Harry Nilsson - Signs (1972)

Harry Edward Nilsson III was born on 5 June 1941 in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, of Swedish descent through his paternal great-grandfather. By 1958, he was intrigued by emerging forms of popular music, especially rhythm and blues artists like Ray Charles, and had made early attempts at performing while he was working at the Paramount Theatre. Forming a vocal duo with his friend Jerry Smith, they sang close harmonies in the style of the Everly Brothers, with Nilsson learning to play the guitar and piano along the way. Due to his family's poor financial situation, he worked from an early age, including that job at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, and when the theatre closed in 1960, he applied for a job at a bank, falsely claiming that he was a high school graduate on his application. He had an aptitude for computers, which were starting to be used at banks at the time, and later performed so well in his role that the bank retained him even after they discovered he had lied about his education. He worked on bank computers at night, and in the daytime pursued his songwriting and singing career, and in 1962 his natural talent helped him to get a job singing demos for songwriter Scott Turner, being paid five dollars for each track they recorded. In 1963, Nilsson began to have some early success as a songwriter, working with John Marascalco on a song for Little Richard, and Marascalco also financed some independent singles by Nilsson, one of which, 'Donna, I Understand', convinced Mercury Records to offer him a contract, and to release recordings by him under the name "Johnny Niles". By 1964, he was working with Phil Spector, writing three songs with him, and he also established a relationship with songwriter and publisher Perry Botkin, Jr., who began to find a market for his songs. Through his association with Botkin, Nilsson met and became friends with musician, composer and arranger George Tipton, who invested his life savings to finance the recording of his arrangements of four Nilsson songs, which they were able to sell to the Tower label, and which were subsequently included on Nilsson's debut album. Tipton went on to create the arrangements for nearly all of Nilsson's RCA recordings between 1967 and 1971, but their association ended in the 1970's when the two fell out. 

In 1966, Tower released the first singles actually credited to him by name, as well as the debut album 'Spotlight On Nilsson', but none of  these records charted or gained much critical attention, although his songs were being recorded by Glen Campbell, Fred Astaire, The Shangri-Las, The Yardbirds, and others. In 1966 Nilsson signed with RCA Victor and released the album 'Pandemonium Shadow Show' the following year, which was a critical, if not a commercial, success. Music industry insiders were impressed both with the songwriting and with his pure-toned, multi-octave vocals, and his songwriting success hit a peak when The Monkees recorded his 'Cuddly Toy'. 'Pandemonium Shadow Show' was followed in 1968 by 'Aerial Ballet', an album that included his rendition of Fred Neil's song 'Everybody's Talkin'', which was a minor US hit for him at the time of its release, but which became one of his most famous recordings when it was featured in the film 'Midnight Cowboy' the following year. 'One', from the 'Aerial Ballet' album, was covered by Three Dog Night and taken into the top 5 of the US charts, and Nilsson was commissioned at this time to write and perform the theme song for the ABC television series 'The Courtship Of Eddie's Father'. He wrote 'Best Friend', which was very popular, but he never released the song on record, although the original version of the song (titled 'Girlfriend') was recorded during the making of 'Aerial Ballet', although it didn't make the cut. His next album 'Harry' came out in 1969, being his first to hit the charts, and it also provided a Top 40 single with 'I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City', and while the album still presented him as primarily a songwriter, his astute choice of cover material included songs such as Randy Newman's 'Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear'. In fact Nilsson was so impressed with Newman's talent that he devoted his entire next album to Newman compositions, with Newman himself playing piano behind Nilsson's multi-tracked vocals on 1970's 'Nilsson Sings Newman'. 

His next project was the animated film 'The Point!', created with animation director Fred Wolf, and broadcast on ABC television on 02 February 1971 as an "ABC Movie of the Week". His self-produced album of songs from 'The Point!' was well received, and it spawned a top 40 single with 'Me And My Arrow'. Later that year, Nilsson went to England with producer Richard Perry to record what would become the most successful album of his career, 1972's 'Nilsson Schmilsson', which yielded three stylistically different hit singles, one of which he will forever be associated with. He didn't even write 'Without You', which was a cover of a song by Badfinger, written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans, but he gave the definitive performance of the song, recorded, according to Perry, in a single take. The second single was 'Coconut', a novelty calypso number, and the final one was 'Jump Into The Fire', which was a raucous rock and roll track, including a drum solo by Derek and the Dominos' Jim Gordon and a detuned bass part by Herbie Flowers. He followed this quickly with 'Son Of Schmilsson' the same year, released while its predecessor was still in the charts, but alongside the problem of competing with himself, he was also ignoring most of Perry's production advice, and his decision to give free rein to his bawdiness and bluntness on this release alienated some of his earlier, more conservative fan base, and it was at this point that Nilsson and I parted company. I'd loved his early work, and agree that 'Nilsson Schmilsson' is a masterpiece, but I have little time for much of his work post 1973, so this collection therefore covers all the bases for me. It includes demos, b-sides and out-takes from 1968 to 1972, plus a rare Italian single which he recorded some time in 1967, when he was recording some of his songs in the language, and which was later used as the b-side to his 1972 Italian recording of 'Without You'. 

Track listing

01 As I Wander Lonely (out-take 1967)
02 Signs (demo 1967)
03 The Family (out-take 1967)
04 World (demo 1967)
05 Miss Butter's Lament (out-take 1967)
06 I'll Never Leave You ('The Point' out-take 1971)
07 She's Just Laughing At Me (out-take 1968)
08 You Are Here (out-take 1968)
09 Sister Marie (stereo version of b-side of 'One' 1968)
10 Girlfriend (demo 1968)
11 Leggenda (Italian single 1968)
12 Buy My Album (b-side of 'Down To The Valley' 1970)
13 Paradise (demo 1971)
14 Waiting (single 1970)
15 How Can I Be Sure Of You (demo 1972)
16 I Will Take You There (b-side of 'Waiting')

Sparks - Lost And Found (1983)

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael grew up in Pacific Palisades, in west Los Angeles County, California, and both attended UCLA, Ron studying cinema and graphic art and Russell, theatre arts and filmmaking. Detesting the folk music scene, they developed a particular taste for English bands of the time such as the Who, Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, the Kinks and the Move, which led to their description of themselves as "Anglophiles". Their very first recordings were made in 1967 under the name of Urban Renewal Project, recorded with married couple Fred and Ronna Frank, who were close friends of the Maels at the time. Other members of the band were 16-year old drummer Raymond Clayton and 22-year old Harold Zellman on bass guitar, with Ron on lead guitar and Russell as the singer, as well as playing the tambourine and harmonica. The four songs recorded were pressed on two acetates and have never been released, apart from the track 'Computer Girl', which was featured on a CD included with the Japanese semi-biography from 2006. After the breakup of Urban Renewal Project, the Maels put out a call for a guitar player on their university's bulletin board and Earle Mankey responded, and although Mankey was not a great musician, he turned out to be a real talent in recording techniques, and so they started writing and recording avant-garde-like songs. A demo album was taped in 1969, with the help of Surly Ralph Oswald on bass and John Mendelssohn on drums, and the recording was financed by manager Michael Berns, with a few copies being pressed on vinyl, and once it was housed in a cover designed by Ron, the 'Halfnelson' album was sent to a number of American record companies with an enclosed contract, and the request to sign on the dotted line. 

