Nothing To Lose

McAlmont & Butler at the Anson Rooms, Bristol University, on Thursday 10th October 2002 remains the greatest gig that Mrs. K and I have experienced together.

Second album Bring It Back was our album, we loved it and we played it to death, so the opportunity to see David and Bernard perform on stage was too good to pass up.

I checked out Setlist to see what they played that evening, only to find that the Bristol date hasn't even been added! So, today's selection is a composite of gigs that McAlmont & Butler played in 2002.

I've taken a couple of liberties: it appears that Bring It Back was played in its entirety, with one exception, Make It Right. Even more bizarrely, there's no record that McAlmont & Butler have ever performed Make It Right live. So, I've included it anyway, in a place in the setlist that I think makes sense.

The hits are all present and correct: Bring It Back, Falling, You Do and, to bring things to a satisfying conclusion, Yes.

There are also a couple of cover versions. The Vegas-era Elvis classic Burning Love was played live, but only exists online as a VHS rip from a TV performance, introduced by Dermot O'Leary. The pair also have a stab at Back For Good by Take That, recorded for a NME/War Child album. Both were transmitted/released the week following the Bristol gig.

I was lucky enough to see David McAlmont and Bernard Butler perform live again last year, albeit in different cities on different nights. David was with HiFi Sean, opening for Erasure's Andy Bell in Bath; Bernard was playing with James Grant and Norman Blake in Bristol, about three quarters of a mile down the road from where Mrs. K and I saw him in 2002. Both were on spectacular form.

Wishful thinking possibly, but I hope Mrs. K and I will have another chance to see McAlmont & Butler in concert. If not, memories of that wonderful Thursday night in 2002 will be more than enough.

1) The Theme From 'McAlmont & Butler' (2002)

2) Can We Make It? (2002)

3) Where R U Now? (2002)

4) Different Strokes (2002)

5) Sunny Boy (2002)

6) Although (1995)

7) What's The Excuse This Time? (Album Version) (1995)

8) Bring It Back (Extended) (2002)

9) Burning Love (Live @ Re:Covered: Elvis Presley Special, BBC Choice TV) (Cover of Elvis Presley) (2002)

10) You Do (Full Length) (1995)

11) Make It Right (2002)

12) Falling (Album Version) (2002)

13) Blue (2002)

14) If You Want (2002)

15) Don't Call It Soul (Single Version) (1995)

16) Beat (2002)

17) Back For Good (Cover of Take That) (2002)

18) Yes (Full Version) (1995)

1995: The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler: 6, 7, 10, 18

1995: Yes EP: 15

2002: Bring It Back: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 16

2002: Bring It Back EP: 8

2002: Falling EP: 14

2002: NME In Association With War Child Presents 1 Love: 17

2002: Re:Covered Series 1 (BBC TV): 9

Nothing To Lose (1:21:24) (GD) (M)

Decayed II: 2002

Side 1 of a made up mixtape series, bounding through the first decade of the 21st century.

In the year 2000, Robbie Williams duetted with Kylie Minogue on the phenomenal crowd pleasing single Kids. in 2001, Kylie pushed the envelope further with the brilliant Can't Get You Out Of My Head. But what about Robbie?

2001 was pretty good to Robbie too, with three singles, two of which hit the top spot. 2002 saw just the one single, Feel, reaching #4 at the end of the year. Not that I was really all that bothered. 

What interested me more with his guest spot on My Culture by 1 Giant Leap. It's a really good song and deserved to be a hit, but would it have been a Top 10 hit without Robbie and Maxi Jazz from Faithless on it? 

Well... follow-up single Braided Hair featuring Neneh Cherry and Speech from Arrested Development managed one week at #78, whilst the eponymous debut album fared slightly better at #51. Which is a shame as 1 Giant Leap is a really good album. People were sadly more interested in buying the latest steaming slop by Blue and Celine Dion. 

Likewise, Cornershop had followed up a #1 hit single and Top 20 album in 1998 with a great album, Handcream For A Generation, and a rifftastic lead single in Lessons Learned From Rocky I To Rocky III. Although neither could be considered a flop, with a Top 30 and Top 40 placing respectively, Cornershop never again  enjoyed the UK chart success of the 1990s,. Didn't stop them making fantastic music, though.

Another legendary artist that consistently delivered wonderful music for frustratingly little reward is Edwyn Collins. His 2002 album Dr. Syntax is chock full of tunes that his contemporaries would sell their souls for, and Johnny Teardrop is in my Top 5 favourite Edwyn Collins songs. It's the perfect distillation of everything that makes Edwyn such a superb songwriter. And it got to bloody #192! Were there really 191 better singles on sale in the UK that week?!

