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Archive 01
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01 - 25 ::
Here
you will gain exclusive access to my own personal record collection! I
try to bring you mp3s of rare tracks, deleted material, long forgotten
artists, total flops and down right obscure shit. Often, my choices were
only available on vinyl or were just plain unreleased, the aim being to
indulge an old fan or inspire a new one. I try not to post up
forthcoming releases or anything that's too readily available. Honest,
Gov!
There's a tenuous thread running through the tracks but
your requests are always welcome and I'll try and squeeze them in amongst my
own fancies... eventually.
Do read all the blurb, as there's often links to extra tracks lurking in
there... ; )
Tracks are only available for a 'limited
time' folks (sometimes months!), so get them while you can!
Now for the science bit! To access the music, please click on 'Download' and
you'll be whisked off to those nice people over at Sharebee.
Tracks are ripped at 192 kbps and wherever possible taken from the
highest quality source available. All of the music offered here has been
purchased by myself and is part of my own collection. Tracks are for
evaluation purposes only and wherever possible, purchasing is always
encouraged. If you own any of the material posted here or anywhere else
on this site and are very cross with me, please
email me with threats and such like...
Take one ripe
Luscious Jackson (Kate
Schellenbach) and stir in a fresh Breeder
(Josephine Wiggs).
Add a heaped table spoon of a
Sonic Youth
track and place in an pre-heated oven on gas mark 1995. Serve up on a
Grand Royal limited edition pink 7" EP ('Kims
We Love') and voila! One gem of an experimental electro-punk pie
which everyone has forgotten about. They did release another tasty record
but I can't find it. Or remember what it's called. Ho hum.
Genius at work.
David Cunningham. He was
the main Lizard, so to speak. Like a
late 70's/early 80's version of Richard X.
In fact, early Lizards
vocalist
Deborah Evans (Strickland)
even appears on X's debut album from
last year. It's Deborah you can hear on
this track, the follow up to massive hit 'Money'. Considered a
bit of a one-hit wonder, the Lizards actually knocked out four great albums, each with different female vocalists
in attendance, but Debs was the best.
The debut self-titled album is one of the most experimental, engaging sets I
have come across, lots to hear and expanses of sonic wizardry abound.
There's a fine website all about The Flying Lizards
Drop-dead gorgeous, money
rolling in from mega-hits like 'Eternal Flame' and 'Walk
Like An Egyptian', film roles falling at your feet... Ahhh, to be
Susanna Hoffs circa 1989... and ohhh,
not to be the other three lasses in The Bangles,
'coz she went and ditched those bitches amidst a notion that clouds many a
lead singer's judgment - The launch of a solo career. But she fell at the
first hurdle. However, 'When You're A Boy' is a really good
album - sounds just like the next Bangles
album would have right after 1988's 'Everything' but no one
was listening. Except me. I still play the album, it should've/could've took
off, it just... didn't. This is one of the best tracks, but trust me, aint
nothing wrong with it! She returned many years later for a 2nd, self-titled
album with much the same result, but in honesty, that one was shite.
A bit like a watered down Sheryl Crow.
Then The Bangles came a-knockin' and
yada, yada reunion and shit. 
Here's
Thereza Bazar's solo single from 1985. A bit
Jane Wiedlin-ish, it's not a bad little
pop tune at all. It's from her album of the same name, and another
similarity in both releases is the flop factor. For whatever reason, she
didn't sell a sausage of either. But fear not, she was back orbiting planet
pop again 2 years later with David Van Day
in tow. Dollar released 'O L'amour'
in 1987, and it went to number 7 in the charts, so she can't whinge, can
she?
Sonia-baiting
duo Dollar may have sullied their shiny
pop history with that nasty telly show 'Reborn In The USA',
but erase that from your memory and think back to those fab early eighties
singles, all glittery with Trevor Horn's
magic dust. Divine. Anyone who bought their singles back then may recall
'Pink And Blue' as the B-side to 'Give Me Back My Heart',
which is where I heard it first and I preferred it to the A-side. It then
turned up on 'The Dollar Album', which must be due a little
re-issue on CD, surely? If Bucks Fizz
can... Come on! Anyway, Dollar
fans take
note, I have plans to include
Thereza Bazar's
solo single, 'The Big Kiss', in a future batch of mp3s. Watch
this space...