There was no positive response, however, and so Oswald and Mendelssohn were thanked for their services and left the band. Meanwhile, Russell became friends with Miss Christine of the GTOs, and being impressed by the song 'Roger' on the demo album, she advised Russell to send a copy of the album to her friend Todd Rundgren. After hearing the record he decided to fly to Los Angeles to meet Halfnelson, and after the meeting he expressed interest in producing their first album, which was to be named after the band. Through his contacts with Bearsville Records, he managed to get a record deal for the eccentric trio, and with the addition of Earle's brother Jim on bass, and Harley Feinstein on drums, 'Halfnelson' was recorded and released in January 1971, selling just a few hundred copies. In 1972 the band renamed themselves Sparks, being a play on the Marx Brothers, and the 'Halfnelson' album was re-issued as 'Sparks', with 'Wonder Girl' being extracted as a single. Their follow-up album, 'A Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing', led to a tour of the United Kingdom, including a residency at the Marquee Club in London, which gained them a significant cult following, leading them to relocate to England in 1973 with a new manager, John Hewlett, founder of John's Children. He managed to get them a deal with Island Records, thanks in part to the exposure garnered by their BBC2 Whistle Test performance, and an ad in music weekly Melody Maker provided them with a bass player in Martin Gordon, joining Adrian Fisher on guitar and Norman "Dinky" Diamond on drums. This line-up recorded their third album 'Kimono My House' in 1974, and the No. 2 hit single 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us' proved to be their breakthrough in the UK. They became a UK teen sensation, appearing on the cover of Melody Maker, Record Mirror and countless other pop magazines in the UK and Europe, and further hits singles 'Amateur Hour' and 'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth' led to appearances on the BBC's flagship music show Top of the Pops, with Russell's hyperactive movements being in sharp contrast to Ron's expressionless squint and Charlie Chaplin-esque moustache. Gordon and Fisher were later replaced by Trevor White and Ian Hampton, and in 1975, the revised band returned to the US to tour supporting the 'Kimono My House' album, and it's follow-up 'Propaganda', and they soon gained a strong cult following in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. 

'Indiscreet' appeared in 1975, and 'Looks, Looks, Looks' was another big hit for them. In 1976 the Maels returned home to Los Angeles, and concerned that their music may have become stale, they adopted a more "American" sound, and recorded 'Big Beat' with Rupert Holmes and Jeffrey Lesser on production. None of the singles pulled from this album were as successful as their earlier ones, and so for 1977's 'Introducing Sparks' they produced the record themselves, with help from Terry Powell. In 1976, Sparks made one of their first forays into the movie business, making a cameo appearance in the disaster-suspense film 'Rollercoaster', after Kiss had turned down the roles, and they performed their songs 'Fill 'Er Up' and 'Big Boy'. By 1977 the brothers found themselves at a crossroads, as they had cut ties with Hewlett and had grown tired of recording within a traditional rock band framework. In a conversation with a German journalist, they expressed their admiration for Giorgio Moroder, a pioneer of electronic disco and pop music, and as Moroder happened to be a friend of the journalist, he was able to connect the brothers with the Italian producer, who produced their next album, 'No. 1 In Heaven'. This was more electronic and synthesizer-based than their previous efforts, and it would come to redefine Sparks' sound, and challenge the concept of what is meant by a band. It spawned two singles which reached the top-fifteen of the UK chart, with 'The Number One Song In Heaven' and 'Beat The Clock' introducing fans to their new sound. Their next album appeared in 1980, and 'Terminal Jive' produced a hit single in France with 'When I'm With You', which led to the Maels staying in the country for a year promoting the album, during which Russell became conversationally fluent in French. 

Finding the electronic equipment that they had adopted for their new sound too cumbersome for touring, the band returned to the more conventional band format for their next three releases, although they did not eschew synthesizers entirely. 'Whomp That Sucker' was released in 1981, followed by 'Angst In My Pants' in 1982, and 'In Outer Space' the following year. This last album gave them a US top 50 hit single when 'Cool Places' was released from it, being a collaboration with the Go-Go's rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jane Wiedlin, who was a dedicated fan of the band, and who at one time ran her own Sparks fan club. In 1984, the Maels wrote and performed several original songs on the soundtrack for the black comedy teen film 'Bad Manners' (aka: 'Growing Pains'), including the film's title song 'Bad Manners', and it was around this time that Sparks stopped including otherwise unheard songs on the flips of their singles, going with remixes of album tracks instead, and so this collection of rare b-sides finishes in 1983 with the stand-alone single 'Modesty Plays'. The band continued to release albums throughout the 90's, right up to the early 2010's, to a generally positive reception, but it was their 23rd studio album 'Hippopotamus', which was released in September 2017, which brought then back into the public eye, with its universal critical and commercial success, peaking at number 7 in the UK Albums Chart, and heralding a return to form for this innovative band, which has continued to the present day, with their 2020 album 'A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip' garnering similar reviews. For now, we can revel in their work from the early 70's to the early 80's, when they were at the peak of their success. 

Track listing

01 Barbecutie (b-side of 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us' 1974)
02 Lost And Found (b-side of 'Amateur Hour' 1974)
03 Alabamy Right (b-side of 'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth' 1974)
04 Marry Me (b-side of 'Something For The Girl With Everything' 1975)
05 Profile (b-side of 'Get In The Swing' 1975)
06 The Wedding Of Jacqueline Kennedy To Russell Mael (previously unreleased 1975)
07 I Want To Hold Your Hand (single 1976)
08 England (b-side of 'I Want To Hold Your Hand')
09 Gone With The Wind (previously unreleased 1976)
10 Intrusion/Confusion (previously unreleased 1976)
11 Looks Aren't Everything (previously unreleased 1976) 
12 Tearing The Place Apart (previously unreleased 1976)
13 Untitled (b-side of 'Beat The Clock' 1979)
14 Sports (b-side of 'Cool Places' 1983)
15 Modesty Plays (single 1983)
16 Angst In My Pants (b-side of 'Modesty Plays')

Alexz Johnson - Weight (2009)

Alexzandra Spencer Johnson was born on 4 November 1986 in New Westminster, British Columbia, and raised in nearby Coquitlam. From age three, she often sang for her large extended family, and by age six she was receiving vocal training, participating in festivals with her local youth choir by age seven, and giving solo performances at school and community functions. By the age of nine, she had entered the P.N.E. talent search, becoming a finalist, and she participated in many talent contests and festivals, winning a National Anthem Contest at the age of 11 with her rendition of the Canadian National Anthem 'O Canada', leading to her singing the Canadian National Anthem at games for the NHL's Vancouver Canucks and the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies. Although she was mainly focused on a music career at the time, she decided to pursue a career in acting at the age of 11, and she auditioned for the Disney Channel original series 'So Weird', where she was cast in the lead role of Annie Thelen, which combined her acting and musical talents, co-writing one of the songs for the show. After the cancellation of 'So Weird', Johnson continued her interest in song-writing, co-writing with her brother Brendan Johnson, and although several labels offered her contracts, she held off as she wanted more creative control and a hand in the song-writing. Throughout 2004, Johnson made various appearances on Canadian television series and made-for-TV films and in February 2004 she sent in an audition tape to the producers of 'Degrassi: The Next Generation' for their upcoming show 'Instant Star'. Hers was the first audition tape Executive Producer Stephen Stohn received, and he was convinced she was perfect for the role of Jude Harrison, being proved right by her three nominations for Gemini Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the American Emmy Award) after its first season. 

Johnson sang all of the songs that her character Jude performed on the show, and recorded soundtracks for each of the four seasons of 'Instant Star', writing or co-writing five of the songs on the first season's soundtrack. Johnson had written a number of songs in 2005 which were originally planned for her debut album, but she had yet to find a major label to help record and release them, having left indie Canadian label Orange Records in search of something to showcase her as an artist, rather than her fictional counterpart, Jude Harrison. After landing the role of Erin Ulmer in 'Final Destination 3', and giving a Leo Award-nominated performance in the Lifetime movie 'Devil's Diary', the funding for 'Instant Star' was pulled after the fourth series, and the cancellation of the series allowed Johnson to go back to focusing on her music. In 2007 she announced that all of her songs had been written and recorded for her debut album, and she was shopping around for a label to release it in the winter. In February 2008 she signed a deal with Epic Records, expecting the album to be released in the fall, and while five songs were posted on her MySpace page by her record company, in 2009 she went back to acting for a while, appearing in the 'Smallville' TV series, and the made-for-TV movie 'Stranger With My Face'. However, before the album's release date, Epic Records released over a third of their artists from their contracts, including Johnson, which led to her confirming that due to losing her deal with Epic, she would be releasing a different album independently with her brother Brendan producing. 'Voodoo' was released in March 2010, with lead single 'Trip Around The World' appearing a month earlier, and despite the warm reception for the record, fans were eager to hear those earlier songs, and so in 2011 Johnson managed to retrieve the rights to them from Epic Records and released a few of them, together with some original demos and some other unreleased tracks, as 'The Basement Recordings'. However, a number of the tracks from that debut remained unreleased, and so here is the original 'Weight' album as it would have appeared had it come out in 2009.

