Hope, Visions, Centre, Living, Seeing, Hell

Just the one video today, but it's a good one: Blind Vision by Blancmange.

Released in the spring of 1983, it reached #10 in the UK singles chart the week of 21st May.

I'm pretty sure I won't have seen the video at the time, although Blancmange did make an appearance on Top Of The Pops. it's an odd clip, to say the least. Neil Arthur does a lot of running (or singing from a lectern), whilst Stephen Luscombe plays all manner of instruments, including old school microphones as percussion, little of which you will hear on the song.

And then there is the actor replicating the 1940s housewife illustrations on this and their previous singles. Lots of creepy rictus grinning and the inevitable 'hand splatting a plate of blancmange' shot.

It's completely bonkers and completely brilliant.

Blind hope, blind visions, blind centre

One centre

Blind living and seeing, blind hell

Blind hell

Blind visions and no reasons for actions

Blind words

Blind visions and no reasons for actions

Blind words

Blind visions and no reasons

No reasons for action

In a dream when I'm reading pages full of words

The harder you look, 

It's getting hard, it's getting hard, it's not

A dream's a dream

In a dream when I'm reading pages

Pages full of words

It's, it's getting hard

It's not, it's not, it, it

It's getting harder

It's getting harder

Ooh, it's getting hard

Hold me closer now

Hold me closer

That's blind vision (blind vision)

Push me harder now

Harder, push me harder

That's blind hell (blind hell)

Keep me spinning around and round

The blind centre (blind centre)

Now I'm turning miles above the ground

That's blind hell (blind hell, blind hell)

Blind hope, blind visions, blind centre

One centre

Blind living and seeing, blind hell

Blind hell

Blind visions and no reasons for actions

Blind words

Blind visions and no reasons for actions

Blind words

Don't Tell Me I've Gone Too Far

Blancmange played at the Trinity in Bristol on Friday (31st). Mrs. K and I were planning to be there but sadly we couldn't make it on the night. Fortunately, my friend Mike did and so today it's my privilege to publish a guest post from someone who was right there in the thick of things.

 

Over to you, Mike....

 

This was my 3rd gig with Blancmange Mk II (for the purposes of this review Blancmange Mk I is 1978-1986 and Mk II is 2011 onwards.) First gig was in 2018 at the Fleece and second gig with Khayem in Stroud in 2022.

You do know what you are getting – a mixed up diet of 80’s bangers with the newer songs that Neil Arthur is obviously very proud of.

 

First up the support is The Remainder – Neil himself accompanied by Finlay Shakespeare on synthesiser and vocals and Liam Hutton on drums.  

 

I very much like their only album Evensong and was looking forward to hearing it in a live setting. They kick off at 8pm with ‘Broken Manhole Cover’ which is my favourite track that Neil Arthur has been involved with in the 21st Century so glad we got there on time! He tells us how nervous he is singing these songs even though it is night 8 of the tour and toys with various sheets before launching into each song.

 

 

The audience are respectful as they play 30 mins of the album including a cracking version of ‘Evensong’ and they finish with ‘Dead Farmer’s Field’ which has similarly ludicrous lyrics as ‘Broken Manhole Cover’. I’ve worked out the reason why I really like these tracks is that they remind me of Fujiya and Miyagi (who should be huge but I think people don’t give them the time of day to their name…)

 

 

 

 

Blancmange come on at 9pm comprising exactly the same band as The Remainder and start with ‘Again, I Wait For The World’ which we are told later has its origins in 1978/79 but they have only just finished it with Benge. Only the 45 years to finish the track… it’s a good song so I’m glad they bothered.

 

  

Next up ‘Reduced Voltage’ from 2022 – just over half the set consists of Blancmange Mk II tracks and for the most part the audience are fully into it. I did keep on glimpsing 4 males to my left who had various reactions to the songs on offer. 

