Six Reasons To Be Thankful

Be Thankful For What You've Got was released as a single in July 1984 by Glasgow soulsters Sunset Gun. 

Featuring the immensely talented Deirdre 'Dee' Rutkowski and Louise Rutkowski and multi-instrumentalist Ross Campbell, and produced by Alan Rankine, it's a bit of a head scratcher why this wasn't a hit.

Fast forward to February 1992 and Massive Attack managed to take the song to #27 in the UK as the lead of their self-titled EP. The week before their chart peak, Massive Attack performed the song on Tonight With Jonathan Ross... well, a version of Massive Attack, at least. 

Whilst vocalist Tony Bryan is up front at the mike, and those in the know will spot guests Luis Jardim and Steve Nieve in the ensemble, there's no sign of 3D, Mushroom or Daddy G.

A couple of 21st Century covers that are new to me, firstly from Sade, performed at the Nakano Sunplaza in Tokyo in May 1986, bootlegged at the time and officially released thirty years later.

In March 2024, Daryl Hall's long running series Live From Daryl’s House welcomed Rumer and the pair duetted on Be Thankful For What You've Got. There are some nice moments of harmony, but personally I would have been happy for Daryl to stick to guitar on this one and let Rumer carry the vocal.

I've never heard of Orgōne before and I only discovered whilst looking for a clip of Massive Attack performing Be Thankful for What You Got. An unintended slight as they've released at least fifteen albums in the last quarter of a century.

Their nine-minute live in the studio take was recorded in Los Angeles a few weeks before the USA went into lockdown due to the COVID pandemic. 

To finish, what else but the original version, written and recorded by William DeVaughn?

The single got to #31 in July 1974, with a new, more uptempo version peaking at #44 in October 1980. Proof that even William himself couldn't top his first go and to emphasise that point, I've gone for the full seven-minute album version from 1974, for which we should all be thankful.

 

View It From Here

On Thursday 28th January 1982, Associates released Party Fears Two.

Wait...what? Forty four years ago?!

Party Fears Two was the tenth Associates single and none of the previous nine had troubled the mainstream UK charts in any way, although they'd enjoyed some success in the indie singles chart.

Party Fears Two was the game changer for the band, a four minute poperetta showcasing Billy MacKennzie and Alan Rankine at the peak of their powers.

I wasn't alone in being completely captivated by Associates' debut performance on Top Of The Pops and Party Fears Two eventually peaked at #9 in the UK Top 40 the week of 21st to 27th March 1982.

Party Fears Two proved to be Associates' sole Top 10 hit; likewise parent album Sulk, which followed in May 1982, and it remains as powerful now as it did then, despite my having heard it thousands of times by now.

Party Fears Two is a song that only the brave or foolhardy have attempted to cover since. Fewer still - The Divine Comedy and Heaven 17 to name two - have had the balls to commit to taking their version into the studio.

I've included live performances by both, and a few more that I've discovered. None can surpass the original, but I think they've all managed to give a personal and affecting spin.

1) Party Fears Two: The Divine Comedy (Live @ The Barbican, London, 3rd September 2022) *

2) Party Fears Two: Heaven 17 (Live @ O2 Academy, Bristol, 1st December 2010)

3) Party Fears Two: Jess Brett (Live @ The Flapper, Birmingham, 12th March 2022) (buy on Bandcamp)

4) Party Fears Two: James Grant (Live @ Tannahill Centre, Paisley, 3rd June 2022)

5) Party Fears Two: Øivind Hånes (Live @ Portåsen, Mjøndalen, Norway, 12th November 2020)

6) Party Fears Two: King Creosote & Session A9 (Live @ Celtic Connections, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, 16th January 2010)

 

 

 

 

 

* There's another clip on YouTube which better captures the majestic 11-piece band accompanying Neil on stage, though be warned, it ends abruptly mid-song!

