Three Years The World Has Been Waitin' Just For You, Three Bloody Years!

Side 2 of a mixtape featuring The Boo Radleys, compiled 22nd February 1997.

 

I posted Side 1 of this C90 compilation on Saturday 20th August 2022. Sometimes the follow up side will be swift, sometimes it will take over 1,100 days (and posts) to get there. I hope you think it was worth the wait...!

As before, this selection almost exclusively draws on EPs, remixes and tracks from music paper cassettes, last time NME this time Melody Maker. Whilst Giant Steps set their own bar so high that they couldn't hope to match it again (although they tried), the singles were always great value for money, packed with songs that often matched, sometimes surpassed their album siblings.

One happy consequence of the three year gap between posting the two sides of this collection is that I've since been able to obtain a decent MP3 rip of the Blues For George Michael demo, which I previously had to swap out for an edit of the single version. So, I've recreated and reposted Side 1, both sides now coming in at exactly 45:57. Spooky!

So, for the first time, you can now experience the entire C90 as I originally intended, and a reminder of how utterly brilliant The Boo Radleys were before BritPop and a hit single did them in.

1) Lazarus (12 Inch Version By Alan Moulder)

2) Atlantic (1996)

3) Ride The Tiger (Demo Version) (1996)

4) Cracked Lips, Homesick (1994)

5) Stuck On Amber (1995)

6) Donkey (1995)

7) Tortoiseshell (Re-Recorded Version) (1994)

8) Janus (1995)

9) The Only Word I Can Find (1995)

10) If You Want It, Take It (1993)

11) Vote You (1997)

12) Martin, Doom! It's Seven o' Clock (Stereolab Mix) (1995)

1992: Lazarus EP: 1

1993: Giant Steps: 10

1994: Barney (...And Me) EP: 4, 7

1995: Find The Answer Within EP: 9

1995: It's Lulu EP: 6, 12

1995: Wake Up!: 5

1995: Wake Up Boo! EP: 8

1996: The Basement Tapes Volume 1 (Melody Maker promo cassette): 3

1996: What's In The Box? EP: 2

1997: Ride The Tiger EP: 11

Side Two (45:57) (GD) (M)

Side One here

Decadance III: 1994

Side 1 of a nonsensical Nineties mixtape, today landing in 1994.

The year that 'The Bristol Sound' was gaining traction as a viable commercial prospect was also the year that I spent most of it living in another city. Yep, rather than chasing the zeitgeist, I seemed to spend most of my time racing away from it...!

Whilst Lloyd Cole had a lost weekend in a hotel in Amsterdam, I spent late 1993 to autumn 1994 in Derby. A large chunk of that was spent (over)staying with my incredibly understanding friend and his understandably increasingly pissed off girlfriend, before moving into a bedsit on the other side of town.

I'd lived in worse places, though not much. The winter was so cold that ice formed on the inside of the windows, faux-brickwork wallpaper covered the crumbly real stuff behind, and 50p in the meter would just about get enough water for a bath...as long as my neighbour didn't jump into the communal bathroom and nick it first!

Oh, and after several break-in attempts, I had to resort to removing my car battery every evening and keep it in my bedsit. It was quite literally the only thing worth nicking from car, but half-arsed attempts to do so had caused even more damage. 

I spent most of my time in Derby working for a paint company, 2.00-10.00pm shifts in their distribution warehouse, trying to input schedules on to spreadsheet with fingers that had turned blue and lost all feeling about 30 minutes into the shift. 

And it was where I gained a valuable lesson in the pronunciation of UK place names. My Scottish compadres may raise a wry smile when I mention the reaction I got from the person at the other end of the phone, when I wanted to update them on "a delivery to Hawick". They let me repeat several times before putting me out of my misery...

 

For all the anti-social aspects of the group, the people were fun, and I had a brief relationship with a woman in the upstairs office (I was one of the privileged few from downstairs allowed to go upstairs!), who lived out in the sticks and introduced me to some lovely walks in the Peak District. 

