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Archive 09
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201 - 225
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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...
There was a fairly popular t-shirt doing the rounds in the late 1990's which
read 'Another Female Fronted Band', due to the influx of Brit Pop bands with
mouthy birds on vocals like Echobelly,
Lush, Elastica,
Catatonia and
Sleeper...The latter were occasionally
brilliant ('Nice Guy Eddie', 'What Do I Do Now?',
'Vegas') but not brilliant enough to keep them from dwindling sales
as the Brit Pop bubble burst and finally they were to split after 5 years
together in 1998. This track appeared on the B-side to the 7" format of their last single
'Romeo
Me'. Basically, it's a letter to an ex boyfriend - addressed to 'Cunt,
London'. We nearly posted up another rare B-side, 'Tatty',
which was only available on the very limited 12" of 'Delicious'
in
1994 but we like swear words so this track got the final vote. I'd like to think
that at some point in the next few years there will be a mini
Sleeper
revival and we'll see a decent compilation of A-sides, B-sides and rarities with
even a DVD
maybe thrown in. Louise Wener is now a novelist,
don't you know. You can see what she's written and wallow in a whole load of
Sleeper history
Girl trio
Supersister
were signed to Gut Records (home of, er, Space)
and their debut single, 'Coffee', was a sizable hit reaching 11 in
the charts in 2000. Camp follow up single, 'Shopping', didn't
achieve the same success however and finally the obligatory ballad, 'Summer Gonna Come Again', sank without trace. Game over. This track is a lowly B-side from the last
single, a disco-pop affair which puts all the A-sides to shame. It is not a
cover of Madonna's track of the same name. I saw them
perform a live set (well, 3 tracks) in a gay nightclub back in 2001 and I think
they were alright. Yeah, Supersister
were
just 'alright'. Last seen in the dumper. Bless.
By 'sugar walls', cheeky Scot
Sheena Easton means vagina. Honest! A quick flick through the lyrics reveals all...
"Blood
races to your private parts"? "Come spend the night inside my sugar walls"? Yep,
it's about her lady garden front bottom. It comes as no surprise then that it
was written for her by Prince
(or
Alexander Nevermind as he calls himself on
this record), the king of smutty lyrics. Sheena
and Prince's creative friendship
continued on and off through the 80's, with her appearing on 1987's 'U Got
The Look' and 1989's 'Arms Of Orion' (from the 'Batman' film), and
Prince also
contributed material to her 1988 album 'The Lover In Me'.
Sheena garnered a lot more acclaim and
success in America than she ever did in England and she quickly concentrated on
her career over there, relocating and eventually achieving US citizenship in
1992. Sheena has released 16 albums and 26
singles in her 25 year career and appeared on stage and screen several times
(she played singer Caitlin Davies in five episodes of 'Miami Vice'
in 1987 before being killed off). She is the only artist to have recorded a Bond
Theme (1981's 'For Your Eyes Only') and appear singing it in the
opening credits. 'Sugar Walls' is rarely included on any of the UK
budget singles compilations for some reason... well, it didn't enter the top 75
over here in fairness. We also recommend her 80's singles 'Machinary',
'Strut' and 'Telefone'. Her early 80s albums were
all re-issued with bonus tracks by One Way Records a few years back and
have since been deleted. It's very difficult to find them now unfortunately.
Trivia! Sheena has had 4 husbands and none
of the marriages have lasted longer than a year. Fan site
Professional musicians
Wendy & Lisa achieved notoriety as part of Prince's backing band
The Revolution (Lisa
Coleman joining in 1980 and Wendy Melvoin
in 1983). They were epitomised in the 1984 box office smash film 'Purple
Rain', a subplot of which was the tension between the girls and
Prince over creative input. Turns out this
was to be semi-biographical as Wendy & Lisa
struggled to get recognition for their musical abilities and contributions,
although on 1986's 'Parade', they were given the spotlight on some
tracks, including self-composed 'Mountains'. 'Parade'
was to be the last album the two worked on with Prince
and they broke away to record together as a duo which spelt the end for
The Revolution. On their own terms, they
released four albums and ten singles between 1987-98, but success was minimal.
1987's 'Waterfall' was to be their biggest hit stateside but the
rest of their output was by no means without acclaim. 'Rainbow Lake'
was released as a single in 1990 and taken from their rockier album for
Virgin Records, 'Eroica', and shows their love of psychedelic
funk, an influence they brought to Prince's
sound (and took with them when they left). In recent times,
Wendy & Lisa
have recorded music for films
and television such as the Robin Williams movie
'Toys' and HBO TV show 'Carnivale'.
Trivia! The duo signed to ZZT Records in the 90s and recorded an aborted
album under the pseudonym Girl Bros. which
was produced by Trevor Horn.
