Tubeway Army - Do You Need The Service? (1979)

Gary Anthony James Webb had fronted London band Mean Street in 1976 when he was just 18, and they saw their song 'Bunch Of Stiffs' appear on the 'Live At The Vortex' compilation album, after which he left the band and auditioned as lead guitarist for The Lasers, where he met bass-player Paul Gardiner. The Lasers soon became Tubeway Army when Webb's uncle Jess Lidyard joined on drums, and the band gave them selves suitably sci-fi names, with Webb rechristening himself 'Valerian', Gardiner was 'Scarlett', and Lidyard became 'Rael'. Webb was a prolific songwriter, and through playing gigs on the punk scene, and also recording some demos (later released on CD as 'The Plan') they managed to secure a record deal with the independent Beggars Banquet label, releasing two guitar-heavy, punk-style singles in the first half of 1978. During this time the band went through some line-up changes, changing drummers, and briefly adding a second guitarist, but due to musical differences Webb (now renamed Gary Numan) and Gardiner split with them as they wanted to move away from punk rock. As Numan was unhappy with playing on the often violent London punk scene, they became a studio-only band, quickly recording the 'Tubeway Army' album, and while it was still largely guitar/bass/drums-based, the album saw Numan's first tentative use of the Minimoog synthesizer, which he had come across by accident in the recording studio during the album sessions. Lyrically the record touched on dystopian and sci-fi themes similar to those employed by authors J. G. Ballard and Philip K. Dick, of whom Numan was a fan, and keen to distance his music from punk rock he wanted to drop the Tubeway Army name and release the album under his own stage name, but this idea was rejected by Beggars Banquet, and so 'Tubeway Army' was released in November 1978. 

Despite selling out the initial pressing of 5000 copies it didn't enter the album charts, and no singles were lifted from it, but undeterred, Numan took Tubeway Army back into the studio to record their follow-up album 'Replicas'. The result was more synth and science fiction oriented than the last album, and although the first single from the album, 'Down In The Park', failed to chart, it would prove an enduring cult track in the years to come. In early 1979 they were invited to record a session for the John Peel show, and this exposure might well have helped their next single 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' to reach the No. 1 spot on the UK singles chart. By this time the band included Chris Payne, Paul Gardiner, drummer Cedric Sharpley, and Ultravox keyboardist Billy Currie, and they gave memorable performances on both Top Of The Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test, appearing dressed all in black and playing in a near-motionless manner, earning them comparisons to a band of androids. While all this was happening for the band, Numan was already busy recording his next album with a new backing band, and at the peak of their success, he opted to premiere four new songs in a John Peel session in June 1979 rather than promoting the current album, and so the Tubeway Army group name was dropped. While they will forever be remembered for that huge hit single (and deservedly so, as it is a classic), they were an innovative band for the period, integrating new wave synths into their punk-rock sound, and by listening to this collection of singles, b-sides, radio sessions and out-takes you can actually hear the transition from all-out punk rock to what would become Numan's signature electronic direction when he started his solo career.   

Track listing

01 That's Too Bad (single 1978)
02 Oh! Didn't I Say (b-side of 'That's Too Bad')
03 Bombers (single 1978)
04 Blue Eyes (b-side of 'Bombers')
05 O.D. Receiver (b-side of 'Bombers')
06 Do You Need The Service? (b-side of 'Down In The Park' 1979)
07 We Are So Fragile (b-side of 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' 1979)
08 Films (John Peel Session 1979)
09 Airlane (John Peel Session 1979)
10 Conversation (John Peel Session 1979)
11 Only A Downstat (out-take 1979)
12 We Have A Technical (out-take 1979)
13 The Crazies (out-take 1979)

A little Christmas gift for you...

Mike S contacted me at the weekend and asked if I'd considered adding files inside the folders with the biogs and track listings, and while I know that Sonic does that on Albums That Never Were, it wasn't something that I'd thought about. However, when playing one of my '...and on guitar' albums I do sometimes have to refer to the site to see who the main artist was, as the tag only credits the guitarist, so it might be a good idea for that series. Mike suggested adding them as a pdf, and that would solve any issues for MAC users trying to open a Word doc, but it would be quite a task adding an extra file to each folder and then re-uploading them all to Yandex, and also re-sharing them on Soulseek, so the solution is that all the pdfs will be stored in one folder on Yandex. If you want them all then just download the folder, and if you don't then don't bother. I'll add the new pdf to the folder each time I post a new addition to the series, and then you can just slot it into the music folder. They're all there from Phil Manznaera onwards, and I'll add the rest later.