Track listing

01 Running With The Devil
02 Swallowed
03 Mailman
04 Chicago
05 Golden
06 Lost And Found
07 Saving The Train
08 Weight
09 Easy
10 Shout
11 Wings Of A Dove

Jean Thomas - Too Young To Be Yours (1966)

If you have listened to 60's music at all you will have  heard Jean Thomas, either as a girl group member, or as a backing vocalist, appearing on many hundreds of tracks, and backing such well known singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Connie Francis, Lesley Gore, Neil Diamond, Barbara Streisand, Sarah Vaughn, Eydie Gorme and many others. She is also the writer of over 80 songs, and is perhaps most famous as the lead singer of The Rag Dolls, which were Bob Crewe's creation of a female Four Seasons. In the early 60's her brother Don learned to play guitar, and together they harboured ambitions of a career in the music industry, so they wrote some songs together and took them to Paul Anka's publishing company, who signed the pair to an exclusive song-writing contract. In October of 1961 her vocals at an audition were noticed by Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records, who offered to record her, and in January 1962 she recorded what for some is the definitive version of 'Moon River'. Her second single was a Jean and Don original, with 'He's So Near' being more in the 'girl group' style than the ballad of 'Moon River'. In tandem with her burgeoning career as a solo singer she was still writing songs and recording demos with her brother, as well as finding plenty of work as a session singer providing backing vocals. Her session work at MGM led to them offering her two original Chip Taylor originals for release as a single, with 'I Don't Miss You At All'/'Don't Make Me (Fall In Love With You)' appearing in 1964. By early 1964 Thomas had teamed up with fellow songwriter/backing vocalist Ellie Greenwich and an old friend from Sarasota Mikie Harris, to provide a 'girl group' backing to many hit singles from 1964 to 1967. Quite often record producers put together an ad hoc group which included Thomas, to record a one-off single, and so she was a member of such obscure groups as The Angels, Angie And The Chicklettes (with a novelty record commenting on Ringo Starr's recent marriage, included here as an example of these one-offs), The Surfer Girls, The Tomboys, The Ramblers, The Telltales, and when her voice was heard by Bob Crewe, as part of The Rag Dolls. The group was named after the Four Seasons hit of the same name, and Thomas's sweet vocal was felt to be the female equivalent of Frankie Valli's distinctive falsetto. The Rag Dolls released three singles in 1964 and 1965, but at the same time Thomas was still writing and recording demos for other artists, as well as issuing singles under her own name of Jeannie Thomas, such as 'Life Of The Party'/'Too Good To Be Bad' on the New Voice label in 1965. This collection focusses on a very small part of her career, and features just the songs issued as singles under her own name, along with the odd demo, plus that Ringo novelty single, and it shows that Thomas could handle just about any genre of music, as well as penning some great songs, both for herself and for other artists. 

Track listing

01 Moon River (single 1962)
02 My Ideal (b-side of 'Moon River')
03 He's So Near (Yet So Far Away) (single 1963)
04 Seven Roses (To Pledge My Love For You) (b-side of 'He's So Near (Yet So Far Away)')
05 The Boy That I Want Doesn't Want Me (single 1963)
06 Too Young To Be Yours (previously unreleased)
07 I Don't Miss You At All (single 1964)
08 Don't Make Me (Fall In Love With You) (b-side of 'I Don't Miss You At All')
09 Treat Him Tender, Maureen (Now That Ringo Belongs To You) (single 1965)
10 Tommy (b-side of 'Treat Him Tender, Maureen (Now That Ringo Belongs To You)')
11 Life Of The Party (single 1965)
12 Too Good To Be Bad (b-side of 'Life Of The Party')
13 If You Could Only Be Me (demo)
14 Don't Tell Me Not To Love You (demo)
15 You're The Root Of My Evil (single 1966)

Pulp - Fact (2002)

Pulp were formed in 1978 at The City School in Sheffield by Jarvis Cocker, then 15 years old, and Peter Dalton, then 14. Cocker's original preference was to name the band after the film 'Pulp' starring Michael Caine, though it was decided that this was too short. Instead, the two took inspiration from a copy of the Financial Times which listed the Arabicas coffee bean in its commodity index, and they used this, with a slight spelling change, and the band became Arabicus. Early rehearsals took place in Cocker's house and featured Cocker, Dalton and Dalton's younger brother Ian, and after finally deciding on Arabicus Pulp as their name, a fixed line-up was then established, with Cocker and Dalton joined by two friends of theirs, David "Fungus" Lockwood and Mark Swift. The band played their first public gig at Rotherham Arts Centre in July 1980, and later that year, Cocker met future member Russell Senior, who recognised Cocker from his charismatic sales techniques in his part-time job at the local fish market. Their musical style at this time was varied, being described as a cross between ABBA and The Fall, and a local fanzine also noted this eclecticism, describing them as sounding "as if they listen to the John Peel show every night in an endless quest for influences". Indeed, in October 1981 they gave a demo tape to Peel, who granted the renamed Pulp a session on his show, which was a giant leap forward for the young band, and who became well known on the local music scene as a result. 

The tracks recorded were in the typical Sheffield electronic new wave and post-punk sound of the time, a la The Human League and The Comsat Angels. Despite their exposure on national radio, success was not forthcoming and, apart from Cocker, most of the core line-up left for university, and so a new set of musicians had to be recruited, with Cocker being joined by Simon Hinkler (who later joined The Mission), David Hinkler, Wayne Furniss, Peter Boam, Gary Wilson, and Cocker's sister, Saskia. They managed to get enough local backing to record a mini-album in late 1982, entitled 'It' (the title was a pun on pulp-it, as if the band were preaching to the audience), and this was released in April 1983 by Red Rhino Records. It largely consisted of folkish, romantic pop songs influenced by Leonard Cohen, and was a change of direction from the Peel Session two years earlier. Although 'It' failed commercially, the band were confident enough to seek commercial success, and even recorded a single, 'Everybody's Problem'/'There Was'. The single demonstrated a shift of style advised by Red Rhino's Tony Perrin, who had convinced Cocker that he could write commercial pop songs , but this approach also failed, and Cocker was becoming unhappy with his chosen musical direction. He was all set to break up the band and go to university himself before a practice with Russell Senior (violin, guitar, vocals) and Magnus Doyle (drums) led to the establishment of a new, more experimental, artier and noisier direction for Pulp. They were subsequently augmented by Peter Mansell (bass) and Tim Allcard (keyboards, saxophone, poetry). This new incarnation of Pulp survived a number of ill-fated gigs, before Allcard left to be replaced on keyboards by Magnus Doyle's sister Candida. 

Following her first performance with the band in 1985, they were signed to Fire Records, but in November of that year, Cocker fell out of a window while trying to impress a girl with a Spider-Man impression and ended up in hospital, temporarily requiring the use of a wheelchair in which he appeared during concerts. Pulp's relationship with Fire Records was tempestuous, and Cocker admitted later that the band only accepted the deal as it was the only offer on the table, but it did produce a couple of expanded singles in 'Little Girl' and 'Dogs Are Everywhere'. Pulp's next major release was 'Freaks' in 1987, which was recorded in a week due to record label pressure, and Cocker has commented that given a bit more time they could have produced a much better record. Despite the rush to record it, 'Freaks' was delayed for a year, and when it finally appeared it was not well received, with its darker style being the antithesis of the happy and optimistic 'It'. When 'Freaks' failed to be a success, the band recorded some tracks with Chakk's label FON in Sheffield, and a single titled 'Death Comes To Town' was due to be released by FON in early 1988, but their relationship disintegrated and the release was cancelled. It was during this time that Cocker was taking a part-time foundation course at Sheffield Polytechnic, which led to him leaving for London to study film at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and effectively folding the band. The hiatus was short-lived however, as Steve Mackey, a regular at their Sheffield and London gigs, was also studying in London and was asked to join the band as a bass player, augmenting the line-up of Cocker, Mackey, Senior, Candida Doyle, and Nick Banks on drums. In mid-1989, they began recording another album for Fire, to be titled 'Seperations', this time with a bigger budget and production from Alan Smyth. It was a progression from the style of 'Freaks', with Leonard Cohen-esque ballads on one side, and an acid house infused track-listing on side two. The disparate styles can be attributed to Cocker and Mackey's different and changing tastes, with Mackey introducing Cocker to house music, which led to them both going to raves, while Cocker introduced Mackey to Scott Walker and Serge Gainsbourg. 