I also went clubbing a lot, given that I would finish work at 10.00pm and sleep was the last thing on my mind. I've forgotten most of the places I went to, but they included the Wherehouse for indie-type gigs and club nights. I also went to a few Renaissance nights at the relatively newly opened The Conservatory. I may have seen Sasha there but I have no recollection; I do remember that John Digweed and Ian Ossia were there pretty much every time, and seeing Justin Robertson, the latter peppered all over my record buying at the time.

Gigs were few and far between in that time. In fact, I've only recorded three that I can recall, and what a mixed bag: Freak Realistic playing to a handful of people; The Boo Radleys riding a wave of acclaim on the back of the magnificent Giant Steps, which proved to be impossible to capture live on stage. 

And then a brief trip over to Nottingham in March 1994, for a Megadog event featuring Transglobal Underground, Banco De Gaia and Loop Guru, which was superb. I was also supposed to be seeing Primal Scream at the legendary Rock City the same month but for some reason it never happened. Thirty years later and I've still never been there.

So how is it all of that reflected in today's selection of sounds from 1994? Not very well, if I honest!

Although the peaks for both genres were arguably still ahead, I've eschewed Britpop for Trip Hop, so there's no Blur, Pulp or Oasis (or, thankfully, Ocean Colour Scene) but Bristol's finest are represented with Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky. Incredibly, only the first of these made the Top 30 though bigger hits were to come. 

 

In fact, this selection is much lighter on Top 40 hits - a mere 5 - compared to previous years, though I couldn't swap out any of these choices, even if it meant no room for Mazzy Star, Underworld, Gene, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Elastica, Kristin Hersh & Michael Stipe, Ride and Billie Ray Martin. And poor Pop Will Eat Itself never did get a look in this time around.

Beastie Boys make a long overdue appearance with Sabotage, which came with a typically brilliant video. Lazarus, possibly The Boo Radleys' greatest moment, wasn't a hit in 1992 and arguably still wasn't in 1994 compared to other singles though it was good to see it get a second crack at the Top, er, 55.

Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart also returned with what I personally consider to be their best album, Take Me To God. I can't award it perfect album due to the guest spot of Dolores from The Cranberries, whose voice I can best and diplomatically describe as grating (sorry). However the single Becoming More Like God is monumental.

Pavement and Stereolab are largely thanks to John Peel playing them on the radio and a friend falling heavily for their music, which provided a sideways door to their songs. Veruca Salt too, although my collection remains largely limited to the Seether and Number One Blind EPs.

7 Seconds by Youssou N'Dour was slow burning single, taking a good couple of months to climb up the UK charts and reaching a peak of #3. No idea why, it's a fantastic song, made even better by appearance of Neneh Cherry and the inspired production of Booga Bear & Jonny Dollar aka Cameron McVey (aka Neneh's hubby) and Jonathan Sharp (who sadly passed in 2009). Neneh...sigh.

And I end with a start. If you've been following this series from the beginning, then you will know that there will always be more MAW. Today's Mandatory Andrew Weatherall is one of his own songs, for a change. Weatherall teamed up with Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns to form The Sabres Of Paradise. In 1994, second album Haunted Dancehall dropped, including a truncated version of preceding single Theme.

Theme, as the title may suggest, was a big, bold brassy cinematic epic, so it was no surprise that it literally ended up soundtracking a film. I don't remember all that much about Shopping the film, if I'm honest; I probably only saw it that one time in 1994. The soundtrack album however is phenomenal: Weatherall/Sabres appear twice, alongside Orbital, Smith & Mighty, The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, and more. 

The version of Theme on the Shopping OST comes in at just under five and a half minutes, longer than the album version, shorter than the single version, though carrying all of the heft of the original.

