Norton At The Controls

A twelve song selection of music produced (or co-produced) by Gil Norton, spanning 1982 to 2007.

The inspiration for the mixtape came via the sad news of Glen Hansard's death, and a fine tribute to Glen posted by Martin over at New Amusements.

In the comments, I recalled something I read circa 1991-92 in the NME or Melody Maker or Sounds, that Glen was a huge fan of Gil's work with Pixies and wanted him to produce Glen's band The Frames' debut album. 

As I recall, Glen put a big Pixies sticker on his motorbike, found out where Gil was working, drove there and left his bike prominently displayed to get Gil's attention. 

I finished with "Apparently it worked!"...except that it didn't, as I've subsequently read that Glen and Gil clashed over the direction and shape of the album. It isn't recalled as a positive experience in the accounts I've found online.

My awkwardness and ignorance notwithstanding, there are some mighty tunes here. The Frames come in a quarter of the way through, following The Blue Aeroplanes, The Fatima Mansions and a hidden gem of a China Crisis B-side.

There's one 21st century entry from Maximo Park. Gil also worked with them in the 1990s, along with Echobelly and Foo Fighters. Other 1980s production credits include The Triffids, The Bodines, Echo & The Bunnymen (with Ian Broudie), Del Amitri (with Julian Mendelsohn) and, closing out this collection, one of my favourite songs by Pixies.

Quite the career. I'm just scanning through the list of artists and records that I've missed this time around and there's plenty more for another selection.

For now, forget it's Sunday and turn the volume up!

1) ...And Stones (Album Version): The Blue Aeroplanes (1990)

2) Brain Blister (Album Version): The Fatima Mansions (1994)

3) No Ordinary Lover (Single Version): China Crisis (1982)

4) Masquerade (Album Version): The Frames (1992)

5) The Seabirds (Album Version): The Triffids (1986)

6) Nosebleed (Album Version): Maximo Park (2007)

7) Here Comes The Big Rush (Album Version): Echobelly (1997)

8) Therese (Single Version): The Bodines (1986)

9) The Killing Moon (Album Version): Echo & The Bunnymen (1984)

10) Move Away Jimmy Blue (Album Version): Del Amitri (1989)

11) Monkey Wrench (Album Version): Foo Fighters (1997)

12) No. 13 Baby (Album Version): Pixies (1989)

1982: No More Blue Horizons (Fool, Fool, Fool) EP: 3

1984: Ocean Rain: 9

1986: Born Sandy Devotional: 5

1986: Therese EP: 8

1989: Doolittle: 12

1989: Waking Hours: 10

1990: Swagger: 1

1992: Another Love Song: 4

1994: Lost In The Former West: 2

1997: Lustra: 7

1997: The Colour And The Shape: 11

2007: Our Earthly Pleasures: 6

Norton At The Controls (47:25) (GD) (M)

Why Everybody Needs A Bosom For A Pillow

Side 2 of a mixtape, compiled 14th February 1998. 

 

As I reflected when I posted Side 1 in 2022, this date was either the most unforgettable Valentine's Days ever, or one so traumatic that I've erased it from memory. I was in a relationship at the time, though not the long-suffering Mrs. K, who I hope can at least vouch that Valentine's Days have been a slight improvement on this one.

I was either in an upbeat mood or urgently needed cheering up, if the tracklist of this cassette is anything to go by. Beats, happy keys, lots of energy...I even wrote the word 'funky!' on the DIY front cover!

 

This 10-song selection picks from 1990 to 1994 and is chock full of gems, opening with Freaky Realistic and Subsonic 2, two acts that I loved but never got the attention that they deserved, seemingly due to record label shenanigans and mishandling.

 

The Grid on the other hand hand a monster hit on their hands with Swamp Thing (see what I did there?). It was a thrill to see Dave Ball and Richard Norris on Top Of The Pops, when it was still (just about) worth watching.