Like 'Freaks', the release of 'Separations' was delayed, which somewhat lessened its potential impact, but a 12" single was lifted from the album, and 'My Legendary Girlfriend' became NME's single of the week. Pulp's repertoire was growing rapidly, and tracks such as 'Babies', 'Space' and 'She's A Lady' were being played live throughout 1991, and in October of that year, they played their first overseas gig, at a concert organised by French magazine Les Inrockuptibles. However, the band were still frustrated that Fire Records had not released 'Separations', and so Pulp left the label and signed to Warp Records imprint Gift Records in 1992. Buoyed by a changing musical current, in June 1992 Pulp released 'O.U.' on Gift, while Fire finally released Separations in the same month. They then signed to Island Records, who jointly released (with Gift) the singles 'Babies' and 'Razzmatazz' to increasing chart success, and the next single 'Lipgloss' became their first top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart, followed by their biggest hit to date with 'Do You Remember The First Time?'. These singles preceded the Ed Buller-produced album 'His 'n' Hers', which was released in 1994, reaching number nine on the UK Albums Chart, and being nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. This sudden increase in popularity was helped by the massive media interest in Britpop, alongside acts such as Suede, Oasis and Blur, with Pulp supporting the latter in a 1994 tour of the United States. 1995 saw the peak of their fame, with the release of their 'Common People' single, which reached the number two slot on the UK Singles Chart, and in June 1995 they stood in at the last minute for the Stone Roses at the Glastonbury Festival. 

A double A-side single, 'Sorted For E's & Wizz'/'Mis-Shapes', was set to precede the release of their 1995 album 'Different Class', but as soon as the single came out the Daily Mirror printed a front-page story headed "BAN THIS SICK STUNT", alongside a story by Kate Thornton which said the song was "pro-drugs" and called for it to be banned. The single had an inlay which showed how to conceal amphetamines in a DIY 'wrap', although Cocker released a statement two days later saying: "...'Sorted' is not a pro-drugs song. Nowhere on the sleeve does it say you are supposed to put drugs in here but I understand the confusion", and as there is no such thing as bad publicity, the single soared to number two on the UK Singles Charts. 'A Different Class' appeared in October 1995, and debuted at the top of the UK albums chart, garnering significant critical praise along the way, and it was the first album to feature Pulp fan-club president Mark Webber, who had become a permanent member of the band on guitar and keyboards. The album followed similar themes to their previous work, with observations of life expressed through Cocker's sexualised, sometimes dark and witty lyrics, and two more singles were released, with both 'Disco 2000' and 'Something Changed' breaking the top ten in the UK, while the album went on to win the 1996 Mercury Music Prize. 

It was at this time that Cocker gained significant media exposure due to a notorious prank at the 1996 BRIT Awards, where he invaded the stage in protest during Michael Jackson's performance of 'Earth Song' and "wiggled his backside" at the audience. After complaints by Jackson and his entourage, Cocker spent the night in Kensington Police Station charged with actual bodily harm and assaulting the child performers. However, with British comedian and former solicitor Bob Mortimer acting as legal representation, he was released without charge, and the subsequent controversy in the UK and elsewhere caused Pulp's record sales to soar as a result. In March 1996, an unauthorised compilation of Pulp's early recordings on Fire Records entitled 'Countdown 1992–1983' was released on the Nectar Masters label, and although it received largely negative reviews, due to the band's popularity at the time it reached the top 10 of the UK charts. Later in 1996, Pulp gained some recognition for the inclusion of the track 'Mile End' on the 'Trainspotting' soundtrack, leading to them headlining the 1996 V Festival, which would be their last public performance for almost two years. It was during this period of intense fame and tabloid scrutiny that longtime member and major innovator in the band's sound Russell Senior decided to leave the band, and although they were due to begin working on a new album in late 1996, Cocker was having difficulty with the celebrity lifestyle, battling cocaine addiction and a break-up of a long-term relationship, and so when they came to begin work they had only one song, 'Help The Aged'. 

This creative inertia meant the band took over a year to finish the next record, and it wasn't until November 1997 that Pulp re-emerged with 'Help The Aged' as their new single. The album it was taken from, 1998's 'This Is Hardcore', had a markedly different style from their previous two albums, with its minimal sound and subject matter reminiscent of earlier, pre-Britpop tracks such as 'Sheffield: Sex City', and much of the subject matter of the songs involved Cocker's disillusionment with his long-desired wish for fame. The band then spent the few years "in the wilderness" before reappearing in 2001 with a new album, 'We Love Life', and the extended period between the release of the two records was partly attributed to having initially recorded the songs which comprise the album, and then being dissatisfied with the results, although subsequent interviews also suggested interpersonal and artistic differences. Despite persuading singer/songwriter Scott Walker to produce the record, and this new phase in Pulp's development fell short of expectations, and 'We Love Life' and was to be Pulp's recording. In 2002 the band announced that they were leaving Island Records, who swiftly released a greatest hits package, including one new track. Throughout their career Pulp used the b-sides of their singles to release their more experimental recordings, tracks that didn't fit onto the albums, or songs that they felt were too god to throw away, and so this post brings together all of their stand-alone singles, b-sides and bonus tracks from their two-decade career. It's a three disc set, as a number of these tracks break the eight-minute mark, but I'm all for a bit of experimentation, and tracks like 'The Tunnel' and 'Deep Fried In Kelvin' do show the band in a whole new light. 

Track listing

Disc I - 1983-1990

01 Looking For Life (b-side of 'My Lighthouse' 1983
02 Sink Or Swim (bonus track on the re-issue of 'It' 1983)
03 Please Don't Worry (bonus track on the re-issue of 'It' 1983)
04 Everybody's Problem (single 1983)
05 There Was ... (b-side of 'Everybody's Problem')
06 Tunnel (b-side of 'They Suffocate At Night' 1987)
07 Manon (b-side of 'Master Of The Universe' 1987)
08 Silence (b-side of 'Master Of The Universe' 1987)
09 Is This House? (b-side of 'My Legendary Girlfriend' 1990)

Disc II - 1991-1993
01 Countdown (single  1991)
02 Death Goes To The Disco (b-side of 'Countdown')
03 Sickly Grin (b-side of limited 7" edition of 'My Legendary Girlfriend' 1992)
04 Back In LA (b-side of limited 7" edition of 'My Legendary Girlfriend' 1992)
05 O.U. (Gone, Gone) (single 1992)
06 Space (b-side of 'O.U. (Gone, Gone)')
07 Styloroc (Nites Of Suburbia) (b-side of 'Babies' 1992)
08 Sheffield: Sex City (b-side of 'Babies' 1992)
09 Deep Fried In Kelvin (b-side of 'Lipgloss' 1993)
10 You're A Nightmare (b-side of 'Lipgloss' 1993)

Disc III - 1994-2002
01 Street Lites (b-side of 'Do You Remember The First Time?' 1994)
02 P.T.A. (Parent Teacher Association) (b-side of 'Mis-shapes' 1995)
03 The Babysitter (b-side of the special edition of 'Do You Remember The First Time?' 1996)
04 Ansaphone (b-side of 'Disco 2000' 1996)
05 Mile End (b-side of 'Something Changed' 1996)
06 We Are The Boyz (b-side of 'Party Hard' 1998)
07 Ladies' Man (b-side of 'This Is Hardcore' 1998)
08 Cocaine Socialism (b-side of 'A Little Soul' 1998)
09 Like A Friend (b-side of 'A Little Soul' 1998)
10 Yesterday (b-side of 'Bad Cover Version' 2002)
11 Forever In My Dreams (b-side of 'Bad Cover Version' 2002)

Soft Cell - Memorabilia (1984)

