It's Immaterial - Young Men Seek Interesting Jobs (1985)

It's Immaterial were formed by three former members of the Stiff/Radar Records powerpop band Yachts, when John Campbell (vocals), Martin Dempsey (guitar) and Henry Priestman (keyboards) joined up with drummer Paul Barlow to form a new outfit. Considering that the main members of the band were all songwriters it was strange that their 1981 debut single was a cover of an obscure 60's song by The First Impression called 'Young Man (Seeks Interesting Job)'. However, it was their second single on Inevitable Records (home to the legendary Wah Heat! among others) that alerted me to them, as not only did 'A Gigantic Raft In The Philippines' have the most memorable title, but it was a cracking little indie pop song. 'Imitate The Worm' followed on IHM Records, which seemed to have passed me by, as the next single that I was aware of was the excellent 'White Man's Hut' on yet another new label Eternal, and the 12" version was the first example of the band recycling their songs, as it included the b-side to 'Imitate The Worm' on the flip. This was taken to the extreme for their next record, where they completely re-recorded 'A Gigantic Raft' for a 1984 release, together with a Tempest remix and a new b-side, which segued nicely with the A-side when played in succession. During this flurry of activity they also recorded four sessions for John Peel, and some of them included new songs which never later appeared on single or album. As you can see from their convoluted history, It's Immaterial released a wealth of material before their debut album in 1986 garnered them praise from critics and public alike, and so I've managed to compile two collections of their non-albums songs, with the first one covering the period 1981 to 1985, and includes all their singles (with the exception of the rather strange b-side to that first one), along with some of those Peel session tracks, and a 'live' TV recording of one of them, 'Huzzah Huzzah Physic Stick', where I think the band were miming to a backing track, so it's as near to a studio recording as we'll get.  

Track listing

01 Young Man (Seeks Interesting Job) (single 1980)
02 A Gigantic Raft In The Philippines (single 1981)
03 No Place For A Prompter (b-side of 'A Gigantic Raft In The Philippines' original 7" 1981)
04 Imitate The Worm (single 1981)
05 Rake (John Peel session 1981)
06 White Man's Hut (single 1983)
07 The Worm Turns (b-side of 'White Man's Hut' 12" single)
08 Solid Piles Of Food (b-side of 'White Man's Hut' 12" single)
09 Huzah Huzah Physic Stick (John Peel session, and 'live' recording 1982)
10 A Gigantic Raft (single 1984)
11 The Mermaid (b-side of 'A Gigantic Raft' 1984)
12 Challo (John Peel session 1983)
13 Washing The Air (b-side of 'Ed's Funky Diner' 1985)