Shouts & Points

Celebrating Douglas McCarthy, 1st September 1966 to 11th June 2025.

It's been a really shit week for music news, with Douglas' passing the third obituary in the last few days. However, whereas Sly Stone and Brian Wilson were in their 80s, Douglas is gone at the ridiculously young age of 58.

In the late 1980s, it was Douglas rather than Sly or Brian who would be easily found in my record collection, thanks to the brutal(ist) sound of Nitzer Ebb. Not much of a leap at all from my love of Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb had a harder edge, not least due to McCarthy's distinctive vocals and a style which he self-deprecatingly described as "shouting and pointing".

Douglas got to work wth Alan Wilder after the latter left Depeche Mode and recorded music as Recoil. Their first collaboration was a cover of Faith Healer by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. 

Today's 12-song selection cherry picks choice 12" mixes, singles, B-sides and collaborations, showcasing Douglas' impact and influence with Nitzer Ebb and beyond.

Rest in peace, Douglas.

1) Shame (Mix No 2 William Orbit) (1988)

2) Lakeside Drive (Remix By Flood) (1992)

3) Fun To Be Had (Zulu Mix By The Dust Brothers aka Mike Simpson & John King) (1990)

4) Once You Say (Pouppée Fabrikk Mix By Christiaan Riemslag, Henrik Björkk & Jonas Aneheim) (2010)

5) Control I'm Here (Hardcore Mix By Flood Nitzer Ebb) (1988)

6) Ascend (Anonymous Mix By Vince Clarke) (1992)

7) Murderous (Phil Kieran Remix) (2003)

8) Join In The Chant (Burn!) (Remix By Phil Harding) (1988)

9) Lightning Man (Barry Adamson Mix) (1990)

10) Noise (Hardway Bros Axis Force Dub By Sean Johnston): Headman ft. Douglas McCarthy (2013)

11) The Machineries Of Joy (Rhönrad-Mix By Die Krupps): Nitzer Ebb & Die Krupps (1989)

12) Faith Healer (LP Version By Alan Wilder & Steve Lyon) (Cover of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band): Recoil ft. Douglas McCarthy (1992)

Shouts & Points (1:08:25) (KF) (Mega)

Get A Grip

Those of you of a certain vintage may recognise Norman "Gripper" Stebson, Grange Hill wrong 'un from 1980, expelled in 1983. 

Nothing wrong about this line-up, however. The Vinyl Villain's posting Lambchop's superb cover of This Corrosion by The Sisters Of Mercy on Tuesday got me thinking of today's opening song and from there a Dubhed selection was born. 

The similarly-titled song by A Certain Ratio gets a stunning synth rinse by Maps, whilst Thomas Leer dusts off his song of the same name, recorded in 2004 and languishing in the vaults until finally released in 2022.

Amateur Night In The Big Top was essentially a duo of Shaun Ryder and Shane Norton, with one self-titled (and hugely underrated) album and a few singles. Clowns was co-written and co-produced by Pete Carroll and Stephen Mallinder and gets a shoo in here courtesy of the remix artist Gripper.

The selection closes with a 12" remix of The Stranglers' classic, released in 1989 as far as I can recall to promote a greatest hits collection. The remix is an odd, welding the percussion track from The Sound Of The Crowd by The Human League to the undercarriage and generally making the song sound more lightweight. Not a patch on the original version, obviously, but an oddity that I think would have sounded as out of place in 1989 as it does now.

Come back here tomorrow for a tale of raffle tickets, home made marmalade and sweet, sweet music.

