Daylight Saving

Seventy four minutes of Ultramarine aka Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond.

I think the first music I heard of theirs would have been the single Kingdom featuring Robert Wyatt, released in the summer of 1993. It was like nothing else I'd heard: an adaptation of a 19th century song, sung by the man I'd first encountered on Top Of The Pops, performing Shipbuilding, backed by music that was contemporary electronica yet pastoral and folky. I was hooked.

Ian and Paul have been making music together for over four decades now, initially as part of 5-piece A Primary Industry, who released a trio of singles and a sole album in 1986 titled, you guessed it, Ultramarine. Their debut album Folk emerged in 1990, they had a 13-year 'break' between 1998 and 2011, and their most recent release was a remix EP of $10 Heel (featuring Anna Domino) in 2022. 

 

In between, there have been multiple albums, EPs, remixes and collaborations. Far too many to reliably cover in a 12-song selection, but here's my attempt to capture the sunshine.

 

Robert Wyatt collaborated on several songs on 1993 album United Kingdoms. Happy Land featured here in April 2021 and was also released as a single, remixed by Aswad founder member Drummie Zeb as a glorious vocal and dub reggae sunsplash anthem.

Chris Coco remixed Ultramarine on the Nightfall In Sweetleaf EP way back in 1992. Nearly quarter of a century later, Ultramarine repaid the favour with a remix from his album How To Disappear Completely.

Japanese artists (and/or their labels) have a particular fascination with electronic artists reworking their back catalogue: Yellow Magic Orchestra, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Soft Ballet have all got in on the act. Tokyo-based female pop group Nav Katze released two volumes of Never Mind The Distortion in the 1990s, both worth looking up. Ultramarine opened the first of these in 1994 with an excellent remix of Nobody Home.

 

Black Hearted Brother are a super group of sorts, a 4-piece formed around the core of Mark Van Hoen (Locust) and Neil Halstead (Slowdive). There was a sole album - Stars Are Our Home - in 2013 and Got Your Love received the remix treatment from Ultramarine the following year.

Iain Ballamy is a noted composer and saxophonist. In 1996, the compilation Music With No Name Volume One (also highly recommended) included Ultramarine's remix of All Men Amen, the title track of Iain's 1994 album.

I discovered Tranquility Bass aka Michael Kandel via an Astralwerks sampler CD. We All Want To Be Free was remixed from the 1997 album Let The Freak Flag Fly and is the longest track on this selection, nine minutes of blissed out beats and circular vocals. Sadly, Michael passed on 17th May 2015. You can find some of the final Tranquility Bass releases on Bandcamp.

Woo are brothers Clive and Mark Ives who have been making music even longer than Ultramarine. However, their worlds finally converged in 2020, Ultramarine providing a remix of Arc II to close Woo's album Arcturian Corridor.

 

The selection began with a prog legend and so it ends in the same way, with fellow Soft Machine alumni Kevin Ayers, er, covering one of his own songs.

Hymn originally appeared on Kevin's 1973 album Bananamour and Ultramarine recorded their own version, until legal bullshit nearly put paid to the single's release, full stop. Happily, Hymn finally saw the light of day in 1996 with two CD singles packed full of songs and remixes. The 'lead' version and several reworks feature the gorgeous vocals of David McAlmont. However, it could only ever be Kevin's version to bring this selection to a fitting close.

If you like what you hear, you can find many of the more recent Ultramarine releases via the Real Soon label on Bandcamp.

 

1) Happy Land (Remixed By Drummie Zeb): Ultramarine ft. Robert Wyatt (1994)

2) It An Tells Ya (Ultramarine Remix): Chris Coco (2016)

3) Nobody Home (Ultramarine Mix): Nav Katze (1994)

4) Hooter (Album Version): Ultramarine (1993)

5) Got Your Love (Ultramarine Remix): Black Hearted Brother (2014) 

6) British Summertime (Album Version): Ultramarine (1991)

7) All Men Amen (Ultramarine Remix): Iain Ballamy (1996)

8) Citizen: Ultramarine ft. Pooka (1995)

9) $10 Heel: Ultramarine ft. Anna Domino (2019)

10) We All Want To Be Free (Ultramarine Remix): Tranquility Bass (1997)