James Burton - ...and on guitar (1978)

James Burton was born 21 August 1939 in Dubberly, Louisiana and began playing guitar at a young age, influenced by Chet Atkins, Elmore James and several others, using fingerpicks with a flatpick instead of the more conventional thumbpick. At the age of only 14 he became a professional musician, working club gigs and private parties, and in 1954 he became the youngest staff musician on the weekly radio show Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, where he grew up. The first record that he played on was 'Just For A While'/'You Never Mention My Name' by Carol Williams in 1956, and in addition to his work on the Hayride, he played in Dale Hawkins' band, with whom he recorded and co-wrote 'Susie-Q' in February 1957. While working with Bob Luman, he came to the attention of Ricky Nelson, who invited him and Luman's bassist, James Kirkland, to meet his parents, and Nelson's father Ozzie Nelson offered Burton and Kirkland a regular spot on his son's television show 'The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet'. Before long James was living with the Nelson family in Hollywood, and playing on Ricky Nelson's 1957 single 'Stood Up'/'Waitin' In School', and then on every Ricky Nelson record after that for the next seven years. By 1965, Nelson was only on the road one month a year and Burton got bored, so he accepted an invitation from TV producer Jack Good to become a regular on the weekly 'Shindig' show, and to recruit a group, which he called the Shindogs. While working with Nelson, he had hardly done any session work for others, but after his exposure following a year on Shindig, he was soon doing five or six sessions a day, sometimes seven days a week, recording with such varied acts as Merle Haggard, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, Judy Collins, the Everly Brothers and Johnny Mathis. In November 1967 he released his first album 'Corn Pickin' And Slick Slidin'', which was a collaboration with steel guitarist Ralph Mooney, and in 1969 he recorded the high point of his work with the dobro guitar, which he'd taken up in 1963, on Merle Haggard's tribute album to Jimmie Rodgers, 'Same Train, A Different Time'. In 1969, Elvis Presley asked Burton to be his lead guitarist and manage his band, to which he agreed, and so he moved to Las Vegas, remaining with Presley's touring band until the singer's death in August 1977. Through the last five years with Elvis, Burton also worked with Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, and then after Presley's death he went on the road with John Denver and stayed with him for fifteen years, continuing to do session work, and playing with Jerry Lee Lewis's touring band in the early 1980's. There is an excellent anthology of his work out on CD titled 'James Burton: The Early Years 1957-1969', and so this collection seamlessly carries on from that, mainly concentrating on his work from the late 60's to the early 70's, and because he played on so many, many records during that period I narrowed it down even further by only selecting records on which he played his dobro guitar. As well as a slew of superb country tracks, this also includes the outro on The Beach Boys' 'Cabinessence', and some superlative work on Buffalo Springfield's 'A Child's Claim To Fame'. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 A Child's Claim To Fame (from 'Buffalo Springfield Again' by Buffalo Springfield 1967)
02 Mama Tried (from 'Roots' by The Everly Brothers 1968)
03 Poor Immigrant (from 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes' by Judy Collins 1968)
04 Midnight Wind (from 'Closing the Gap' by Michael Parks 1969)
05 Little Piece In D (from 'John Hartford' by John Hartford 1969)
06 Song Of Sad Bottles (from 'Mark Spoelstra' by Mark Spoelstra 1969)
07 On The Natural (from 'My Griffin Is Gone' by Hoyt Axton 1969)
08 Living On The Corner (from 'Who Knocked The Brains Out Of The Sky' by 

                                                                                                           Eric Von Schmidt 1969) 
09 Cabinessence (from '20/20' by The Beach Boys 1969)
10 Snake Mountain Blues (from 'Our Mother The Mountain' by Townes Van Zandt 1969)
11 Hoboin' (from 'Rock Salt And Nails' by Steve Young 1969)

Disc Two
01 Makes You Beautiful (from 'Sings About People' by John Hurley 1970)
02 Apple Tree (from 'Slim Slo Slider' by Johnny Rivers 1970)
03 Topanga Canyon (from 'John Phillips (John The Wolfking Of L.A.)' by John Phillips 1970)
04 Big T Water (from 'James Hendricks' by James Hendricks 1971)
05 Train Of Life (from 'Someday We'll Look Back' by Merle Haggard and The Strangers 1971)
06 Sunstorm (from 'Sunstorm' by John Stewart 1972)
07 The Moon Is Stone (from 'Raised On Records' by P.F. Sloan 1972)
08 Streets Of Baltimore (from 'GP' by Gram Parsons 1973)
09 Boulder To Brimingham (from 'Pieces Of The Sky' by Emmylou Harris 1975)
10 Bet On The Blues (from 'I Want To Live' by John Denver 1977)
11 Song For The Life (from 'Ain't Living Long Like This' by Rodney Crowell 1978)
12 Come Early Mornin' (from 'Nicolette' by Nicolette Larson 1978)

Thanks to Martin for the suggestion.

