Strangely Committed

Back to our irregularly scheduled programme with Julian Cope, remixed!

In 2015, Strictly Rockers offered an embarrassment of Arch Drude riches courtesy of The Vinyl Villain, with a series of Imaginary Compilation Albums that included Cope Remixed, a pretty definitive take that featured the following selection:

1) Pussyface (Remixed)

2) World Shut Your Mouth (Julian Cope vs. Trouble Funk) (12" Mix)

3) Trampolene Warne Out! (Long Version)

4) Eve's Volcano 'Covered In Sin' / !Vulcano Lungo! (Extended Remix)

5) Love L.U.V. (Beautiful Love Version)

6) East Easy Rider (Easty Risin' Remix)

7) Heed: Of Penetration And The City Dweller (Head Remix)

8) Soldier Blue (Mix 1 By Michael Franti)

9) Paranormal In The West Country (Krankenhausmusik)

10) Planetary Sit-In (Radio Sit-In Remix)

It's hard to top that, not least because there generally aren't that many JC remixes out there, official, unreleased or fan-made, to begin with. Several of them also hit the 20-30 minute mark, so were out of the running for this C90-friendly selection. I've managed to keep duplicates of the above to a minimum, even if I have stretched the definition of a remix slightly (*cough* Treason in French *cough*).

 

Hugo Nicholson turns in a couple of stunning remixes of singles from the classic Peggy Suicide album (a third, Head, has appeared on a previous Dubhed selection). The French language version of Treason originally featured as a B-side on the 12" single whilst the remix/re-edit of Tiny Children was available online (possibly still is) via Soundcloud or the Head Heritage forum at the time. Likewise, the dance remix of O King Of Chaos is a fan-made effort that was doing the rounds online a few years back.

 

In 1991, Michael Franti, then riding high with The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, delivered a trio of remixes of another Peggy Suicide highlight, the Lenny Bruce-sampling Soldier Blue. Sadly, none of them were officially remixed but thankfully made their way online where I found them over a decade later. All three are quite similar, mainly varying in running time. Mix 3 is the longest, coming in at just under 8 minutes, replete with a brilliant rap from Mr. Franti himself.

Jezebell remixes and re-edits are always a treat and Safesurfer might have been the very first of theirs that I heard. It's still available, together with a dub mix by The Machine Soul, as a 'name your price' purchase on the wonderful Paisley Dark Records Bandcamp page.

A couple of '80s classics to close, with Eve's Volcano given extra percussive heft courtesy of Tom Lord-Alge and Trouble Funk remixing World Shut Your Mouth. The latter is the shorter, punchier 7" mix from the B-side of the limited edition 12" single.

So sit back, let M'Lud Julian take the driver's seat of the bus and take you into strange new landscapes. Refunds not available for this trip.

1) Love L.U.V. (Beautiful Love Version By Hugo Nicholson): Julian Cope (1991)

2) Safesurfer (Jezebell Edit By Jesse Fahnestock & Darren Bell): Julian Cope (2021)

3) Traison (C'est Juste Une Histoire) (Remixed Version By Hugh Jones): The Teardrop Explodes (1981)

4) O King Of Chaos (Dance Remix By Louis Scheuer): Julian Cope (2011)

5) Soldier Blue (Mix 3 By Michael Franti) (unreleased): Julian Cope (1991)

6) Tiny Children (Parjo1 Re-Edit): The Teardrop Explodes (2015)

7) Eve's Volcano 'Covered In Sin' / !Vulcano Lungo! (Extended Remix By Tom Lord-Alge): Julian Cope (1987)

8) East Easy Rider (Easty Risin' Remix Edit By Hugo Nicolson): Julian Cope (1991)

9) World Shut Your Mouth (Julian Cope vs. Trouble Funk) (7" Mix): Julian Cope (1986)

Strangely Committed (46:31) (KF) (Mega)