11) Arc II (Ultramarine Remix): Woo (2020)

12) Hymn (Ultramarine - Kevin Ayers Version): Ultramarine (1996) 

 

1991: Every Man And Woman Is A Star: 6

1993: United Kingdoms: 4

1994: Barefoot EP: 1

1994: Never Mind The Distortion: 3 

1995: Bel Air: 8 

1996: Hymn EP: 12

1996: Music With No Name Volume One: 7 

1997: We All Want To Be Free EP: 10

2014: Got Your Love EP: 5

2016: It An Tells Ya EP: 2 

2019: Signals Into Space: 9

2020: Arcturian Corridor: 11

 

Daylight Saving (1:14:09) (KF) (Mega)

Off The Chart

Lace up your trainers, we're going back four decades to the Top 20 UK singles chart on 18th May 1984.

 

In January, I did a similar look back at 1974 and whilst I would hesitate to call this a series, a run of back-to-back Top Of The Pops episodes on BBC4 (kind of) inspired today's selection, although I also have to tip my hat to Jez at A History Of Dubious Taste for his delve into the early volumes of Now That's What I Call Music.

Being 1984, we're well into the era of the 12" single and the extended dance club remix frenzy. So, what you've got here are thirteen stretched out versions, some pushing the 8-9 minute mark, others bending the original songs into interesting shapes. And, honestly, could you actually dance to some of these?!

 

I'm guessing that the movie Footloose was pretty popular around this time as there are two singles from the soundtrack in the Top 20. Kenny Loggins' title theme song didn't have an extended version in 1984 so I've gone for one of the many 21st century fan-made versions that proliferate online.

Madonna's mate John 'Jellybean' Benitez remixes the other by Deniece Williams and also turns his hand to Automatic by Pointer Sisters. Benitez was ubiquitous at the time, even Talking Heads and Elvis Costello got the 'Jellybean' treatment.

Then up-and-coming writers and producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis kick things off with Just Be Good To Me, a new entry at #20. I don't particularly remember this song at the time but it's legendary status was sealed when Beats International covered it a few years later, securing a #1 in the process. Jam & Lewis went on to greater heights with Janet Jackson and all-new lows with The Human League.

Blissfully unaware of this in 1984, The Human League were still enjoying Top 20 hits, including The Lebanon, dropping to #12 this week from a peak of #11 the week before. An undeniably brilliant bassline, coupled with some of the most cringeworthy lyrics committed to vinyl, but I love it regardless.

Speaking of bass, there's some funk to make Mark King of Level 42 give a heavily insured thumbs up, from Jeffrey Osborne and Jocelyn Brown. If the latter sounds familiar, it's been sampled to death by artists such as George Michael (Too Funky), Utah Saints (Ohio) and OutKast (Spaghetti Junction).

 

If you prefer your guitar histrionic, look no further than Queen at #4. Thanks to Lady K's early obsession with Queen's Greatest Hits, I am now more familiar with the back catalogue of Mercury and co. than I ever wanted to be. This 12" version is rumbling along quite nicely until in the last minute or so it decides to go all Stars On 45 and give the listener a chopped up Greatest Hits medley. 

Blancmange and O.M.D. respectively deliver one of my favourite and least favourite singles by said artists, I'll leave you to decide which is which. In a bizarre twist of fate, I will have seen both bands live in 2024, O.M.D.in March and Blancmange at the end of this month.

Just the one reggae hit in the Top 20 but it's a goodie. One Love/People Get Ready was a posthumous smash for Bob Marley & The Wailers, peaking at #5 in it's fifth week and promoting the compilation Legend, released two weeks before. Suffice to say, it's one of the greatest greatest hits albums ever.

So, to the top spot and enjoying the third of four weeks at #1 is Duran Duran with The Reflex. Heavily remixed from the album version, the 12" version takes things even further. Mrs. K and I have enjoyed many a slightly tipsy lounge disco dance to this one.

As with the 1974 selection, I've gone for a Marvel UK comics header. The Mighty World Of Marvel was on it's second incarnation by this time. The May 1984 issue actually came out in April but I've included this one for the gorgeous painted art by Alan Davis, whose epic Captain Britain storyline with Alan Moore was coming to an end. 