The previous week, Sugababes were back with a vengeance - and their first UK #1 - with Freak Like Me. Having just watched the excellent Girlbands Forever documentary series on BBC2, I appreciated just how much was on the line for the group. Founder member and childhood friend Siobhan Donaghy had left, and Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan were teamed up with new member Heidi Range. Sugababes had been successful, but without a #1 single or album to date, it was make or break time.

DJ and producer Richard X has gained notoriety, not least for his bootleg mash-up of Freak Like Me by Adina Howard and Are 'Friends' Electric? by Tubeway Army. Sugababes and Richard X were paired up in the studio to record a commercial version for single release. It turned out to be a smart move for them both. 

Another mash-up artist who exploded in 2002 was Mark Vidler aka Go Home Productions. The Weather Episode is a glorious melding of The Next Episode by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg and Weather With You by Crowded House. When a mash-up works, it really hits the spot and this is a prime example.

I am completely disregarding the rules here, as The Weather Episode was released as a free bootleg MP3 download and therefore ineligible for the Official Chart in the UK. I'm applying the "played by Zane Lowe on his XFM On-Air radio show" rule to sneak this one into its rightful place in today's selection.

Other great songs in 2002 by Radio 4, Badly Drawn Boy and Amorphous Androgynous also gave a nod to producers that were gaining recognition in their own right, namely The DFA aka James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy, Four Tet aka Kieran Hebden, and Jacknife Lee aka Garret Lee.

Another remix that I loved was by dub legend Scientist aka Hopeton Brown, taking the title track of Death In Vegas' third album, Scorpio Rising. The second Top 20 single for Richard Fearless and co, their previous #9 hit had a guest spot from Iggy Pop and Scorpio Rising repeated the formula by featuring a certain Liam Gallagher.

I'm not a fan of Oasis or, generally speaking, the exploits of the Gallagher brothers in or out of the studio, so I was bought this single purely because it was Death In Vegas and Scientist. I don't think even a diehard Liam fanatic would deny that this is far from his best vocal performance, but I love Scientist's game attempt to wrestle it into a dubtastic shape.

Unlikely collaborations were plentiful at his time, yet X-Press 2 teaming up with David Byrne was a real surprise for Lazy A deserved #2 hit in April 2002, I was pleased to see Lazy included in Byrne's stunning American Utopia live set on the Sky Arts channel a while ago.

Another unlikely collaboration, and even more unlikely reunion in 2002, was David McAlmont and Bernard Butler. Bring It Back - album and single - proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the magic that peppered previous hits Yes and You Do was still there. This partnership also holds a special place in my heart as they were the first gig that Mrs. K and I went to together. They were utterly fantastic, of course. 

Concidentally, I saw McAlmont and Butler perform live again in 2025, albeit not together. David was with current musical partner Hifi Sean, Bernard with James Grant and Norman Blake. Sadly, Mrs. K was unable to join me for either as I think she would have loved them.

Another welcome return for the Pet Shop Boys and Johnny Marr, who have both appeared in the previous 'decade' series. Home And Dry signalled a more reflective PSB and one which signalled and embraced their - and their audience's - transition from Radio 1 to Radio 2. Johnny had collaborated with Neil and Chris previously and his trademark guitar lines add class to a classy song.

And so, we've suddenly come to the end of another year and, if you ignored most of the Top 40 most of the time, another great year for music. 

Could 2003 hope to find some gold amongst the grit? Join me on Sunday to find out.

1) Lessons Learned From Rocky I To Rocky III (Radio Edit): Cornershop

2) Freak Like Me (We Don't Give A Damn Mix By Richard X): Sugababes

3) Dance To The Underground (Edit By The DFA aka James Murphy & Tim Goldsworthy): Radio 4

4) Something To Talk About (The Four Tet Convention Remix By Kieran Hebden): Badly Drawn Boy

5) Johnny Teardrop (Remixed & Radio Edited): Edwyn Collins

6) Bring It Back (Album Version By Bernard Butler): McAlmont & Butler

7) Lazy (Radio Edit): X-Press 2 ft. David Byrne

8) Home And Dry (Single Mix): Pet Shop Boys ft. Johnny Marr

9) The Weather Episode (Original Version): Go Home Productions ft. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg & Crowded House

10) My Culture (We Love This Mix (Video Edit)): 1 Giant Leap ft. Maxi Jazz & Robbie Williams

11) The Mello Hippo Disco Show (Jacknife Lee Mix): The Amorphous Androgynous

12) Scorpio Rising (The Scientist Mix): Death In Vegas ft. Liam Gallagher

10th March 2002: Handcream For A Generation (#37): 1

24th March 2002: Release (#14): 8

14th April 2002: Muzikizum (#2): 7

14th April 2002: 1 Giant Leap (#9): 10

28th April 2002: Angels With Dirty Faces (#1): 2

5th May 2002: Doctor Syntax (#192): 5

16th June 2002: About A Boy OST (#28): 4

23rd June 2002: This Was Pop (2002-2007) (# n/a): 9

11th August 2002: The Isness (#68): 11

3rd November 2002: Bring It Back (#36): 6

24th November 2002: Gotham! (#94): 3

22nd December 2002: Scorpio Rising (#14): 12

Side One (46:42) (GD) (M)

If you enjoyed this, you may also wish to check out my previous selections for 1982 and 1992.

