What's With The Flowers In My Door? What The Hell Would I Want Those For?!

Looking for something a little more upbeat to get me through the latter part of the week, I stumbled across Sharam Jey's 2018 single and video, Dangerous Game.

Sharam is easily found in my music collection, as one half of beat behemoths Deep Dish, though I have considerably less of his solo releases.

Dangerous Game features the voice of Kat Frankie, a Sydney-born, Berlin-based artist with 20-odd years in the business. It's also the fourth and final single from the album Invisible, released in September 2018.

The other three singles also spotlight guest musicians: :Little Boots on Fridaycity, Dirty Vegas on Ready Or Not and KLP on Lost.

All good stuff, with enjoyable, linked-theme videos (below), and enough to make me want to track down the album. But how do you find something that is Invisible?

My go-to, Bandcamp, didn't come up with the goods, though I did find another Sharam Jey 'bootleg' of interest, which you can find at the bottom of this post.

My fall back is Juno Download, a vast virtual warehouse of older releases and deep cuts with good prices and decent discounts. Except I should have typed 'was' not 'is' as Juno recently pulled the shutters on their digital branch, focusing instead solely on physical releases.

I avoid the other big streaming and download providers, but it's difficult to navigate the others to strike a balance between availability of downloads to buy and a decent return for the artists.

So, I finally found Invisible, and it's remix companion, available as two separate volumes, on Beatport at a penny under 12 quid a pop. I'm going to stick with the former and skip the latter (two) for now.

 

 

One of the cited influences and inspirations for Invisible is Depeche Mode, especially circa the 1980s. My search for Sharam Jey on Bandcamp threw up Hot Stuff, one of his 'bootleg' PImp My Booty releases. 

Included within the mammoth 36 tracks are two mid-80s DM classics, one (surprisingly) an uptempo take on downtempo ballad A Question Of Lust. The other a standalone single to promote the first DM 'best of' and one of the songs that caused my friend Jayne to rechristen the band 'Depress Mode'.

With 36 songs, not everything is going to hit the spot but at two Euro for the whole thing (five and a half cents per track), it would be rude not to buy before you try.

Decayed I: 2001

Side 2 of an imaginary compilation cassette, travelling through the 2000s.

Troubling the upper reaches of the UK's best-selling singles of 2001 were Shaggy, Atomic Kitten and S Club 7. Not to forget yesterday's reference to Westshite, who must have had a sideline commission on bar stools, the amount of time they spent with their arses glued to them whilst inflicting another ballad or cover version (or both) on us.

Yet, there was hope. Kylie Minogue was experiencing a purple patch of perfect pop songs, arguably none more so than Can't Get You Out Of My Head. Bucking the trend of one-week-only #1s, Ms. Minogue spent four weeks at the top, seven in the Top 10 and the best part of six months in the Top 75. 

Can't Get You Out Of My Head was apparently offered first to S Club 7 (well, their manager) then Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who both turned it down. I bet they've been kicking themselves ever since.

Basement Jaxx were also wanting to know Where's Your Head At, cracking the UK Top 10 in December. Featuring Damien Peachey on vocals, the song is built on the riff from Gary Numan's 1979 song M.E. and was accompanied by a memorable video.

Speaking of samples, there's a serendipitous connection between today's playlist and the original Decade mixtape series. In October 2001, Felix Da Housecat charted with the single Harlot, sampling the synth percussion of The Sound Of The Crowd by The Human League. That very song featured in my 1981 selection, having reached #12 in May of that year. It's almost like I planned it...!

Missy Elliott had previously scored a UK #1 in 1998, but it was a guest on ex-Spice Girl Melanie B's single I Want You Back. Get UR Freak On got to #4 in April 2001 and would prove to be Missy's highest charting single in the UK as a solo artist. It's a magnificent record, and Timbaland's production and the tabla frenzy underpinning the song cannot be underestimated. Yet, it wouldn't be half as good without Missy herself: her delivery is spot on and a breath of fresh air compared to many of her male contemporaries.

This was the year that we were introduced to The Strokes. I wasn't as blown away by them as the gushing music press appeared to be, though I found myself morbidly fascinated by Last Nite, both the video and the song. Both were unashamedly retro, yet there was something compelleing about their sound and look, even to an old cynic like me.