 

At the other end of the spectrum was The Thing Is Big Ben, in which Marvel UK decided that what kids really needed was the rocky one from The Fantastic Four in his own weekly comic, with a title that tenuously linked him to the iconic London landmark. Add to that reprints of Iron Man and Captain America (the latter replaced by Power Man & Iron Fist) and you can understand why editors felt the need to throw in a free cap to convince kids to hand over their 18p. The cover price was prescient: 18 weeks later, the kids remained unmoved and the title quietly folded into the ongoing Spider-Man comic, as so many others before it had done.

 

1) Just Be Good To Me (Album Version By Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis): The S.O.S. Band (#20)

2) I'm Falling (Album Version By Colin Fairley & Bob Andrews): The Bluebells (#19)

3) Stay With Me Tonight (Extended Remixed Version By Bill Bottrell): Jeffrey Osborne (#18)

4) Somebody Else's Guy (Remix By John Morales & Sergio Munzibai): Jocelyn Brown (#13)

5) The Lebanon (Extended) (Remix By The Human League, Chris Thomas & Hugh Padgham): The Human League (#12)

6) Don't Tell Me (U.S. Dance Remix By Mark Kamins): Blancmange (#9)

7) Let's Hear It For The Boy (Extended Remixed Version By John 'Jellybean' Benitez): Deniece Williams (#8)

8) Locomotion (Razormaid Remix By Joseph Watt): O.M.D. (#7)

9) Footloose (VJAR 2016 Extended Dance Remix By Alex Ritton): Kenny Loggins (#6)

10) One Love/People Get Ready (Dub Version By Godwin Logie): Bob Marley & The Wailers (#5)

11) I Want To Break Free (Extended Mix By Queen & Reinhold Mack): Queen (#4)

12) Automatic (Special Remix By John 'Jellybean' Benitez): Pointer Sisters (#2)

13) The Reflex (Dance Mix By Nile Rodgers & Jason Corsaro): Duran Duran (#1)

Off The Chart (1:27:14) (KF) (Mega)

...Loving You

At last! A Certain Ratio supported by Ellen Beth Abdi at the Exchange in Bristol! 

 

The clues have been hiding in plain sight in my posts throughout the week, but here are my thoughts on last Sunday's excursion and second (of four) gigs this month. No spoilers to say early on that it was a magical experience.

I had to look through my patchy and incomplete record of gigs I've been to (far too few) to reveal that I last visited the Exchange on Friday 7th March 2014 to see Trans, Bernard Butler's experimental psychedelic band who released the Red and Green EPs around that time and nothing else since as far as I can tell. 

 

Aside from being glad that it's still here at all, it was reassuring to find that little has changed at the Exchange. It's a cosy venue, tucked behind The Stag & Hounds pub in Old Market, with a 250-capacity main room and 60-capacity basement for gigs. 

Ellen Beth Abdi has toured and recorded with A Certain Ratio and I enthused about a couple of live sessions a couple of weekends ago. Those handful of songs were breathtaking but it was something else altogether to experience it in an intimate live setting.

A genuinely lovely person with a humble stage presence and engaging between-song chat and background to the songs, all of that pales into comparison when Ellen starts to sing. Sampling herself live and building up layer and layer of vocals, the whole process is mesmerising. Yet this is no artifice: opening song The Bad Dream ends up sounding like a chorus of angels; the modulating voices transporting the listener somewhere else entirely whilst you remain aware of your presence in the room. Who needs mind-altering substances when you have a singer with the power to do this?!

 

The set comprised six or seven songs, including a few from the online sessions covered in my previous post: the spine-tingling beautiful Sad Chord as well as Who Is The World Made For, the "likely" lead single from the soon-to-come debut album. 

 

I was very happy to hear Ellen's stunning cover of Rae & Christian's Spellbound, revealing in the introduction that she was obsessed with Veba's vocals on this song as a teenager. I think Ellen's done the song proud. She also performed what I thought was Kick Off Your Shoes, although I'm sure it was introduced here as Problem Child.

There were also a couple of new songs, Thickskinpeel and Kingsway Bouquet, the latter also the name of the marmalade for sale on Ellen's merch stand. Yes, marmalade. And a 'twofer' offer as well. I'm not sure if the marmalade inspired the song name or vice versa, but I can say from direct experience that both were very, very good. I should add before Trading Standards weigh in, that the preserve is made by Ellen's aunty not her!