The Wannadies - As If We Care (2002)

The next few years after 1997 were a turbulent time for The Wannadies, as in Spring 1997 drummer and founding member Gunnar Karlsson left, to be replaced by long-time friend of the band Erik Dahlgren, and after sorting out problems with their Swedish record label, the band now felt they were suffering from a lack of support from BMG in the UK, and so went on strike. To compensate for the lack of new material, a compilation album of the best of their first three records entitled 'Skellefteå' was released in Scandinavia in the spring of 1998, with the band touring the region in support of it while their problems with BMG were being resolved. Relations with the label had sufficiently improved for the band to begin recording their next album in the autumn of 1998, with a ten-day session at the Chateau De La Rouge Motte studio in Normandy, France with producer Mike Hedges. Only the track 'String Song' was completed, however, and it was not until the winter of 1998/99 that the band recorded the bulk of the tracks for fifth album 'Yeah', with former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek at the helm. 'Yeah' was released in the autumn of 1999 in Scandinavia and early spring 2000 in the UK, but BMG decided not to release the record in America, and also refused permission for the band to release it on another label, eventually dropping the band altogether. Despite not having a record company, the band toured extensively throughout the summer of 2000, and in the latter half of 2000 and much of 2001 the band constructed their own recording studio in which they would record much of their sixth album, with Nille Perned again producing. In 2002 they released 'Before & After' in Scandinavia through the National record label, and on 8 September 2003 in the UK on Cooking Vinyl records. After a long hiatus, the band were thought to be writing and recording songs for their seventh album in 2009, but in April they announced they had split, with Pär Wiksten going solo. Although the band reunited and played their hits 'Friends' and 'Hit' at a festival in 2016, it would be another four years before new music was released by the band, and a song originally started at the 'Before & After' sessions and completed in 2020 was issued as a single, with 'Can't Kill The Musikk' featuring a live version 'My Home Town' as the b-side. This second collection from the band includes all the non-album tracks from the re-issue of 'You And Me Song' in 1996 to the break-up in 2003, once again housed in a contemporary sleeve. 

Track listing

01 Everybody Loves Me (b-side of 'You And Me Song' re-issue 1996)
02 We Were Sitting In A Car On Our Way From Mold To Bath As A Thunderstorm 

                                                            With Hail Stones Passed (b-side of 'Friends' 1996)
03 Just Can't Get Enough (b-side of 'Hit' 1997)
04 (Yeah Yeah Yeah) In Your Face (b-side of 'Hit' 1997)
05 As If You Care (b-side of 'Hit' 1997)
06 I Like You A Lalalala Lot (b-side of 'You And Me Song' EP 1997)
07 What's The Fuss (bonus 7" with 'Bagsy Me' album 1997)
08 Are You Exclusive? (b-side of 'Shorty' 1997)
09 Taking The Easy Way Out (b-side of 'Shorty' 1997)
10 Princess Spoon (b-side of 'Yeah' 1999)
11 After All (b-side of 'Yeah' 1999)
12 Trick Me (b-side of 'Yeah' 1999)
13 Love And Hate (b-side of 'Big Fan' 2000)
14 Fabian's Space Disco (b-side of 'Skin' 2002)

Thanks to jman for the suggestion.

Kylie Minogue - Music Will Always Love You (2007)

2007 was an extremely prolific year for Kyle Minogue, for as well as releasing the 'X' album, and writing and recording over three dozen extra tracks for use as demos or b-sides, some further tracks have surfaced since the demos were leaked. In fact, demos and out-takes have been appearing for a number of years, since around the time of her 'Fever' album in 2001, and so this collection gather up those tracks which didn't make her 'Fever', 'Body Language', 'Ultimate Kylie', and 'X' albums, to produce another great dance album from the Aussie popster, which still has fans asking "why on earth didn't she release that?!". This post includes the song that was mentioned in a previous Madonna post, where she'd given 'Alone Again' to Kyle and never recorded it herself, as well 'I'm Ready (Survivor)', which was gifted to her by Boy George, and two co-writes with Jake Shears and Babydaddy from Scissor Sisters. One of these is the original fast version of 'White Diamond', which featured on the 'Xtra' album in ballad form, while '(Everything) I Know' is another 'X' reject. As these songs span a period of seven years, it might not sound as cohesive as the last two Kylie posts, but her sound gravitated towards dance from the 'Fever' album onwards, and once in that zone she didn't deviate that much from it, so overall I think this is a pretty good collection.     