 

1) Theme ("Shopping" OST Version): The Sabres Of Paradise

2) Sly (Underdog Mix By Trevor Jackson): Massive Attack ft. Nicolette

3) Sabotage (Album Version): Beastie Boys

4) Numb (Revenge Of The Number): Portishead

5) Lazarus (7 Inch Version): The Boo Radleys

6) Cut Your Hair (Album Version): Pavement

7) Ping Pong (Album Version): Stereolab

8) Ponderosa (Dobie's Rub Part 1): TrIcky ft. Martina Topley-Bird

9) Becoming More Like God (Radio Edit By Mark 'Spike' Stent): Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart ft. Anneli Drecker

10) I Want You (Single Mix): Inspiral Carpets ft. Mark E. Smith

11) Seether (Album Version): Veruca Salt

12) 7 Seconds (Album Version By Booga Bear & Jonny Dollar): Youssou N'Dour ft. Neneh Cherry

6th February 1994: Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (#52): 6

27th February 1994: I Want You EP (#18): 10

3rd April 1994: Haunted Dancehall / Shopping OST (#56): 1

24th April 1994: Becoming More Like God EP (#36): 9

1st May 1994: Ponderosa EP (#77): 8

5th June 1994: Lazarus EP (#54): 5

13th June 1994: Numb EP (# n/a): 4

26th June 1994: American Thighs (#61): 11

3rd July 1994: Ill Communication (#19): 3

24th July 1994: Mars Audiac Quintet (#45): 7

4th September 1994: The Guide (Wommat) (#3): 12

23rd October 1994: Sly EP (#24): 2

 

Side One (45:59) (GD) (M)

Another Alien Attack!

Side 1 of a cassette compilation, recorded 22nd July 1998.

As with Side 1, mostly 1990s indie with a few 1980s and major label releases thrown in for good measure. Matt Johnson appears twice, both with The The and The Gadgets (albeit on guitar and backing vocals only on the latter).

I've seen The Psychedelic Furs, The The, The Boo Radleys, PJ Harvey and Gold Blade live in concert. Gold Blade would have been circa 1996/1997, probably the latter as this was undoubtedly the prompt for buying the Home Turf album. I've long lost the ticket and I can't find any details online, but it must have been a good gig...!

 

There are a couple more inclusions from the Volume CD/book series, this time featuring Ultra Vivid Scene and Madder Rose. I got the first couple but the two here more likely came from Sharks Patrol These Waters, one of two Volume compilations released in the mid-1990s. Likewise, the Pulp song came from cash-in compilation Countdown, collecting their pre-Island label recordings and repackaging it to make it look like a contemporary Pulp release in the style of Different Class.

 

The cassette sleeve artwork has been cut up and pasted from the Captain Star comic strip by the brilliant artist Stephen Appleby. The series originally appeared in NME but I think had transferred to Vox (and in colour) by 1998. Apart from some record sleeve artwork in my collection, notably Nobody's Diary by Yazoo, I haven't really followed their work since and it was difficult to find much info online, apart from their bibliography on Amazon and an enlightening biography ahead of a guest appearance at last year's International Literature Festival in Berlin. Time to catch up with my reading, I think.

 

1) Entertain Me (Album Version): The Psychedelic Furs (1989)

2) Always Crashing In The Same Car (Album Version): David Bowie (1977)

3) Leaves And Sand: The Boo Radleys (1993)

4) Uneasy Listening: The Gadgets (1983)

5) Blue Glow: Pulp (1985)

6) Saddest Song: Gold Blade (1997)

7) Easy (4-Track Demo): PJ Harvey (1992)

8) Rave Down: Swervedriver (1990)

9) Cut Throat (Remix): Ultra Vivid Scene (1993)

10) Roland Navigator: Madder Rose (1994)

11) Bluer Than Midnight: The The (1993)

 

1977: Low: 2

1983: Blue Album: 4

1985: Little Girl (With Blue Eyes) EP: 5

1989: Book Of Days: 1

1990: Rave Down EP: 8

1993: 4-Track Demos: 7

1993: Dusk: 11

1993: Giant Steps: 3

1993: Volume Six: 9

1994: Volume Nine: 10

1997: Hometurf: 6

Side One (46:05) (Box) (Mega)

Side Two here

The World Is Waitin' Just For You

Side 1 of a tape compilation featuring The Boo Radleys, recorded 22nd February 1997.