Soft Cell were formed in 1978, after Marc Almond and David Ball had met at Leeds Polytechnic in the previous year, and their initial efforts at recording with a simple two-track recorder resulted in an EP titled 'Mutant Moments', released in 1980 on their own A Big Frock Rekord label, and which was funded by a loan of £2,000 from Dave Ball's mother. Their next recording was 'The Girl With The Patent Leather Face', which appeared as a contribution to the 'Some Bizzare Album' in 1981, and which featured bands such as Depeche Mode, The The, and Blancmange, and was a sampler of the label's musical ethos, including acts which were not signed exclusively to the label at the time. However, Soft Cell did ultimately sign to the Some Bizzare label, backed by Phonogram Records, and their first single for them was 'A Man Could Get Lost' b/w 'Memorabilia' on 7" and 'Memorabilia' b/w 'Persuasion' on 12", both produced by the founder of Mute Records Daniel Miller. 'Memorabilia' was a success in nightclubs, but did not enter the UK singles chart, and after the chart failure of 'Memorabilia', Phonogram Records allowed Soft Cell to record a second and final single in an attempt to score a chart success. The band opted to record a cover version of 'Tainted Love', an obscure 1965 northern soul track originally released by Gloria Jones (the girlfriend of Marc Bolan at the time of his death) and written by Ed Cobb of The Four Preps. Released in 1981, 'Tainted Love' was a No. 1 hit in 17 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it was the second best selling single of 1981, and in 1982 it became a No. 8 single in the United States, and went on to set a Guinness World Record at the time for the longest consecutive stay (43 weeks) on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The A-side of the 12-inch version of the single actually featured a two-song medley, with 'Tainted Love' blending into the Supremes Motown classic 'Where Did Our Love Go', with the full version of that song being released on another edition of the single. The duo's first album, 'Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret', hit UK No. 5 and further explored the now-trademark Soft Cell themes of squalor and sleaze, with 'Seedy Films' talking of long nights in porno cinemas, while 'Frustration' and 'Secret Life' deal with the boredom and hypocrisy associated with suburban life. 'Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret' garnered two additional hits, with 'Bedsitter' reaching No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1981, while the ballad 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' peaked at No. 3 in February 1982. 

Soon after 'Say Hello Wave Goodbye' dropped out of the chart, the band released a brand new song 'Torch', a love song which was to prove the closest they ever got to having a No. 1 hit with one of their own songs, entering straight into the Top 20 and peaking at No. 2. In June 1982, as was the trend at the time, the duo released a mini album titled 'Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing', containing remixes of older material along with their new single, 'What!', which was a cover of the 1965 song by Melinda Marx. By 1983, fame and nearly constant drug use were having a bad effect on the duo, while Almond also formed the group Marc And The Mambas, featuring collaborations with The The's Matt Johnson and future Almond collaborator Annie Hogan, as an attempt to be able to experiment out of the glare of the Soft Cell spotlight. Their third album release, appropriately titled 'The Art Of Falling Apart', was a Top 5 hit in the UK, but the singles were only modest successes, with 'Where The Heart Is' only reaching No 21, while the double A-side 'Numbers'/'Barriers' peaked at 25. In September 1983, the duo released a new single 'Soul Inside', which returned them to the UK Top 20, but by early 1984, Almond and Ball had amicably decided to end Soft Cell, playing farewell concerts at Hammersmith Palais in January, and released one final album called 'This Last Night In Sodom' in March. Almond and Ball reunited as Soft Cell in 2000 with a series of live dates, followed by a mini-tour later in the year, and recording re-commenced with the track 'God Shaped Hole' featuring on the Some Bizzare compilation titled 'I'd Rather Shout At A Returning Echo Than Kid Someone's Listening', released during 2001, and bringing the band full circle to their first Some Bizarre appearance. However, this collection concentrates on their stand-alone singles and non-album b-sides from the first part of their existence, alongside their first self-released EP and a limited edition flexi-disc from 1983.  

Track listing

Disc I - 1980-1982
01 Potential (from The 'Mutant Moments' EP 1980)
02 LOVE Feeling (from The 'Mutant Moments' EP 1980)
03 Metro Mr X (from The 'Mutant Moments' EP 1980)
04 Frustration (original recording from The 'Mutant Moments' EP 1980) 
05 The Girl With The Patent Leather Face' (from the 'Some Bizarre Album' compilation 1981)
06 A Man Can Get Lost (single 1981)
07 Memorabilia (b-side of 'A Man Can Get Lost')
08 Where Did Our Love Go (b-side of 'Tainted Love' 1981)
09 Facility Girls (b-side of 'Bedsitter' 1981)
10 Persuasion (b-side of 'Memorabilia' 1981)
11 Torch (single 1982)
12 Insecure Me (b-side of 'Torch')

Disc II - 1982-1984
01 ...So (b-side of 'What!' 1982)
02 It's A Mugs Game (b-side of 'Where The Heart Is' 1982)
03 Ghostrider Live '83 (Cellmates Limited Edition flexi-disc 1983)
04 Barriers (b-side of 'Numbers' 1983)
05 Soul Inside (single 1983)
06 You Only Live Twice (b-side of 'Soul Inside')
07 007 Theme (b-side of 'Soul Inside')
08 Her Imagination (b-side of 'Soul Inside')
09 Disease And Desire (b-side of 'Down In The Subway' 1984)
10 Born To Lose (b-side of 'Down In The Subway' 1984)

Bonnie McKee - Waking Up Diagonal (2014)

When Bonnie McKee landed her contract with Epic Records she'd been without a label for some time, but she'd continued to write and record, and so when she came to start thinking about her first album for the label she had quite a stockpile of songs. Pictures have appeared online with whiteboards in the background showing possible track listings for the album, so fans knew the titles of the songs way before they would ever get to hear them, and after the Epic deal fell through, some of those songs began to leak online. When there were a dozen or so tracks out there, fans began putting together possible track listings for the shelved album, but then the songs carried on leaking, and before long another dozen had appeared, so McKee had actually recorded enough material for a double album, or possibly another record to release later. The original title of the Epic album was to be 'Waking Up Diagonal', and so this second post of the Epic material takes that as its title, and includes most of the songs which didn't make the fan-compiled 'Electric Heaven'/'American Girl' albums.   

Track listing

01 Waking Up Diagonal
02 Jenny's Got A Boyfriend
03 Right Now
04 Unlock Your Love
05 Calling All Cars
06 Love You To Pieces
07 Outlaw
08 I Wanna Fucking Call You
09 So Called Life
10 Up To Me
11 Catching Feelings
12 Last Call Lover
13 Wild Card

The Beloved - Flim Flam (1989)

Jon Marsh first met Steve Waddington when he joined the band Twelfth Of August as an additional guitarist, and within a few months Marsh had suggested they leave and start their own band, to be called The Journey. They recruited bass player Timothy Havard and began writing and rehearsing, and occasionally playing live, with the help of keyboard player Bill Anderson. In early 1984 they changed their name to The Beloved, with Havard and Marsh taking over most of the songwriting, and later that year Marsh waited outside the BBC in Portland Place one night and gave a demo tape to John Peel. Within a fortnight they had been booked for a session, and Marsh's school friend Guy Gausden joined on drums as a permanent member, just in time to play on the four songs that were broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on 8 January 1985. A second Peel session followed in October 1985, and their first single, 'A Hundred Words', appeared in April 1986. Furhter singles were issued in 1986 and 1987, with 'This Means War', the double A-side 'Surprise Me'/'Forever Dancing' and the 'Happy Now' EP all making the top 30 in the UK Indie Chart, but failing to dent the UK Singles Chart. Havard left the band in July 1987, and the remaining three members began work on their debut album, but due to a lack of money it was shelved and Gausden departed in late 1987. After slimming down to just Marsh and Waddington, The Beloved began to embrace a dance sound more wholeheartedly, and in October 1988 they released their 'Loving Feeling' single, and although it didn't fare that well in the charts, its b-side 'Acid Love' garnered moderate success in the clubs. January 1989 saw the release of 'Your Love Takes Me Higher', although it was only slightly more successful than 'Loving Feeling', but the October release of 'The Sun Rising' became a club favourite, and crossed over to the UK top 40, peaking at number 26 in November 1989. Their official debut album finally arrived in February 1990, with 'Happiness' consisting wholly of previously unreleased new songs, from which the hit single 'Hello' was taken, becoming their first international hit, and reaching number 19 in the UK. Marsh and Waddington split up the band in 1991, but they re-emerged in 1993 with Marsh's wife Helena involved as co-writer and co-producer for a second studio album 'Conscience'. The band received airplay with the video of the first single, 'Sweet Harmony', with it going on to become their biggest hit in the UK, reaching number 8 in 1993, and a third studio album entitled 'X' followed in 1996, although to date that is the last original album from the band. Jon and Helena Marsh released several underground 12" singles in the following years under different names, including Adam & Eve, Lucky Hole, The London Authority, and Deepo King, and Marsh later became a respected club DJ, holding monthly residencies at Ministry of Sound and Fabric. The abandoned debut album, which was to be called 'Flim Flam', belated made an appearance on the band's website in 2005, where it could be downloaded with no artwork, but that's now long gone, so for anyone fans of the band who missed their chance to grab it, here it is with new artwork, and some subtle editing to the tracks to improve the flow.  