I got to speak to Ellen at the merch stand after her set and again after A Certain Ratio's performance. Sensibly, I saved the marmalade purchase until the end. I've never tried dancing at a gig with a jar of marmalade in my hand before and, at 53 years old, probably not the time to start. 

 

Ellen was also running a raffle throughout the tour. The sole winner will get a USB stick featuring demos, remixes and album previews. Whether I'm the lucky one or not, if the raffle proceeds help to keep Ellen recording and performing, it will be worth it. Ellen has not actually released any music for sale yet but you can rest assured that I'll be queuing for the album when it's available and shouting about it here.

How on earth was A Certain Ratio going to follow that up? Well, they may not have had the marmalade but they were jam hot, for sure.

For this gig, ACR is a four-piece comprising founder members Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald 'DoJo' Johnson, with Viv Griffin predominantly on bass but like Martin and Donald, prone to the occasional instrument swap throughout the set. 

Like Ellen Beth Abdi, Viv is a graduate of The Royal Northern College of Music, both former students of Matt Steele, who has also performed with ACR. Viv is also one half of Beck Pocket, who featured in this morning's post. On stage with three seasoned and consummate professionals, Viv was well up for the challenge to say the least and the next 90 minutes or so were a sheer joy.

I've not seen A Certain Ratio live in concert before, so the set was a perfect introduction. The first half was a straight run through of their current album, It All Comes Down To This, which harks back to their earlier, snappy post-punk sound without ever sounding nostalgic or bereft of ideas. Too many highlights to mention, but the opening title track, Bitten By A Lizard and Estate Kings (sung by Donald) were especially good. Suddenly, it's the tenth and final song, a homage to Dorothy Parker and less than 45 minutes in, it's all done.

 

 

With barely a pause for breath, ACR then launch into the 'greatest hits' second half and it's classic after classic. I don't think Winter Hill quite stretches to the near-13 minutes of the album version but it quickly locks into a groove and keeps going and going, before shimmering and stuttering into Do The Du. 

 

The first of two covers then, with ACR's version of Houses In Motion by Talking Heads. This was originally demoed in 1980, intended for Grace Jones. Somehow, that never came to pass and a couple of versions languished in the vaults until (re)discovered for 2019's acr:box set. And what a great thing that was, otherwise we might never have had the experience of seeing and hearing it performed live. 

 

The other cover - Shack Up by Banbarra - came as the penultimate song ("we're too old to go off stage and come back to do encores!"), though arguably ACR so inhabit the song that it's easy to forget that they didn't write and record it first.

 

The Big E aka Won't Stop Loving You gets an especially rapturous reception, particularly when Jez dedicates the song to the much-missed Denise Johnson, who was such an integral part of the band for three decades until her untimely passing in 2020.

The performance closes with an incredible version of 1982 single Knife Slits Water. There's a final swap, Martin sitting at the drums again and Donald coming front of stage. 

 

"Hey!" Donald exclaims, pointing to an audience member at the front to his left. "This guy's either been taking the world's longest selfie or he's been filming the entire gig!"

"Just put it down," Donald asks, "just for one song. Be in the moment."

"Leave him alone," Jez replies, "that might be his thing."

But you can understand Donald's point. 

 

The quality of my photos shouts "amateur!" as it's pretty clear that I was literally lifting my phone briefly, pointing and pressing, and hoping for the best. Nothing can match the wonder of seeing, hearing and feeling the music being performed a few feet away and I knew I'd never get the chance to experience this again. 

Luckily, I got to be there with fellow gig enthusiast Mike so at least I know that I didn't imagine the whole thing! 

 

If I had the money and no other commitments, I'd have quite happily hurtled up the motorway to catch A Certain Ratio and Ellen Beth Abdi tonight for the last date of their tour at New Century Hall in Manchester. If you do, then tickets are still available. Ellen's on at 7.55pm so don't be late and bring some extra cash for the merch!

In my usual fashion, I've created a Dubhed Selection of ACR's fabulous set. For obvious reasons, I haven't included the first ten songs - go and buy the album instead - but I have created an hour-long selection of the "bonafide classics" second half. A few alternative versions and remixes woven to create an hour-long set to get you in the mood to groove.

