Star, but is of course neither and plays out like a downbeat, forlorn neighbour of Jellypop Perky Jean by Julian Cope. Well, it's about a lost cat for goodness sake, it would be forlorn, wouldn't it?

It also got me thinking of other cats in my music collection, though no Stray Cats, you may be disappointed to read.

I included Pussycat by Mulu in the second of my recent #HappyMusic selections. My go to is the jaunty 12" remix by François Kevorkian. There is a version on YT, which rather clumsily edits the original video to fit a radio edit of FK's mix.

Me'Shell NdegéOcello has been releasing a series of collaborations which presumably will make up a forthcoming album. In keeping with today's theme, one of those partners is - unexpectedly and delightfully - Cat Power (well, I featured Cat Stevens yesterday).

Even more unexpectedly, they duet on a cover of Don't You Want Me by The Human League. Despite a bassline to die for, I'm still deciding whether Meshell and Cat's version is better or worse than the 1992 effort by The Farm....

I've been revisiting Gavin Friday's 1995 album Shag Tobacco in the past few weeks. I love all of Gavin's solo records, but I think this edges it as my favourite. A highlight amongst highlights is the cabaret wa-hey-hey of Mr. Pussy. I've no idea what the source of this video is, but it's both ill-fitting and morbidly fascinating.

My last offering really needs no introduction, it's The Lovecats by The Cure. This was the first record of theirs that I bought, on German import 12" vinyl from HMV, sometime in 1987. At the time, I plumped for this over the (then) new release Why Can't I Be You? No regrets.

Apologies to any visitors who are allergic to cats, this blog will be a feline free zone tomorrow.

Tinkling The Ivories

Whether it's 'tinkling' or 'tickling' seems to depend on where you live, but in this neck of the woods, it's always been 'tinkle'. And in my experience, there has never been any confusion with the other application of 'tinkle', resulting in riotous scenes of grown men pissing on pianos with impunity.

But I digress. Today's selection collects thirteen songs that prominently feature the piano, although I suspect that some of you may also consider it's a lot of piss.

To focus my attention, I imposed three basic criteria:

1) songs released between 1968 and 1979;

2) UK Top 20 singles only; and

3) one song per artist or band.

Much as I'm happy to listen to Metal Machine Music, Throbbing Gristle or Coil, I am also not adverse to music that Mama and Papa K would find more palatable. I don't own a single album by Cat Stevens, Elton John, Supertramp, Billy Joel or Gilbert O'Sullivan. The Beatles and David Bowie are very well represented in my collection; Aretha,  Carole and Carly less so. However, they all have a place in today's lucky 13.

I decided to beat the Monday blues by booking today as holiday. In reality, I think this will just mean that Tuesday will feel like Monday at work, though I will have a shorter week to compensate.

And how will I be spending my precious day off? Replacing a toilet seat and some wall tiles, painting a door, and cancelling my credit card as some b'stard nicked my details and treated themselves to Dominos pizza and Uber rides in London at the weekend. 

What a rock and roll lifestyle I lead...!

1) Lady Madonna: The Beatles (1968) (#1)

2) I Say A Little Prayer (Cover of Dionne Warwick): Aretha Franklin (1968) (#4)

3) Killer Queen: Queen (1974) (#2)

4) Something In The Air: Thunderclap Newman (1969) (#1)

5) Morning Has Broken: Cat Stevens (1972) (#9)

6) Life On Mars?: David Bowie (1971) (#3, July 1973)

7) It's Too Late: Carole King (1971) (#6)

8) You're So Vain: Carly Simon (1972) (#3)

9) Your Song: Elton John (1970) (#4)

10) The Logical Song: Supertramp (1979) (#7)

11) Without You (Cover of Badfinger): Nilsson (1971) (#1)

12) Just The Way You Are: Billy Joel (1977) (#19, Feb 1978)

13) Alone Again (Naturally): Gilbert O'Sullivan (1972) (#3)

1968: Aretha Now: 2

1968: Lady Madonna EP: 1

1969: Hollywood Dream: 4

1970: Elton John: 9

1971: Hunky Dory: 6

1971: Nilsson Schmilsson: 11

1971: Tapestry: 7

1971: Teaser And The Firecat: 5

1972: Alone Again (Naturally) EP: 13

1972: No Secrets: 8

1974: Sheer Heart Attack: 3

1977: The Stranger: 12

1979: Breakfast In America: 10

Tinkling The Ivories (47:38) (GD) (M)

Dub '96

An hour of dub not dub today, with a 10-song selection of remixes circa 1996.

