‘Central Park’ was initially a non-album 7″ single release by Athletico Spizz 80 in late 1980. if you are not familiar with Atheltico Spizz 80 then you almost certainly be familiar with Spizzenergi and their single ‘Where’s Captain Kirk?’, as it was just about everywhere at one point – famously the very first chart topper of the indie charts, when launched in early 1980 (though that single’s release hailed from 1979).
Infamously, this is the band that changed their name each year, so by 1980 and the release of their debut album, ‘Do A Runner’ and a handful of non-album singles throughout the year (including ‘No Room’, ‘Hot Deserts’ and ‘Central Park’), the band had chosen a name to tie in with the sporting theme of the 1980’s Olympics held in Moscow.
The first single of theirs I bought was ‘No Room’, though a good while after it was first released. It was intriguing and not quite what I expected, having heard ‘Where’s Captain Kirk?’ – a lot moodier, but enjoyable.
Why is ‘Central Park’ of much interest to me and featured here? Well, it’s the version craziness, naturally. At the time of this release, it was a stand alone single and recorded by the same band line-up that had recorded ‘Do A Runner’. As a single on a major label, it’s quite long, meandering but also quite hypnotic. It was likely never going to be a hit, but I really like this version on the A side and there’s an interestingly diverting dub version on the B side. Both sides were produced by the very in demand at the time Mike Howlett.
- Side One: ‘Central Park’ (4’20”)
- Side Two: ‘Central Park’ (Doctors and Nurses – Dub Version) (3’18”)
By the time 1981 came round though, the band had changed their name to The Spizzles and a second album on A&M was released, ‘Spikey Dream Flowers’. On this outing, the band line-up had changed – out was keyboard player Mark Coalfield and guitarist Dave Scott and in came Lu Edmonds. ‘Central Park’ appeared on the album in a re-recorded form. Its about the same duration, but quite a different take.
Spizz in his/their many forms have delighted with much good music over the years – hardly the easiest to get to grips with, but there is a maddeningly catchy appeal to their angular songs. Official re-releases have been sporadic – there was a CD that paired the two A&M albums together on one disc, but its long out of print. There are a few Cherry Red compilations that bring together a wide range of tracks but – likely for rights reasons – appear light on the A&M recordings. Those Cherry Red compilations seem to favour a BBC Radio 1 John Peel Session version of ‘Central Park’. I hope someday a decent re-issue programme can bring together the band’s A&M albums and singles into a more widely available package.