Track List

01 Music Will Always Love You (Intro) ('Fever' demo 2001)

02 White Diamond ('X' out-take 2007)
03 I'm Ready (Survivor) ('X' out-take 2007)

04 My Image Unlimited ('Body Language' out-take 2003)
05 (Everything) I Know ('X' out-take 2007)
06 Loving You ('Ultimate Kylie' out-take 2004)
07 Alone Again ('Fever' out-take 2001)
08 Fall For You ('X' out-take 2007)
09 My Love Is Real ('X' out-take 2007)

10 I'm Just Here For The Music ('Body Language' demo 2003)
11 So High ('Fever' out-take 2001)
12 Trippin' Me Up ('Body Language' out-take 2003)

Silmarillion - Herne The Hunter (1980)

In December 1977 bass player Doug Irvine formed the band that was to become Marillion, recruiting local drummer Mick Pointer, and calling themselves Electric Gypsy, before changing that to Silmarillion. They were later joined by keyboardist Brian Jelliman and guitarist Steve Rothery, at which point they shortened their name to Marillion, due to copyright concerns. They recorded multiple demo tapes with the original line-up throughout 1979 and 1980 including a sole recording of an apparently lost song called 'The Tower', which would be exhumed and reworked into 'Grendel' for the b-side of their 'Market Square Heroes' single. In its original form, 'The Tower' was an instrumental track that lasted around 21 minutes, and it's assumed that it was the origin of many of the melodies and solos eventually featured on 'Grendel', especially Steve Rothery's guitar parts, since he was in the band when 'The Tower' was written. It is assumed to be dark in tone, like 'Grendel', and perhaps have echoes of dark, long-form instrumentals by earlier progressive rock acts like King Crimson's 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic', but the changes to many of the original songs during the Fish-era are significant, and since 'The Tower' is at least five minutes longer than 'Grendel', then it's reckoned to be very much a lost piece of music. In November 1980 original vocalist and lyricist Doug Irvine left the band, falling out of contact with them and never being heard from again, and new singer Fish joined in January 1981. This resulted in a complete re-assessment of the group, bringing in new keyboardist Mark Kelly and soon afterwards bass player Pete Trewavas, and scrapping all of Irvine's old lyrics and reworking some of the old songs with new words from Fish. Some of the old demo tapes have survived, including the original versions of the songs with Irvine's lyrics and vocals, and you can hear that a number of them were the genesis of Marillion classics, such as 'Alice' which was rewritten as 'Forgotten Sons' and 'Close' which morphed into 'The Web'. This album features just the Irvine period of the group, and despite the less than perfect sound quality, it shows that even in those early days they had something about them which promised great things. 

Track listing

01 Lady Fantasy
02 The Haunting Of Gill House
03 Alice
04 Scott's Porridge
05 Close
06 Herne The Hunter

Have A Reggae Christmas 2021

Here's a great selection of reggae Christmas songs, with not a reggae-fied carol in sight. 

Track listing

01 All I Want For Ismas (Jacob Miller & Ray I 1978)
02 Christmas Stylee (Johnny Osborne 1984)
03 Christmas Jambree (Sugar Minott 1978)
04 Santa Claus Dub (The Aggrovators 1975)
05 Holy Christmas (The Cimarons 1971)
06 Santa Claus Never Comes To The Ghetto (Yellowman 1998)

07 Christmas Is Here (The Wailers 1964)
08 Happy Christmas (Toots & The Maytals 1972)
09 Christmas A Come (Eek A Mouse 1981)
10 Irie Christmas (Freddie McGregor 1980)
11 Ding Dong Bell (The Ethiopians 1969)
12 Christmas Time (Michael Powell 1983)
13 Merry Christmas, Happy New Year (Lee Perry 1986)

Trying a little experiment.....

Following my post celebrating my 1,000th post, I did get a few suggestions about how to restore links to the blog, and one jumped out at me straight away, so we're going to experiment with that and see if it works. There is a Yandex link on the right, under the disclaimer, which will be a permanent link from now on. I'll just update it twice a week, but the link won't change. That will take you to a pdf with all the albums on it, with the last six months in reverse order of posting, and then after that there is an A-Z archive, which is now complete. I'll carry on posting to Soulseek for those who prefer that, but by avoiding hyperlinks I'm hoping to keep the blog alive for the foreseeable future.   