 

Fame was fleeting for poor ol' Adamski, sadly. Barely two years after enjoying #1 success, both follow up singles and album failed to make much of an impression, chart-wise. Which is a shame as the PiL-sampling Back To Front was a great single, bolstered by superb remixes by Leftfield. Vocalist Ricky Lyte had also enjoyed Top 5 success thanks to his guest spot (as MC Lyte) with The KLF on What Time Is Love?

 

Peppering their song with a sample announcing that "one spliff a day keeps the evil away" ensured that Fortran 5 were never going to trouble the charts, but Groove takes the already groovy album version down a notch, riding on a infectious bassline. Great stuff.

 

The Shamen, Scritti Politti and Sparks all hook up with remixers du jour, with Tommy D, Apollo 440 and The Rapino Brothers delivering tasty variations.

 

And, to add a little grit to the honey, The Fall's cover of Lost In Music by Sister Sledge, which I was clearly obsessed by in the 1990s, given the number of my mixtapes it appeared on. Admittedly, I still think it's a brilliant version and one that, when it comes crashing through the speakers, I turn up the volume.

1) Something New / Cosmic Love Vibes (Full Frealistic Version): Freaky Realistic (1992)

2) Addicted To Music (Incognito Brass Mix By Jean-Paul Maunick) (Edit): Subsonic 2 (1991)

3) Swamp Thing (Radio Mix): The Grid (1994)

4) Back To Front (Album Version): Adamski ft. Ricky Lyte (1992)

5) Groove (Edit): Fortran 5 ft. Shola Phillips (1991)

6) African And White (The Steve Proctor Remix) (7" Version): China Crisis (1990)

7) Phorever People (D's Mellow Dub) (Remix By Tommy D): The Shamen ft. Jhelisa Anderson (1992)

8) Lost In Music (Single Version) (Cover of Sister Sledge): The Fall (1993)

9) She's A Woman (The Apollo 440 Remix) (Cover of The Beatles): Scritti Politti ft. Shabba Ranks (1991)

10) When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way' (The Rapino Brothers Extended Sola Mix): Sparks (1994)

Side Two (46:09) (KF) (Mega)

Side One here

A Song For You

Another selection of 2024 highlights, the theme being names in song titles.

 

Many of the usual suspects - Barry Adamson, Momus, Julian Cope, HANN - and a couple appearing here for the first time, with 100 Poems (aka Mike Wilson) and Mat Ducasse (best known to me for his work with Skylab). 

 

A Man Called Adam originally released Estelle in 1998 and it reappeared again this year with some new versions and contemporary remixes that had been gathering dust in a box for decades. I've included the traditional 7" version here, a reminder of summers past and the summer that never quite materialised here in 2024.

Another 'comeback' of sorts was China Crisis, who revisited their back catalogue with lush orchestral arrangements, a common practice these days perhaps, but not always successful. No such worry here though, China Greatness is a delight. A second CD supplied alternative mixes of the album tracks, including Christian, which closes today's selection.

I'll be coming back to some of the artists featured here over the next week, to wax lyrical about their respective albums. Gosh, it's been a good year, musically speaking.

 

1) Amen White Jesus: Barry Adamson (Cut To Black)

2) Trump: Momus (20 Frisky Whiskies)

3) Iris: Future Islands (People Who Aren’t There Anymore)

4) Estelle (7 Inch Edit): A Man Called Adam (Estelle EP)

5) Four Jehovahs In A Volvo Estate: Julian Cope (Friar Tuck)

6) Song For Claire (Your Life Is Your Life) (Album Version): 100 Poems (Balearic As A System Of Belief)

7) Rebecca's Desk: Xan Tyler (Holding Up Half The Sky)

8) Reka: Kito Jempere ft. Moral Kiosk & LINAMARI (Part Time Chaos Part Time Calmness)

9) Steve: Billy Reeves (Steve (A Weekend In Egham, 1996))

10) This Is Liam: HANN (Forever In A Glance)

11) Song For David (Single Version): Mat Ducasse (Song For David EP)

12) Christian (WW1 Mix): China Crisis (China Greatness)

A Song For You (47:30) (KF) (Mega)

Greatness And Imperfection

I hadn't planned on posting another China Crisis selection so soon after the compilation of 12" mixes in July. However, I've been enjoying this year's China Greatness album so much that today's post was seemingly creating itself almost before I was consciously aware of it.