 

1) All Comes Down to This
2) Keep it Real
3) We All Need
4) Surfer Ticket
5) Bitten By A Lizard
6) God Knows
7) Out From Under
8) Estate Kings
9) Where You Coming From
10) Dorothy Says

 

11) Winter Hill (To Each..., 1981)

12) Do The Du (Casse) (The Graveyard And The Ballroom, 1980)

13) The Fox (Album Version) (To Each..., 1981)

14) Houses In Motion (Demo Version 1, 1980) (Cover of Talking Heads) (acr:box, 2019)

15) Touch (Album Version) (I'd Like To See You Again, 1982)

16) Berlin (Cosmodelica Remix By Colleen Murphy) (Loco Remezclada, 2021)

17) SAMO (Werkha Remix By Tom Leah) (2023 EP, 2023)

18) The Big E (Album Version) (Good Together, 1989)

19) Good Together (Album Version) (acr:mcr, 1990)

20) Shack Up (Man) (Cover of Banbarra) (Shack Up Remixes (Unreleased DJ Promo 12"), 1990)

21) Knife Slits Water (12" Version) (Knife Slits Water/Kether Hot Knives EP, 1982)

...Loving You (1:07:35) (KF) (Mega)

And if all this talk of marmalade has whet your appetite, you can find out all about it here.

Mmm, Zesty!

I could pretend that I'm being super generous and providing two posts today because I'm that kind of person.

 

The reality is that I had a very long day (and week) at work, I didn't get to finish today's planned post last night and I didn't have enough time first thing this morning to complete it to my satisfaction. Yes, I'm really that kind of person...

 

The good news is that I've got the day off work so I will get to finesse and finish the item for a special second post around lunchtime (UK). After all the hype and build up, I'll hope you'll agree it was worth the wait!

 

In the meantime, this happy accident gives me an opportunity to post music by electronic pop duo Beck Pocket aka Viv Griffin and Jasper Clarke.  There is a connection to today's main post, but this one can be enjoyed in its own right.

 

Beck Pocket have been releasing music since 2022, available for purchase via Bandcamp and with some fun lyric videos posted on YouTube. The songs are glitchy, skitty pop gems that never outstay their welcome and are loaded with hooks. It's like The xx whooping with delight on the Pirate Falls water ride at Legoland. Then putting it in a song. Kind of.

If this generally isn't your thing, Beck Pocket may not win you over, but their charm and nascent pop nous is hard to deny.

 

 

See you back here later for the main event...

Get A Grip

Those of you of a certain vintage may recognise Norman "Gripper" Stebson, Grange Hill wrong 'un from 1980, expelled in 1983. 

Nothing wrong about this line-up, however. The Vinyl Villain's posting Lambchop's superb cover of This Corrosion by The Sisters Of Mercy on Tuesday got me thinking of today's opening song and from there a Dubhed selection was born. 

The similarly-titled song by A Certain Ratio gets a stunning synth rinse by Maps, whilst Thomas Leer dusts off his song of the same name, recorded in 2004 and languishing in the vaults until finally released in 2022.

Amateur Night In The Big Top was essentially a duo of Shaun Ryder and Shane Norton, with one self-titled (and hugely underrated) album and a few singles. Clowns was co-written and co-produced by Pete Carroll and Stephen Mallinder and gets a shoo in here courtesy of the remix artist Gripper.

The selection closes with a 12" remix of The Stranglers' classic, released in 1989 as far as I can recall to promote a greatest hits collection. The remix is an odd, welding the percussion track from The Sound Of The Crowd by The Human League to the undercarriage and generally making the song sound more lightweight. Not a patch on the original version, obviously, but an oddity that I think would have sounded as out of place in 1989 as it does now.

Come back here tomorrow for a tale of raffle tickets, home made marmalade and sweet, sweet music.