 

The furthest away from me resembled Philip Serrell (apologies to those who don’t watch antiques shows designed for the over 80’s) but he was dancing like a mad thing…. maybe he’d discovered a rare ming vase earlier in the day? 

 

However, to my immediate right was a very enthusiastic young man (eg under 50) with two very miserable mates. The only comment miserable man no 1 made throughout the whole gig was ‘well that wasn’t very good was it’ referring to ‘Distant Storm’ two thirds through the set list. I did wonder whether miserables x 2 had come on the pretence that they were getting jelly, ice cream and blancmange and their enthusiastic mate hadn’t told them what they were really seeing – who knows??

 

  

Anyway aside#1 – are there any bands you see when they could play one track and you would go home happy? For me there are 3 bands from the early 80’s where this applies.

 

1) Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Rattlesnakes

If Lloyd just came on, sang that song and walked off again I would be a happy camper.

 

2) Altered Images – Don’t Talk To Me About Love

Again if Clare came on and sang this and went off again I’d be more than happy.

 

3) Feel Me – Blancmange

I will ruffle a lot of feathers here as many people would believe that ‘Living On The Ceiling’ is more of a banger than ‘Feel Me’. Well each to their own and all that but I would argue that the 3 songs mentioned here represent why I was glad to be a teenager in the mid 80’s and not today..

 

So tracks 3 and 4 are ‘I've Seen The Word’ and ‘Feel Me’ and I could go home but we then have 2 songs from Blancmange Mk II including 'Mindset' from 2020. The rest of the evening goes by in a flash with highlights being ‘Last Night (I Dreamt I Had A Job)' and ‘We Are The Chemicals’. 

  

 

  

Last two songs of the main set are inevitably ‘Living On The Ceiling’ and ‘Blind Vision’. The former with the ‘la, la, la’s’ to the fore from the audience and the latter being more danceable than you remember.

 

 

  

The encore has ‘God’s Kitchen’ played for the first time this tour and the final track is ‘Don’t Tell Me’ (which was a bit mad as whilst I was stood there a mate who didn’t know I was at the concert said he was watching TOTP 1984 and the only good song on the show was ‘Don’t Tell Me’ and I could message him back saying ‘I’m watching it now!’.)

  

My mate Paul and I walked away having really enjoyed Blancmange yet again. Neil’s voice is still really strong and for a guy who is 66 this month looks remarkably fit. 

 

I’m off to see The Pet Shop Boys next week and will I enjoy it as much as this gig..? It’s hard to say but we need to keep on supporting the 80’s troubadours who made our tricky teenage years most bearable whilst they are still around.

 

Mike

 

...Wow, thanks so much Mike! I'll echo Neil's post-show sentiments on social media and say that this review was wonderful.

 

I'd also like to give credit and thanks to a few other audience members who I've borrowed from for this post:

PeterD1969 for posting the rather spectacular setlist here

mr and mrs thomas for photos #2 & 3

Suze for photo #4

Bradders for photo #5

...and Mike (again!) for the headline photo.

Happening

Strange Things Are Happening, Richard Norris' memoir of a frankly incredible life, dropped through my letterbox last weekend. I ordered it back in October 2023 so to say that I have been eagerly awaiting it's arrival is an understatement. 

I ordered the book via Heavenly so not only is it signed by Richard, there's a bonus CD featuring "Mixes and Collaborations 1988-2023". Of the 14 tracks, half are completely new to me, but when the ones I already own include remixes of Floatation by The Grid, Roscoe by Midlake, Disco/Very by Warpaint and Willow's Song by Katy J Pearson, then it's wonderful to have them all together on one shiny disc.

I've not started reading Strange Things Are Happening yet, as I'm (now hurriedly) trying to finish another book that I'd not long started but I'd still have no hesitation in recommending it. Given the sheer breadth and depth of Richard's contribution to music, which has been ever present for more than two thirds of my life, I am looking forward to experiencing those moments through his eyes, memories and words. 