2001 also saw the first collaboration between Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams, a partnership that would really pay off a decade and a half later. Here, The Neptunes (Pharrell and Chad Hugo) get their hands on Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger and take it in a completely new direction.

The Charlatans, Depeche Mode, Faithless and Damon Albarn all came back with strong songs, reasserting their relevance in the 21st century. Albarn especially so, as in a radical departure from Blur, he co-created 'virtual' band Gorillaz to great critical and commercial acclaim. 

Trevor Jackson is the brains behind Playgroup, the only non-charting single in today's picks. Never heard of him? Break 4 Love by Raze or House Of Lovers by The Rapture? Two of the many record sleeves Trevor designed. The Underdog remixes of Massive Attack, House Of Pain, U2 or Everything But The Girl? That's Trevor. Late 1990s releases by Fridge and Four Tet (Kieran Hebden) on the Output label? Trevor ran it.

Playgroup's self-titled debut album is a thing of wonder and I will write about it at some point, here or elsewhere. Suffice to say that both it and the various singles should have been smash hits. Front 2 Back is featured here, with a strong lead from KC Flightt and a wonderful guest spot from Edwyn Collins on guitar, who nails it.

Robert Miles had a #2 hit with Children in January 1996. Nina Miranda, fronting Smoke City, got to #4 with Underwater Love in April 1997.  On paper, a collaboration between the two had 'hit' written all over it, surely? Sadly not. 

Paths is a great song, but managed just one week at #74 in July 2001. The Future Sound Of London aka Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain were no strangers to the UK charts themselves in the 1990s and they provide a stunning remix here. There is a full-length 7+ minute version on the 12" single, though everything you need is captured here in two hundred and twenty eight wonderful seconds.

Although labelled as a remix by The Future Sound Of London, Brian and Garry were revisiting another of their aliases, and this remix signposted their new direction. Stay tuned, as you'll find out what they were up to next week.

For your further listening pleasure, you may wish to head back to 1981 and 1991.

1) Love Is The Key (Album Version): The Charlatans
2) 19/2000 (Soulchild Remix By Damien Mendis & Stuart Bradbury): Gorillaz
3) I Feel Loved (Single Version): Depeche Mode
4) Get Ur Freak On (Edit By Timbaland & Jimmy Douglass): Missy Elliott
5) Harlot (Edit): Felix Da Housecat ft. Melistar
6) Muhammad Ali (Radio Edit By Rollo & Sister Bliss): Faithless ft. Pauline Taylor
7) Last Nite (Album Version): The Strokes
8) Front 2 Back (Album Version): Playgroup ft. KC Flightt & Edwyn Collins
9) Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (The Neptunes Remix Edit By Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo): Daft Punk
10) Where's Your Head At (Radio Edit): Basement Jaxx ft. Damien Peachey
11) Can't Get You Out Of My Head (Album Version): Kylie Minogue
12) Paths (Future Sound Of London 'Cosmic Jukebox' Remix (Edit)): Robert Miles ft. Nina Miranda, Garry Cobain & Justin Gibson

22nd April 2001: Miss E ...So Addictive (#4): 4

1st July 2001: Gorillaz (#6): 2

22nd July 2001: Organik Remixes (#74): 12

5th August 2001: Exciter (#12): 3

2nd September 2001: Wonderland (#16): 1

23rd September 2001: Outrospective (#29): 6

23rd September 2001: Fever (#1): 11

21st October 2001: Kittenz And Thee Glitz (#79): 5

21st October 2001: Playgroup (# n/a): 8 *

11th November 2001: Is This It (#14): 7

11th November 2001: Discovery (#25): 9

2nd December 2001: Rooty (#9): 10

Side Two (45:05) (GD) (M)

* Front 2 Back failed to chart as a single, but Playgroup's self-titled album got to #94 in this week.

Watt's The Frequency's Zenith?

Today's selection is an hour-long tribute to bartender, auto mechanic and master of the 12" edit, Joseph Watt.

My first experience of Joseph's work was in 1985, buying either the 7" double pack of What's Your Problem? by Blancmange or the import 12" of Master And Servant by Depeche Mode, both of which contained examples of his handiwork.