Eric Johnson - ...and on guitar (1994)

Eric Johnson was born on 17 August 1954 into a musical family, studying piano with his three sisters at an early age, while his father was a whistling enthusiast. He started learning the guitar at age 11 and rapidly progressed while listening to the musicians that would heavily influence his future style, including Mike Bloomfield, Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Django Reinhardt, among others. At the age of 15, he joined his first professional band, the psychedelic rock band Mariani, and in 1970 they recorded a demo, which saw an extremely limited release, and which became a prized collector's item some years later. I've had a copy of this since around the late 80's, but never knew Johnson appeared on it, so I must dig that out again. After graduating from high school, he briefly attended the University of Texas at Austin, and later traveled with his family to Africa, returning to Austin in 1974, and joining a local fusion group called Electromagnets. They toured and recorded regionally but didn't attract attention from major record labels, and so disbanded in 1977, but the strength of Johnson's playing had attracted a small cult following to the group's early recordings and, decades later, their two albums were given wide release on CD. Following the Electromagnets' demise, Johnson formed a touring trio, the Eric Johnson Group, with drummer Bill Maddox and bassist Kyle Brock, and between 1976 and 1978 they recorded the 'Seven Worlds' album, but due to contract disputes it was not released until 1998. Unable to secure a new management contract, Johnson began working as a session guitarist for some well-known acts, including Cat Stevens, Carole King, and Christopher Cross, and it was Cross's producer David Tickle who recommended Johnson to Warner Bros. Records, who signed him to their label. In 1986 he released his actual debut album 'Tones', with a cover story in Guitar Player helping to promote the release, but although 'Zap' was nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, the album did not sell well, and Warner Bros. let Johnson's contract expire. 

Signing with indie label Cinema Records, distributed by Capitol Records, he released 'Ah Via Musicom' in 1990, and not only was he winning awards for his musicianship in the guitar press, but 'Cliffs Of Dover' won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The session work took a back seat while Johnson recorded his next album, but being an admitted perfectionist, he recorded, mastered and then scrapped several completed tracks for the new album, which delayed its release for three years, on top of the three years he had spent touring, and 'Venus Isle' eventually appeared in 1996. Despite demonstrating Johnson's growth as a guitarist, songwriter, producer, musical arranger, and vocalist, it received mixed reviews and did not match the success of its predecessor, and as a result he was dropped from Capitol Records. While recording 'Venus Isle' Johnson formed a side project called Alien Love Child with vocalist Malford Milligan, and played sporadic shows around Austin, and positive fan feedback from the shows made Alien Love Child a permanent gig. Johnson eventually returned to the recording studio, releasing 'Souvenir' in January 2002 on his own Vortexan Records label, followed by 'Bloom' in 2005, on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label, and then releasing a new record every few years since then. This collection starts with one of his earliest gigs with jazz organist Jack McDuff, then takes in those late 70's guest spots with Cat Stevens and Christopher Cross, and quite a bit of work from the mid 80's to the mid 90's. I have to admit that I wasn't that familiar with Johnson's work, so this has been as much as a revelation to me as it might be to you. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 Rolling Stone (from 'The Fourth Dimension' by Jack McDuff 1974)
02 Circle Song (from 'Once Upon A Rock' by American Peddlers 1977)
03 Dancin' With Tears In My Eyes (from 'Pearls' by Carole King 1980)
04 Bad Brakes (from 'Back To Earth' by Cat Stevens 1978)
05 Minstrel Gigolo (from 'Christopher Cross' by Christopher Cross 1979)
06 Rise Up (from 'Long Time Friends' by Alessi 1982)
07 SA Stroll (from 'Tomás Ramírez' by Tomas Ramirez 1983)
08 Save A Little Time (from 'Pressure' by Pressure 1983)

Disc Two
01 Recover Gracefully (from 'Marc Anthony Thompson' by Marc Anthony Thompson 1984)
02 Distant Star (from 'Stand Up' by Steve Morse Band 1985)
03 Ballad Of Fast Eddie (from 'Street Language' by Rodney Crowell 1986)
04 Western Flyer (from 'Guitar Speak' by Various Artists 1988)
05 Ronda (from 'Inside Out' by Jay Aaron 1990)
06 Our Dreams (from 'The Urge' by Stuart Hamm 1991)
07 Keep Coming Back (from 'Rush Street' by Richard Marx 1992)
08 Lights Of Louisiana (from 'The Hunter' by Jennifer Warnes 1992)
09 Somebody Loves Me Now (from 'Read My Licks' by Chet Atkins 1994)

Thank to Don for the suggestion.