Tell Me Easter's On Sunday

It's Easter, it's Sunday, it's time for a themed Dubhed Selection that doesn't include Easter by Patti Smith Group.. 

Ten songs, three quarters of an hour. This one's dedicated to Jez over at the excellent A History Of Dubious Taste for championing Kris Kristofferson via his Sunday Morning Coming  Down series. Jez provided my proper introduction to Kris' music, without which I'd be missing the rather wonderful opening song for today's selection.

In one of those happy coincidences, the song's synth outro segues perfectly with the intro to Easter by Repeat, despite being separated by over twenty years and several genres. 

Repeat was a mid-90s collaboration between Dave 'Not the Slade guitar player' Hill, Mark Broom and Plaid aka Andy Turner and Ed Handley. They released a few 12" singles and an album. Easter was a one-off 12" in 2001 and judging credited solely to Dave Hill and Mark Broom.

An Easter compilation would be incomplete without Easter Song by A Man Called Adam, with some lovely flute by Eddie Parker, who gets a co-writing credit on the song.

Scotland is well represented, with four - count 'em, four - bands. The first pair are Simple Minds and The Blue Nile, both from the early 80s. Simple Minds were in that transitional phase between avant garde, angular pop and overblown anthemic rock. The Blue Nile had just released their debut album, and it would be another six years before the follow up. An eternity then, a blink in the eye these days.

Psychedelic pop has managed to sustain in each decade since the 1960s. Julian Cope makes an inevitable appearance with Easter Everywhere, named after the 13th Floor Elevators' second album. Later, XTC deliver another slice of end of the millennium gorgeousness from their Apple Venus Volume 1 album. 

Anderson (Matt to his friends and folks, Anderson (26) to Discogs) is new to me, but delivers a jolly slice of electronica that bounces along nicely. I must investigate further.

The final brace of Scottish legends are Eugenius and Associates. Eugenius were initially called Captain America, until Marvel Comics knocked on their door. A forced change of name had no impact whatsoever on the quality of their music.

Associates (sometime prefixed by 'The' sometimes not) faced a different set of challenges, internal and external, but the impact of the music that Alan Rankine and Billy MacKenzie produced in their brief time together has sustained.

After a glut of Easter today, something completely different on Monday. 

1) Easter Island: Kris Kristofferson (1978)

2) Easter: Repeat (2001)

3) Easter Song (Radio Edit): A Man Called Adam (1999)

4) East At Easter: Simple Minds (1984)

5) Easter Everywhere (Album Version): Julian Cope (1988)

6) Easter Eggs: Anderson (2020)

7) Easter Parade: The Blue Nile (1983)

8) Easter Theatre: XTC (1999)

9) Easter Bunny (Single Version w/ Reprise): Eugenius (1993)

10) Tell Me Easter's On Friday: Associates (1981)

1978: Easter Island: 1

1981: Tell Me Easter's On Friday EP: 10

1983: A Walk Across The Rooftops: 7

1984: Sparkle In The Rain: 4

1988: My Nation Underground: 5

1993: Easter Bunny EP: 9

1999: Apple Venus Volume 1: 8

1999: Easter Song EP: 3

2001: Easter EP: 2

2020: Easter Eggs EP: 6

Tell Me Easter's On Sunday (46:46) (KF) (Mega)

Cut The Night

Twelve inches of indie(ish) pop pleasure for the weekend, with a selection of well-known and lesser known songs, spanning the upper and the nether regions of the UK singles chart. 

Troubling the Top 30 with their selected songs back in the day were Echo & The Bunnymen (#30), Gary Numan (#19) and The Beat (#9). Bringing up the rear were Kirsty MacColl (#80) and Win (#63). Having trouble getting the car started were Flesh For Lulu, Paul Haig and INXS, who didn't make the Top 100 and where's the justice in that?

 

As it's Friday, the forty-five minute/C90-friendly rule be damned, here's a full-fat, forty-eight minutes of goodies to usher in the weekend. 