I soon discovered his vast body of work with Art Maharg as Razormaid, though much of it was out of my reach until the early 2000s, when it became available online via various music blogs.

Since then, I've amassed over a hundred different Joseph Watt edits and remixes, spanning 1983 to 1993 and covering a wide range of genres, but favouring the alternative and electronic pop music of my teens.

In pulling together this selection and post, I discovered a fascinating article-cum-interview with Joseph from 2014 on the Red Bull Music Academy website of all places. It's well worth a read, especially if you have an interest in Razormaid and the US subscription-only remix services that proliferated in the 1980s, but also as an inspirational tale of serendipitous and seismic career changes.

"Where did you come from? 

Are you like some big hotshot DJ from Miami or Paris?’"

They said I was like this enigma. 

I’d just say, 

"What do you mean?

I just came over from my apartment on 17th Street"

I've selected and sequenced nine personal favourites from Joseph's catalogue, some commercially released, some included on the numerous Razormaid 12" singles and compilations from the 1980s and 1990s.

The aforementioned remix of Depeche Mode is present, Blancmange too, though instead of That's Love That It Is from the What's Your Problem? 7", I've gone for Game Above My Head, a stunning extended remix that appeared on the follow up 7" double pack, Lose Your Love.

I offer apologies to anyone led by the post title into thinking there might be some R.E.M. here as well. Not so, but the rest of the mixtape, from Sparks to Erasure, Bronski Beat to Vicious Pink, O.M.D. to Talking Heads and ending with Electronic, is pretty heavyweight compensation. 

1) Burning Down The House (Razormaid Mix): Talking Heads (1987)

2) Music That You Can Dance To (Razormaid! Edit): Sparks (1990)

3) Smalltown Boy (Razormaid Mix): Bronski Beat (1984)

4) Game Above My Head (U.S. Extended Remix Version): Blancmange (1983)

5) Tesla Girls (Razormaid Mix): O.M.D. (1992)

6) Master And Servant (US Black & Blue Version) (Edited By Joseph Watt): Depeche Mode (1984)

7) Cccan't You See... ('89 Mix By Razormaid aka Art Maharg & Joseph Watt): Vicious Pink (1989)

8) Sometimes (Extended Mix By Rico Conning) (Edited By Joseph Watt): Erasure (1987)

9) Getting Away With It (Digital Mix): Electronic (1992)

1983: That's Love, That It Is EP (USA 12" single): 4

1984: Master And Servant EP (USA 12" single): 6

1987: Sometimes EP (USA 12" single): 8

1988: Class X One: 1

1989: Razormaid's 4th Anniversary Issue: The Atrocity Exhibition: 7

1990: Prehistoric Razormaid!: 2

1992: The Best Of... This Is Only A Test!: 3, 9

1992: Razormaid! 7th Anniversary Box Set: 5

Watt's The Frequency's Zenith? (1:02:43) (GD) (M)

Further listening:

Bevans Above! (Bert Bevans, November 2021)

L'art De La Discothèque, Volume 1 & Volume 2 (François Kevorkian, May-June 2025)

WareHouse (Martyn Ware, May 2025)

Critical Maas

An hour of Timo Maas' turn of the century remixes to get your pulse racing.

When I think of dance music in the early 2000s, Timo Maas was everywhere, but seemed to be particularly appealing to guitar noiseniks looking to get a piece of club action. Case in point: Muse, Placebo and Garbage. 

Timo also gave the magic touch to electronic music stalwarts Depeche Mode, Moby, and Rick Simmons and Steve Jones, recording here as Lustral but also known for their releases as The Space Brothers and Chakra.

Topping and tailing the selection from the poppier end of the spectrum, Jamiroquai and Kelis, both songs that were okay(ish) in their original form, but really come alive when put through the Maas mixer.

And I couldn't resist including this photo, taken in Gloucester covered market last month and possibly the saddest looking use of a vacant stall that I've seen. A critical mess, if you will.