Personal Column - Strictly Confidential (1984)

Personal Column formed in Liverpool in 1980, with a line-up of Marc Vormawah on vocals and guitar, Colin Brown on keyboards, Mike Carroll on drums (later replaced by Terry Sterling), Mike Hayes on bass, and Rob Boardman on guitar, and they were later joined by Phil Hargreaves on sax. They released two singles on their own Contrast Records label, before signing to Stiff Records in 1984 and releasing one single for them. They were a big favourite of John Peel, and recorded three sessions for his radio show, as well as ones for Kid Jensen and Simon Bates. These radio sessions often included otherwise unrecorded material, and so this is  now the only way that these songs can be heard, so I've collected them altogether in one place so that you can hear what an album by the band could have sounded like in 1984. If they recorded one of their singles on the session I've tended to use the single version for this album, and it's all topped off with a track that didn't make it as a single or a session track. The band broke up in 1986, with Vormawah signing a deal with MCA, and he continues to record and release his music, with 'Goodbye To Yesterday' coming out in 2018.  

Track listing

01 Red (John Peel session 1982)
02 Friction (John Peel session 1982)
03 Dangerous Places (John Peel session 1982)
04 The Same Old Situation (single 1983)
05 Ignorance Is Bliss (John Peel session 1983)
06 Crusade (John Peel session 1983)
07 Sleight Of Hand (John Peel session 1983)
08 Strictly Confidential (single 1984)
09 Cosmetic Surgery (John Peel session 1984)
10 World In Action (John Peel session 1984)
11 The Price You Pay (John Peel session 1984)
12 British Style (John Peel session 1984)
13 Institutions (previously unreleased 1984)

The Wannadies - Want More (1996)

The Wannadies formed in 1988 in Skellefteå, northern Sweden, and the initial line-up was Pär Wiksten on vocals and guitar, Christina Bergmark on keyboards and vocals, Stefan Schönfeldt on guitar, and his younger brother Fredrik on bass, with Gunnar Karlsson on drums and Björn Malmquist on violin. They played their first concert at a festival in support of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas in October 1988, and only weeks later entered local studio KN to record the three tracks that would become their debut release, in the form of the 'Smile EP'. It was released in February 1989 and managed to pick up several 'single of the week' accolades from national newspapers, as well as airplay on indie radio shows, despite little or no marketing. Following the band's appearance at the Hultsfred Festival in August 1989, they signed a recording contract with MNW Records, releasing their debut single 'My Hometown' in May the following year. The band's eponymous debut album was released in August 1990, supported by tours of Sweden, Finland and Norway, and their second album 'Aquanautic' was released in October 1992 on Snap Records, the indie subsidiary of MNW. In the summer of 1993 Björn Malmquist moved to Stockholm and left the band, and initial recording sessions for their third album 'Be A Girl' were beset by problems. First choice producer Dagge Lunquist took paternity leave late in 1993, and a second attempt with producer Micke Herrström had to be abandoned after just a week and a half when both he and engineer Adam Kviman Herrström were taken sick with hearing injuries. 'Love In June' was the only song to be completed with Herrström, and was released as a single while the band had another go at recording 'Be A Girl', this time with producer Nille Perned. 
The album was finally finished by late 1994, and was released along with the second single 'You And Me Song', to critical acclaim in their native country. Shortly afterwards the band came to the attention of Indolent Records in the UK, who signed them in the summer of 1995, and they toured extensively with labelmates Sleeper and The 60 ft Dolls, while regularly commuting to studios in Gothenburg, Skellefteå and Stockholm to record tracks for their next album. Further singles 'Might Be Stars' and 'How Does It Feel?' were taken from 'Be A Girl', but it was not until the re-release of 'You And Me Song' in April 1996 that the band really made an impact in the UK, where the song peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. Problems with Swedish record company MNW led to delays with the release of the group's fourth album 'Bagsy Me', which was eventually released in January 1997 on Sony/BMG Records, and it included the hit singles 'Someone Somewhere', 'Friends', 'Hit', and 'Shorty'. All of the singles mentioned so far had exclusive recordings on the flips, and so this post collects all of them from that first EP in 1989 to the 1996 release of 'Someone Somewhere'. It's a great collection of some of the best indie/pop of the early 90's, which had remained a well-kept secret until they exploded onto the scene with that re-issue of 'You And Me Song' in 1996, helped massively by it also being included on the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmnan's film of 'Romeo And Juliet'. The cover is a homage to the band's fondness for putting pictures of sleeping girls on their albums and singles from 'Be A Girl' onwards.   