 

In 1994, I upped sticks and moved to Derby. Not a completely random choice as I ended up crashing with my friend Stuart and his then-girlfriend, who had moved up there a few months previously to study at the city's university. It didn't take much hindsight to realise how very selfish that was, particularly as I took far too long to find a job and my own place and give them the space that they deserved. At the time, it was all me, me, me but it was also another example of why, time and again, Stuart has been the best friend that anyone could wish for. 

One of the things that all three of us could agree on during that time was that Giant Steps by The Boo Radleys was one of the greatest albums we'd ever heard. Stuart had the vinyl LP and we would play it constantly, so when we found out The Boo Radleys were playing live at The Wherehouse, it was a no-brainer. If you've heard the album, you won't be at all surprised to hear that, try as they might, The Boo Radleys just couldn't capture the sprawling, squalling psychedelic genius of the album on stage. Even so, we still loved them.

When I eventually got my own place, a cold, damp bedsit with a grotty shared kitchen in the attic conversion and shared bathroom with a bath that relied on feeding 50p coins into a separate meter to get the boiler fired up for hot water. My immediate neighbour was a lovely guy, but with a taste for heavy metal and rock, played loud, and a sole concession to Kate Bush's greatest hits. We went out for a drink a couple of times though he was constantly on at me to go to his favourite late night joint - I think it was called the Blue Pineapple or something similarly awful - to "pick up" older women. I declined his kind offer and thankfully soon after met a lovely woman of similar age and taste in music, so nights out with him were off the (grubby kitchen) table at that point.

I worked night shifts at a local paint factory, 2.00pm to 10.00pm, Monday to Friday. The pay wasn't great but my unsociable working hours essentially meant that I had money let over from rent and bills to buy records and go out a lot. Anything better than returning to that cold, damp bedsit! I got my own copy of Giant Steps (on CD) and picked up The Boo Radleys' singles back catalogue on various jaunts to secondhand shops in Derby and Nottingham.

I was back living in the centre of Bristol by the time The Boo Radleys' follow-up Wake Up (and their big hit single) was released. I didn't buy it or any of the remaining albums until some years later. I couldn't resist getting the singles though as they were usually cheap to begin with or very quickly in the bargain bins, following their brief brush with the charts on the week of release. To be fair, The Boo Radleys were firmly committed to putting quality songs on their B-sides and EPs, so it was always worth a punt, even if the A-side was at times underwhelming.

So this selection largely draws on EPs, remixes and exclusive (at the time) compilation tracks. On the original mixtape, Blues For George Michael was an early version taken from the NME cover-mounted cassette, The Mutha Of Creation, which ran to under three minutes. Unfortunately, I can't put my hands on the cassette (or online equivalent) and the single version from the Wake Up Boo! EP runs to early nine minutes, so I've dropped an early fade in to keep the overall running time in line with the original compilation. 

[Update, 31st August 2025] in finally getting around to posting Side 2, I also obtained a decent MP3 of the Blues From George Michael demo, so I have recreated Side 1 as originally recorded.

And yes, Wake Up Boo! is included. Worse, you might say, it's the 12" version with the breakbeat muckabout Music For Astronauts appended. This remains my favourite version of Wake Up Boo! though as even the band themselves seem to have realised what a silly song it is and thrown everything they can at it including the kitchen sink by the sound of things. Or it's all Martin Carr's fault. Possibly. I love it, either way.

Coming full circle with my point, this post is dedicated to my friend Stuart for putting up with my nonsense for nearly five decades, sharing some fantastic, unforgettable experiences (and music) along the way and for being a really, really good mate. 

More tomorrow.