Dub '96 follows the tradition of previous Dubhed excursions to 1983 and 1985 (twice), with a varied (re)mix of indie and electronic music, all put through the club/dub filter.

Everything But The Girl were partying like it was, er, 1999, teaming up with Spring Hill Jack for the drum and bass-infused title track of their Walking Wounded album. 

Dubstar called Mother... no, not theirs, the DJ/producer duo of Jools Brettle & Lee Fisher... to take their single Stars into space, a dub oddity if you will.

18 Wheeler on the other hand stayed on terra firma, getting Greg Hunter in to dub their single, transforming it into Beyond The Valley Of The Hours And The Times, in homage to Russ Meyer's 1970 film Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls.

Inspired by Dubstar, The Beloved were visited by one half of Deep Dish, the fortuitously named Dubfire (Ali to his ioved ones) to go even further with Three Steps To Heaven. Unfortunately, the record label didn't approve and the remix remained unreleased for many years.

Alter Ego proposed getting out of their heads on Mescal, or should that be Mezcal? You may be interested to know that all tequila is a type of mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila. Two Lone Swordsmen create a suitably out of body dub.

From out of their heads to Out Of This World by Republica. This remix was originally released as a promo 12" in 1994, back when The Chemical Brothers were still blagging it as The Dust Brothers, until The Dust Brothers found out and told them to stop. The dub remix turned up on a single in 1996... at least that's what it said on the sleeve. Turns out it was actually April 1997. Ooops!

Grace was a project for Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne, who recorded Not Over Yet in 1993. It wasn't a major hit until 1995, by which time original vocalist Patti Low had departed. Subsequent singles were led by Dominique Atkins, although it was "all over" for Grace by 1997.

Innerzone Orchestra is a collective pulled together by electronic music pioneer Carl Craig. Bug In The Bassbin is perhaps their most well-known track, with a slew of remixes. I only released after I'd completed this selection that the Graphic Dub included here is supposed to be 5 minutes long. My CD rip is a smidge over 1 minute. Ooops!

It's that guy Steve Osborne again, this time remixing indie legends Lush. Again, another quirk in my digital music collection. The original running time was listed as 10:51, until I realised that the file was corrupted. One refresh later and the track is 6:31 as it should be. Housekeeping, eh?

To finish, The Big Man And The Scream Team Meet The Barmy Army Uptown, Primal Scream teaming up with Denise Johnson and Irvine Welsh, for one of the best football related songs of all. This dub is about as close to the dub genre as you'll get today, no surprise when it's Adrian Sherwood at the controls.

Continuing the tradition of the previous Dub '80s posts, I've resurrected my shameless rip off of Rol's far more inspired Saturday morning quiz over at My Top Ten.

The only prize for participating is the knowledge that somehow you have made it to the end of the five questions (and this post) with your sanity intact. 

Answers will be posted in the Comments below on Monday morning.

1) Which band member, now an acclaimed author, denounced The Beatles as “the absolute curse of modern Indie music”, citing their favourite Beatle as Yoko Ono?

2) When asked what they would do when their music career slowed down, who said that they would take a 6-month course in dry stone walling and set up a 24-hour emergency repair service, using a 3-wheeled motor trike?

3) Whose autobiography is titled Patient?

4) Which song had three videos made, one in a disused swimming pool in Hackney, another in Badwater Basin in Death Valley, California, and the third and final one in a London studio, for it's re-release as a single?

5) Who appeared in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice whilst still in the womb?