Track listing 

01 The Beast Cures The Lover (from the 'Smile' EP 1989)

02 This Time (from the 'Smile' EP 1989)

03 I Want More (from the 'Smile' EP 1989)

04 Children Of The Revolution (b-side of 'Heaven' 1990)

05 In The Altogether (b-side of 'So Happy Now' 1992)

06 Birds (b-side of 'So Happy Now' 1992)

07 Lee Remick (b-side of 'Cherry Man' EP 1993)

08 I'm A Man (b-side of 'Cherry Man' EP 1993)

09 Blister In The Sun (b-side of 'Cherry Man' EP 1993)

10 I Got A Right (b-side of 'Love In June' 1994)

11 Let Go Oh Oh (b-side of 'You And Me Song' 1994)

12 No Disco (b-side of 'You And Me Song' 1994)

13 Lift Me Up (Don't Let Me Down) (b-side of 'You And Me Song' 1994)

14 New Life (b-side of 'You And Me Song' 1994)

15 Why (b-side of 'Someone Somewhere' 1996)

16 Goodbye (b-side of 'Someone Somewhere' 1996)

17 Disappointed (b-side of 'Someone Somewhere' 1996)

Thanks to jman for the suggestion.

The La's - The Key (1989)

The La's were formed in 1983 by Mike Badger, existing briefly as an arthouse/skiffle-type outfit with a few tracks released on local compilations. Lee Mavers joined in 1984 as rhythm guitarist, eventually gaining songwriting prominence and emerging as the band's enduring figurehead. Bernie Nolan, accomplished musician formerly of The Falcons, The Russian Rockabillys and The Swampmen, was the original bassist, and John Power joined the group in 1986, but not long after that Badger left to form The Onset, and the group carried on as a trio. They attracted the attention of several record labels after a series of performances in their hometown in 1986, and demo tapes copied from a session at the Flying Picket rehearsal studio in Liverpool began circulating. One of these demo tapes found its way to Andy McDonald at Go Discs, and after a short bidding war they chose to sign with Go! Discs. The band's first single 'Way Out' was released in October 1987, and although it broke into the top 100 and was praised by The Smiths' frontman Morrissey in the music magazine Melody Maker, it attracted little notice from the public. The band continued to perform around the UK and gained success as a live act, drawing comparisons to The Beatles due to their origins, their vaguely Merseybeat sound, and Mavers' expressive lyrics. 'There She Goes' was released in 1988 and garnered moderate attention and airplay, but performed poorly in the charts, and a follow-up single 'Timeless Melody' was scrapped after review copies had already been sent out, as Mavers was unhappy with the production. This turned out to be an indicator of things to come, as the band then spent the next two years fruitlessly recording and re-recording their intended debut album, with a constantly changing band line-up, where only the core of Mavers and Power remained the same, and discarding producers at an alarming rate. 

The previously volatile band line-up settled in 1989 with Lee's brother, Neil Mavers on drums, and Peter "Cammy" Cammell as lead guitarist, and the band then entered London's Eden Studios in December 1989 to again record their debut album with Simple Minds and U2 producer Steve Lillywhite, but even using arguably their most stable line-up, Mavers was still not satisfied with the end results. The Eden sessions with Lillywhite would become the band's final attempt at recording the album, as the frustration of not achieving the right sound and mood in their songs, as well as increasing friction with Go! Discs, who had spent a considerable sum of money on recording sessions for the album, led to them simply giving up on the sessions. Lillywhite pieced together the recordings he had made with the group into what became the eventually released album 'The La's', and Mavers has since tried to disown it at every opportunity. However, the public had a different opinion, and when the album was eventually released in 1990 it reached No. 30 in the UK charts and received a Silver certification. It included, among new material, re-recorded versions of all the previous singles, including a remixed version of 'There She Goes', which  was then re-released as a single, and this time it reached number 13 in the UK singles chart, and remains the most visible and enduring of all the band's songs. Despite the trials and tribulations of recording their first album, the band stayed together, and in 1989 Mavers had a bunch of new songs, which he took round to Go! Discs boss Andy MacDonald's home and performed for him in his kitchen. The performance was apparently videoed, with the audio from this appearing online as a CD entitled 'The Kitchen Tapes', and although most of the songs are just Mavers and his guitar, with the occasional addition of some percussion, you can hear that these songs do have something about them, and we can only speculate on what they would have sounded like if Mavers had taken them into the studio with the rest of the band. 