 

1) What's In The Box? (See Whatcha Got) (Album Version) (1996)

2) Hi Falutin (1995)

3) Blues For George Michael (Demo Version) (1994)

4) A Part I Know So Well (1997)

5) Petroleum (1992)

6) Leaves And Sand (1993)

7) From The Bench At Belvidere (Single Version) (1995)

8) Reaching Out From Here (The High Llamas Mix By Sean O'Hagan) (1995)

9) Spion Kop (1996)

10) Wake Up Boo! : Music For Astronauts (12" Version) (1995)

11) At The Sound Of Speed (1992)

12) Fortunate Sons (Greg Hunter Remix) (1996)

1992: Lazarus EP: 5. 11

1993: Giant Steps: 6

1994: The Mutha Of Creation EP (NME promo cassette): 3

1995: From The Bench At Belvidere EP: 2, 7

1995: It's Lulu EP: 8

1995: Wake Up Boo! EP: 10

1996: C'mon Kids: 1

1996: C'mon Kids EP: 9, 12

1997: Ride The Tiger EP: 4

Side One (45:57) (GD) (M)

Roots 'n' Culture

Side 1 of a mixtape compiled for my then-girlfriend, circa September 1995. I think we were living together by this point and this may have been recorded as an extra birthday present but, as Tears For Fears once sang, memories fade. 

 

This is another mixtape tracklist rescued from some papers boxed up in the attic, otherwise lost to the mists of time. No other info apart from the year I recorded the mixtape, but the inclusion of the opening track helped me to narrow down the period. Something Wicked This Way Comes was previewed on 180°: A Mute Records Compilation, a cover-mounted CD with The Wire magazine, dated October 1995. The song subsequently reappeared on Barry Adamson's 1996 album Oedipus Schmoedipus and (in edited form) the soundtrack to David Lynch's film Lost Highway the same year.

 

This is the same girlfriend who was heavily invested in indie music and later gifted me with the Now That's What I Call Jangly mixtape which I posted previously. My mixtape was obviously an attempt to satisfy some of those loves (Lightning Seeds, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Boo Radleys), whilst also sneaking in some electronica and dance music (Global Communication, The Future Sound Of London, The Grid). 

 

Saint Etienne's excellent So Tough album is served by a mere 25-second snippet featuring Simon Price, who was a journalist with Melody Maker at the time as I recall.

 

The Colour Of My Love previously appeared on one of three Ed Ball/The Times compilations that I posted last year. Ed re-recorded the song (as Edward Ball) as Love Is Blue for his 1997 album Catholic Guilt and it also reached #59 in the UK singles chart. Personally, I think The Times' version wasn't bettered.

 

I've swapped out the single mix of Enjoy The Silence for an alternate version labelled 'cold end'. To these ears, it sounds like an earlier, pre-release mix but I think works better with the lead in to The Future Sound Of London track.

 

What can I say about Floatation? One of the greatest electronic pop singles of the 1990s, which is no surprise given the involvement of Andrew Weatherall, Richard Norris and Dave Ball. One sadly lost to us, the other two continuing to produce great music in 2022.

 

1) Something Wicked This Way Comes (Album Version): Barry Adamson (1995)

2) 15 Reasons: Lightning Seeds (1990)

3) Memo To Pricey: Saint Etienne (1993)

4) Leonard Nimoy (Extended Version): Freaky Realistic (1993)

5) Sometimes Always (Album Version): The Jesus & Mary Chain ft. Hope Sandoval (1994)

6) The Colour Of My Love: The Times ft. Jan Stevens (1993)

7) Funk In The Fridge: Global Communication (1994)

8) Enjoy The Silence (Single Mix/Cold End): Depeche Mode (1990)

9) Bring Me Home: The Future Sound Of London (1994)

10) Lazarus (Album Version): The Boo Radleys (1993)

11) Floatation (Subsonic Grid Mix By Andrew Weatherall, Richard Norris & Dave Ball) (7" Version): The Grid ft. Sacha Souter (1990)

 

1990: Enjoy The Silence EP: 8 

1990: Floatation EP: 11

1990: Gigantic! 2: 2 

1993: Baby Girl EP: 6 

1993: Giant Steps: 10

1993: Leonard Nimoy EP: 4

1993: So Tough: 3

1994: Maiden Voyage EP: 7 

1994: Signed Sealed Delivered 2: 9

1994: Stoned & Dethroned: 5

1995: 180°: A Mute Records Compilation: 1

1996: Oedipus Schmoedipus: 1

 

Side One (45:05) (KF) (Mega)
 

Karaoke Kings

Side 2 of a mixtape, which I think was compiled around late 1996, possibly early 1997.