1) Silver (Tidal Wave): Echo & The Bunnymen (1984)

2) Every Little Word (Remix): Flesh For Lulu (1989)

3) Big Blue World (12" Version): Paul Haig (1984)

4) Music For Chameleons (Album Version): Gary Numan (1982)

5) The One Thing (Extended Version): INXS (1983)

6) Hands Off... She's Mine (12" Version): The Beat (1980)

7) Innocence (The Guilt Mix): Kirsty MacColl (1989)

8) Super Popoid Groove (12 Inches For Love God): Win (1987)

 

Cut The Night (48:25) (Box) (Mega)

Can You Believe Everything I See?

Celebrating Alan Rankine, 17th May 1958 to 3rd January 2023.

 

Another loss, another shock. I can't find the words* but I was struck by Alan Rankine from the first moment I saw Associates in the pages of Smash Hits and on TV with Top Of The Pops. I mean, Billy MacKenzie looked fabulous and had a voice unlike any I'd ever heard before, but I found Alan equally compelling. Those cheekbones, the black hair and widow's peak, that piercing stare. And the music was just astonishing. My starting point was Sulk, though I was drawn back to The Affectionate Punch and the Fourth Drawer Down compilation to discover more brilliance.

 

Whilst the combination of Alan and Billy was something unique and arguably neither could quite recreate that magic apart, Alan released three albums in the 1980s each containing some gems whilst also producing great music for other artists throughout the same decade, returning to the controls for Belle & Sebastian's debut album Tigermilk in 1996 (drummer Richard Colburn was on a Music Business course at Stow College in Glasgow, taught by Rankine).

 

There will be lots of tributes out there that attempt to capture how much Alan Rankine contributed, as a musician, a producer, a teacher and a passionate advocate for the wonder of making music. Ironically, during the tail end of lockdown I discovered some wonderful interviews with Alan by Grant McPhee, giving the backstory to the recording of the Associates' album. I've included a link to Grant's YouTube page, you won't be disappointed. I also want to give a nod to Post Punk Monk's tribute to Alan, one of the earliest to appear in the blogosphere but an excellent overview of the man and his music.

This is inevitably another hastily cobbled together selection. Thinking that there will be lots of focus elsewhere on Alan's work with Billy MacKenzie as Associates, I've tried to take a slightly broader view, taking in Alan's production and solo material. It's a dozen songs in a smidge over one hour, but I think it just about does Alan justice.

Rest easy, Alan.

 

1) Can You Believe Everything I See? (Part 3): Alan Rankine (1987)

2) Be Thankful For What You've Got (Single Version) (Cover of William DeVaughn): Sunset Gun (1984)

3) We Rule The School: Belle & Sebastian (1996)

4) The Sandman (Remix): Alan Rankine (1987)

5) Glory To The Take And The Killing: Alan Rankine (1989)

6) Mona Property Girl (Single Version): Associates (1979)

7) Hazel (Single Version): Cocteau Twins (1983)

8) Something Good (Extended Version): Paul Haig (1989)

9) Summer (Single Version): Anna Domino (1986)

10) Skipping (Album Version): Associates (1982)

11) Can You Believe Everything I See? (Parts 1 & 2): Alan Rankine (1987)

12) Love In Adversity: Alan Rankine (1986)

 

1979: Boys Keep Swinging EP: 6

1982: Sulk: 10

1983: Peppermint Pig EP: 7

1984: Be Thankful For What You've Got EP: 2

1986: Summer EP: 9 

1986: The World Begins To Look Her Age: 12 

1987: The Sandman EP: 1, 4

1987: The World Begins To Look Her Age EP: 11

1989: Something Good EP: 8

1989: The Big Picture Sucks: 5

1996: Tigermilk: 3

 

Can You Believe Everything I See? (1:00:02) (Box) (Mega)

* I appreciate the irony of saying that "I can't find the words" and then rambling on for several paragraphs...!