Track listing

01 Robberman
02 Our Time
03 When Will I See You Again? 
04 She Came Down In The Morning  
05 Was It Something I Said?  
06 It's Impossible  
07 Tears In The Rain  
08 Over (BBC radio session 1989)
09 Go Go Daddy  
10 I Am The Key
11 Son Of A Gun (Key 103 Radio session 1989)
12 Way Out
13 I Can't Sleep

Alan Hull - Carousel (1975)

Having just watched 'Lindisfarne's Geordie Genius: The Alan Hull Story' on BBC4, I was keen to hear more him, other than the 'Pipedream' and 'Squire' solo albums and the complete Lindisfarne discography that I already have, and the documentary gave me some ideas about where to start. James Alan Hull was born on 20 February 1945 in Newcastle upon Tyne, and his musical education began with piano lessons at the age of nine, and guitar lessons two years later. He was given his first guitar at the age of twelve, writing his first song soon afterwards, and in 1962 he joined The Chosen Few, alongside Bumper Brown on bass, Rod Hudd on vocals, Tommy Jackman on drums, and Mickey Gallagher on keyboards. Their repertoire consisted of Tamla Motown covers, plus Hull's own compositions, and the band eventually moved to London, where they recorded four Hull-penned songs for release as two singles for the Pye label, which Hull has admitted were very Beatle-esque, and featured heavy Kinks overtones. He left The Chosen Few in 1965, and supported himself by working as a window cleaner, a nurse at a mental hospital, and as a driver for Newcastle Co-op TV Department, while appearing as a folk singer and guitarist in local clubs. In the meantime, The Chosen Few added Colin Gibson and John Turnbull (who were both later to play on Hull's 'Pipedream' album) and carried on for a short while. A year later, The Chosen Few morphed into Skip Bifferty, having lost Hudd and Brown, and during this transition period Hull recorded a couple of tracks with the new band. Following the release of his first solo single in 1969, which was later to be re-recorded by Lindisfarne, Hull joined Rod Clements, Ray Laidlaw, Simon Cowe, and Ray Jackson's band The Brethren in May 1970, performing variously as Alan Hull And Brethren, or Brethren With Alan Hull, before deciding on a complete change of name and becoming Lindisfarne in the summer of 1970. 

As the group's most prolific songwriter and joint lead vocalist, Hull came to be regarded as its leader, and the band had some success with hit singles and albums in the early 70's, before Hull considered leaving after he became dissatisfied with the sound and critical reception of their third album 'Dingly Dell'. Instead, he and joint lead vocalist Ray Jackson formed a new six-piece Lindisfarne the following year, leaving the three other original members to form Jack The Lad. He also released his first solo album 'Pipedream' in 1973, and published a book of poems 'Mocking Horse' the same year, after which the new Lindisfarne disbanded. In 1974 he was offered the chance to act in an episode of the BBC's Second City Firsts drama series, entitled 'Squire', in which he pretty much played himself, and he felt that he should write a song for it, coming up with 'Squire', which then became the title of his second solo album in 1975. He formed the short-lived Radiator in 1977, which also included old band-mate Ray Laidlaw, and they released one album and one single, before breaking up. In 1979 he signed to Elton John's Rocket Records label and released the 'Phantoms' album, which consisted of re-recordings of a number of tracks from Radiator's 'Isn't It Strange' record, after which he took a break from recording for a few years, returning in 1983 with 'On The Other Side'. On the night of 17 November 1995, Hull suddenly collapsed at his home in North Shields and was pronounced dead on arrival at North Tyneside General Hospital. A post-mortem later revealed his death to be the result of a coronary thrombosis. He was just 50 years old. Hull was so loved in his hometown that in July 2012, following a public campaign led by Barry McKay, Lindisfarne's manager during the 1970's, an Alan Hull memorial plaque was unveiled on the front of Newcastle City Hall, at a ceremony attended by hundreds of fans, and broadcast by Sky and ITV Tyne Tees. This collection of early recordings and hard-to-find b-sides and demos, housed in a cover by Rene Magritte to complement his 'Pipedream' and 'Phantoms' albums, should go some way to show exactly why that was. 

Track listing

01 I Won't Be Around You Any More (single by The Chosen Few 1965)
02 Big City (b-side of 'I Won't Be Around You Any More')
03 So Much To Look Forward To (single by The Chosen Few 1965)
04 Today, Tonight & Tomorrow (b-side of 'So Much To Look Forward To')
05 This We Shall Explore (with Skip Bifferty 1966)
06 Schizoid Revolution (with Skip Bifferty 1966)
07 Where Is My Sixpence? (demo  1969)
08 We Can Swing Together (single 1969)
09 Obidiah's Grave (b-side of 'We Can Swing Together')
10 Drinking Song (b-side of 'Numbers (Travelling Band)' 1973) 
11 One Off Pat (b-side of 'Numbers (Travelling Band)' 1973)
12 Down On The Underground (BBC session for Bob Harris 1973) 
13 Crazy Woman (single 1975)
14 Carousel (out-take 1975)
15 Angels At Eleven (session for Radio Clyde 1976)
16 Raw Bacon (demo 1975)
17 Evening (demo 1975)