 

Time to usher the weekend with a few bottles of cheap Becks, salt & vinegar crisps, ripped seats, sticky carpets and the landlord's obsessive collection of novelty bottle openers glued to the upper skirt of the bar. Yes, it's Friday and it's karaoke time at your local spit 'n' sawdust bar.

1) Downtown (Album Version): The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu vs. Petula Clark (1988)

2) You Keep Me Hanging On (12" Version): Colourbox vs. The Supremes (1985)

3) She (Disco Mix): Vegas vs. Charles Aznavour (1992)

4) Brass In Pocket: Suede vs. The Pretenders (1992)

5) Lost In Music (Single Version): The Fall vs. Sister Sledge (1993)

6) The Slider: Gavin Friday vs. T. Rex (1995)

7) That's The Way (I Like It) (Extended Version By Zeus B. Held): Dead Or Alive vs. KC & The Sunshine Band (1984)

8) Black Betty: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds vs. Leadbelly (1986)

9) Zoom: The Boo Radleys vs. Fat Larry's Band (1994)

10) Emma: The Sisters Of Mercy vs. Hot Chocolate (1988)

11) California Dreamin': American Music Club vs. The Mamas & The Papas (1994)

 

1984: That's The Way (I Like It) EP: 7

1985: The Moon Is Blue EP: 2 

1986: The Singer EP: 8

1988: Dominion EP: 10

1988: Shag Times: 1 

1992: Ruby Trax: The NME's Roaring Forty: 4

1992: She EP: 3

1993: Why Are People Grudgeful? EP: 5

1994: Barney (...And Me) EP: 9 

1994: Can You Help Me EP: 11

1995: Shag Tobacco: 6

Side Two (46:01) (Box) (Mega)

Far Too Much Trouble And Not Enough Time!

Side 1 of a mixtape, originally compiled 8th February 1997 and liberated during lockdown in 2021.

 

As mentioned when I posted Side 2 in July last year, this is possibly the closest I got to a "Now That's What I Call Dance Music" hits compilation, with all of the songs (bar two songs) enjoying success in the UK singles chart.

 

Insomnia by Faithless has troubled the charts multiple times: #27 in December 1995, it's highest placing of #3 in October 1996 and a return at #17 in September 2005. Further remixes and reissues, including a trademark rework by Avicii in 2015, have been less successful commercially speaking, but nothing detracts from the sheer majesty of the song. The album version is essentially a re-edit of the Moody Mix. To get around the cross-fade from the previous track and to align the running time with Side 2's duration, I've spliced the introduction from the single version of the Moody Mix, so you get a slightly extended take on the original mixtape opener.

 

Tori Amos had dabbled with remixes before - I've previously enthused about the epic remix of 1994 single God by The Joy - but it was another radical remix that finally got her to the UK #1 spot in January 1997, this time courtesy of Armand Van Helden. The garage overhaul of Professional Widow actually appeared first as a double A-side with the more characteristic Hey Jupiter, managing a first week peak of #20 in August 1996, before drifting down the charts. However, the growing popularity of the Van Helden remix was enough to convince label EastWest to re-release it in its own right, with additional (good, but not as good) remixes by Mr. Roy. History was made.

Likewise, Common People was the song that broke Pulp, perhaps in more ways than one. Smashing into the singles chart in June 1995, it spent the first 2 weeks at #2 and 10 weeks in the Top 40. Follow up double A-single, Mis-shapes/Sorted For E's & Wizz, achieved a similar first 2 weeks at #2 in October 1995, no doubt bolstered by the controversy surrounding the latter track and "drug wrap instructions" sleeve. By "controversy", I mean the Daily Mirror getting into a ill-informed media frenzy, but that's for another post. This follow up single also included a couple of remixes of Common People for good measure, including the Motiv8 Club Mix featured here. An odd one, in that it didn't seem particularly loved by my indie- or club-centred friends, who preferred the original version if at all. It sounds dated now, but I still like it.