1) Feels Just Like It Should (Timo Maas Mix): Jamiroquai (2005)

2) Enjoy The Silence (Timo Maas Extended Remix): Depeche Mode (2004)

3) Sunburn (Timo Maas' Sunstroke Remix): Muse (2000)

4) Special K (Timo Maas Remix): Placebo (2001)

5) We Are All Made Of Stars (Timo Maas Dub Mix): Moby (2002)

6) Everytime (Timo Maas Vocal Mix): Lustral ft. Tracy Ackerman (1999)

7) Breaking Up The Girl (Timo Maas Remix): Garbage (2002)

8) Young, Fresh & New (Timo Maas Remix) (Full Vocal): Kelis (2001)

Critical Maas (1:03:28) (GD) (M)

Muzik For Hair Gel

Day 2 of the Eighties 12" Weekender with a new selection, based on an old idea.

Digging out archive Dubhed selections to include with yesterday's post, I'd planned to include Muzik For Hairspray, a mixtape I'd compiled circa 2000 and posted here in May 2021.

I was barely six months into the blog, Muzik For Hairspray was my 29th post and I had no expectation at the time that five years and over 1,500 posts later, I may want to re-post the selection...so I deleted it.

In recreating the original mixtape (again), I was inspired to create a companion set, inspiringly titled Muzik For Hair Gel.

The idea was simple enough: use exactly the same artists and sequence of the Muzik For Hairspray mixtape*, just different songs, and ideally ones that I hadn't used on a previous 12"/80s compilation. And it was that last bit that took the most time!

That said, I'm pretty happy with the end result. After the controversy of 1979's Pop Musik on the previous comp, today's song by M (aka Robin Scott) was genuinely released in the 1980s...just. 

Official Secrets was only released on 7" in the UK and many other countries, though the Spanish put the full length album version on theirs, and Mexico went one step further by putting it on a promo 12". Tick!

I've used the dub remix of Love Calling by Sir William of Idol in a previous Best of Billy selection, so I stuck with the album version. As with Mexico, it was Australia to the rescue this time, releasing this version on a promo 12" single. Double tick!

This is the fourth appearance on this blog of Boom! There She Was (Sonic Property Mix) by Scritti Politti. However, whilst the previous three selections all featured an edit included on the UK 12", this time it's the unexpurgated 9-minute version direct from the U.S.A. 

Divine makes a welcome reappearance, again teaming up with Bobby Orlando for Love Reaction. But what 1983 12" single could possibly have inspired their own dancefloor smash?

* With one exception.

Having recorded this selection first, I then revisited Muzik For Hairspray, only to discover too late that I've accidentally missed off the last song on Side 1 when I originally posted the tracklist. So, apologies to Belouis Some for missing out on Muzik For Hair Gel. Them's the showbiz breaks, I guess!

This weekend's selections are dedicated to Mike, his mates and anyone else making their way to the Milton Keynes Bowl for today's Forever Now festival, featuring several of today's artists and some unbelievably great headliners to boot. Have a fab day!

And a very happy birthday to Green Gartside, who is 70 today!

Side One

1) Official Secrets (Album Version By Robin Scott): M ft. Brigit Vinchon (1980)

2) Love Calling (Album Version By Keith Forsey): Billy Idol (1982)

3) Cccan't You See... (8:15 To Nowhere Mix By Tony Mansfield): Vicious Pink (1984)

4) Love Reaction (12" Version By Bobby Orlando): Divine (1983)

5) Junk (Remixed By Harvey Goldberg): Bronski Beat (1984)

6) Dissidents (The Search For Truth Part II) (Remix By François Kevorkian & Dominick Maita): Thomas Dolby (1984)

7) Where The Heart Is (12" Version By Mike Thorne & Harvey Goldberg): Soft Cell (1982)

Side Two

1) Boom! There She Was (Sonic Property Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero) (Full Length): Scritti Politti ft. Roger Troutman (1988)

2) Channel Z (Rock Mix By Don Was & Michael Hutchinson): The B-52's (1989)

3) On Your Own (New York Mix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero): Pete Shelley (1986)

4) Let's All Make A Bomb (New Version By B.E.F. & Greg Walsh): Heaven 17 (1983)

5) Shock (The Shep Pettibone Mix): The Psychedelic Furs (1987)

6) It's Called A Heart (Extended) (Remix By Depeche Mode & Daniel Miller): Depeche Mode (1985)

7) Without You (12" Mix By Tim Friese-Greene): Talk Talk (1984)

Side One (45:52) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two (46:19) (KF) (Mega)

You can find Muzik For Hairspray here

And, for your further 12/80s listening pleasure:

Flying In The Face Of Fashion (2022)

Just Walk Don't Talk (2022)

Fun To Think (2023)

No Games (2024)

Party Down, Rock The House (2024)

The Fate Of The Eighties

Will I ever run out of 12" mixes from the 1980s to post? Probably not.