I've tried a few times before to present Richard's music via a Dubhed selection, whether Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, The Grid or an attempt to encapsulate his wider work. An impossible task really but nature loves a trier so I've had another go.

This time, it's a mammoth 22 tracks, clocking in at exactly one hour and forty five minutes. In respect of sequencing and segueways, it's an absolute mess: if you've come here for amateurish crossfades, jarring edits and incongruous tracklist partners, then you've come to the right place. If I tried this in person in a public place, I'd be out on the pavement, my hard drive bouncing off my skull as the proprietor lobbed it after me.

However, focus past my ham-fisted attempts at mixing and marvel at the ambition and creativity of the artist at the heart of it all. Whether his own compositions, partnerships with Dave Ball, Erol Alkan, Finnur Bjarnason or more recently with Rachel Thomas and Stuart Carter as The Order Of The 12, Richard has the uncanny knack of tapping into something special. This transcends genres, hitting the sweet spot whether aimed at  club, dub or ambient heads, to name but a few.

Many of these are significantly edited - the original version of Ultramarine is twenty minutes long - but all are worth tracking down in digital or physical formats. A good starting point is Richard's Bandcamp page. I've been a subscriber for over a year and it's worth every penny.

 

1) Couldn't Do (The Time & Space Machine Remix By Richard Norris): Cheval Sombre (2014) 

2) Promises (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Reanimation By Richard Norris & Erol Alkan): Badly Drawn Boy (2007) 

3) Winter In June: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve ft. Percy Thrower (2007)

4) 10 Killer Hurtz More (Remix By Little Annie, Richard Norris & Skip McDonald): Little Annie (1994)

5) Texas Cowboys (Low Plains Prankster Mix By Justin Robertson): The Grid (1993)

6) Ultramarine (Edit): Richard Norris (2023)

7) April (Edit): Richard Norris (2021)

8) Ghost Dance: Richard Norris (2021)

9) This Too Shall Pass Away (Album Version By The Grid): World Of Twist (1991)

10) Morning Velvet Sky (Richard Norris Dub): Gulp (2018)

11) Meet Every Situation Head On (DJ Jackmaster Tab Fitness Mix By Richard Norris): M.E.S.H. (1988)

12) I Love I Hate (Lakeside Mix By The Grid): Neil Arthur (1994)

13) Pagan Dub (Edit): Richard Norris (2024)

14) Inner Communication Dub (Edit): Richard Norris (2024)

15) Find Yourself (Richard Norris Remix): Jacco Gardner (2015)

16) Lundi Bleu (The Grid 'Praise The Lord' Mix By Dave Ball & Richard Norris) (Cover of 'Blue Monday' by New Order): The Times (1992)

17) House Of Love (Single Version By The Grid): Billie Ray Martin (1993)

18) Abide With Me (Holy Dub - Remix By The Grid) (Cover of traditional song): Vic Reeves (1991)

19) Finally (The Time & Space Machine Re-Edit By Richard Norris) (Cover of Ce Ce Peniston): Cherry Ghost (2010) 

20) Somewhere Nearly Gone: The Order Of The 12 (2022)

21) Before Tomorrow (Richard Norris' Avalon Remix): Hollow Hand ft. Tim Smith (2023)

22) Hotel Du Lac 66º N2 (Edit): The Long Now (2018)

 

1988: Meet Every Situation Head On EP: 11 

1991: Abide With Me EP: 18

1991: Quality Street: 9 

1992: Lundi Bleu EP: 16

1993: 4 Ambient Tales EP: 17

1993: Texas Cowboys EP: 5 

1994: I Love I Hate EP: 12

1994: In Dread With Little Annie EP: 4

2007: Promises EP: 2

2007: West EP: 3 

2010: We Sleep On Stones EP: 19

2014: Couldn't Do EP: 1

2015: Find Yourself EP: 15

2018: Morning Velvet Sky EP: 10 

2018: Restoration EP: 22

2021: Music For Healing: January-December: 7

2021: Music For Soundtracks, Vol. 1: 8 

2022: Lore Of The Land: 20

2023: Before Tomorrow EP: 21

2023: Music For Healing: Colours: 6 

2024: Oracle Sound Volume Two: 13

2024: Oracle Sound Volume 3: Dub In Progress: 14

 

