Another Modern Dance

Back to 1981 and the rest of K-Tel's Modern Dance compilation, originally featured last month. As with the previous selection, I've split the original, crammed vinyl Side 1 into two, expanding a few tracks into the more spacious 12" versions. Quiet Life was first released as a B-side in 1980, but it's re-release as an A-side in September 1981 saw it reach #19 in the UK, their biggest hit until Ghosts the following year. I think I've cheated a bit with the John 'Tokes' Potoker remix of Heaven 17, as I don't think it's from 1981. My (now very crackly) vinyl version came from the Contenders 12" double pack single and it featured simultaneously on their Endless remix cassette, both from 1986, but I prefer it to the original 12" version, so here it is. Sweat In Bullet was the first Simple Minds 12" I bought, albeit probably also circa 1985-86, but what a song. My copy used to jump part way through, and I remember having to weight the needle with a blob of Blu Tack to get an uninterrupted play. The Garden was the first John Foxx album I bought, mainly for the single which I'd seen on Top Of The Pops. A surprise to find three decades on that it only got to #40 at the time. She's Got Claws suffered a particularly harsh K-Tel cut to less than three and half minutes on the original album, so I've gone to the other extreme with this selection and included the full 12" version which clocks in at over six minutes. 

 

Modern Dance is one of a few compilations that have stayed with me over the years, none of the songs becoming over familiar or overplayed. 1981 was a great year for slightly off-kilter pop music.

 

Side One (22:41)

1) Joan Of Arc (Album Version): O.M.D. (1981)

2) Quiet Life (7" Version): Japan (1980)

3) Love Action (I Believe In Love) (12" Edit): The Human League (1981)

4) Penthouse And Pavement (12" Mix By John 'Tokes' Potoker): Heaven 17 (1981)

5) New Life (Remix): Depeche Mode (1981)

Side Two (21:26)

1) Sweat In Bullet (Remix): Simple Minds (1981)

2) Europe After The Rain (Album Version): John Foxx (1981)

3) Charlotte Sometimes (Single Version): The Cure (1981)

4) She's Got Claws (Extended): Gary Numan (1981)

 

Side One (22:41)

Side Two (21:26)