You can't blame her. On paper,
it really should have worked. Pop Pixie, fresh from fronting successful new
wave poppers Altered Images, goes solo.
But it just didn't take off. No amount of 'Razzmatazz'
performances could bump this track into the charts. There's not much wrong
with it, it just slipped off the radar. Oh well, what do you think of it? I
was livid when they didn't include it on any of the
Altered Images compilations, just to tidy things up. So it
remains lost, never to grace a CD. Shame.
I love this album. In between
'Three Of A Kind' and the fondly
remembered 'Girls On Top', someone told British TV comedian
Tracey Ullman to record an album (2,
actually, but the second one is pants). Thank God she did! A pop-tastic
blend of 60s girl group covers, tongue in cheek humour and wigs a plenty, 'You Broke My Heart In 17 Places'
is a lovely bubblegum pop record.
Kirsty MacColl is on this too, a bit of
writing and backing vocal duties. This track is one of hers and it's just
great. There's a cheap Tracey Ullman
'best of' you can pick up if you want to hear more -
Apollonia was basically a replacement for
Vanity. She was out of the band and out of
the movie. So from Vanity 6 to
Apollonia 6 (thankfully,
Apollonia didn't have a third nipple, else
things could have gotten awfully confusing..). With just as little material
in existence (their one 7 track album only got a CD issue in Japan and is
terribly rare), I have to say that Vanity 6
had the edge over these girls, but only just. 'Sex Shooter',
of course, features in the film 'Purple Rain'. "Come on, kiss the gun"... Note
to Warners: Re-release these fuckers,
will u? A double CD set with both bands back to back, some enhanced video
material and bonus tracks would go down a treat! Ta.
Vanity
6 (the '6' apparently denoting the number of nipples in the
band!) were on the face of it, 3 sluts in their underwear, cavorting on
stage like an Anne Summers
window
display come to life. However, the sands of time have passed and what little
recorded output they left behind is actually very darn funky. Their lead
single was one 'Nasty Girl' and to my trained ear, it bares
more than a passing resemblance to Britney Spears'
'I'm A Slave 4 U' (have a listen!) - tut, tut
Britney... Anyway, I haven't gone for the
obvious choice, as per. I like this one best. 2 and a half minutes of
electro-funk, which reeks of the Little Paisley Love God known as
Prince. And for the record,
Vanity (lead singer) was supposed to be
in 'Purple Rain', but she got a little greedy and wanted more
(coke) money, resulting in a bust up with Prince.
I think she went all religious and denounced her previous sex, drugs and
rock'n'roll lifestyle in the 1990s, too... any road, cue
Apollonia!
Prince's
purple posse often got handed the dregs of his recordings not fit for his
own albums, but some of the shit aint half bad.
Sheila E was not
Vanity or Apollonia, or even
Wendy or
Lisa,
but she had a moment or two. 'The Glamorous Life' is certainly
one. She was a percussionist and a class act but sadly, no one seemed to be
overly interested. Even as I write this, I'm not really too interested in
her myself. I just like this song really. She seems to have returned to the
fold in recent times, appearing as part of Prince's
touring band once again. Which is nice.
Eeee
Haysi Fantayzee, eh? Remember them?
Well, John Wayne
may well have been 'Big
Leggy', but one half of the duo was to have a 'Big Floppy' when her debut
(and only) solo single went, errr, precisely nowhere. So here it is! I
favour the 12" version so that is what we have here. It's pretty cool, in a
retro pop sort of way, and is of particular interest to
William Orbit
fans as he 'produced' it. Kate of course was to become a very
highly regarded photographer. You can read more about her career either side
of this record
She was, of course,
Columbia in 'The Rocky Horror Picture
Show' but Little Nell did lots
of other stuff too, including this little 7" record. It's the theme from a
wonderfully trashy cult documentary movie starring Divine, which charts the goings on at the
Alternative Miss
World, in which lots of scary drag queens enter a crazy beauty
contest. Nell
released a couple more
earlier singles, 'Do The Swim' and 'Fever', and
can be spotted in 'Jubilee' and performs the fast version
(this is the B-Side) of this song in the opening and closing titles of the
movie 'I Wanna Be A Beauty Queen'. I think she had her own
night club in New York, too, called Nells. Wonder if it's still
there? 