Happening (1:45:00) (KF) (Mega)

For your further listening pleasure:

Beyond The Wizards Sleeve: How Do We Start? (23rd July 2021)

The Grid: Think For Yourself And Question Authority (3rd December 2022)

Richard Norris: Clarity (6th August 2023)

Clean Your House, Figure It Out And Feel Me Now

Possibly needless to say that I've enjoyed Blancmange the band far, far more in my life than I have enjoyed blancmange the dessert.

 

I was quite happy to leave the latter in the receding mists of my childhood without any strong urge to revisit it in the 21st Century. By contrast, Blancmange's music since resuming releases in 2011 has been something to continually look forward to. 

 

There were two prompts for me this week to post about Blancmange. Firstly, I'm going on a work trip to The Big Smoke later this month to attend a conference (these days, a rare thing indeed). Travelling by train from the South West, inevitably means arriving at Paddington, which inevitably brought the 2015 song of the same name to mind.

 

Secondly, I have occasionally participated in themed...I don't know what you'd call them, 'events'? on the ol' musky dead bird. I appreciate the irony that the twit's rebrand and reduction to a single letter has forced writers in an almost Prince-like homage to add the suffix 'the social media site formerly known as'...

 

Anyway, I digress. This is my second or third contribution and I barely tweet anything beyond that, but this is good fun. This time around, the theme is #SynthPopSeptember and my contributions are developing into a mix of the old (Fad Gadget, The Human League, O.M.D.), the older-than-I-thought (Les Rythmes Digitales, their remix of Cornershop) and the relatively recent (Marsheaux).

Blancmange were an inevitable inclusion, but I've gone for something that has a foot in different time periods. Clean Your House was originally a song on 2020's rather excellent album Mindset. Neil Arthur subsequent released Extended Mindset with, as you might guess, extended versions of all 10 songs. Andy Meecham aka The Emperor Machine then went one step further and turned out a pair of superb remixes of Clean Your House, elevating the song to another level entirely. The main mix has added backing vocals, funk turned up to eleven and yes, Clean Your House is basically transformed into Feel Me for the present decade.

Not the first time this century that Blancmange has had a go at updating Feel Me, though. In 2013, Blancmange released Happy Families Too..., a new version of their 1982 debut. I like the reworked version of Feel Me a lot and it shaped the version performed on stage when I saw Blancmange live in concert last September.

 

Blancmange's most recent album, Private View, was released to coincide with the tour and you can find this, Mindset, and plenty of other Blancmange releases on Bandcamp.

Note: I'd normally embed YouTube video links in my posts. For some reason, at the time of writing this, Blogger and/or YT don't want to play ball and 'couldn't find' any of the videos when I posted the links. Technology, eh?

Filled To The Top With Pop And Rocks And Cyanide

John Grant hasn't featured on these pages for a little while, so here's a short selection to ease into the week.

It's a fairly random selection: I've unintentionally left out anything from Pale Green Ghosts or Grey Tickles, Black Pressure; I tried not to overthink things and make sure every album was covered. 

I could easily have created a selection that was twice as long - and I did, in October 2021 - but I think this works. As ever, you'll be the judge of that!