Five years into this blog, and I'm still pulling some big hitters out of the record bag that (I'm 99.9% sure) haven't previously featured in a Dubhed selection.

One from each year of the decade, not necessarily in that order, though the selection starts with 1980 and ends with 1989, so there's some order, at least. As well as some New Order.

I've cheated a little with the 1980 pick. The 12" version of Methods Of Dance is the same as the album version that appeared on Gentlemen Take Polaroids in 1980. However, the song didn't appear on a single until 1982, as the B-side to Nightporter. But hey, it's Japan, it's in!

The song that triggered the idea for this playlist a few days ago was a random shuffle of Dum Dum Girl (12" Mix) by Talk Talk. I love the mixes by the band, latterly with Tim Friese-Greene, though have a lot of love for the remixes by Steve Thompson & Richard Barbiero too. Dare I say it? I prefer this version of Dum Dum Girls to the original.

Sowing The Seeds Of Love by Tears For Fears closes out the selection. The 'Full Version' is lifted from the CD single I bought at the time (even though I hadn't yet bought a CD player!) If you bought Tears For Fears' Greatest Hits in the early 1990s, the one with the bonus CD of remixes, you will have found this labelled as Sowing The Seeds Of Love (Wen's Overnight Mix). It's a whopping thirty seconds longer than the album version, too!

In between, some cracking tunes by Depeche Mode, Howard Devoto, Icehouse, Information Society, Pet Shop Boys and Visage, extended to perfection by legends such as Daniel Mlller, 'Little' Louie Vega, The Latin Rascals and Shep Pettibone.

All guaranteed to bring some sunshine into your day...although as we're officially experiencing a heatwave in the UK, perhaps the last thing you may want...!

1) Methods Of Dance (12" Version by Japan & John Punter): Japan (1980)

2) Crazy (Manic Mix By David Lord & Michael H. Brauer): Icehouse (1987)

3) The Perfect Kiss (12" Version By New Order & Michael Johnson): New Order (1985)

4) What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (Club Mix By 'Little' Louie Vega, Roman Ricardo & The Latin Rascals): Information Society (1988)

5) We Move (Dance Mix By Midge Ure & Visage): Visage (1981)

6) Love Comes Quickly (Pettibone Mastermix By Shep Pettibone): Pet Shop Boys (1986)

7) Dum Dum Girl (12" Mix By Steve Thompson & Richard Barbiero): Talk Talk (1984)

8) Leave In Silence (Longer) (12" Version By Depeche Mode & Daniel Miller): Depeche Mode (1982)

9) Cold Imagination (Extended Version By Howard Devoto & Greg Walsh): Howard Devoto (1983)

10) Sowing The Seeds Of Love (Full Version By Tears For Fears & Dave Bascombe): Tears For Fears (1989)

The Fate Of The Eighties (1:08:33) (KF) (Mega)

If that's got you on a 12'/80s kick, I've reactivated links to some previous Dubhed excursions from the archives....

History Reinvented (2021)

Kissing The Mix (Side One & Side Two) (2000)

Teenage Remix (Side One & Side Two) (2000)

You Never Really Saw... (2005)

L'art De La Discothèque, Volume 1

A 90 minute master class in the art of the remix, courtesy of François Kevorkian. 

Monsieur K is now his sixth decade (!) as a remixer, producer and DJ and although his work rate is proportionately smaller than in preceding years, if you collected his credited work alone, you would have a pretty large music collection.

It would harder to list the artists that François hasn't worked with, than the other way around and, particularly in the 1980s, it seemed that no 12" single was complete without a Kevorkian remix.

So, where to start with a Dubhed selection? I've picked a dozen remixes, spanning 1982 to 2021, taking in Yazoo and Depeche Mode, Arthur Baker and Arthur Russell (as Dinosaur L), GusGus and Underworld, The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen, Kraftwerk and Coldplay, Perry Farrell and Jimmy Cliff.