Track listing 

01 Loving Feeling
02 Franny
03 The Only Girl
04 Yeah Yeah Yeah
05 On The Fence
06 Please Understand
07 Steamboat Whistle Blues
08 A Happy Man
09 Good For You
10 Just One Thing

Skids - Hymns From A Haunted Ballroom (1981)

Skids were formed in Dunfermline in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jobson (vocals, guitar and keyboards). They played their first gig on 19 August 1977 at the Bellville Hotel in Pilmuir Street, Dunfermline, and within six months they had released their 'Charles' EP on the No Bad Records label. The record brought them to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, which in turn led to a local gig supporting The Clash, and by April 1978 they'd signed to Virgin Records. Their first single for Virgin was 'Sweet Suburbia', released in 1978, and quickly followed by 'The Saints Are Coming', but it was 'Into The Valley' which propelled them into the UK singles charts, reaching the top 10 in early 1979. Their debut studio album, 'Scared To Dance', came out the same year, and featured a re-working of 'Charles' from that early EP, as well as including both hit singles, but not 'Sweet Suburbia'. The album was recorded at The Townhouse Studios in London, with production and keyboards by David Batchelor, and as Adamson walked out towards the end of the sessions before all the guitar overdubs were completed, session guitarist Chris Jenkins completed the recordings using Adamson's studio set up, adding additional guitar to four tracks – 'Into The Valley', 'Integral Plot', 'Calling The Tune' and 'Scared To Dance'. In the meantime, Adamson returned to Scotland when the recording was finished, and then re-joined the band for the live concert tour promotion of the album. Skids enjoyed a further year of chart success as the stand-alone single, and double 7" pack, 'Masquerade', plus 'Working For The Yankee Dollar' both reached the top 20 in the UK. 

The latter came from their second album, also released in 1979, 'Days In Europa', with the record's production and keyboards being handled by Bill Nelson. Just before recording of the album commenced, Kellichan left the band and was temporarily replaced by ex-Rich Kids drummer Rusty Egan, who played on the album and later on the live concert tour of the record, where the band were temporarily joined by keyboard player Alistair Moore for the live gigs, playing Bill Nelson's keyboard parts from the record. In November 1979 Mike Baillie was recruited as a permanent band member, taking care of the drums, backing vocals and percussion, slowly taking over from Egan while the band was still touring 'Days In Europa'. The album had some controversy surrounding it when it was released, both with some of Jobson's lyrics, as well as the album cover, which showed an Olympian being crowned with laurels by an Aryan-looking woman, and the lettering was in Gothic script. Some, including DJ John Peel, felt that this glorified Nazi ideology and it was indeed similar to posters from the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Germany. After the original version of the album had already been released, Canadian record producer Bruce Fairbairn was brought into the project, with the original cover being replaced and the track 'Pros And The Cons' was removed, with 'Masquerade' added to replace it. The album was also remixed and the tracks re-sequenced, and this second version was released in 1980, making the original release a sought-after rarity. In February 1980, one of Skids' founding members, William Simpson, left and was replaced by Russell Webb on bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, percussion, and guitar, and this new line-up immediately started work on the recording of the band's third album 'The Absolute Game', released in 1980, and produced by Mick Glossop. 

It proved to be their most commercial release, reaching the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart, and it contained the minor hit single 'Circus Games', alongside such curiosities as some of the tracks including a collection of fourteen adult and child backing vocalists, and one featuring a lone didgeridoo player. Initial copies of The Absolute Game came with a free limited edition, second album entitled 'Strength Through Joy', echoing the band's previous controversial themes. Jobson claims to have got the title from Dirk Bogarde's autobiography, although it is better known as the name of the  German state-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany. Soon after the release and live concert tour of 'The Absolute Game', Baillie left the band, followed shortly afterwards by Adamson, although he did stay around long enough to play on 'Iona' for the next album, 'Joy'. Baillie moved back to Scotland to live and Adamson went on to launch his new band, Big Country, leaving Jobson and Webb to write and record the band's fourth and final album on their own, with Webb producing. The pair played multiple instruments on 'Joy', and also invited a collection of seventeen musical friends to perform on various tracks with them. Following the release of 'Joy' in 1981, Skids dissolved the following year, with the compilation 'Fanfare' issued posthumously by Virgin before the bodies were even cold in the grave. Jobson and Webb went on to form The Armoury Show, recording just one album, 'Waiting For The Floods' in 1985 before splitting up, with Jobson going on to pursue a solo career as a poet, songwriter, television presenter and most recently, as a film director. Adamson had the most success of the former members, with Big Country releasing many hit singles and albums, before he passed away in 2001, but for fans who were around at the time, Skids were one of the best post-punk bands of the period, which you can hear on this collection of non-album singles and b-sides from their short five year lifespan. 

Track listing

01 Reasons (b-side of 'Charles' 1978)
02 Test-Tube Babies (b-side of 'Charles' 1978)
03 Sweet Suburbia (single 1978)
04 Open Sound (b-side of 'Sweet Suburbia')
05 Night And Day (from the 'Wide Open' EP 1978)
06 Contusion (from the 'Wide Open' EP 1978)
07 TV Stars (b-side of 'Into The Valley')
08 Masquerade (from the 'Masquerade' double 7" single 1979) 
09 Out Of Town (single version, from the 'Masquerade' double 7" single 1979) 
10 Another Emotion (from the 'Masquerade' double 7" single 1979) 
11 Aftermath Dub (from the 'Masquerade' double 7" single 1979) 
12 Grey Parade (b-side of 'Charade' 1979)
13 Vanguard's Crusade (b-side of 'Working For The Yankee Dollar' 1979)
14 All The Young Dudes (b-side of 'Working For The Yankee Dollar' 1979)
15 Hymns For A Haunted Ballroom (b-side of 'Working For The Yankee Dollar' 1979)
16 Monkey McGuire Meets Specky Potter Behind Lochore Institute (b-side of 'Goodbye Civilian' 1980)
17 Brave Man (b-side of 'Fields' 1981)

The Charlatans - Lips That Would Kiss (2017)

Two years after the release of 2004's 'Up At The Lake', The Charlatans reconvened to write and record their ninth studio album at Hook End Manor Studios in London, laying down the songs between August and December 2005, and then releasing 'Simpatico' in April 2006 on new label Creole Records. The album was met with mixed reviews from critics, with one commenting that the overall vibe seems more important than the individual songs. Despite that it works well on its own terms, and was proof that the now-veteran Charlatans were building a reliably entertaining body of work. Six months later Island Records issued the 'Forever: The Singles' album to cash in on the band after they left the label, and many fans feared that this was the end of the group, signing off with a record that could be seen as lacking direction and focus. A new year and a new label saw 'You Cross My Path' appear on the Cooking Vinyl label in March 2008, with CD and vinyl versions being released two months later in May. Not only was the album itself a surprise appearance, but the March release was offered as a free download in conjunction with the XFM Radio station, and it was received as their best album in a decade, and even one of the best albums of the year, ditching the soul and reggae dabbling of the past and pushing Tony Rogers' Hammond organ back out front, where it should be. For this release the band tried producing it themselves, with assistance from James Spencer, and most of the tracks were mixed by Alan Moulder, with the cover being drawn by Faris Badwan of The Horrors. In 2010 the band marked the 20th anniversary of the release of 'Some Friendly' by performing the album in full at Barcelona's Primavera Sound Festival. Their 11th studio album, 'Who We Touch', was slated for release in September of 2010, but during the supporting tour for the album, drummer Jon Brookes was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and Peter Salisbury was drafted in to help finish off the tour, although Brookes did show up at year-end gigs with the band. Tim Burgess and Mark Collins did a brief acoustic tour on their own in 2011 before Burgess began work on a solo album, returning to the Charlatans in 2012. The regrouped band started work on a new album, as well as playing their 1997 album 'Tellin' Stories' in its entirety at two separate shows that summer, with the 8 June show at HMV Hammersmith Apollo being released as a live album that August. However, after several operations and ongoing treatment for his brain tumour, Brookes died in hospital on August 13, 2013 at the age of 44. The Charlatans reconvened in 2014 to record their twelfth studio album, entitled 'Modern Nature', which was released on the BMG Records label in January 2015, debuting at number seven in the U.K., making it the band's highest-charting album since 2006's 'Simpatico'. Two years later, they followed up with 2017's 'Different Days', a record sporting cameos from Paul Weller and Johnny Marr, and although they continued to gift un-released recordings to their fans, they were releasing fewer singles in their later years, and so this final post in the series contains all the non-album b-sides from the last decade of their recording career, from 2006 to 2017. In 2012 Tim Burgess made his biggest non-musical statement, when he dyed his hair blonde, and despite many people thinking it was just a phase, he still sports this look today, so that's how he's portrayed on the cover.    