Decadance III: 1995

Side 2 of a time-travel mixtape, crashing in at 1995.

This series is whizzing by, more than half way through already and exactly 30 years ago. My brain cannot compute, so much of this music still feels 'recent' to me!

Very little evidence in this selection of Britpop, Trip Hop or Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop, although I think Scatman John was the sole proponent of the latter, anyway. 

However, in 1995 everything was big: the beats, the brass, the strings, the voices. And so were the hits: all but one of the songs in today's selection made the Top 30, four the Top 10, though the #1 position proved elusive for all.

Pulp nearly made it, with Common People getting all the way to #2, held off the top spot by effing Robson and effing Jerome, whose risible cover of Unchained Melody floated at the top like a turd in a toilet bowl for a mind-boggling seven weeks.

Several artists from Decade, my previous series of 80s mixtapes, make a welcome reappearance here: Marc Almond, Julian Cope and, perhaps the most surprising, Edwyn Collins. 

A Girl Like You was first released in December 1994 and didn't make much of a dent in the UK charts, but there was a groundswell of interest in Europe, leading to re-release here in June 1995. A month later and it was at #4. It also boosted the accompanying album Gorgeous George to #8 in July 1995, twelve months after it came out.

Leftfield had been tied up in contractual hell with their former label, which meant that they could little more than remix other artists for several years. Finally free to release their own material, their monumental debut album Leftism crashed in at #3 in February 1995. 

Leftism contained a version of Open Up, their 1993 comeback single with John Lydon, and collaborations with Djum Djum and Lemn Sissay. Leftfield's first single of 1995 was another collaboration, this time time with Toni Halliday of Curve on the sublime Original. Thirty years on, both it and the album sound as fresh and exciting as they did back then.

Another single by The Sabres Of Paradise for the MAW selection. Andrew Weatherall, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns had previously remixed Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons music as The Dust Brothers. When the original Dust Brothers required Tom and Ed to cease and desist nicking their name, The Chemical Brothers were born.  

 

The Sabres Of Paradise remixed their debut single Leave Home, itself a Top 20 hit in June 1995. The previous month, the favour was (p)repaid when The Chemical Brothers refashioned Tow Truck, one of several tracks from Haunted Dancehall reworked for the Versus EP. When I say 'refashioned', it's basically a Chemical Brothers track, but the original Sabres components shine through.

 

Describing Fluke's beats as big and bouncy sounds smuttier than it's supposed to, but that's what always springs to mind when I think of their music. Ironically, The Dust Brothers (the original, that is, not Tom & Ed's knock off) remixed today's featured single Bullet, though nothing tops Fluke's own versions. In a box somewhere in the loft, I have Fluke promo plastic bag, which itself ripped off the Tesco carriers of the time. Never used it.

 

Thirty years before he released possibly the best album of 2025 with Hifi Sean, David McAlmont launched another wildly creative and successful partnership, with Bernard Butler. Yes was the perfect introduction, all Wall-of-Sound meets Sylvester meets Suede and a deserved Top 10 smash. 

 

Bernard of course used to be in Suede with Brett Anderson, who co-founded the band with Justine Frischmann, who went on to form Elastica. You'd almost believe I wasn't winging it and had some kind of plan, wouldn't you? 

Elastica were brilliant, even if they did have a habit of getting old rockers riled up and litigious over their songs. Waking Up is a case in point: who cares if it's reminiscent of No More Heroes by The Stranglers? Well, The Stranglers did obviously.

 

The music press were already getting into a lather about Radiohead, though The Bends was the album that hooked me in. There were tons of singles from the album, though admittedly it so full of great songs, that it was difficult to argue that none of them were worthy picks. It all started off with a double A-single of High And Dry and Planet Telex, the latter's abrasive squall offset by the former's soft-yet-brittle side. 

There was very nearly two helpings of Tracey Thorn. Reluctantly, Massive Attack's Protection had to go, justified by the fact that they appeared in the 1994 selection. Of the two picks, in the end it just had to be the Todd Terry remix of Missing by Everything But The Girl. 