Another Teenage Remix

Side 1 of a 1980s 12" mix cassette compilation, recorded 24th April 2000. According to my sleevenotes on the reverse, "these 12" singles kept me going even when my hairstyle just couldn't keep pace". It's fair to say that in the mid to late 1980s, I went through an environmentally unfriendly amount of hairspray and gel, rarely to impressive effect.

The selection starts off with Act, who featured here in their own right last year. A short-lived but oh-so-wonderful collaboration between Claudia Brücken and Thomas Leer. Unfortunately for them, Act was launched just as label ZTT experienced a dip in popularity, post-Frankie Goes to Hollywood and pre-808 State and Seal. A shame as Brücken and Leer looked and sounded great, with satirical lyrics and none-more-80s production. 

 

Snobbery & Decay was Act's opening statement and deserved a far better UK chart placing than #60, which would sadly prove to be their biggest 'hit'. As with most ZTT releases, there were multiple formats and remixes. As this mix title suggests, this limited edition 12" was housed in a beautiful sleeve with a photo of Quentin Crisp by Anton Corbijn on the reverse. What's less obvious is that the remix heavily samples Cybil Shepherd and Bruce Willis from US TV series Moonlighting, which was hugely popular at the time. In fact, the song proper doesn't kick in until five and a half minutes into a remix just shy of nine minutes. All good fun, but you had to buy the other formats to get more Claudia and Thomas.

Visage arguably made one good album (their debut) and it was all downhill from there. Personally, I also have a lot of love for second album The Anvil and, singles-wise, everything up to Pleasure Boys. Night Train is one of their best and the record-buying public seemed largely to agree as it proved to be their fourth UK Top 20 hit, pipping Mind Of A Toy by one place to peak at #12. I first got the dance mix of Night Train on vinyl courtesy of the Old Gold series, which would usually slap two extended mixes on a 12" single in a hideously generic sleeve for a bargain price. I tracked down the original 12" single years later in Replay Records in Bristol. I still love it.

 

What can I say about Associates? Well, other than whether to use the definite article in their name or not. Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine created some of the finest pop music of the 1980s, managing both perfect and off-kilter often in the same song. Club Country had a tough gig, being the follow up to Party Fears Two, but it managed #13 in the UK and matched it's predecessor's 10-week run in the charts. I love the song, whether the 7" single, slightly longer album cut or here in it's extended version. And, for my money, the best phrasing of the word 'pseudonym' in a song, ever. 

 

It's only occurred to me whilst writing this that there's a Scottish theme running though this selection: Thomas Leer, Midge Ure, Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine. Zeke Manyika was born in Zimbabwe, but moved to (and I think still lives in) Scotland, joining Orange Juice in 1982, so that's good enough for me. 

 

Runaway Freedom Train was released in 1989 as the follow up to Bible Belt and sadly also seems to have had little impact on the charts. It carries a similar political heft to Bible Belt, albeit with a slightly more oblique comment on apartheid in South Africa:

"No matter how hard you try
To break this motion,
It's a one way ticket,
Only one destination,
You can't break the wheels of history" 

 

I still have the 12" single of Runaway Freedom Train, but I haven't digitised the songs or currently have the means to do so. The original 12" version is about eight minutes long and a fairly straightforward extended mix by Keith Cohen. The only version available online is the "U.S.A. Extended Club Version", which appears to be a re-edit of the Cohen mix, initially by The Latin Rascals and re-edited in 2009 by Mixmaster DJ Heavy M aka Malik Jefferson. The tracks runs to nearly ten minutes and is a veritable frenzy of scratches and edits. I tried cutting it down for use in this selection, but it just sounded way out of place with the rest of the tracks. I also didn't want to use different mixes of any of the other tracks to maintain the original running time.

 

So, what you've got here is my own re-edit of the re-edit of the, er, re-edit. Largely the album version from Zeke's second album Mastercrime, I've spliced a chunk of edits a little way into the intro and dropped in a further slab of edits at the end. It still runs a little short at just over seven and a half minutes, but (I think) it just about works. As ever, you'll be the judge of that. The mix title says it all.