Starting off with one of their best songs, and only a B-side at that, it's mostly songs from their 1980s 'first phase' with a trio of string-laden re-recordings from 2024 woven in. 

It can often be the case that revisiting past songs feels like gilding the lily, but China Greatness really surpasses all expectations, not least because Gary and Eddie's curation means that B-sides, non-hits and album deep cuts are picked, not just the greatest hits. And Last Night From Glasgow has done a fantastic job with the album, from production to sleeves to (coloured) vinyl. No imperfections here!

1) A Golden Handshake For Every Daughter (1983)

2) It's Never Too Late (For You And Me Mix) (2024)

3) King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up) (Single Version) (1985)

4) No More Blue Horizons (Fool, Fool, Fool) (12" Version) (1982)

5) Scream Down At Me (Single Version) (1982)

6) Gift Of Freedom (1985)

7) Black Man Ray ('China Greatness' Version) (2024)

8) Hampton Beach (1986)

9) Greenacre Bay (1983)

10) It's Everything ('China Greatness' Version) (2024)

1982: No More Blue Horizons (Fool Fool Fool) EP: 4

1982: Scream Down At Me EP: 5

1983: Christian EP: 9

1983: Tragedy And Mystery EP: 1

1985: Flaunt The Imperfection: 6

1985: King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up) EP: 3

1986: What Price Paradise: 8

2024: China Greatness: 2, 7, 10

Greatness And Imperfection (43:15) (KF) (Mega)

The previous Dubhed selection, Exercise Your Every Right, can be found here.

Exercise Your Every Right

Another long overdue debut selection on this blog for China Crisis.

 

This one has been a fair old time getting from idea to execution, going all the way back to a 2022 post at The Vinyl Villain, where JC provided a great summary of the band's history whilst also admitting that he wasn't all that moved by their music, back in the 1980s or 40 years later.

That didn't stop Martin Elliot ("Our Swedish Correspondent") from contributing a China Crisis collection to TVV's Imaginary Compilation Album series in January 2023. And very enjoyable it is too, drawing on B-sides, deep cuts and less familiar singles.

Eighteen months later and I've finally got around to posting a follow up or companion of sorts. I'm firmly in the "love China Crisis" camp and think that they are a hugely underrated band. Their debut album, Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms: Some People Think It's Fun To Entertain, could frequently be heard through the walls of my brother's bedroom next door and in subsequent years, I got my own copy of the first and second albums plus secondhand copies of most of their 12" singles between 1982 and 1985.

It's the latter that today's selection focuses on, featuring most (if not all) of the extended versions included on 12" singles during the 1980s. There are some obvious omissions - Christian, Wishful Thinking and Arizona Sky - which used the full length album versions. A few 12" singles such as Scream Down At Me, Best Kept Secret, You Did Cut Me and Black Man Ray didn't include longer versions of the A-side. 

 

For the latter, I've sourced an extended edit of the song by Spiral Tribe, who produced a seemingly endless series of bootleg edits on CD during the mid-1990s. Sound levels are all over the place, but it's a fairly sympathetic extension of Black Man Ray, so it's made the cut.

I've also included a few B-sides which, unlike their contemporary A-sides, did get the 12" treatment. Cucumber Garden is the flip of debut single Scream Down At Me and is an early example of the gold that could be unearthed on 7" and 12" vinyl. 

 

Wishful Thinking was issued as a 4-track 12" in 1983 with the aforementioned full length album version of the A-side and an extended mix of B-side This Occupation, which has clearly been spending time in the back of New Order's car, cruising around town. Some People I Know To Lead Fantastic Lives was a standout song on the 1982 debut album and features here, along with an extended mix that I've used as the opening track on today's selection.

I bought the 7" of Arizona Sky at my local record shop, which came with a free cassette of China Crisis classics and snippets from their soon-come album What Price Paradise. I really liked Arizona Sky and the other new song samples were good but not enough to buy the album at the time. I've a much greater appreciation of the music now, though I can understand why 15-year old me was less taken.

