No Room To Move, No Room For Doubt

Feed The Enemy is the opening song of Magazine's second album, Secondhand Daylight. 

The song plays to the band's innate sense of theatre, introducing elements of the band one at a time; it's 1:27 before Barry Adamson's bass kicks in with John Doyle's percussion and two minutes in until Howard Devoto utters his first word.

The sense of anticipation is paid off with the opening couplet,

It's always raining over the border

There's been a plane crash out there

Following the second verse break and a blistering turn from Dave Formula and John McGeoch, the song builds in intensity as Howard comes back in to deliver the final lines, the band moving as one yet ramping up the tension, until it comes to it's inevitable end. 

Feed The Enemy wasn't released as a single, that was track two, the punchier Rhythm Of Cruelty, but a video was made for the song, at 5:29 only twenty seconds or so shorter than the album version.

For Magazine's live shows, a shorter, sped up version in the spirit of their more uptempo numbers was introduced. It may lose the brooding menace of the studio original, but it travels well at this revved up speed.

When Magazine reformed, they also got to perform at the penultimate BBC Electric Proms. Their set on Thursday 22nd October 2009 included the faster version of Feed The Enemy.

I saw Magazine a couple of years later in Birmingham, for what proved to be their final tour in this (re)incarnation. Whilst Feed The Enemy had been dropped by then, the combination of classics and new songs from then-current album No Thyself did not disappoint.

It's always raining over the border

There's been a plane crash out there

In the wheatfields they're picking up the pieces

We could go and look and stare

How many friends have we over there?

The border guards fight unconvincingly

Whatever we do it seems things are arranged

We always have to feed the enemy

You could dance for me

And punch me through

You could dance for me

And punch me through

You could dance for me

And punch me through

You could dance for me

And punch me through

We watched them trash the last camera

Glued to all our TV's

The actors on the replay

Trying again to touch you and me

But they always seem to know

Exactly what they're talking about

They must've got you in a corner

You've got no room to move

You've got no room for doubt

That's exactly what they're talking about

They must've got you in a corner

No room to move

No room for doubt

Dave-hed Selection

In the same month that we lost David Lynch and David Bowie, I also take a moment to remember my friend Dave. 

When I first posted about Dave in 2022, I shared a link to a song called Amazing Dave by CocknBullKid aka Anita Blay aka CocknBullKid released in 2010, the year after Dave passed. 

At the time I wrote that "This may be the only song in my collection that includes the name Dave in the title, but it's a good one."

I've had a rummage around and, looking for Dave and David in the song title, it turns out that I had quite a few to choose from. I've picked ten, plus two songs featuring two Daves and a David, which had to be included. And, inevitably, ending with CocknBullKid.

I think after an understandable groan, Dave would have liked this selection. I hope you do too.

Cheers, Dave. 

 

1) A Song Called Dave: The Comsat Angels (1995)

2) David Bowie Never Had To: Stephen Solo (2017)

3) Like Queer David: Earl Brutus (1996)

4) David Jones (Is On His Way): The Times (1985)

5) Parade (Cover of Magazine): Dave Formula ft. David McAlmont (2010)

6) Dave Balfe, What's Got Into You? (Tamworth Session, Part II): Julian Cope & The Teardrop Explodes (2021)

7) David's Last Summer: Pulp (1994)

8) David's Soul (Demo): Tindersticks (1998)

9) Star Of David: The Field Mice (1991)

10) Brother: Humanist ft. Dave Gahan (2024)

11) Dave The Butcher: Tom Waits (1983)

12) Amazing Dave: CocknBullKid (2010)

1983: Swordfishtrombones: 11

1985: Boys About Town EP: 4

1991: For Keeps: 9

1994: His 'n' Hers: 7

1995: The Glamour: 1

1996: I'm New EP: 3

2004: Simple Pleasure (Expanded Edition): 8

2010: Amazing Dave EP: 12

2010: Satellite Sweetheart: 5

2017: Pii2: 2

2021: Cold War Psychedelia: 6

2024: On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World: 10

Dave-hed Selection (46:13) (KF) (Mega)

Like An Insect Up And Down The Walls

As an appetiser for my review of Barry Adamson's gig at Strange Brew this week (coming Saturday, I promise), here's a classic from Magazine, circa 1978.

 

I've never seen the video for The Light Pours Out Of Me before and it's a nicely staged studio performance, with the individual members coming into shot with their respective musical introductions. 

 

So, you get a first sight of Barry (well, his torso at least) and guitar as that incredible bass line kicks in at 0:14, having followed John Doyle on drums and before John McGeogh, resplendent in a pink knitted jumper steps in front and, finally, Howard Devoto saunters into view, one hand in pocket, causally observing that "Time flies, time crawls..." 

