Ride The Train

Spring time is clearly a time to be inspired by Underworld's music, as this is the third Dubhed selection that I've posted between March and May.

Having posted about their spectacular remixes of Shakespears Sister a couple of days ago, I've been digging around and dusted off seven of their remixes, for themselves and others, circa 1992 to 1995.

No request stops on this one, you're in for a long journey, 90 minutes of Karl, Rick and Darren in fine form. The opening track is the longest, at nearly 18 minutes, the closer is the shortest at 10 minutes and 1 second. And take it from me, not a second wasted along the way.

Enjoy the ride!

1) Dark & Long (Spoon Deep): Underworld (1994)

2) Passion (D. Emerson Mix): Gat Decor (1992)

3) Cowgirl (Alt Cowgirl C69 Mix From A1564) (Unreleased Demo): Underworld (1993)

4) Harlequin - The Beauty And The Beast (Underworld Remix): Sven Väth (1994)

5) Cool Kids Of Death (Underworld Mix By Rick Smith) (Full Length): Saint Etienne (1995)

6) Black Sky (Dub Extravaganza Part Two): Shakespears Sister (1992)

7) Dirty Guitar (Remix By Underworld): Lemon Interupt (1992)

Ride The Train (1:29:30) (KF) (Mega)

And, for the return journey:

Who Fans The Flames? (April 2022)

Darren In The Underworld (March 2023)

Tune Into The Light

Shakespears Sister's (and/or London Records) contribution to Record Store Day 2025 was a re-release of 1992 song Black Sky on glow in the dark 12" vinyl.

Arguably the real attraction, unless you have a particular fetish for glow in the dark vinyl, was the inclusion of the contemporary Dub Extravaganza remixes by Darren Emerson and Rick Smith aka two thirds of Underworld, plus a pair of re-edits by Leo Zero.

A visualiser rather than a video has been posted for the four-minute edit of the latter

as well as the Extended Re-Edit, running at just under nine minutes.

The Underworld remixes of Black Sky were originally available on promo 12" single only, which frankly I couldn't get a sniff of back in 1992. Both got a commercial release, but as bonus tracks on two separate single releases.

The vocal-heavy Dub Extravaganza Part 1 was renamed The Green Eyed Dub and featured on the UK CD single of Goodbye Cruel World, clocking in just shy of six minutes. All ten and a half minutes of Dub Extravaganza Part 2 was one of three remixes bolstering the CD package of follow up single Hello (Turn Your Radio On). 

Both are deserving of the label 'epic' and Leo Zero also does a fine job with the updated re-edits.

 

In 2022, to mark the 30th anniversary of second album Hormonally Yours, Shakespears Sister released remastered and expanded digital versions of Stay, I Don't Care, Goodbye Cruel World, Hello (Turn Your Radio On) and Black Sky.

Black Sky offers up 10 versions for a cent under 5 Euro, including both of the Underworld remixes, five further remixes, dubs and edits by Marcella Levy and Siobhan Fahey with Alan Moulder, as well as the original album version.

There's also a live version, recorded at The Town & Country Club in London, 24th March 1992, featured on the mammoth vinyl, CD and DVD box set Our History and released on my 50th birthday in 2020. I didn't ask for it and I didn't get it and at £200+ for a pre-loved copy on Discogs, it's unlikely I ever will.

The version heading up this post is from Shakespears Sister's concert at Brighton Dome on 20th November 2019 and ample evidence of what a formidable pairing Marcy and Siobahn are, then and now.