 

Similarly, 1989 album Diary Of A Hollow Horse - and it's singles - passed me by at the time and I didn't hear Saint Saviour Square until I bought the China Crisis Collection 2CD in 1990. I acquired the 12" of Saint Saviour Square in subsequent years and I prefer it in it's extended form.

Animalistic is the strangest song on the selection, tucked away on the other side of the Black Man Ray single but included on the bonus B-side CD with the aforementioned greatest hits compilation. For a start, it's a very long version, over eleven minutes in length. It starts off innocently enough, a pleasingly if inoffensive groove with strolling bass, twinkly keys and Gary's deft lyrics. 

 

The song starts to fade out around the 3:30 mark, and that's went it all goes a bit weird, cutting to plucked string effects, with animal noises, and conversational voices coming in and out of focus. As the mix title suggests, the latter sounds exactly like a field recording from a day at the zoo. This goes on for a few minutes, until a male voice comes back in (Eddie? Gary?), commenting that "his eyes fucking bug me" before the main song drops back in for a reprise. Weird and wonderful.

China Crisis are still going strong, touring regularly and thanks to Last Night From Glasgow, back with new (kind of) album. China Greatness came out in May and features re-recorded and reworked versions of songs from their first four albums. I received a copy of the single vinyl, 11-track version as part of my LNFG membership package and I'm really enjoying it. Copies are still available on red or yellow vinyl or deluxe CD with a bonus disc of 8 additional versions. 

Today's post is dedicated to Martin, JC and fellow gig-goer (and occasional guest writer) Mike, who might enjoy this slice of extended Eighties nostalgia!

 

1) Some People I Know To Lead Fantastic Lives (Extended Mix By Steve Power) (1983)

2) King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up) (Extended Version By Walter Becker) (1985)

3) Hanna Hanna (Extended Mix By Mike Howlett) (1984)

4) Cucumber Garden (Extended 12" Version By Jeremy Lewis) (1982)

5) No More Blue Horizons (Fool, Fool, Fool) (12" Version By Peter Walsh) (1982)

6) Black Man Ray (Spiral Tribe Extended) (1995)

7) African And White (Remixed And Extended Version By Jeremy Lewis) (1982)

8) This Occupation (Extended Mix By Steve Power) (1983)

9) Saint Saviour Square (12" Mix By Mike Thorne) (1989)

10) Tragedy & Mystery (12" Version By Mike Howlett) (1983)

11) Animalistic (A Day At The Zoo Mix By China Crisis & Pete Coleman) (1985)

 

1982: African And White EP: 7

1982: No More Blue Horizons (Fool Fool Fool) EP: 5

1982: Scream Down At Me EP: 4 

1983: Tragedy & Mystery EP: 10

1983: Wishing Thinking EP: 1, 8

1984: Hanna Hanna EP: 3 

1985: Black Man Ray EP: 11

1985: King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up) EP: 2 

1989: Saint Saviour Square EP: 9

1995: Spiral Tribe EP (bootleg): 6

Exercise Your Every Right (1:09:20) (KF) (Mega)

Return To The Valley Of Kissing The Mix

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 21st April 2000. It's back to the 80s indie-not-indie disco time with another eight twelve inch hits and misses. 

Starting off with Prefab Sprout and Paddy McAloon's love song to the Big Apple. A wonderful song, Hey Manhattan! had the thankless task of being the follow up single to The King Of Rock 'n' Roll, their first (and only) Top 10 hit in the UK, reaching #7. Hey Manhattan! also had a '7' in it's highest chart placing. Unfortunately, that '7' was #72. It deserved better.

 

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions fared better, reaching #17 with Lost Weekend, two places higher than previous single Brand New Friend and, it turns out, Lloyd's biggest UK single success, with or without The Commotions.