 

1) (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) (Cover of The Stranglers): Lambchop (2004)

2) Devil's Grip: The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (1967)

3) Get A Grip (Maps Remix By James Chapman): A Certain Ratio ft. Maria Uzor (2021)

4) Kick It (Hippy Grip) (Remix By Randy Wilson): Nitzer Ebb (1995)

5) Get A Grip: Thomas Leer (2004)

6) Drums In A Grip (Wax Doctor Mix By Paul Saunders): Frank De Wulf (1996)

7) Clowns (Gripper Mix By Alan Gubby): Amateur Night In The Big Top (2003)

8) Grip Like A Vice (Black Affair Mix By Steve Mason): The Go! Team (2007)

9) Phantom Grip: Rival Consoles (2018)

10) Elektro (He Held The World In His Iron Grip) (Part Two): Stereolab (1992)

11) Grip '89 (Grippin' Stuff Mix By Barry Cooder & Taff B. Dylan): The Stranglers (1989)

Get A Grip (52:20) (KF) (Mega)

We Don't Really Need A Crowd To Have A Party

Another 45-minute selection of eclectic Eighties 12" mixes to shuffle in the weekend. 

I was an avid consumer of remixes as a newly minted record collector in my teens, spending a disproportionate amount of my hard-earned Saturday and holiday job money on 12" singles. My tastes were broadening from the outset: I had no problem parting with cash for Hi NRG, Pop, Goth, Electro, Rock, Indie or D.I.S.C.O., often within the same shopping trip.

For all that, I can say confidently that I didn't own a single one of today's selections until the advent of the internet, eBay, nostalgia-driven 3CD 12"/80s collections and as importantly, if not more so, music blogs.

Suddenly, things that had passed me by or were just out of reach were more readily available. Pre-Brexit and/or the sky-rocketing of shipping fees, I'd acquire tons of music from sellers in Europe and the USA. Without music blogs, would I ever have heard of Shona Laing? Or been able to deep dive into Joseph Watt and Art Maharg's Razormaid archive? Probably not.

Some of this selection may be familiar, it may trigger some fuzzy, happy memories or it may be music that you've never heard before today. If it's none of the above but it gets you shuffling and shimmying around the kitchen, then that's good enough for me!

 

1) Dancing In Berlin (Extended Version - Dance Remix By Giorgio Moroder & Richie Zito): Berlin (1984)

2) Flying North (Razormaid Remix): Thomas Dolby (1988)

3) So Bright So Strong (The Kissing Side) (Remix By Phil Harding & Paul 'Wix' Wickens): Nitzer Ebb (1985)

4) Big Fun (Juan's Magic Remix By Juan Atkins): Inner City (1988)

5) Work It Out (Acid Dub): Steve 'Silk' Hurley ft. M. Doc aka Marc Williams (1989)  

6) Beat Boy (Dance Dub): Visage (1984)

7) Soviet Snow (Meltdown Dub) (Remix By Justin Strauss & Murray Elias): Shona Laing (1987)

8) Our Darkness (Remix By Anne Clark & David Harrow): Anne Clark (1984)

We Don't Really Need A Crowd To Have A Party (46:22) (KF) (Mega)

7 To 10 Inches Longer

Side 2 of a mixtape, originally recorded 5th October 1997, collecting tracks from various 7" and 10" vinyl records, pops and crackles intact on several. Even more than an album or 12" single, there's something special about putting a 7" or 10" single on a turntable and listening to just one or two songs in succession. In the 1980s, music rags like NME, Sounds, Record Mirror and Melody Maker would occasionally tape a free 7" single to the front cover and these were often my first (and sometimes only) experience of an artist's music. 

 

Some tracks inevitably turned up on a subsequent album (Iggy Pop, Tom Waits) or deluxe reissue and/or compilation (The Woodentops, The Jesus & Mary Chain). Some remain rare and wonderful, such as one of the great lost B-sides from Prefab Sprout. The Jack Rubies and Westworld remain highlights, though I bought very little else by either of them afterwards. A quarter of a century on, for such a hotpotch of songs and artists, I quite like this collection as a whole. I hope you do too.