 

Poor Dave Formula has to wait until 1:07 to get a look in but he makes up for it by playing two sets of keys, each placed either side of him.

 

One of the greatest openings to a song? It's hard to beat.

 

Before this raises any false hope, Barry didn't perform this or any other Magazine songs at Wednesday's show. However, here's one he did earlier, at the Moth Club in London on 27th April 2017. Different voice, different guitar, same great tune.

Phantoms I Could Belatedly Chase

Side 1 of a Magazine compilation cassette, originally recorded for me by my brother in September 1991.

 

I was 11 years old when I first heard Magazine, courtesy of my older brother having posthumous compilation After The Fact and live album Play on tape. 

 

I was fascinated by the handprint on the cover of the former and the grainy black and white photo of the band in the studio on the latter, both squashed and cropped to fit the two-and-a-half inch width of the cassette sleeve. 

 

I was fascinated by the song titles: Definitive Gaze, A Song From Under The Floorboards and especially Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) which to be honest also slightly irked this grammatically rigid adolescent.

I was fascinated by the sounds that emanated from the tape deck: Howard Devoto's voice, phrasing and a way of storytelling that was different from anything I'd heard before. And the music: spiky yet cinematic, poppy yet punky, alien yet painfully human (and hummable).

I was also fascinated by the perfunctory timing listed with the band name and album title on each side of the cassette. After The Fact's running time is 24:15 and 23:32 respectively; Play is 21:31 and 21:55. Unconsciously, the beginnings of an obsession with trying to cram the maximum amount of music on each side of a C60, C90 or C120 when it came to recording my own cassette compilations a couple of years later.

I think my brother was healthily less troubled by these things so there is difference of over a minute between the duration of each side of this mixtape: Side 1 is 45:19 whilst Side 2 is 46:22; I suspect I would have cursed every time I had to use precious Walkman battery power to fast forward to the end of the former to play the latter.

What is beyond argument is the quality of the ten songs on both sides. I'd wanted my brother to record his own equivalent of After The Fact for a long time. By the time I got it in 1991, I'd bought Secondhand Daylight (ah, the days of being able to buy back catalogue vinyl from WH Smith!) but memories of Magazine's wider work had faded. 

 

I loved this compilation, even if Magic, Murder And The Weather does get short shrift. A little unfairly in my opinion, but then what would I leave out to make room? I mentioned in my post about Side 2 that I swapped out a couple of versions for my recreation, but no such interference here. Parade is represented here with the live version from Play and it was the right call. On the surface, it might seem lazy to run tracks 4, 5 and 6 from The Correct Use Of Soap together (albeit in a slightly different order) but they work so well together, so why not?

And closing the side with Thank You - which many years later I discovered was a cover of Sly & The Family Stone is a perfect set up for the side to follow. Just listening to this again has brought a big smile to my face. Undiminished after more than three decades and the subsequent, inevitable deterioration of the original cassette.

Today's cover photo is another photo from Clan K's recent visit to Valencia. This time, it's a detail from one of the grand doorways to the Museu Nacional de Ceràmica i de les Arts Sumptuàries Gonzàlez Martí, succinctly described on Google Maps as a "Palace museum with an ornate 18th-century exterior, housing vast collections of ceramics & artworks." 

 

I'd like to tell you how much we enjoyed visiting it and viewing the exhibitions. To tell the truth, after taking a few photos outside, we carried on walking to the nearby Mercat de Colón, where we sat in a cafe enjoying coffee and pastries. The table next to us was hosting a "Day Of The Dead" (All Saints Day not George Romero) themed birthday party, crammed full of beautifully dressed and decorated - and excitably - pre-teen girls, with the associated parents sinking espressos at the table behind us. "So this is real life," as Howard Devoto once opined. You're telling me!

 

1) The Thin Air (Album Version) (1979)

2) Definitive Gaze (Album Version) (1978)

3) Talk To The Body (Album Version) (1979)

4) My Tulpa (Album Version) (1978)

5) Philadelphia (Album Version) (1980)

6) I Want To Burn Again (Album Version) (1980)

7) You Never Knew Me (Album Version) (1980)

8) So Lucky (Album Version) (1981)

9) Parade (Live @ Melbourne Festival Hall, Australia) (1980)

10) Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Album Version) (Cover of Sly & The Family Stone) (1980)

1978: Real Life: 2, 4

1979: Secondhand Daylight: 1, 3

1980: The Correct Use Of Soap: 5, 6, 7, 10

1980: Play: 9

1981: Magic, Murder And The Weather: 8

 

Side One (45:19) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two here

Phantoms I Could Later Chase

Side 2 of a Magazine compilation cassette, taped by my brother in September 1991.