Howard Devoto followed up Magazine and a solo album with Luxuria, a partnership with Norman Fisher-Jones aka Noko. After two albums and a handful of singles, the pair worked again, Devoto writing lyrics for songs on Apollo 440's debut album and Noko later joining the reformed Magazine in 2009. The 12" of Redneck was a beautiful thing, the vinyl single housed in an embossed brown cardboard sleeve. 

I really liked China Crisis' first album but didn't get any of the follow ups until well into the 21st century. I did go back and buy the 12" singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hanna Hanna wasn't a particular favourite as a single, but the extended mix won me over. It's only when I looked up the lyrics and listened more closely to the song that Gary Daly snuck in the F-bomb with the verse,

 

"We're living on a catwalk, catwalk
And swimming with the sharks
Biting into poison, poison
In a city all full of fucking sharks"

 

Naughty Gary, wash your mouth out with soap. If you're quick, you can catch up with the rather wonderful Imaginary Compilation Album of ten China Crisis gems over at The Vinyl Villain. So good that Martin, who collated the collection, didn't even need to include this song. 

 

By 1984, Wang Chung (formerly Huang Chung) were a core duo of Jack Hues and Nick Feldman and were enjoying greater success on the other side of the pond. Wait was taken from the soundtrack to the film To Live And Die In L.A., starring William Peterson and Willem Dafoe. Depending on which 12" single you bought, the 12" version featured here was variously known as Wait (Special U.K. Remix), Wait (Extended Dance Remix) or just plain Wait (Remix).  

 

If, like me, you knew Kissing The Pink for their 1983 UK Top 20 pop noir single The Last Film, their return as SAW-affiliated pure popsters was a bit of a surprise. Thankfully, no sign of Stock, Aitken or Waterman on the mix here and Phil Harding did have form remixing the likes of Nitzer Ebb and Depeche Mode. Personally, I enjoyed the run of singles from this period, but neither this musical volte face or a rebranding as KTP changed their chart fortunes in the UK. We're an unforgiving lot who dislike change, I guess...!

 

I'll put it straight out there: if you want to hear the definitive version of Bedbugs And Ballyhoo by Echo & The Bunnymen, then head straight to the B-side of Bring On The Dancing Horses. They re-recorded the song with The Doors' Ray Manzarek at the controls and keyboard. It's good but it's a bit like gilding the lily in my opinion. Being a sucker for an extended remix however, when I was on a family holiday in Florida in 1988 and snuck off to find a record shop, my haul included this 5-track 12" single. Ivan Ivan's a fairly safe pair of hands and he does a fairly decent job on this.

In the week that Depeche Mode announce their return with a new single, Ghosts Again, See You is a nice reminder of their melancholic pop days. The video, directed by Julien Temple, is a pretty cute narrative and a reminder of how much of a social focal point the humble photo booth was. My own photo booth collection, though with several losses and gaps over the years, tracks an intriguing narrative of friends, girlfriends and a variety of frankly ill-advised hairstyles. The video is also interesting in that Alan Wilder had clearly come on board slightly too late to be included in the full video. So, it's mostly Gahan, Gore and Fletcher, with a few blink-and-you'll-miss-them cuts to Wilder in a completely different room!

Happy Friday, everyone. 

1) Hey Manhattan! (JFK Version By Tony Phillips): Prefab Sprout (1988)

2) Lost Weekend (Extended Version By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley): Lloyd Cole & The Commotions (1985)

3) Redneck (Album Version By Gavin MacKillop, Howard Devoto & Noko): Luxuria (1988)

4) Hanna Hanna (Extended Mix By Mike Howlett): China Crisis (1984)

5) Wait (Special U.K. Remix By Stephen Lipson): Wang Chung (1984)

6) Never Too Late To Love You (Kissing The Mix By Mixmaster Phil Harding): Kissing The Pink (1986)

7) Bedbugs And Ballyhoo (Club Remix By Ivan Ivan): Echo & The Bunnymen ft. Ray Manzarek (1988)

8) See You (Extended Version By Daniel Miller & Depeche Mode): Depeche Mode (1982)

 

Side One (46:19) (GD) (M) 

Side Two here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teenage Remix

Side 2 of a C90 cassette, "mixed & mashed with abandon" 24th April 2000.