1) Walking Wounded (Spring Heel Jack Dub Mix By Ashley Wales & John Coxon): Everything But The Girl (Walking Wounded EP)

2) Stars (Mother Dub Mix By Jools Brettle & Lee Fisher) (Extended Album Version): Dubstar (Disgraceful/The Mixes (Expanded 2CD Edition))

3) Beyond The Valley Of The Hours And The Times (Greg Hunter In Dub Mix): 18 Wheeler (The Hours And The Times EP)

4) Three Steps To Heaven (Dubfire's Paradise Dub) (Remix By Ali Shirazinia): The Beloved (X Remixed (unreleased promo mixes))

5) Mescal (2 Lone Swordsmen Dub) (Remix By Andrew Weatherall & Keith Tenniswood) (Full Length): Alter Ego (Peppered With Spastic Magic: A Collection Of Two Lone Swordsmen Remixes)

6) Out Of This World (Chemical Brothers Dub) (Remix By Ed Simons & Tom Rowlands): Republica (Drop Dead Gorgeous EP)

7) Not Over Yet (BT's Peyote Dub) (Remix By Brian Transeau): Grace (Not Over Yet EP)

8) Bug In The Bassbin (Graphic Dub) (Remix By Claude Young): Innerzone Orchestra (Bug In The Bassbin EP)

9) Last Night (Hexadecimal Dub Mix By Steve Osborne): Lush (Last Night EP)

10) The Big Man And The Scream Team Meet The Barmy Army Uptown (Full Strength Fortified Dub) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood): Primal Scream ft. Denise Johnson & Irvine Welsh (The Big Man And The Scream Team Meet The Barmy Army Uptown EP)

Dub '96 (1:01:38) (GD) (M)

And if that's not enough dub for one day, here are my three '80s dub selections to date:

Dub '83 (September 2023)

Dub '85 (January 2025)

Double Dub '85 (April 2025)

Rewired, Reworked And Remixed

Danny Briottet has revived Renegade Soundwave with a package of upcoming 'rewires' by an impressive roster including Carl Cox, Leftfield, Don Letts & Gaudi, Mark Archer (Altern8) and Nookie. Kicking things off, Leeroy Thornhill, formerly of The Prodigy, transforms their seminal track Ozone Breakdown. 

Like Fluke's recently released The Second Bite and it's remix companion, Danny has re-recorded 15 Renegade Soundwave tracks and and handed the stems over. If Ozone Breakdown is anything to go by, Renegade Soundwave Rewired will be a must purchase.

Inspired by this, I've pulled seven other reworks and remixes from the last decade and a half that have floated my boat and are readily available on Bandcamp.

The selection starts with Special Request aka Paul Woolford taking on The Grid's epic track Floatation. Bearing in mind that Dave Ball and Richard Norris wrote it, Andrew Weatherall co-remixed the original, and Prins Thomas updated it, these are big footsteps to follow. No problem. Floatation becomes a 13-minute trip into space, NASA dialogue and all, that takes it's time but is all the better for it.

The remaining edits and remixes feature a diverse cast including Sparks, The xx, Leftfield, Jimmy Cliff covering The Clash, and Misled Convoy and Uncle Fester On Acid dubbing up Dub Syndicate and Bim Sherman covering Lloyds Parks.

Arguably the most unexpected of all is Leonard Cohen, not the first artist you think of when compiling a Balearic chill out perhaps, but hey if it worked for Chris Rea, why not? DJ Pantelis has (excuse the pun) hit the right note with his remix of Cohen's 1984 song Dance Me To The End Of Love. 

1) Floatation (SR Offworld Mix By Special Request): The Grid ft. Sacha Souter (2019)

2) My Other Voice (Kommissar Keller Edit): Sparks (2025)

3) Ozone Breakdown (Leeroy Thornhill Rewire) (Extended): Renegade Soundwave (2026)

4) Shelter (Nebulist Remix By Baz Popiolek): The xx (2014)

5) Not Forgotten (HUD Remix By Neil Hudson): Leftfield (2026)

6) Dance Me To The End Of Love (DJ Pantelis Remix): Leonard Cohen (2025)

7) Guns Of Brixton (Kinky Electric Noise Remix By Ken Arguelles): Jimmy Cliff (2012)

8) Mafia (Dub Remix By Misled Convoy x Uncle Fester On Acid): Dub Syndicate ft. Bim Sherman (Cover of Lloyd Parks) (2021)