 

1) Touch & Go (Blancmange Remix ft. Neil Arthur) (2019)

2) Sigourney Weaver (Strongroom Session) (2010)

3) Chicken Bones (2010)

4) Dandy Star (2021)

5) You Don't Have To (Live @ BBC Radio 6 Music, Media City, Salford) (ft. The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra) (2014)

6) The Common Snipe (2018)

 

2010: Queen Of Denmark: 3

2010: The Strongroom Sessions EP: 2 

2014: Live In Concert: 5

2018: Love Is Magic: 6

2019: Remixes Are Also Magic EP: 1 

2021: Boy From Michigan: 4

 

Pop And Rocks And Cyanide (31:27) (KF) (Mega)

Picking Up Where We Left Off

Last Saturday, I went to the Cotswold town of Stroud to see Blancmange live in concert. It was a night of firsts: the first time I've seen Neil Arthur and co. on stage and the first time I've been to a gig at The Subscription Rooms. It was also the first time that I met Mike, regular commenter here and on other music blogs in this friendly little corner of t'internet. 

I think it all started when I posted an Imaginary Compilation Album for Julian Cope over at The Vinyl Villain in 2020. Mike commented that he had been at the same 1987 Cope gig in Bristol that I had written about and over the course of several TVV posts and comments realised that we also currently live a few miles away from each other. Fast forward to last weekend and I finally got to meet Mike and his friend Paul in person and what better way than with a Blancmange gig?

The Subscription Rooms is a lovely old building in the heart of the town, a good sized venue, imposing from the outside and welcoming on the inside, with a stage set up that reminded me of a slightly more grand school disco (not meant as an insult). Photo borrowed directly from Blancmange's own Twitter feed.

Support came from Oblong, featuring Ben 'Benge' Edwards on drums, who has co-produced several of Blancmange's 21st century albums, including Private View, released at the end of September. A brisk, 30-minute set of instrumental songs at times channeling 1980s New Order and Ultravox B-sides with a live line-up that also echoed the former. Here's a YouTube clip of them performing The Sea At Night in Cardiff last year, which will give you a pretty good idea of their live chops. A short, snappy set chock full of great tunes and I'll definitely be investigating further.

After a 30 minute interval, including a trip to the quietest bar (no queue!) that I've ever experienced at a gig, the three-piece Blancmange took to the stage, including Simon 'Sid' Stronach from Oblong. I only discovered this shortly before the gig but Neil Arthur lives a couple of miles away from Stroud so this was a local gig in a literal sense and there were frequent nods, waves and thumbs up to friends who had turned up to provide support and have a good time. As a possible homage to 80s contemporaries The Human League, Blancmange also had a couple of enthusiastic and creative female dancers right at the front of the audience, finding a groove in every song that followed, regardless of the tempo.

The set started off with a brace of songs from Private View and the album was well represented throughout, with 5 songs aired in an 18-song set. There was also a good spread of songs from Blancmange's 21st century albums, including personal favourites Mindset and We Are The Chemicals. Of course, many of the audience were clearly here for the 80s hits and Neil didn't disappoint, with Feel Me, I've Seen The Word and Waves making early appearances, albeit closer to the updated versions from 2016's Happy Families Too... and none the worse for that.

 

My memory is a little hazy but I don't think anything from third album Believe You Me was performed and, for quite a while, nothing from second album Mange Tout until the final section, when four songs - That's Love, That It Is, Don't Tell Me, Game Above My Head and Blind Vision - popped up in fairly quick succession. 

 

A word on the setlist/today's selection: I wasn't taking notes and my short-term memory is shocking, especially when I'm 'in the moment'. I've therefore turned to Setlist and the list for the previous night's gig at Cambridge Junction. Most of the running order corresponds with my own memory of the Stroud gig. However, the Cambridge gig was missing Don't Tell Me, which I distinctly remembered from Saturday, not least for Neil Arthur's own Swedey McSwedeface moment:

 

(with thanks to Leon Amos for posting this clip on Twitter)

However, I've no idea exactly where the song sat in the setlist so I've slotted it in where it seems to best fit...

Neil was on top form, both in voice and wit, with some songs - particularly the Private View material - even more powerful live on stage. The between song banter was entertaining, as was the occasional and intentional Dad-dancing and kung fu kicks (above photo courtesy of Jonathan Duckworth). 

