Win: ‘Unamerican Broadcasting’ custom sleeve promo 12″ single (Swamplands, SWX 5, 1985)

Sometime after Davey Henderson had ceased on his mission to lubricate your living room and the Fire Engines had stalled, he ponied up with new outfit, ‘Win’, which I rank in my top three Scandalously Neglected Acts Of The ’80s and who also hold the dubious accolade of being The Band I Spent The Most Money On A Single CD On for when I simply, positively, definitely, absolutely had to scratch that materialistic itch and possess the shiny, silvery disc of ‘Uh! Tears Baby’. If you are unfamiliar with Win (and it would not be difficult, regardless of their swagger, given the lack of commercial success they enjoyed despite the music machinery’s best efforts to Re-issue Till We Got The Message And Bought The Damn Thing with ‘You’ve Got The Power’), their confections of delicious, sugar-thrill, polished to perfection ramshackle pop, wrapped in the then relatively fresh packaging garb of über-corporate irony, certainly appealed to yours truly, if not the greater populace. But before producer David Motion had brought the same gleaming machine-finish that he had squeezed and primped Strawberry Switchblade into for Win’s ‘Shampoo Tears’, ‘Super Popoid Groove’, et al, their first release was the rougher-cut ‘Unamerican Broadcasting’. And this short but sugary sweet post shines a light on the curious custom sleeve promo copy I came by back in the day in the second-hand bins and which, until this last weekend, I had never seen another copy of knocking around.

Win 'Unamerican Broadcasting' custom promo 12 inch single front sleeve design
^ Win \’Unamerican Broadcasting\’ custom promo 12 inch single front sleeve design

Continue reading “Win: ‘Unamerican Broadcasting’ custom sleeve promo 12″ single (Swamplands, SWX 5, 1985)”

Brian Eno: ‘A Year’ CD/’Une Année aux Appendices Gonflés’ book (Le Serpent a Plumes, no cat. number), 1998

The original 1996 UK edition of Brian Eno’s published diaries, essays, short stories and correspondence, ‘A Year With Swollen Appendices’, was in book only format, with no musical accompaniment – the French edition, ‘Une Année aux Appendices Gonflés’, appeared a couple of years on in 1998 and came replete with an exclusive CD accompaniment in the shape of ‘A Year’. I was fortunate enough to be in Paris in December of 1998 and chanced upon this while browsing through a branch of the wonderful FNAC chain and swiftly handed my Francs to the cashier and exited with this lovely item.

Brian Eno 'A Year...' French edition book and CD (fronts)
^ Brian Eno ‘A Year…’ French edition book and CD (fronts)

The CD runs for just under 30 minutes and its six tracks are unavailable on any other releases, as far as I’m aware.

  1. 26 Juillet 1995: Ikebukuro/Swarowski Soup 8:00
  2. 25 Avril: Orchestral Marstall 3:29
  3. 29 Septembre: Cold Jazz 2 3:16
  4. 25 Avril: Mad Jazz Piano 3:37
  5. 4 Août: With Howie B 4:53
  6. 27 Septembre: Heat Beat 6:40

The dates refer to entries in the diary (from 1995) which has some more detail about the background for the pieces. For example: Continue reading “Brian Eno: ‘A Year’ CD/’Une Année aux Appendices Gonflés’ book (Le Serpent a Plumes, no cat. number), 1998”

Brian Eno ‘Another Green World’ 3″ CD single (Editions EG/Virgin, CDT41/EDSCD4, 1989)

Definitely one for the the dedicated Eno fan in search of a small object of desire, this 3″ CD single was issued in 1989 on the then popular smaller CD format. The front cover features a still from the opening credits of the UK programme ‘Arena’ from the BBC, which had used the title track from Eno’s ‘Another Green World’. Quite why it was seen fit to bash this out on a CD single I can’t recall, one imagines that the record buying public weren’t champing at the bit for such a release – nevertheless, it has its charms.

Brian Eno 'Another Green World' 3" CD single front cover
^ Brian Eno ‘Another Green World’ 3” CD single front cover

As well as ‘Another Green World’ itself, it comes with three other tracks in what is a fairly eclectic selection of instrumental works; Continue reading “Brian Eno ‘Another Green World’ 3″ CD single (Editions EG/Virgin, CDT41/EDSCD4, 1989)”

Berlin Blondes, ‘Science’ Japanese 7″ promo single (EMI, EMS 17031, 1980)

A little known Scottish band, was aware of them at the time but never heard them. Through the delights of vinyl blogs I have since become acquainted with their limited output and have liked what I have heard. One can imagine that they possibly got sucked up and spat out by the EMI corporate machine looking for the Next Big Thing. Only one album and three singles (one post-EMI) saw light of day, none of which have ever seen a subsequent CD release as far as I’m aware.

Berlin Blondes 'Science' Japanese single picture insert - front
^ Berlin Blondes ‘Science’ Japanese single picture insert – front

This particular number is a Japanese promo edition of their first single, ‘Science’. The album and first two single were produced by Mike Thorne, more famously associated beforehand with Wire and subsequently with Soft Cell. Musically, this might bridge both worlds, to some extent, with the requisite angular guitar and a very prominent bass to the fore, but plenty of synthesizer on board to colour the sound along with drum machines. Well worth seeking out if you have a penchant for early 80s pop oddness, this contrasts well with a lot of other material from the same era. Continue reading “Berlin Blondes, ‘Science’ Japanese 7″ promo single (EMI, EMS 17031, 1980)”

The Passions ‘Needles and Pills’/’Body and Soul’ 7″ single (Soho, SH5, 1979)

The debut release from The Passions released in Spring 1979, a double A side single – both sides are something of an earlier draft of of the sound that can be heard on their debut album, ‘Michael and Miranda’, with ‘Needles and Pills’ leaning a bit towards a more traditional rock vocabulary, I dare say. Vocally quite different, ‘Needles and Pills’ especially, due to the presence of Mitch Barker on vocals. This single is the only recorded outing for this version of the band – basically the same line-up as recoreded ‘Michael and Miranda’ but with the addition of Mitch on vocals, though ‘Body and Soul’ has the more familiar presence of Barbara Gogan sharing much of the vocals and of the two songs it more obviously fits the Passions template, as evinced by the fact that it lasted in the set list for gigs through 1980. ‘Needles and Pills’ was written by the bands original guitarist, Dack Dyde, though by the time of the recording he had left the band.

'Needles and Pills' cover image
^ ‘Needles and Pills’ cover image

Continue reading “The Passions ‘Needles and Pills’/’Body and Soul’ 7″ single (Soho, SH5, 1979)”