 

I think the only Magazine album I owned at this time was Secondhand Daylight, which ironically makes up nearly half of this side, with a further two songs appearing on Side 1. I'd been familiar with their songs for several years though, as my older brother had first bought the After The Fact compilation on cassette, then the four studio albums plus live compilation Play on either tape or vinyl. 

 

I was fascinated by Howard Devoto's lyrics, unusual song titles and unique vocal phrasing. And the combination of heavy bass, virtuoso guitar, pounding percussion and swirling keyboards was undeniably attractive to this pre-teen. 

 

I'd been pressing my brother to do a Magazine mixtape for me for years and, judging by the date, it looks like he finally came good as a sort of homecoming gift as I returned from a year from Australia and back into full-time education (and living at home with my parents).

 

A couple of minor changes to versions included in this selection. Shot By Both Sides was originally the album version from Real Life, which cannot match the sheer energy of the 7" single so I've swapped them out. A Song From Under The Floorboards was the excellent live version from the album Play, though marred on the mixtape by a clumsy and premature manual fade out (sorry, bro!). I've gone for the studio version here.

 

Another characteristic of my sibling's selections was the loss of steam, especially in wrapping up side 2 of a compilation, and this was no exception. At the time, he mentioned that he'd stuck the final two songs on the end because the (undisclosed) songs he really wanted either wouldn't fit and he lost patience with it. For all that, I think both Burst and (the very apt) Stuck work very well in closing out this compilation.

 

It may be a while before Side 1 makes an appearance but, just to reassure you, both Real Life and The Correct Use Of Soap get more of a look in. Magic, Murder And The Weather was clearly less loved by Brother K and only gets one more song. I'll leave you to guess what that might be.

1) Feed The Enemy (Album Version) (1979)

2) Shot By Both Sides (Single Version) (1978)

3) Believe That I Understand (Album Version) (1979)

4) The Great Beautician In The Sky (Album Version) (1978)

5) I Wanted Your Heart (Album Version) (1979)

6) A Song From Under The Floorboards (Album Version) (1980)

7) The Great Man's Secrets (Album Version) (1981)

8) Cut-Out Shapes (Album Version) (1979)

9) Burst (Album Version) (1978)

10) Stuck (Album Version) (1980)

1978: Real Life: 4, 9

1978: Shot By Both Sides EP: 2

1979: Secondhand Daylight: 1, 3, 5, 8

1980: The Correct Use Of Soap: 6, 10

1981: Magic, Murder And The Weather: 7

 

Side Two (46:22) (KF) (Mega)

Peeping Through The Hole In My Soul

Spotted outside Gloucester Cathedral yesterday. The first two kind of have a logical connection, but the third? I mean, I can understand the conspiracy theories about the moon landings, but faking the whole of space? Was someone so incensed that poor Edwin Hubble has been consigned to the dusty basement of history now that there is a brand shiny new space telescope named after NASA Johnny-Come-Lately James Webb? These important questions and answers of the day should at least demand page 7 in the Gloucestershire Echo, surely?

 

On a completely unrelated note, today's selection is inspired by artists, tracks and themes featured in Dubhed's current Top 10 most popular posts. Where else would you find The Sisters Of Mercy and New Order shacking up with One Dove, David McAlmont and Little Simz?

 

1) Deadline For My Memories (Album Version): Electribe 101 (1992)

2) Long Train (12" Version): The Sisters Of Mercy (1984)

3) Paris (Cover of Friendly Fires): The Anchoress (2012)

4) Woman (Live @ Later... With Jools Holland): Little Simz (2021)

5) Paradise (Remix By Robert Racic & Nick Mainsbridge): New Order (1987)

6) Breakdown (Secret Knowledge Light Mix By Kris Needs): One Dove (1993)

7) Blind Vision (Album Version By John Luongo): Blancmange (1983)

8) Parade (Cover of Magazine): Dave Formula ft. David McAlmont (2010)

9) Half A World Away (Nicky Campbell Session): R.E.M. (1991)

10) This Woman's Work (Album Version): Kate Bush (1989)

1983: Mange Tout: 7

1984: Walk Away EP: 2

1987: True Faith EP (Australian 12" single): 5

1989: The Sensual World: 10

1993: Breakdown EP: 6 

2010: Satellite Sweetheart: 8

2012: Reprise: The Covers Collection: 3

2018: Best Of At The BBC: 9

2021: Woman EP: 4

2022: Electribal Soul (previously unreleased 1992 album): 1

 

Peeping Through The Hole In My Soul (52:45)

Take The Time To Smile!

I had a day off on Tuesday and made my first trip to Bristol in around three years. Much has changed. 

I spent most of the time in the vicinity of The Arches in Gloucester Road, with two essential visits: KBK Shoes, to buy a new pair of Dr. Martens, and a couple of hours' music truffling in Plastic Wax Records. 