 

1) (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) (Cover of The Stranglers): Lambchop (2004)

2) Devil's Grip: The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (1967)

3) Get A Grip (Maps Remix By James Chapman): A Certain Ratio ft. Maria Uzor (2021)

4) Kick It (Hippy Grip) (Remix By Randy Wilson): Nitzer Ebb (1995)

5) Get A Grip: Thomas Leer (2004)

6) Drums In A Grip (Wax Doctor Mix By Paul Saunders): Frank De Wulf (1996)

7) Clowns (Gripper Mix By Alan Gubby): Amateur Night In The Big Top (2003)

8) Grip Like A Vice (Black Affair Mix By Steve Mason): The Go! Team (2007)

9) Phantom Grip: Rival Consoles (2018)

10) Elektro (He Held The World In His Iron Grip) (Part Two): Stereolab (1992)

11) Grip '89 (Grippin' Stuff Mix By Barry Cooder & Taff B. Dylan): The Stranglers (1989)

Get A Grip (52:20) (KF) (Mega)

Themes For Cryonic Suspension

Liquid Cool by Apollo 440 popped onto my playlist, prompting a discovery on YouTube of the accompanying video for the single from three decades ago. A bit disappointing to be honest (the video, I mean) but a testament to modest budgets and what you can come up with when all you've got is a corridor, a gurney, a chair and a small box of props and costumes.

 

To give the song it's full 'proper' title, Liquid Cool (Theme For Cryonic Suspension) closed side 1 of Apollo 440's debut album Millennium Fever in 1993 and a remix appeared on the B-side of the Rumble EP the same year.

In September 1994, a promo triple pack 12" started doing the rounds, following by the then de rigeur single release across two CDs, all packed with remixes. 

 

I bought the latter shiny discs, containing 9 versions in total, which Additive Sphere has thoughtfully collected as posted as one album-length experience.

 

Probably a bit much as a single listening experience but, mindful of that, there are jumping on points for each of the individual mixes. Deep Forest was very much in vogue at the time so you get three from them (tracks 2, 6 & 8). Of more interest to me at the time were the remixes by The Future Sound Of London and Jah Wobble, the latter dipping into drum 'n' bass waters, whilst the legendary bass floats over the top. 

 

There are a couple of versions by Apollo 440 themselves and rounding out the CD package, two by Rhythm Of Space, the Space Colonization Remix providing nearly 14 minutes of deep techno. 

 

The second is titled Space -320°F Biostatic Ambient Mix Part 1 and is just over eleven minutes of, you guessed it, dub-heavy ambient sounds. As the title suggests, it's a truncated version of the full-length excursion to be found on side 4 of the promo 12" vinyl and runs to twenty four and a half minutes. Ultra evolution? Not half!

Too Many Mutha'uckas Uckin' With My Shi...

Sometimes a few words from New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-gangsta-rap-funk-folk comedy duo absolutely nail it.

Wonder, Man

A very happy birthday to Stevie Wonder aka Stevland Hardaway Morris, born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on 13th May 1950.

 

Of course, Stevie's song Happy Birthday wasn't intended to celebrate himself but recorded in 1980 to support the call for a national holiday in the USA to mark the birth of Martin Luther King. It took until 1983 for MLK Day to be signed into law, 1986 for it to be first observed and 2000 for official observance to be included in each state's law. 

 

By coincidence, yesterday's post featured Ellen Beth Abdi's stunning cover of Ordinary Pain from Stevie's 1976 magnum opus Songs In The Key Of Life. His version runs to nearly six and a half minutes. The second part (the "reply") is sung by Shirley Brewer, so here's Stevie alone on the first half.

As mentioned, I saw Ellen Beth Abdi live in concert on Sunday night. Both she and the headline act have covered Stevie Wonder songs, although neither were performed at this particular show.

The other song covered is Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing, originally a single from another of Stevie's classic albums, 1973's Innervisions. Here's the man himself performing the song over four decades later.

Rounding things off with a superb performance from German TV show Musik Laden / Beat Club in 1974. Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing is included in the set (and also available on You Tube) but I've gone for a rousing version of Superstition. 

 

Have a good one, sir.

Don't You Miss That Feeling?

A couple of soothing sessions from Ellen Beth Abdi today. I only really knew Ellen's name from her appearances on three songs by A Certain Ratio on last year's 1982 album.

First up is a Kicking Back Live Session courtesy of Rec Rooms in June 2021.