As eclectic as it sounds, what binds the music together is the man at the controls, a master at work, quality running through like writing in a stick of rock.

And yes, "Volume 1"...

1) Jumbo (Rob Rives & François Kevorkian Main Dish): Underworld (1999)

2) Lips Like Sugar (12" Mix By François Kevorkian & Michael Hutchinson): Echo & The Bunnymen (1987)

3) Enjoy The Silence (Bass Line) (Remix By François Kevorkian): Depeche Mode (1990)

4) On A Mission (FK 12" Mix By François Kevorkian): Arthur Baker & Rockers Revenge (2018)

5) Hot Hot Hot!!! (Extended Remix By François Kevorkian & Ron St. Germain): The Cure (1988)

6) Tour De France (Remix By François Kevorkian): Kraftwerk (1983)

7) #5 Go Bang! (Mixed By François Kevorkian): Dinosaur L (1982)

8) Roots Radical (12" Version By François Kevorkian): Jimmy Cliff (1983)

9) Very Important People (François K Vocal Mix By François Kevorkian & Rob Rives) (Full Length): GusGus (1999)

10) Talk (François Kevorkian Remix): Coldplay (2006)

11) The Solutionists (François K Brave Vocal Mix By François Kevorkian): Perry Farrell's Satellite Party (2021)

12) Situation (U.S. 12" Mix By François Kevorkian): Yazoo (1982)

L'art De La Discothèque, Volume 1 (1:30:06) (GD) (M)

April Fools

What else for All Fools' Day than an all fools playlist?

Oh, and whilst I'm here: pinch, punch, first of the month, no returns.

And happy birthday, Mama K.

1) Caravan Of Fools: John Prine (2018)

2) Don't Be A Fool (12" Extended Version): Loose Ends (1990)

3) The Fool On The Hill (Demo): The Beatles (1967)

4) Fools (Single Version): Depeche Mode (1983)

5) Fools Gold (Grooverider's Mix) (Edit 2): The Stone Roses (1999)

6) Where Fools Rush In (Radio Edit): Billie Ray Martin (2001)

7) Fool Yourself (Skit): Little Feat (1973)

8) Ditch The Fool: The Pastels (1989)

9) These Foolish Things (Album Version) (Cover of Leslie Hutchinson): Bryan Ferry (1973)

10) Why Do Fools Fall In Love: Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers (1955)

11) Wise And Foolish (John Peel Session): Misty In Roots (1980)

1955: Why Do Fools Fall In Love EP: 10

1973: These Foolish Things: 9

1983: Love In Itself EP: 4

1989: Sittin' Pretty: 8

1990: Don't Be A Fool EP: 2

1995: The John Peel Sessions: 11

1996: The Beatles Anthology 2: 3

1997: Tribe Vibes Vol. 1: 7

2000: The Remixes: 5

2001: Where Fools Rush In EP: 6

2018: The Tree Of Forgiveness: 1

April Fools (46:29) (KF) (Mega)

They Could Have Been Contenders

I'm having a lot of fun compiling the Decadance series and revisiting tunes from the 1990s. 

Making the cut for the final dozen can be a challenge though, and many excellent, or memorable, or both, songs get discarded along the way (and not just Pop Will Eat Itself, I mean).

I've rescued a couple from each year that I've covered so far, not least because most of them were accompanied by hugely enjoyable videos, albeit each for different videos. Step up (or step on) Pet Shop Boys, The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, R.E.M., Siouxsie & The Banshees, Depeche Mode and Happy Mondays.

There was no video for Her Jazz by Huggy Bear, but they did make an unforgettable appearance on Channel 4's The Word, not least for their post-performance diss of Terry Christian and subsequent removal from the studio. 

Likewise, no pricey promo for Middle Of The Road by Denim. What you get instead is a video filmed specially for ITV's graveyard shift music programme The Beat in 1993. With an intro by presenter Gary Crowley and Lawrence and co. squashed into the back of a stretch limo, of course it's brilliant.