Woah! Hold on a minute, love! Isn't this a
Bananarama song from their fantastic debut album 'Deep Sea
Skiving'? Er, Yes, it is. And don't call me love. But it can also be
found on Tracie's album, 'Far From
The Hurting Kind', which is produced by Mr Paul Weller. Don't really know too much about
Tracie other than she had a bit of a hit
with 'The House That Jack Built' in 1983 and scarcely bothered
the charts again. I like her album though. See if you can find a copy, I
dare you. I just found out that in Japan, the album was reissued on CD with
some bonus tracks (I fucking love Japan!). So, I'm off to 
First lady of style,
Miss Piggy,
released her own exercise LP back in 1982, 'Miss Piggy's Areobique
Exercise Workout Album'. A novelty release (really?), it's as rare
as a ginger nun these days but thanks to me, you can have a taste of this
divine piece of vinyl. If you find a copy, snap it up and get snackercising,
exercising your rights and doing your Hairobiques with the pig with the
most! Kitted out in a gorgeous sleeve, the album also came with an exercise
guide/foldout poster for your gym wall. You've got to love her... Now
remember, the most important exercise is the exercise of good taste! Kissy
kissy!
The lovely
Cristina. Finally getting
some attention courtesy of Siouxsie Sioux
and Ladytron's lobbying, the marvellous
albums Cristina
released in 1980 and
1984 are being re-released this month on the newly re-activated
Criminally over-looked,
Brix Smith's little outfit from the back
of the 1980's were a nice little package of some notable pop substance.
Think The Bangles/Transvision
Vamp/Voice Of The Beehive and
you're halfway there. Of course, when she dies, her headstone wont say "Fronted a nice little indie pop band called Adult Net", it will of
course say, "Married that ugly sod from The Fall". Ce la vie. You can
pick up the album 'The Honey Tangle', and also all the singles
too, quite easily and for tuppence. 'White Night (Stars Say Go)'
is the only single that didn't appear on CD at any point, hence why I
chose it...
It's all back to quintessential English label
The
Compact Organization for another charming date with a beautiful
lady. This time, we're grooving with Miss Cynthia
Scott. Not a lot to say about Cynthia.
She only released 2 singles, this one and 'Juggler Of Hearts' (which I don't even have, people!) before she went back to her day job (as a
sculptress). 'The X Boy' is a warning to keep way from that
bad boy (yes, him) and managed to make it onto a CD, thankfully! Anyway,
just as with Virna Lindt, what little
there is to know about Miss Scott can be viewed
Jane hailed from Akron, Ohio while the
lads who made up The Belvederes were
from England (drummer Jon Moss moving on
to fame and fortune with Culture Club
soon after). The group signed a one single deal in 1979 with Stiff Records in the UK before switching
over to Virgin for subsequent releases
and then going back to Stiff in 1982.
The self-titled debut LP is an exceptionally good slice of new wave from
start to finish, in the style of The Pretenders,
and features backing vocals from the one and only Kirsty MacColl. I could have put up any of the tracks really, but
this is possibly my favourite. And yep, you've guessed it, another
vinyl-only affair. Come on you fuckers! Re-issue! Re-issue!!
I continue with another new wave diva, this time in the perfectly formed
shape of Bette Bright
and her
Illuminations. Originally in the line up
of Liverpool punkers Deaf School,
Bette cut out on her own in the early 1980s
with a string of new wave pop singles including 'Hello, I Am Your
Heart' and 'My Boyfriend's Back' and ultimately what was to
be her only full-lengther, 'Rhythm Breaks The Ice', on Warners
off shoot Korova. A pleasant collection
of covers and originals, 'On A Night Like This' is the track
which stands out, in a Kim Wilde/Martha
And The Muffins kinda way. This baby isn't, and probably wont
ever be, available on CD. Go dig it out in a second hand shop or such like.
Fact fans may like to note that one Ian Broudie
(The Lightening Seeds) was one of her
Illuminations
(her backing band) and
that she went on to marry Suggs
from Madness and settle into domestic bliss.
Awww.
Artist, photographer and performer extraordinaire
Linder Sterling is a mate of
Morrissey's.
This is surely acclaim enough, but just in case it isn't, I'm hear to tell
you that her band Ludus really are top
notch. Forget the fact that she provided the epoch-defining artwork for
The Buzzcocks' 'Orgasm Addict'
(1977) and Magazine's 'Real Life'
(1978), this here mp3 is a bona fide gem of a cover version of a
song made famous by the very lovely Brigitte Bardot.