 

1) I Give To You (Elemental) (Remix By Barry Adamson & PK aka Paul Kendall): Nitzer Ebb (I Give To You 10") (1991)

2) Hey! Luciani (Original Version By John Leckie): The Fall (Sounds Showcase 1 7") (1987)

3) Move Me (Long Version) (Remix By Godwin Logie): The Woodentops (Everyday Living ltd 2x 7") (1986) 

4) Hot Meat (Single Version) (aka Coldsweat (Version)): The Sugarcubes (Regina ltd 7") (1989)

5) Vendetta: Prefab Sprout (Cars And Girls 10") (1988)

6) Vegas Throat Stomp: The Jack Rubies (Sonic Sounds 1 7") (1987)

7) F***in' Alone: Iggy Pop (Beside You 10") (1993)

8) Nasty 'n' Cheap (Remix By Mark Ferda): Westworld (Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo ltd 2x 10") (1987)

9) Hallelujah (In Out Mix By Steve Lillywhite): Happy Mondays ft. Kirsty MacColl (Madchester Rave On ltd 7") (1989)

10) Shake: The Jesus & Mary Chain (Happy When It Rains 10") (1987)

11) A Little Rain: Tom Waits (Goin' Out West 10") (1992)

12) Come On Home (Album Version): Everything But The Girl (Come On Home 7") (1986)

Side Two (45:17)

Side One here

What Are You Thinking Of?

Side 2 of a mixtape, compiled October 1996 and featuring Secret Knowledge aka Kris Needs and Wonder Schneider.

 

Kris Needs is a journalist and author who edited legendary music magazine ZigZag from 1977 to 1981, contributed to numerous other publications and has written several biographies and music history tomes, including 2021's Babble On An' Ting: Alex Paterson's Incredible Journey Beyond the Ultraworld With The Orb. Wonder is an American singer/songwriter, fittingly born on 4th July (Kris was born on 3rd July) and currently based in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

Secret Knowledge debuted with the 12" single Your Worst Nightmare/Make Me Scream, in 1992 before releasing a couple of 12"s on Andrew Weatherall & Nina Walsh's Sabres Of Paradise label, including the legendary Sugar Daddy. A move to Deconstruction saw the sole Secret Knowledge album, So Hard, in 1996. Needs was also a prolific remixer in the mid-late 1990s, transforming tracks by The Boo Radleys, Primal Scream, Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart, The Prodigy, The Grid, Alabama 3, Transglobal Underground and Hurricane #1, to name a very few.

 

This selection manages to squeeze a mere 5 tracks onto one side of a cassette, but they are personal favourites. Hug My Soul is underpinned by the inspired use of a sample from Reach Out I'll Be There by Four Tops and ends with someone blowing a raspberry. Breakdown was released as a standalone 12" featuring 'light' and 'dark' Secret Knowledge remixes, both excellent. The Nitzer Ebb and Love And Rockets remixes vastly improve on the originals. The Afterworld was originally submitted for inclusion on the Volume compilation, Trance Europe Express², and resulted in conflict when the wrong version was used. The press release accompanying the subsequent 12" release of Afterworld tells the story. It was only when reading the press release again that I realised The Afterworld 12" was issued on 4th July 1994, Wonder's birthday.

Kris and Wonder reconvened Secret Knowledge in 2019, in a collaborative single with Sendelica, with remixes by The Orb. Windmill was written as a tribute to Kris Needs' soul mate Helen Donlon, who passed in 2018. A digital version of the EP is still available on Bandcamp.

Kris also collaborated on a remix for The Orb's excellent Abolition Of The Royal Familia (Guillotine Mixes) album in 2021 and is currently writing a Silver Apples biography. Wonder continues to perform and collaborate on musical projects. There's a great interview with Kris from May 2021 on the Strange Brew website.