 

Like Going South by The Wolfgang Press on Side 2, Lazarus by The Boo Radleys really should have been their breakthrough hit. Creation obviously believed so too, as they tried twice, first in 1992 and again in June 1994 with a slew of remixes from the likes of Saint Etienne, Secret Knowledge and Augustus Pablo. The record-buying public disagreed: it entered the UK chart at #54 and 3 weeks later dropped out of the Top 100 altogether, never to return. Lazarus is frequently my favourite Boo Radleys song and a key part of the stunning Giant Steps album. I saw them live in Derby around this time and they just couldn't do the song justice. I like all of the remixes, even the Augustus Pablo take. Martin Carr allegedly thought Pablo was taking the piss (& the money) by simply laying some reverb and echo over the original 12" version, but nevertheless it works. Even better is the remix by Ultramarine. I was big fan of theirs and this version did not disappoint. 

Ultramarine also provided an excellent remix of Missing by Everything But The Girl, albeit on the initial "flop" single release in August 1994, which scraped in at #69. Just over a year later, it was a completely different story, as Todd Terry's remix took off and the re-released single got to #3, spending a phenomenal 14 weeks in the Top 10. Great though it is, I prefer the original remixes, especially this one by Ben Watt.

Adored And Explored was the lead single from Marc Almond's 1996 album Fantastic Star. Not one of his better albums, though I've come to appreciate it more in recent years. I tended to buy the singles less for the lead track and more for the generous helpings of B-sides, session versions and remixes. Adored And Explored (#25 in May 1995) remains a Marc Almond highlight, however, and I enjoyed the remixes by Messiah, Beatmasters and X-Press 2. Andy Meecham, fresh from Bizarre Inc and a bright future with Chicken Lips and as The Emperor Machine ahead of him, delivers a brace of excellent remixes. This is my favourite of the two, with a beautiful clash of guitars and beats and an irreverent approach to Marc Almond's vocals, chopping them up and slowing them down. This song also supplies the mixtape's title.

 

Today's photo is another snapshot of my nostalgic wander around Bristol on Tuesday. I used to go to Lakota a lot back in the day, though I pretty sure that I would never have heard any of the songs on this mixtape played there. The club itself had been under threat many times over the years and there was national coverage in April 2020 of plans to close the club and convert it and the surrounding space into offices and flats. As at March 2022, the threatened demolition and further gentrification doesn't appear to have happened, but Lakota itself looks very much dead and gone. As ever, revisiting the past elicits mixed emotions.

1) Insomnia (Moody Mix By Rollo & Sister Bliss) (Album Version w/ Extended Intro): Faithless (1995)

2) Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix By Armand Van Helden): Tori Amos (1996)

3) Common People (Motiv8 Club Mix By Steve Rodway): Pulp (1995)

4) Lazarus (Ultramarine Mix): The Boo Radleys (1994)

5) Missing (Little Joey Remix By Ben Watt): Everything But The Girl (1994)

6) Adored And Explored (Andy Meecham's Slow Fat Dub): Marc Almond (1995)

Side One (46:32)

Side Two here

Faye Dunaway

Barney (... And Me) from The Boo Radleys' 1993 magnum opus Giant Steps popped up randomly this week during my drive to work, which itself randomly name checks Faye Dunaway. This then got me thinking - as you do - whether it would be possible to compile a half-decent playlist of songs named after Faye Dunaway movies. The answer is yes, yes you can. I've thrown in The Boo Radleys song which inspired this particular rabbit hole, for good measure.

 

1)  Chinatown: Romeo Void (1982)

2) Bonnie And Clyde: Mick Harvey ft. Anita Lane (1995)

3) Barney (... And Me) (Album Version): The Boo Radleys (1993)

4) The Chamber: The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

5) The Happening: Pixies (1990)

6) Towering Inferno: The Green Arrows (1975)

7) Barfly: Monaco (2000)

8) The Arrangement: Ryuichi Sakamoto ft. Robin Scott (1982)

9) Casanova: Roxy Music (1974)

10) Last Goodbye (Album Version): Jeff Buckley (1994)

 

Faye Dunaway (38:17)