 

0:00 Sad Chord

02:54 Who This World Is Made For

08:01 Kick Your Shoes Off

 

The second session was recorded at The Snug in Atherton in March 2021 and includes a couple of unexpected and lovely cover versions.

 

0:00 Who This World Is Made For

05:04 Spellbound (Cover of Rae & Christian ft. Veba)

10:11 The Bad Dream 

13:35 Ordinary Pain (Cover of Stevie Wonder)

16:46 Sad Chord

 

Saturday morning's BBC Breakfast featured John Robb along with Mark Davyd from the Music Venues Trust, talking about the importance of grassroots venues and the proposal for larger venues making a financial contribution to support them and therefore live music in general.

This item has been in rotation since the shit storm that is the opening (or not) of the Coop Live mega venue in Manchester and last month a similar item ran featuring Ellen Beth Abdi, interviewed as an "up and coming" artist at Matt And Phreds before performing a snippet of a song.

I'm seeing Ellen tonight in a 250-capacity venue in Bristol, supporting a headliner that I've also never seen live in concert before. To say that I'm looking forward to both is an understatement, but rest assured there will be more words (and maybe pictures) to follow. 

Peel The Layers

Watching late night BBC4 recently offered up Top Of The Pops presented by John Peel and Janice Long.

As good an excuse as any then to collate a selection of John Peel sessions and repost my tribute to Janice Long from December 2021.

Only a couple of crossovers with The Fall and Julian Cope, with the John Peel selection focusing in more on the alternative/indie side of things and keeping under forty-five minutes. 

 

Good times.

 

1) Cut Dead: The Jesus & Mary Chain (29th October 1985) 

2) Ladybird (Green Grass): The Fall (13th March 1993)

3) DoubtBeat: Scritti Politti (13th December 1978)

4) Через Річку, Через (Cherez Richku, Cherez Hai): The Wedding Present (15th May 1989)

5) Turn The Heater On (Cover of Keith Hudson): New Order (1st June 1982)

6) The Sin Of Pride: The Undertones (7th December 1982)

7) The Awful Flute Song (First Part): The Bambi Slam (1st March 1987)

8) Suffer The Children: Tears For Fears (10th October 1982)

9) Suicide High Lie: Big In Japan (12th February 1979)

10) Oh Lucinda (Love Becomes A Habit): The Only Ones (2nd June 1980)

11) After Murder Park: The Auteurs (8th March 1996)

12) Search Party: Julian Cope (11th June 1984)

13) Waves: Blancmange (13th February 1982)

Peel The Layers (44:14) (KF) (Mega)

Not intentionally trying to be contrary, but whilst the recording dates were listed for each of the songs on the Janice Long selection, the dates for the John Peel sessions relate to when the songs were first broadcast...I think!

A Shot Of Equanimity

Another dip into the shopping bag for an hour-long selection of purchases from last Friday.

 

Topped and tailed by David Holmes, all but one from this decade, a mix of legendary and new(ish) names, all committed to delivering some top tunes, bending the original music into new shapes.

 

Enjoy! 

 

1) Yeah x 3 (Rich Lane Remix): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet (2024)

2) PoPoPoPom (Keith Forrester Remix): Stylic (2024)

3) If.... (Ditz Remix): bdrmm (2020)

4) You Ain't Seen Me (Black Octopus Remix): The Shaker (2024)

5) Leave House (Motor City Drum Ensemble Remix): Caribou (2010)

6) Game (Mezey Remix By Benjamin Boeldt): Martina Topley-Bird (2022)

7) Camouflage (Pattern 2) (Remix by UXB aka Peter Morgan): Campbell / Mallinder / Benge (2022)

8) Sugar High (Saint Etienne Remix): Iraina Mancini (2023)

9) Sylvia (David Holmes Remix): Lisa Moorish (2024)

 

2010: Swim Remixes: 5

2020: If.... EP: 3 

2022: Clinker (Expanded Edition): 7

2022: Game EP: 6

2024: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve / Saint Etienne Versions EP: 8

2024: Blind On A Galloping Horse (Remixes Vol. 1): 1

2024: Shelter Me: In Crisis: 2 

2024: Sylvia EP: 9

2024: You Ain't Seen Me EP: 4

 

A Shot Of Equanimity (1:00:23) (KF) (Mega)