1) I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing: Pet Shop Boys (1993)
2) Her Jazz (Live @ The Word): Huggy Bear (1993)

3) Television, The Drug Of The Nation: The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy (1992)

4) Middle Of The Road: Denim (1992)

5) Losing My Religion: R.E.M. (1991)

6) Kiss Them For Me: Siouxsie & The Banshees (1991)

7) Enjoy The Silence: Depeche Mode (1990)

8) Step On: Happy Mondays (1990)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decadance II: 1993

Side 2 of my 'maginary 90s mixtape, focusing on 1993.

 

The carefree college days were drawing to a close, and final exams loomed. 

 

I got to look at the work of Joan Miró, Antoni Gaudí, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso and many more up close and personal for the first time in Barcelona. 

 

I went with my girlfriend, her best fried and boyfriend to the inaugural Phoenix Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon, where I saw, amongst others, Manic Street Preachers, Sonic Youth, Faith No More, Julian Cope (who I saw twice in '93), The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, Utah Saints, Back To The Planet, House Of Pain, Sandals, Senser, The Young Gods, Credit To The Nation, Ian McNabb, Sheep On Drugs, The Black Crowes and Pop Will Eat Itself. Only one of them makes an appearance in today's selection.

 

Poor old Pop Will Eat Itself. This is the second time that PWEI made it to the last 14 and failed to survive the final edit. They'll be even more gutted that on this occasion, the nearly ran was Get The Girl! Kill The Baddies! which was surprisingly a #9 hit in January 1993 and, perhaps less surprisingly, their only Top 10 hit. The window of opportunity is closing for the lads as 1994 would prove to be the last time they cracked the Top 40. 

So which of the Phoenix Festival luminaries made it? Credit To The Nation of course, with their Nirvana riffing anthem that is Call It What You Want. Front person Matty Hanson was a compelling performer on stage, and they deserved bigger and better things.

 

Not the only rap to show up here, with Cypress Hill, whose song landed in my grubby mitts in 1994, courtesy of Reading Present, a cover-mounted cassette freebie with Melody Maker. Having no tolerance for potty language, of course, the UK single was re-titled When The Ship Goes Down (or Sh--, depending where you saw it promoted).

 

When it came to choosing today's Mandatory Andrew Weatherall...well, I couldn't. In fact, at one point, I nearly went for the triple with the squalling, spiky Sabres Of Paradise remix of Leftfield/Lydon's mighty Open Up. Instead, there's One Dove with White Love. There was a sanitised, radio friendly single verson, but the one to go for is the Guitar Paradise mix by Andrew and the band with Sabres compadres Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns. Much as I would love to include the full length album version, it's well over ten minutes, so here's the US promo edit, which was also used for the official video. Dot Allison is of course uber cool throughout.

 

The second MAW for 1993 is New Order's comeback single, Regret. I'll be honest, I didn't warm to the single when I first heard it, but Andrew, Jagz and Gary opened my eyes and ears to it's potential with a couple of next-level remixes. The Slow 'n' Lo remix is just shy of thirteen minutes, split into vocal and dub halves; this is the former, a sublime skank that suits Bernard's voice perfectly.

 

Also getting two bites of the cherry are Fluke, firstly with their remix of Björk's Big Time Sensuality, which she loved so much that it became the official single and video version. You can see why, it's four minutes of pure joy. I loved Fluke's previous music, but this tipped into something of an obsession in 1993, with the release of The Techno Rose Of Blighty, a slew of superb singles (including Slid, today's featured song) and tons of top notch remixes. As with Andrew Weatherall, I tried my darnedest to track down everything that had Fluke on it. Still love 'em as much now as I did then.

 

The same can be said for Justin Robertson, who expanded from DJing and remixing to releasing original music as Lionrock, accompanied by wordsmith MC Buzz B. Packet Of Peace was the second single and the first of four Top 40 hits.

 

Not that the rest of today's selection is anything less than excellent. No #1's this time perhaps but nine Top 40 hits is not to be sniffed at. And the ones that didn't make the Top 40 really should have.

 

1994 was a bit of a divergent path in my life, but what remained unwavering was my love for music. Some good tunes coming up? Probably!