 

The basic set up of synths and drum pods also worked a treat, enabling the spectrum of songs to sound contemporary and complementary despite the four decade age gap between some songs. The audience (me included) had long succumbed to the irresistible urge to dance by the time the final song, Blind Vision, and sole encore, Living On The Ceiling brought things to a satisfying conclusion. 

After a few words of thanks to the audience, a request to look after each other, Neil Arthur left the stage. We didn't hang about to chat with him on the merch stall afterwards, to be honest, I was completely lost for words anyway.

All in all, a great night out with great people (thanks Mike and Paul!) and great, great music from start to finish.

1) What's Your Name (2022)

2) Reduced Voltage (John Grant Remix) (2022)

3) Feel Me (Extended Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

4) I've Seen The Word (HF2 Version) (2013)

5) Mindset (Extended Mix By Neil Arthur & Benge) (2020)

6) Last Night (I Dreamt I Had A Job) (Single Version By Neil Arthur & David Rhodes) (2016)

7) Not A Priority (Album Version ft. Hannah Peel) (2018)

8) Waves (Original Version - No Strings) (1982)

9) What's The Time? (Kincaid Remix By Joe Arthur) (2019)

10) Private View (2022)

11) That's Love, That It Is (Extended) (Remix By John Luongo) (1983)

12) Don't Tell Me (Album Version By Peter Collins & Julian Mendelsohn) (1984)

13) We Are The Chemicals (2017)

14) Take Me (2022)

15) Game Above My Head (Album Version By Blancmange & John Williams) (1984)

16) Some Times These (Album Version) (2022)

17) Blind Vision (Album Version By John Luongo) (1984)

18) Living On The Ceiling (HF2 Version) (2013)

1982: Feel Me EP: 3

1983: That's Love, That It Is EP: 11 

1984: Mange Tout: 12, 15, 17

2013: Happy Families Too...: 4, 18

2016: Red Shift EP: 6

2017: Happy Families (Media Book Edition): 8

2017: Unfurnished Rooms: 13

2018: Wanderlust: 7 

2019: Late For Sum EP (Kincaid ft. Blancmange): 9

2020: Expanded Mindset: 5

2022: Private View: 1, 10, 14, 16

2022: Reduced Voltage EP / Private View (limited edition 2x CD): 2 

 

Picking Up Where We Left Off (1:25:09) (KF) (Mega)

Please Sir, I Want Some More

Following Blancmange's shock exit from the first round of the Imaginary Compilation Album World Cup earlier this week at The Vinyl Villain, I feel it is my moral duty to present another selection by way of compensation.

This is a companion piece of sorts to Just Desserts, the CD-R compilation I put together in July 2005 and featured in a Blancmange post earlier this year. Today's selection follows a similar path of presenting 12" singles, remixes and edits. Many of the same songs pop up, albeit in different versions. 

 

Lose Your Love was the penultimate single from “phase 1” of Blancmange. I bought the 7" double pack single at the time as it included the Joseph Watt (Razormaid) remixes of That's Love That It Is - featured here - and Game Above My Head. I bought a secondhand copy of the 12" single a few years later, with an extended version which runs to over ten minutes. The version opening this selection is a shorter remix from the Canadian promo 12" single.

 

Likewise, the Instrumental/Dub Version of Blind Vision appeared on the USA promo 12" single; on my copy, this was swapped out for the full length version of Waves.

 

The literally titled Side Two is the B-side of the preceding single What's Your Problem? and is an extended, re-recorded version of Believe You Me album track 22339.  

I've included one non-1980s version, a re-edit of Waves from 2010 by Berlin-based Gloyn, which takes a bit of getting used to but is a nice way to bring things to a close.

 

Blancmange reformed in 2011, although Stephen Luscombe left shortly after for health reasons. Neil Arthur has continued to regularly release albums since. Blancmange's (by my count) 14th post-reformation album, Private View, will be released on London Records on 30th September, almost exactly 40 years to the day since their debut, Happy Families. 