Track listing

01 Don't You Worry (b-side of 'Blackened Blue Eyes' 2006)
02 Hard To Be You (Song For Carl) (b-side of 'NYC (There's No Need To Stop)' 2006)
03 It Is What It Is (b-side of 'Mis-Takes' 2008)
04 Blank Heart, Blank Mind (b-side of 'The Misbegotten' 2008)
05 Set Me Free (b-side of 'The Misbegotten' 2008)
06 Complete Control (b-side of 'Oh! Vanity' 2008)
07 Lips That Would Kiss (b-side of 'My Foolish Pride' 2010)
08 Tonal Nagual Fur Star Liner Aquatic Ape Mix (b-side of 'Talking In Tones' 2014)
09 Joy.Izzy (Simon Fisher Turner Remix) (b-side of 'Come Home Baby' 2015)
10 We Sleep On Borrowed Time (b-side of 'Trouble Understanding' 2016)
11 I Like You (b-side of 'Over Again' 2017)

Bananarama - Nothing Lasts Forever (1989)

In 1988 Bananarama were is a state of flux, as after eight years as a trio producing a string of hit singles, Siobhan Fahey left the group. Her last gig as a member was performing 'Love In The First Degree' at the Brit Awards in February 1988, and she would later resurface as part of the BRIT Award–winning pop duo Shakespears Sister, alongside Marcella Detroit. After Fahey's exit, Jacquie O'Sullivan (formerly of the Shillelagh Sisters) joined in March 1988, and their next single 'I Want You Back' was re-recorded with O'Sullivan's vocals, as was The Supremes cover 'Nathan Jones'. 'Love, Truth And Honesty' was released as a single from their 1988 retrospective 'Greatest Hits Collection', and at the same time the group entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the all-female group who'd had the most UK chart entries in history, a record they still hold. Tensions soon began to appear within the new line-up though, with O'Sullivan complaining that there were no photographs of her displayed at the Soho launch of 'Greatest Hits Collection', and her bandmates were uncomfortable with her partying lifestyle, but these seem to have been resolved in time for their 1989 world tour. After the tour was complete, they started recording their fifth album with producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW), but were dissatisfied with the results of those sessions, thinking the majority of the songs were of sub-par quality, although 'Ain't No Cure' and 'Heartless' were eventually included on the album. They started looking for other producers, first working with David Z with whom the group recorded 'Some Boys', but felt it was not the direction they wanted to follow, and the song remained unreleased until 2013. They then worked with Steve Jolley who, along with Tony Swain, had produced the group's first three records, and one song co-written by him, 'Is Your Love Strong Enough', did end up on the album, while another remains unreleased. They settled with Youth, who had been Sara Dallin's boyfriend some years before, to produce the majority of the album. The record was a departure from Bananarama's previous albums as it incorporates a much more diverse range of musical genres, including flamenco guitar (on a cover of the Doobie Brothers song 'Long Train Running', featuring Alma de Noche, a pseudonym for the Gipsy Kings), retro-rock ('Only Your Love', 'Outta Sight'), acid house ('Tripping On Your Love'), reggae ('What Colour R The Skies Where U Live?'), experimental club ('Megalomaniac'), and their hallmark Euro disco sound ('Preacher Man', 'Ain't No Cure'). The band completely re-recorded the SAW track 'Ain't No Cure' with Youth, intending to place it on the album, but a furious response by SAW ultimately saw the band relent, and include the original recording on the album. On its release, 'Pop Life' received positive reviews from critics, although it just missed the UK Top 40 charts, and four mid-charting singles were issued from it. Following the release of 'Tripping On Your Love', O'Sullivan left the group, leaving founder members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward to continue as a duo. Although the band were happier with the finished 'Pop Life' album, fans have often wondered what a completely SAW-produced album would have sounded like, and enough demos of the songs they recorded together have emerged over the years to piece it together and compare it to the officially released album, so here it is for you to decide which would have been the better record.   

Track listing

01 One In A Million

02 Outta Sight
03 Heartless
04 Long Train Running

05 Wake Up And Love Me

06 Don't Throw It All Away
07 Ain't No Cure
08 I Don't Care
09 Love Generation
10 Nothing Lasts Forever

One Dove - Moon Angel (1994)

One Dove were a Scottish electronic music group active in the early 1990s, consisting of Dot Allison, Ian Carmichael and Jim McKinven, and were originally called Dove, releasing their debut single 'Fallen' on the Glasgow-based label Soma in October 1991. It was a significant club hit and brought them a deal with the Junior Boy's Own label, where they changed their name to avoid confusion with a similarly named group, and in 1992 JBO issued a new recording of 'Fallen', produced by Andrew Weatherall, which brought the group to greater attention from the British music press. The single was withdrawn one week after release however, due to an unlicensed sampling of a harmonica from a Supertramp song, but undeterred they released a second single 'Transient Truth', which garnered further critical acclaim from the press. At this stage One Dove were still primarily a club-oriented group, but for the single 'White Love', an attempt was made to make their music more radio-friendly by including a commercial remix by Stephen Hague. With this increasingly commercial sound, the band became a favourite with publications such as Select and Q, and were often favourably compared with Saint Etienne, another female-fronted group who were having success with pop-dance crossover recordings. In 1993 the band released their only album, 'Morning Dove White', which included the Weatherall version of 'Fallen' (minus the Supertramp sample) together with 12" mixes of 'Transient Truth' and 'White Love'. The album was originally set for release in 1992, but was delayed for a full year through disputes between the band and their new record company London Records, who had taken over the Boy's Own label, as the band were unhappy about the commercialisation of their sound. The disputes were eventually resolved when the band agreed to release singles mixed by Stephen Hague, as long as they could work with him in the studio during the remix sessions. The album was preceded by the single 'Breakdown', with remixes by Stephen Hague, William Orbit and Secret Knowledge, while one more track from the album, 'Why Don't You Take Me', was subsequently released as a single for the Christmas market. For the b-sides of the 'Why Don't You Take Me' single the group expanded to a five-piece with the addition of Ed Higgins on percussion and Colin McIlroy on guitar, and showcased a more heavily dub-influenced sound. This line-up later went into the studio to begin work on a second album, but frustrated by record industry politics they split up midway through the sessions, leaving the album unreleased. Dot Allison went on to release a series of acclaimed solo albums including 'Afterglow' and 'We Are Science', as well as working with Death In Vegas and Massive Attack. The band must have been very busy in the studio before their break-up, as two versions of the unreleased second album have surfaced over the years, both with completely different track listings, and while the 14 track version is now impossible to find, I've managed to locate the 10 track one (nine of which are used here, as there were two similar versions of 'Untouched', whereas the two takes of 'Stay' are very different), which was titled 'Moon Angel'. I've added new artwork, and so here's some more music from this very under-rated band, who could have been as big as Portishead if they'd just been given a chance.  

