Department S - Sub-Stance (1981)

Department S evolved from a previous punk/ska combo, Guns for Hire, fronted by Vaughn Toulouse and also featuring former Madness drummer John Hasler, along with Mike Herbage on guitar, who wrote Guns for Hire's only single, 'I'm Gonna Rough My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Up Tonight', which was released on Korova Records in 1980. The group morphed into Department S with the addition of bassist Tony Lordan, drummer Stuart Mizon and keyboardist Eddie Roxy, taking their name from the British spy-fi adventure television series 'Department S'. They debuted at the Rock Garden in London on 24 September 1980, and before long they signed to Demon Records, who released their debut single, 'Is Vic There?', in December 1980. It was produced by former Mott The Hoople members Buffin and Overend Watts, and the b-side was a cover version of T.Rex's 'Solid Gold Easy Action', giving the whole release a glam-rock vibe. The single began to climb the UK Singles Chart, reaching No. 22, and this initial success led to the better-equipped RCA Records reissuing the single in March 1981. A session for John Peel followed in December 1980, but in early 1981 Roxy was replaced by Mark Taylor, and the band's second single, 'Going Left Right', was issued in June on Stiff Records. It failed to chart as high as 'Is Vic There?', although it did receive positive reviews. The band began recording a debut album, 'Sub-Stance', in 1981 with David Tickle producing, but the sessions were divisive and Lordan left, replaced partway through by Jimmy Hughes. A third single, 'I Want', was released by Stiff in November 1981, but modest sales, as well as differences of opinion with the label, resulted in the band being dropped by Stiff, but not before £50,000 was reputedly spent on the album, which Stiff refused to release. After a London concert on 18 March 1982, Herbage left, and the band split several months later. Toulouse later worked as a DJ under the name the Main T, and in 1983, as the Main T Possee, he released the single 'Fickle Public Speaking' which reached No. 89 on the UK chart. He also released a solo single, 'Cruisin' The Serpentine', in 1985, but sadly died in 1991 from an AIDS-related illness, aged just 32. The tracks from 'Sub-Stance' were first officially released by Mau Mau Records in 1993 as part of the compilation album 'Is Vic There?', which also included several b-sides, and I wouldn't normally post an "unreleased" album which had eventually seen an official release, but on hearing it I thought that it was such a great record that it deserved wider recognition than just being part of an obscure compilation album. 

Track listing

01 Of All The Lost Followers
02 Just Pretend
03 Romany Blood
04 I Want
05 Fighting Irish
06 Is Vic There?
07 Going Left Right
08 Age Concern
09 Somewhere Between Heaven And Tesco's
10 Whatever Happened To The Blues
11 Ode To Koln
12 Clap Now