 

I'm seeing Blancmange live in concert for the first time the following week in Stroud, along with regular blogosphere commenter and nearly neighbour Mike, which I'm really looking forward to. Expect a "phase 2" Blancmange selection before then.

1) Lose Your Love (This Club Mix By John Luongo & Victor Flores) (1985)

2) Feel Me (Dub Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

3) Vishnu (Full Length Version By John Luongo) (1983)

4) Blind Vision (Instrumental/Dub Version By John Luongo) (1983)

5) What's Your Problem? (Razormaid Mix By Joseph Watt) (1986)

6) Side Two (Extended Version By Neil Arthur & John Williams) (1985)

7) That's Love, That It Is (U.S. Extended Remix Version By Joseph Watt) (1983)

8) Don't Tell Me (U.S. Dance Remix By Mark Kamins) (1984)

9) I Can See It (Single Remix By Greg Walsh) (1986)

10) Living On The Ceiling (Album Remix By Dennis Weinreich) (1982)

11) Waves (Extended Edit By Gloyn) (2010)

Please Sir, I Want Some More (1:10:30) (GD) (M)

Just Desserts

CD-R compiled 21st July 2005, collecting Blancmange "singles, remixes and side servings", and one of the earliest examples of my newly acquired capacity to rip my vinyl collection. Blancmange aka Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe emerged in 1979 and enjoyed a flush of commercial success between 1982 and 1984, before calling it a day in 1986. 

 

The duo reconvened twenty years later as a live act and a new album, Blanc Burn, was released in 2011. As a consequence of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, Stephen Luscombe left Blancmange shortly after and Neil Arthur continued as the sole remaining member. Arthur's musical output since has been prodigious, more than tripling the original duo's number of album releases, in addition to side projects with producer Ben Edwards aka Benge as Fader and son Joe Arthur aka Kincaid. 

 

During Blancmange's hiatus, Stephen Luscombe released an album in 1989 as West India Company, which featured an updated version of 1983 B-side Vishnu; there was also a 12" single featuring remixes by The Orb and Andrew Weatherall. Neil Arthur released a solo album in 1994, with single remixes by The Grid. Both of these will undoubtedly pop up in future posts.

This pre-revival collection focuses squarely on the extent of my Blancmange vinyl collection at the time. I've had to swap out the version of Game Above My Head. The original CD-R featured the (in my view) superior U.S. remix by Joseph Watt, but my vinyl rip is so crackly that I've replaced it with the extended mix that reappeared on the deluxe CD reissue of 2nd album Mange Tout. Some of the other tracks remain as vinyl rips - and it shows - but it maintains the integrity of the original track listing. 

A memory from 1982 is my 15-year old brother coming back from the hairdressers with a perm. My parents unsurprisingly went apeshit, but he eventually persuaded them it was a tribute to footballer Kevin Keegan. Personally, I was convinced he'd asked for a "Neil Arthur".

1) Feel Me (7" Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

2) God's Kitchen (12" Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

3) Blind Vision (Long Version By John Luongo) (1983)

4) Game Above My Head (Extended Remix By Blancmange & John Williams) (1983)

5) Vishnu (Instrumental Version By John Luongo) (1983)

6) Living On The Ceiling (Re-Mixed By Dennis Weinreich) (1982)

7) That's Love, That It Is (New Dance Mix Version By John Luongo) (1983)

8) I Can See It (Extended) (Remix By Greg Walsh) (1986)

9) I've Seen The Word (7" Version By Mike Howlett) (1982)

10) The Day Before You Came (Extended Mix By Chris Porter) (Cover of ABBA) (1984)

11) Don't Tell Me (12" Mix By Peter Collins) (1984)

12) What's Your Problem? (Extended Version By Stewart Levine) (1985)

13) Waves (12" Mix By Dennis Weinreich & John Williams) (1983)

Just Desserts (1:18:37) (GD) (M)