Track listing

01 Bubble Funk
02 Untouched 
03 Stay 
04 Perfect World
05 Fight Or Flight
06 What Can You Do To Me Now?

07 Stay (Acoustic)
08 I Hate The Sun
09 Sister

The Blue Nile - The Second Act (2004)

Paul Buchanan and his childhood friend Robert Bell grew up together in Glasgow and both attended the University of Glasgow in the late 1970's, with Buchanan gaining a degree in literature and medieval history, and Bell one in mathematics. Although Buchanan's father had been a semi-professional musician and had musical instruments around the house, it was only after he and Bell had graduated that Buchanan began to think seriously about a career in music. While at university Buchanan became acquainted with Paul Joseph "PJ" Moore, who was studying electronics, and the three friends became part of a band. Calling themselves McIntyre (named after the John McIntyre Building, the university's administrative offices) and then Night By Night, the band struggled to retain a settled line-up, and by 1981 only Buchanan, Bell and Moore remained as members. They decided not to recruit anybody else, trading in a guitar for an effect pedal and borrowing an old drum machine that only played Hispanic American music rhythms. Renaming themselves The Blue Nile (after the title of the 1962 book by Alan Moorehead), the group managed to raise enough money to record and release their first single, 'I Love This Life', on their own Peppermint Records label. Only a limited number were produced, but one found its way to RSO Records via their friend and engineer Calum Malcolm, and RSO licensed the single for distribution, but almost as soon as the record was released RSO went bankrupt and was absorbed into the PolyGram recording company, and the single consequently disappeared. Undaunted by this setback, the band continued to play gigs around Glasgow, starting to write their own songs alongside the cover versions they were playing, and having no drummer and with limited musical ability, The Blue Nile adopted an atmospheric, electronic approach primarily out of necessity. 

The most commonly told story about The Blue Nile is that in 1983 they were approached by a local hi-fi manufacturer, Linn Products, and asked to produce a song that would showcase the Linn equipment to best effect. Linn was so pleased with the resulting record that it offered the Blue Nile a contract to make a whole album, and set up its own record label specifically to release it. However, this has been categorically denied by both Buchanan and Moore, who insist that they just got lucky that their friend and engineer Calum Malcolm was a friend of Linn's founder Ivor Tiefenbrun, and his studio was fitted out with Linn equipment, so when Linn representatives visited one day and asked to hear some music to test out their new speakers, Malcolm played them the demo of 'Tinseltown In The Rain'. Impressed, Linn offered the band a contract with the record label it was in the process of setting up, and despite the fact that the group took nine months to reply to Linn's offer, the contract was eventually signed and the band's first album, 'A Walk Across The Rooftops', was Linn Records' first release in May 1984. On its release the album gained widespread acclaim from music critics for its mixture of sparse, detailed electronic sounds and Buchanan's soulful vocals, and the band gained greater exposure in Europe, with the videos for their two singles, 'Stay' and 'Tinseltown In The Rain', often shown on the video channel Music Box. Keen to capitalise on the positive critical reception awarded to 'A Walk Across The Rooftops', Linn sent the band back to Castlesound studio early in 1985 to produce a quick follow-up record. However, as the band later admitted, there was no new material ready to record, and they were not happy with the songs they were producing under pressure in the studio. 

The lack of progress led to stress and arguments among the band members, and matters were not helped when Virgin Records, to whom Linn had licensed the band's records, began legal proceedings against the group and the label for not producing the new material stipulated in the licensing agreement. After two years with almost nothing to show for its efforts, the band was forced to leave the studio to make way for another band, and had to return home to Glasgow. Away from the pressures of the studio, the group overcame the writer's block and eventually returned to Castlesound in 1988, where they were able to rapidly complete a new album. 'Hats' was released in October 1989 to rave reviews, including a rare five-star rating from Q magazine, and with the sound being warmer and smoother than the first album, and exploring the highs and lows of romantic love, 'Hats' peaked at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the group's breakthrough record in the US, where it reached number 108 on the US Billboard 200 album charts in May 1990, and all three singles released in the UK made the top 75 in the UK Singles Chart. The Blue Nile's first live public performance after making 'A Walk Across The Rooftops' was in December 1989 on the television programme 'Halfway To Paradise', which was a Scottish-based arts magazine show broadcast on Channel 4, and the band also composed and performed the theme tune for the programme, later releasing it as a single b-side. American singer Rickie Lee Jones had recently befriended the band and had become one of its biggest supporters, and as well as her recording a duet of their 'Easter Parade' for the b-side to her 1990 single 'Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying', they also supported Jones on her 1990 US tour. 

The radio play gained by 'Hats' in the US, in particular the single 'The Downtown Lights', brought The Blue Nile to the attention of several well-known US-based musicians, and in 1991 the band was invited to Los Angeles to work on songs by Julian Lennon, Robbie Robertson and Michael McDonald. As a result, Buchanan moved to Los Angeles and lived there for a while, embarking on a relationship with the actress Rosanna Arquette between 1991 and 1993. Having been let go by Linn and Virgin Records, the group signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1992, and the band decided that it wanted to find somewhere private to record its new album with its portable studio, so they began travelling around Europe searching for suitable locations. Having spent two years looking at and dismissing locations in cities such as Venice, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, the record was finally recorded piecemeal over three locations in Paris, Dublin and Los Angeles. In June 1996, seven years after 'Hats', The Blue Nile released a third album, entitled 'Peace At Last', which displayed a marked difference in style to the first two albums, with Buchanan's acoustic guitar work more to the fore. Despite its release on a major label, critical reaction to the album was more mixed than for the band's previous records, although sales were good, entering the UK album chart at number 13. In 1997, the band appointed a full-time manager for the first time, with ex-Dire Straits manager, Ed Bicknell, managing to extricate the group from the deal with Warner Bros. He also attempted to persuade the band to change its recording habits, but had little success, and following an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in June 1997, the band disappeared from public view for the next seven years. 

After the longest period yet between albums, The Blue Nile released 'High' in August 2004, the same year that they parted company with Bicknell. Part of the lengthy delay in making the record was due to Buchanan contracting a form of chronic fatigue syndrome which affected his health for two years, but the band's perfectionism was also a factor, dumping an album's worth of songs that they weren't happy with. 'High' reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, the highest position to date for the band, and although acoustic guitar is still present on some tracks, the overall musical sound is more reminiscent of 'Hats'. It became apparent during the recording of 'High' that old tensions among the band members had resurfaced, and Buchanan has indicated that the album was finished more out of a sense of duty and loyalty rather than any willingness on the part of the band. During preparations for the tour in February 2005 following the album's release, Buchanan and Bell realised that Moore had stopped contacting them and would not be showing up, and so Buchanan and Bell toured England, Scotland and Wales in 2006, billed as "Paul Buchanan sings the songs of the Blue Nile", refraining from simply calling themselves The Blue Nile as a mark of respect for Moore's absence. Although there has never been an official statement to clarify whether or not The Blue Nile still exists, the indications are that the band have split up. In May 2012 Buchanan released his first solo album, 'Mid Air', a collection of short, stripped-back songs mostly with just his voice and piano, recorded with Calum Malcolm's son Cameron as the album's engineer, and released on Buchanan's own Newsroom Records label. The Blue Nile have been cited by a number of musicians as an influence, and their fans really are fanatical in their devotion to the group. This has been helped in no small part by deluxe re-issues of their albums, which have included otherwise unreleased tracks as bonuses, and so as a tribute to the group here are all the non-album b-sides to their singles, interspersed with those unreleased out-takes and demos. 

Track listing

Disc I - 1981-1991
01 I Love This Life (single 1981)
02 The Second Act (b-side of 'I Love This Life')
03 St. Catherine's Day (previously unreleased 1984 )
04 Saddle The Horses (b-side of 'Stay' 1984
05 Regret (b-side of 'Tinseltown In The Rain' 1984) 
06 Young Club (previously unreleased 1983)
07 The Wires Are Down (b-side of 'The Downtown Lights' 1989) 
08 Broadway In The Snow (previously unreleased 1989)
09 Halfway To Paradise (b-side of 'The Downtown Lights' 1989) 
10 Christmas (previously unreleased 1989)
11 Our Lives (i. Lost, ii. Bolivia, iii. New York) (b-side of 'Saturday Night' 1991)

Disc II - 1996-2004
01 A Certain Kind Of Angel (previously unreleased 1996)
02 O Lolita (b-side of 'Happiness' 1996)

03 Turn Yourself Around (previously unreleased 1996)
04 New York Man (b-side of 'Happiness' 1996)

05 There Was A Girl (previously unreleased 1996)
06 Wish Me Well (b-side of 'Happiness' 1996)
07 Wasted (previously unreleased 2004)
08 I (previously unreleased 2004)
09 Big Town (previously unreleased 2004)
10 Here Come The Bluebirds (previously unreleased 2004)