I loved the original and the remixes that accompanied the single's original release in 1994. Todd Terry gave the song a whole new lease of life - and audience - when his remix rocketed Missing to #3 in the UK in November 1995. And with that, the confidence for Everything But The Girl to take a divergent musical path that led to a run of great albums in subsequent years.

 

Given the three decade anniversary, I was keen to include something from the UK Top 40 as at 16th February 1995. But jeez, the record buying public didn't half make it difficult.

 

Celine Dion and Annie Lennox at #1 and #2 respectively. Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex and cover of Total Eclipse Of The Heart (I mean, why?) by Nicki French in the Top 10. A few places down, Jimmy Nail and Sting both with songs about cowboys (though at least Jimmy's was written by Paddy McAloon). It's not until #20 that the first half decent song appears, with Mansize Rooster by Supergrass. 

Thankfully, a new entry that week at #38 saved the day. Down By The Water by Polly Jean Harvey was the first single from third album To Bring You My Love and ends this 1995 mixtape on a suitably sinister note.

 

It's no spoiler to say that next weekend will look at 1996 and 1997. Life-changing in so many ways...but was the music any good?

 

Well, if I mention Spice Girls, Babylon Zoo, Gina G, Elton John, Aqua and Teletubbies, you'll no doubt be thrilled to know that none of them will be appearing here!

 

1) Original (Radio Edit): Leftfield ft. Toni Halliday

2) Tow Truck (Chemical Brothers Mix): The Sabres Of Paradise

3) Bullet (Bitten 7"): Fluke

4) Adored And Explored (7" Edit By The Beatmasters): Marc Almond

5) Waking Up (Album Version): Elastica

6) Yes (Edit): McAlmont & Butler

7) High And Dry (Album Version): Radiohead

8) Missing (Todd Terry Club Mix) (Blanco/Eternal Radio Edit): Everything But The Girl

9) Common People (7" Edit): Pulp

10) Try, Try, Try (Album Version): Julian Cope

11) A Girl Like You (Album Version): Edwyn Collins

12) Down By The Water (Album Version): PJ Harvey

12th February 1995: To Bring You My Love (#38): 12

19th February 1995: Elastica (#13): 5

5th March 1995: The Bends (#17): 7

19th March 1995: Original EP (#18): 1

7th May 1995: Fantastic Star (#25): 4

7th May 1995: Versus EP (#77): 2

28th May 1995: Common People EP (#2): 9

28th May 1995: Yes EP (#8): 6

16th July 1995: Gorgeous George (#4): 11

23rd July 1995: Bullet EP (#23): 3

6th August 1995: 20 Mothers (#24): 10

19th November 1995: Missing EP (#3): 8

Side Two (46:11) (GD) (M)

Nothing More, Nothing Less, Love Is The Best

Today is a special day for a very special person. We've been to relatively few gigs together over the years, but they've always been special occasions.

 

Sometimes she didn't like the act (PJ Harvey), sometimes I haven't (Meat Loaf), sometimes the band have been damned awful on stage (Simple Minds), sometimes it's been possibly an emotional and brilliant experience (McAlmont & Butler, Green Gartside).

 

Regardless, it's always been all the better for the person at my side. 

This one's for you, Mrs. K.

 

1) At The River: Groove Armada (1999)

2) We Belong In This World Together: Stereo MC's (2001)
3) Bring It Back: McAlmont & Butler (2002)

4) Everybody Knows: The Free Association (2002) 

5) New Religion: Duran Duran (1982)

6) Black Cherry: Goldfrapp (2003)

6) Teardrop: Massive Attack (1998)

7) This Is Love: PJ Harvey (2000)

8) Spacehopper: Julian Cope (1987) 

9) New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84): Simple Minds (1982)

10) The Boom Boom Bap: Scritti Politti (2006)

11) Paradise By The Dashboard Light: Meat Loaf (1977) 

12) Suspicious Minds (Cover of Elvis Presley): Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra ft. Roland Gift (2013)

13) It Must Be Love (Cover of Labi Siffre): Madness (1981)

Footnote: Today’s selection is made up of songs we heard at gigs between 2001 up to & including Madness, postponed from 2020 but hopefully going ahead in June. 

With the latter exception, all of the songs featured in the set lists and are presented here in the order that we (first) saw them live. Julian Cope’s the only act we’ve seen together multiple times. 

Stereo MC’s & Simple Minds were both unlikely headliners at the Bristol Community Festival aka Ashton Court Festival. The latter really were appallingly bad.

Roland Gift was the guest vocalist when we saw Jools Holland’s band at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. And bloody good he was too. 

Goldfrapp supported Duran Duran at the NEC in Birmingham for their first (only) reunion tour with the original line up including Andy Taylor.