A couple of years ago,
Label mates with the swingin'
Mari Wilson,
Virna's bonkers spy-themed recordings
for The Compact Organization label have always
held more interest for me than the beehived one's releases ever did. Her
back catalogue CDs crop up on eBay from time to time and occasionally
scale the higher end of £100. Her debut album 'Shiver' is a
cool, dry breeze of icy blond hushed tones and sexy spy side-kick melodrama.
She was not unlike a Hitchcock character. 'Underwater Boy'
is
a slow burner best enjoyed with a cognac by a window near a snow lift.
From the beautiful photograph of the unorthodox cleaning of vinyl in one's
best evening wear outfit circa 1980, to the very last note of the final
track, Hermine's all but forgotten
'The World On My Plates' mini-album on Crammed Discs
is a gorgeous little outing. A bit like a bus, it
took me ages to find a copy and then two came along in the same month!
Hermine's career is fascinating, she was
hanging round the London punk scene in the 1970's, ended up playing French
au pair Chaos, along side
Toyah Wilcox, in
Derek Jarman's seminal 'Jubilee', published a book
about tightrope walking ('The Tightrope Walker'), released 3
singles, 2 albums and was most recently heard singing the French version of
the 'Absolutely Fabulous' theme tune at the start of the
'Paris' episode! This particular track is pure vaudeville and always
makes me smile. An obscure cult classic, from me, to you... 
Now this is just sublime. Crank
the gay-o-meter up to, yes, 11 and let's all D-I-S-C-O!
Noël was unfortunate
enough to escape any kind of stardom with her late seventies clutch of
singles and lone mini-album, 'Is There More To Life Than Dancing?',
despite it all being crafted by the hands of those crazy
Maël brothers, better known to you and I as
Sparks. It has everything you'd expect
from a Sparks produced set, and they
could've included any of Noël's tracks
on their own 'No. 1 Song In Heaven' album. Her stuff can be
found second hand on the net here and there, try
A one-line review of this album in
'Mojo' magazine reeled me in and I was on a
mission to find it and own it and be it's biggest fan. I was successful in
every aspect of this mission and not nearly enough people know about this
great piece of pop music. Genevieve Waite
was the second wife of John Philips, a
Papa (as in
Mamas And The). I'm not a huge fan of theirs (yet?) but this sole
release from his Missus is simply divine. Think Olive Oyl meets
Betty Boop
with a dash of Little Nell. It's kitsch,
camp and comes in a sleeve so deliciously 1940s-pin-up, it's worth the
admission fee alone. The track I've plumped for tells of the folly of
girlhood and just how mischievous and unpleasant ladies can be. Aint it
true? A long lost vinyl obscurity, 'Romance Is On The Rise'
was re-issued on CD by Chrome Dreams in August 2004 with 4 bonus
tracks. Please, buy this album! You can get it by clicking
This is a song of rare beauty which is oft overheard drifting out of
Pussy Towers... it has the most absurd
lyrics about some crazy cross-dressing doctor who works for the NHS by day
and picks up men in sleazy bars by night, all set to a disco-tastic musical
backdrop. Or summat... It's by Sarah Brightman
(back when she was good) and can be located on the soundtrack to an utterly
trashy TV movie based on a Jackie Collins
novel, 'The World Is Full Of Married Men', from 1979. The
film turns up on ITV1 in the late/early hours of the morning occasionally,
so keep 'em peeled. It's so very pants, so be warned. The double LP is best
sourced in charity shops and jumble sales and has a fab sleeve, which I've
thoughtfully posted a pic of to the left... Sorry it's quite shit quality
but you wouldn't believe how tight those Sarah
Brightman fan sites are with their images! Sessh! This is a vinyl
rip, as it's never ever been reissued on CD which is a bit of a pisser and
you can bet your ass it's never going to be, either. Check out
Sarah's other disco period releases, before
she went all Opera Diva, like 'I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper'
and 'Love In A U.F.O.'. On my i-Pod, this track is
included in my 'Mutant Disko And Klub Kack' playlist, which is
a fantasy playlist of my ideal dance floor nirvana. Oh course, if this ever
came on in a night club or some such discothèque venue, I'd most likely shit
myself with excitement. Honestly.