 

Back to the old school (disco) today and a bunch of 12" singles that I can guarantee didn't trouble the turntables at Pucklechurch Community Centre or Chasers Nightclub in Kingswood back in the day.  

 

The selection starts off with Sir William of Idol, an example where the 12" mix was much more exciting than the original version. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Billy's best album was the Vital Idol 12" remix compilation. Vital Idol was an essential purchase and frequently on loan to various school friends at the time.

I loved Communards and this was a prized purchase from Plastic Wax Records, when it was on West Street, Old Market in Bristol. The best remix of an already brilliant song. I wonder what happened to Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles?

Kissing The Pink first came to my attention with the weird pop of The Last Film. By the mid-'80s, they'd gone none-more-pop with this 12" by 'Mixmaster' Phil Harding being one of their highlights. This was originally titled the 'Garage' mix but on my later copy of the Stand Up 12" single, it had been re-titled the 'Engagedmix'.

 

In the late '80s, I guess Thomas Dolby was still trying to lose the 'science geek' label that had stuck since the days of She Blinded Me With Science and Windpower. Aliens Ate My Buick was a great pop album and Airhead was a wonderfully subversive and scathing song about superficiality. François Kevorkian delivered a mighty 10-minute mix on the US 12" single. This edited version also appeared on 1999's 12x12 remix collection; I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure that the version on my UK 12" single is slightly shorter again. But hey, never mind the length, feel the quality.

I was one of the poor unfortunates who heard Dollar's execrable version of Oh L'Amour before I heard the original by Erasure. What kind of mad world (™ Tears For Fears) do we live in where the asinine David Van Day & Thereze Bazar got to #7 in the UK singles chart in 1987, whilst the original by Andy Bell & Vince Bell managed a measly #85 the previous year? At least the latter enjoyed a second run in 2003, achieving the more respectable #13. David Van Day was running a burger van at the start of the 21st century, so I guess there was some justice, at least.

Another purchase from Plastic Wax (or Replay, I'm not sure), I retrospectively amassed China Crisis' singles on 12" in the mid- to late-'80s, which were by then bargain secondhand purchases. I loved the first album but was less familiar with the second or the title track and lead single. I can see why, as it only made it to #48 in 1983; follow up Wishful Thinking became their biggest hit, reaching #9 the following year. In a startling display of economy, the song neither retains it's full title or has a decent remix label on the 12" single, perfunctorily listed as Fire And Steel (Mix). The song's lots more fun.

 

And to close, Tom Lord-Alge pulverises O.M.D.'s delicate La Femme Accident with some typically huge '80s synthetic drums and stretched out vocals... and yet, I loved it. I purchased this as a lavish gatefold double pack 12" single, which included Enola Gay and a rather crap live version of Locomotion. I bought the accompanying album Crush on the back of So In Love. I wasn't a fan of follow-up Secret and I didn't think La Femme Accident was an obvious choice of single. Apparently, looking at the diminishing chart peaks, the UK-singles buying public agreed. Still, this version is about as 1980s as it gets.

Having just read that Chasers is due to reopen in 2022, any chance any of these will make a belated appearance? What do you think?

 

1) Catch My Fall (Remix Fix By Billy Idol & Steve Stevens): Billy Idol (1985)

2) Disenchanted (Total Dance Remix By Mike Thorne): The Communards (1986)

3) Certain Things Are Likely (Engagedmix By Phil Harding): Kissing The Pink (1986)

4) Airhead (Extended Version: Francois' Mix By François Kevorkian & Goh Hotoda): Thomas Dolby (1988)

5) Oh L'Amour (PWL Funky Sisters Say 'Ooh La La' Mix By Pete Waterman & Phil Harding): Erasure (1986)

6) Working With Fire And Steel (Fire And Steel (Mix) By Mike Howlett): China Crisis (1983)

7) La Femme Accident (12" Mix By Tom Lord-Alge): O.M.D. (1985)

 

Side Two (46:35) (GD) (M)