1) Kick It (The Secret Knowledge Velvet DM's Mix): Nitzer Ebb (1995)

2) This Heaven (Secret Knowledge Mix): Love And Rockets (1994)

3) Hug My Soul (Secret Knowledge Limbo Mix): Saint Etienne (1994)

4) The Afterworld (Backing Track For PAs): Secret Knowledge (1994)

5) Breakdown (Secret Knowledge Dark Mix): One Dove (1993)

 

Side Two (46:06) (GD) (M)

7 To 10 Inches

Side 1 of a mixtape, originally recorded 4th October 1997, collecting tracks from various 7" and 10" vinyl records, pops and crackles intact on several. Sounds a bit like my take on an indie disco, though in reality the only songs I'm likely to have heard out in Bristol at places like the Kandi Klub or the PIG Club (an acronym for Punk Indie Goth, naturally) would have been the album version of Head Like A Hole and possibly Love Removal Machine. I saw Back To The Planet on the Lime Lizard stage at the first Phoenix Festival in 1993. I don't think we hung around for the whole set as we wanted to get back to the main stage for Faith No More, but they were one of the better crusty bands. The Food Christmas EP saw labelmates Jesus Jones, Crazyhead and Diesel Park West covering each other's songs. Mekons' Rock 'n' Roll and Birth School Work Death by The Godfathers remain firm favourite albums of the 1980s, whilst a production credit by Adrian Sherwood and Flood was a pretty safe bet for a purchase, back in the day. The limited edition double pack 7" single of April Skies is a typical example of how great The Jesus & Mary Chain are as a singles band. Bo Diddley Is Jesus is the last of four excellent songs on the single, but is a perfect opener here. There'll be more J&MC brilliance when I eventually get to posting Side 2...

 

Side One (45:07)

1) Bo Diddley Is Jesus: The Jesus & Mary Chain (April Skies 2x 7") (1987)

2) (I'm Gonna) Cry Myself Blind (Album Version): Primal Scream ft. Denise Johnson ((I'm Gonna) Cry Myself Blind 10") (1994)

3) It's So Hard: The Godfathers (Sounds Waves 2 promo 7") (1988)

4) Heaven And Back (Album Version): Mekons (The Dream And Lie Of... 10") (1989)

5) Montreal: The Wedding Present (Montreal 7") (1997)

6) Daydream (Dub Mix By Adrian Sherwood): Back To The Planet (Daydream 7") (1993)

7) 2001 Love (Part 1) (Single Version By Adrian Sherwood, Skip McDonald & Style Scott): Dub Syndicate ft. Allen Ginsberg (What Happened? 10") (1993)

8) Head Like A Hole (Copper) (Remix By Trent Reznor & Flood): Nine Inch Nails (Head Like A Hole 10") (1991)

9) Love Removal Machine (Album Version By Rick Rubin & George Drakoulias): The Cult (Love Removal Machine 2x 7") (1987)

10) I Don't Want That Kind Of Love (Cover of Crazyhead): Jesus Jones (The Food Christmas EP 7") (1989)

11) Ascend (Single Mix By Flood): Nitzer Ebb (Ascend 2x 10") (1992)

Side One (45:07)

Fever (Still) Needs A Cure

Side 1 of a 1996 mixtape, rescued from the loft. 

 

1) The Storm (12" Edit By Cliff Bridgen & Hugo Nicholson): World Of Twist (1990)

2) Infected (12" Mix): The The (1986)

3) They're Here (Cenobite Mix): EMF (1992)

4) Oolaa (Meat Beat Manifesto Mutation): Orbital (1992)

5) Lightning Man (The Industry vs The Ebb Mix By Daniel Miller): NItzer Ebb (1990)

6) Hollywood Boulevard (Club Mix By Sam Sever): BIg Audio Dynamite (1986)

7) Make It Mine (V2.2 Evil Ed) (Remix By "Evil" Eddie Richards): The Shamen ft. Rhyme & Reason (1990)

8) Don't Lose Your Dreams (The Cabaret Voltaire Freak Mix): Pete Wylie & Wah! The Mongrel... (1991)

 

Side One (46:00)  

Find Side Two here