I usually focus on the vinyl but this time - and purely practical reasons - I went for shiny plastic disc only. I ended up with 10 for £10, which is admittedly a far cry from Charity Chic's expert mining of charity shop gems, but I came away with some unexpected and delightful finds.

Actually, my total haul was 11 CDs as I just couldn't whittle it down any further. In fact, it was due to be 12, but some git had nicked the CD of Understated by Edwyn Collins, so I regretfully had to leave it behind. 

Still, much to dive into over the coming weeks, including a lovely hardback edition of Craig Armstrong's Piano Works, a Moloko best of with bonus live in concert CD, Dave Formula's solo album (including a lounge-y version of Parade by Magazine featuring David McAlmont...it's growing on me). to name but a few.

 

Today's selection features a track from each purchase.

 

1) Heatmiser 2 (Cover of Massive Attack): Craig Armstrong (2004)

2) What Sound (Album Version): Lamb (2002)

3) I Left My Tart In Sad Franks Disco: Groove Corporation ft. Bobby Blue & Dubby Galespy (2002)

4) 1971: Freddy Fresh (1999)

5) Rebel Heart: Roots Manuva (2005)

6) Cannot Contain This (Radio Edit): Moloko (2003)

7) Goodbye To The Country: Field Music (2018)

8) Rise And Fall (DJ Krush Mix By Ishi Hideaki): Galliano (1994)

9) Neon: The Knife (2001)

10) Via Sacra: Dave Formula ft. Howard Devoto (2010)

11) Tonight The Streets Are Ours: Richard Hawley (2007)

 

1994: A Thicker Plot: 8

1999: The Last True Family Man: 4

2001: The Knife: 9

2002: Dub Plates From The Elephant House Volume Two: 3

2002: What Sound (limited edition 2x CD): 2

2004: Piano Works: 1

2005: Awfully Deep: 5

2006: Catalogue/Value-Pak (limited edition 2x CD): 6

2007: Lady's Bridge: 11

2010: Satellite Sweetheart: 10

2018: Open Here: 7

Take The Time To Smile! (41:25) 

I Get Absolutely No Pleasure From Singing This Song

I was fortunate enough to see Magazine live in concert at the HMV Institute on Digbeth High Street in Birmingham on 8th November 2011. Sadly, by then Barry Adamson had departed again after the reformed band's initial live dates in 2009. However, the experience of seeing Howard Devoto, Dave Formula, John Doyle and (as a fan of Luxuria) Noko performing on stage was incredible. 

 

Despite touring their new (and, as it happens, only post-reformation) album, No Thyself, I hadn't actually bought or listened to it...and I also failed to get a copy from the merch stall on my way home, being so abuzz with the 90 minutes that had just gone by. A night at the notorious but cheap Britannia Hotel in the city centre soon dampened that buzz but, at the time, what a fantastic night.

The set was heavy with songs from No Thyself, which stood well with the other, better known songs. The studio versions sound a bit muted by comparison now, but my memory is that the live versions were more rousing; I recall that Dave Formula in particular seemed to be having a great time on stage.

Inevitably, with only 16 songs there were lots of omissions. 1981's Magic, Murder And The Weather didn't even get a look-in, a little unfairly in my opinion especially in its 30th anniversary year, but then what to leave out to make room?

The prospect of another Magazine concert, let alone new songs, seems even more remote a decade or so on. They came, they performed, they were brilliant, they left. I'm glad I was there to see it.

1) Definitive Gaze (Album Version) (1978)

2) Give Me Everything (Single Version) (1978)

3) Motorcade (Album Version) (1978)

4) Happening In English (2011)

5) The Worst Of Progress… (2011)

6) A Song From Under The Floorboards (Album Version) (1980)

7) Philadelphia (Album Version) (1980)

8) Parade (Album Version) (1978)

9) Hello Mister Curtis (With Apologies) (2011)

10) Rhythm Of Cruelty (Single Version) (1979)

11) Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (John Peel Session) (1979)

12) Holy Dotage (2011)

13) Permafrost (Album Version) (1979)

14) The Light Pours Out Of Me (Album Version) (1978)

15) Final Analysis Waltz (2011)

16) Shot By Both Sides (Live @ the Russell Club/The Factory, Manchester) (1980)

 

1978: Give Me Everything (7"): 2

1978: Real Life: 1, 3, 8, 14

1979: Rhythm Of Cruelty (7"): 10

1979: Secondhand Daylight: 13

1980: The Correct Use Of Soap: 6, 7

2000: Maybe It's Right To Be Nervous Now: 11

2011: No Thyself: 4, 5. 9, 12, 15

I Get Absolutely No Pleasure From Singing This Song (1:12:08)