Another helping of vintage button badge goodness to bring a dash of post-punk style to any jacket/bag badge mount of choice – this time around courtesy of blog semi-regulars, Xmal Deutschland. Spanning various eras, 4AD and beyond, these were all bought back in the day – I managed to see Xmal play live a couple of times, in support of the Stranglers and headlining when promoting the ‘Viva’ tour, and damn fine they were too.
Another tasty West German picture sleeve design that differed markedly from the UK issue – whether that was to John Foxx’s satisfaction is unlikely, given that the original UK issue was designed by him and showcases what are now classic John Foxx design traits in its cut-up and juxtaposed figures. But this sleeve keeps with some kind of low-tech xerox style if nothing else, in lurid red and black. The flimsy, glossy paper used for the sleeve means that tracking down mint copies is especially difficult.
Continue reading “Ultravox! – ‘ROckwrok’ West German 7″ single (Island, 11 655 AT, 1977)”
A fine slice of prime Section 25, a band that in their original period on Factory were normally panned without pause as naught but Joy Division copyists, only to then be accused as New Order copyists as they drafted in the keyboards to fill their sound. This EP finds them somewhere between the two worlds, still guitar heavy but the sequenced synth patterns working their way in on ‘Sakura’.
Continue reading “Section 25 – ‘The Beast’ UK 12″ EP (Factory FAC66, 1982)”
One to sate the sweet tooth of any fan of all things 7″ and collectable in the world of Ultravox, this was a West German only release that paired a fairly raucous LP cut, ‘Frozen Ones’, along with an exclusive remix of one of Ultravox’s finest moments on the flip side, in the shape of ‘Man Who Dies Everyday’ – and all finished off nicely in a unique picture sleeve design – manna from heaven for scratching that collector’s itch – if you can find a copy, as it’s not too easy to come by.
Continue reading “Ultravox! – ‘Frozen Ones’ West German 7″ single (Island, 11 815 AT, 1977)”
The re-energised Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark will soon be releasing their second album since they returned to active duty, ‘English Electric’. The emerging picture points towards something that may revisit the spirit of 1983’s left-field wonder that is ‘Dazzle Ships’. Certainly the recently released cover artwork for the album harks back to Peter Saville’s angular design for that work.