 

1) Big Time Sensuality (The Fluke Minimix): Björk

2) Who Do You Think You Are (Single Version) (Cover of Candlewick Green): Saint Etienne ft. Debsey Wykes

3) When The Shit Goes Down (Diamond D Remix By Joseph Kirkland): Cypress Hill

4) White Love (Guitar Paradise Edit By One Dove & Sabres Of Paradise): One Dove

5) Walking In My Shoes (Random Carpet Single Edit By William Orbit): Depeche Mode

6) Regret (Sabres Slow 'n' Lo (Vocal) Remix By Sabres Of Paradise): New Order

7) Cannonball: The Breeders

8) Packet Of Peace (7" Edit By Justin Robertson & Mark Stagg): Lionrock ft. MC Buzz B

9) Slid (Glid Edit): Fluke

10) Call It What You Want (Single Version): Credit To The Nation

11) Animal Nitrate: Suede

12) Feed The Tree: Belly

 

17th January 1993: Feed The Tree EP (#32): 12

28th February 1993: Animal Nitrate EP (#2): 11

14th March 1993: Slid EP (#59): 9

18th April 1993: Regret EP (#4): 6

2nd May 1993: Packet Of Peace EP (#32): 8

9th May 1993: Walking In My Shoes EP (#14): 5

16th May 1993: Call It What You Want EP (#57): 10

23rd May 1993: Hobart Paving/Who Do You Think You Are EP (#23): 2 

1st August 1993: White Love EP (#43): 4 

15th August 1993: Last Splash (#40): 7

26th September 1993: When The Shit Goes Down EP (#19): 3

28th November 1993: Big Time Sensuality EP (#17): 1

 

Side Two (46:32) (GD) (M)

Dub '85

In a very belated follow up to Dub '83, which I posted in September 2023, today's selection is a dozen songs from - you guessed it, 1985 - given a dub overhaul. 

 

John Robie is the only producer from the previous selection appearing here, but he's joined by more heavyweights of 80s remix culture, including Shep Pettibone, Ivan Ivan aka Ivan Baker, Joseph Watt, Rusty Egan, Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero, Mark Berry and The Latin Rascals aka Albert Cabrera and Tony Moran.

 

It's all about the beats and the edits, with varying degrees of vocals. Not for everyone, but I loved them. It wasn't unusual for me to opt for the 12" B-side over the main mix when compiling mixtapes in the 1980s and 1990s.

 

I think I may have set a precedent with the previous post, of homaging / ripping off (delete as applicable) another, far superior Saturday morning quiz. In for a penny, in for a pound I say, so I've invented five more brain teasers. An hors d'oeuvre, if you will, before the more satisfying meal over at Rol's place.

1) The Vinyl Villain blog covered the Pet Shop Boys singles in 36 parts from January to October 2023. In which part did today's featured dub first appear?

2) Which band features the offspring of legendary TV presenter Bob Holness?

3) What is Bad Manners' front person Buster Bloodvessel's birth name?

4) Which of these songs is a cover version of a flop single from 1983?

5) What do red hat obsessives Devo, singer songwriter Hugh Cornwell, avant garde drummer Robert Williams and 1990s animated TV show Rugrats have in common?

Answers will be posted in the comments later today.

1) I Like You (Dub) (Remix By Shep Pettibone): Phyllis Nelson

2) Here To Go (Here To Dub Version By Ivan Ivan): Devo

3) Sweet Murder (The Smile On Her Face) (Murderess Dub Version By Michael Baker & Axel Kröll / Edited By The Latin Rascals): The Blow Monkeys

4) Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) (Dub For Money) (Remix By The Latin Rascals): Pet Shop Boys

5) It's Called A Heart (Emotion Dub) (Remix By Joseph Watt): Depeche Mode

6) Girls Night Out (Dub) (Remix By Nigel Wright & Robin Sellars): Toto Coelo

7) Living On Video (Dub Mix By Claude Allard & Pascal Languirand): Trans-X

8) Dub-Vulture (Remixed By John Robie) (12"): New Order

9) Blue Summer (Dub) (Remix By Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero): Bad Manners

10) Kings And Queens (Geordie's Dub Mix By Geordie Walker): Killing Joke

11) Come Back (Dub) (Remix By Rusty Egan): Spear Of Destiny

12) Obsession (Dub) (Remix By Mark Berry): Animotion

Dub '85 (1:11:20) (KF) (Mega)

You can find Dub '83 here.

I will get around to Dub '84 at some point, I'm sure.