 

Grace Jones next, with Living My Life. I first heard the song in 1983 on The Master Tape, a freebie compilation with Record Mirror which I think was a sampler of forthcoming releases. The irony with Living My Life was that it didn't appear on either her album of the same name or as a single in the UK, although a limited 12" was released in Portugal. I could have used the Long Version from the latter to solve the issue with Runaway Freedom Train, but true to the original mixtape, I've stuck with the 1986 remix by Steven Stanley, which is much closer to the version that I originally heard on the Record Mirror compilation. Neither Grace Jones nor Steven Stanley were born in Scotland and regretfully, I can't find any evidence that either have lived there, so my Scottish theme ends there.

 

But only briefly, as Aberdeen's own Annie Lennox leaps to the rescue with, er, Sunderland native David A. Stewart as Eurythmics. Would I lie to you? No, siree. This was the lead mix (of two) from the 12" single, with Eric 'ET' Thorngren bringing his customary BIG drums in and pushing everything bar Annie's vocals back in the mix. He likes his drums, does ET. I did buy the accompanying album, Be Yourself Tonight, but this was pretty much the point that I started checking out on Eurythmics. I like this single but it was all getting a bit slick and aimed squarely at global domination for my liking. Fair play to Eurythmics, they achieved it, but it's the first three albums that I return to time and again.

 

And blowing the Scottish theme once and for all (well, it was good while it lasted), Side 1 ends with Scarlet Fantastic, who both hail from the West Midlands, and are remixed here by Australian Karen Hewitt. The wonderfully named Maggie De Monde and Rick Phylip-Jones were previously in Swans Way, who had a Top 20 hit with the avant-garde pop of Soul Train. Scarlet Fantastic were more out-and-out pop and No Memory is a fantastic example, although it sadly didn't quite find an audience, reaching #24 in 1987. The pick of the bunch is the Extra Sensory Mix but the Ecstacy Mix is also a corker. The version here was ripped several years ago from my copy of the limited edition 12" single in  - what else? - "scarlet fantastic" red vinyl.

 

Have a fun Saturday, everyone!

 

1) (The Naked Civil) Snobbery & Decay (Remix By Stephen Lipson): Act (1987)

2) Night Train (Dance Mix By Visage & John Luongo): Visage (1982)

3) Club Country (Extended Version By Associates & Mike Hedges): Associates (1982)

4) Runaway Freedom Train ('All This Scratching Is Making Me Itch' Re-Edit By Khayem): Zeke Manyika (1989/2022)

5) Living My Life (Remix By Steven Stanley): Grace Jones (1986)

6) Would I Lie To You? (An Eric 'ET' Thorngren Mix): Eurythmics (1985)

7) No Memory (Ecstacy Mix By Karen Hewitt): Scarlet Fantastic (1987)

 

Side One (45:49) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two here

Friday On My Mind

It's been a long week, so here are some songs with Friday in the title or artist name. Welcome to the weekend!
 
1) Friday On My Mind: The Easybeats (1966)
2) I (Friday Night): Dubstar (2000)
3) Ghostrider (Cover of Suicide): Gavin Friday & Dave Ball (2009)
4) Friday Night, Saturday Morning (Live @ Brixton Academy): The Specials (2009)
5) Window Shopping (Single Version By Jerry Dammers): The Friday Club (1985)
6) Tell Me Easter's On Friday: Associates (1981)
7) Fridays (Up-Person Mix): Vini Reilly (1991)
8) Friday's Child (Cover of Lee Hazlewood): Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie (1991)
9) Last Friday Night (Live Lounge Session, BBC Radio 1) (Cover of Katy Perry): The Vaccines (2011)
10) Friday I'm In Love (Cover of The Cure): Yo La Tengo (2015)
 
Friday On My Mind (34:27)