Sexus
make a re-appearance on
The International House Of Pussy with their
third and final single release, 'How Do You Kiss?'. Except of
course it never actually made it on to the shelves. After the huge success of
their ZZT debut single, 'The Official
End Of It All' in 1996, critically at least,
Sexus
had their third single remixed behind their backs! Naughty
ZTT! The band didn't like the remix and took
exception with the record company and then faster than they could say 'record
company politics', they were dropped by their label. Three 12" promos (featuring
mixes by Xenomania,
Trevor Horn and
Narcotic Thrust)
and two CD variations (a 1 tracker and a 4 tracker with 2 new B-sides 'Joe
January' and 'Beaten Up By Girls') escaped into the hands
of fans but in very small quantities. Alas, that's pretty much where the
Sexus story ends. You can find out a bit more and see what they did
after, as well as download some unreleased Sexus
tracks (including the b-sides to this single)
Suzi Quatro
made some appearances in 'Happy Days' - do you remember? She was called
Leather Tuscadero and was apparently
offered a spin-off show all of her own. How mad was she to turn that down?
Anyway, she had her moment with the whole glam pop thing in the 70's after
Mickie Most discovered her, with
Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman
(The Sweet,
Mudd,
Toni Basil) writing many of her early
his like 'Can The Can'
and 'Devil Gate Drive'. By the early 80's, her star was waning
however. Her 1980 album 'Rock Hard' does exactly what it says
on the tin but it's also the home of the wonderful bubblegum, new wave
influenced 'Lipstick' (another Chin/Chapman
penned track). Like an prehistoric Peaches,
Suzi snarls her way through this song,
as she catches her fella with lipstick on his mouth - and it aint hers!
Gosh. The album came and went on CD later in the decade and is now on the
pricier side of collectable. Who knew? Old Suzi is still going, like a Rock 'N' Roll
Lulu, and she turned up in 'Absolutely
Fabulous' and on 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' in recent
years. I don't expect anyone to click this link but I feel duty bound to
provide it... Suzi site
Poor old
Dannii Minogue... always the bridesmaid,
never the bride. As a world rejoices in Kylie's
return to health after her brush with cancer, Dannii's
last single, recent 'best of' and attempt to re-establish herself falls on
relatively deaf ears. The problem is, in my opinion, that
La Minogue has tried to brush some of the more difficult singles
under the carpet and the 5 new tracks on 'Hits & Beyond' are all a bit
bland. Instead, she should
have stuck to a formulaic greatest hits-come-singles collection, adding just the one new track, but including
all of her singles. For example, where
is 'Love's On Every Corner', Cathy Dennis'
first offering as a 'dial a pop song' writer and a half decent soul-pop
track (although it was admittedly a commercial failure)? Or how about this,
'Show You The Way To Go' (No. 30)... I love this single to bits (a
cover of The Jacksons hit from 1977 and
recorded for the 'NME's 'Ruby Trax'
triple charity album) yet it was not to be given a home on last months 'Hits & Beyond'. This extended mix is longererer, but never tiresome.
And it's not one of those dull, repetitive thump-thump-thump type of mixes which
sounds nothing like the original (see all of Dannii's
1997 onwards CD singles for many examples of those). And look, she's just called 'Dannii'
on this one... Anyhoo, here at The International House
Of Pussy, we've made our own Dannii
best of, it's appropriately called 'Exactly How It Should Be'
(a line from 'Love's On Every Corner'). It's much
better than 'Hits & Beyond' (yes, it even has the superior
'Don't Wanna Loose This Groove' version on for example). So, she should have
done it like ours and then slapped a new album on us right after to keep the
momentum going. And one final thought, is there a 'beyond' for
Dannii? Or did she just hit a dead end? A
duet with her sister has never been so necessary... but would
Kylie dirty her hands? Hmmm...
So, anyway, I was in
I'm still in the thick of a very all-consuming obsession with
Jay Aston, a state induced by the show
'Night Of A Thousand Jay Astons'. I believe I have settled on this
track, a number 10 hit in 1983 for Bucks Fizz,
as my defining Jay Aston
moment - the OTT
vocal, the dramatic video, the sexy sleeve... it's all about
Jay. It was included as a bonus track on an
early CD re-release of Bucks Fizz's
'Are You Ready?' album which has since been deleted and replaced by a
different re-issue which doesn't have this as one of the bonus tracks. What I'm
trying to say is, you might not find this on CD in the shops anymore, but you
could up until about 2003. Oh, there's a few left
Time for some funky love.
Cathy Dennis
was a
pop star in the 90s and after 3 albums and a string of hit singles, not to
mention some success in the USA (reaching it's peak with a cameo in 'Beverly Hills 90210'), she thought 'fuck it'. Now she sits at home all
day in her mansion, writing songs for other people in her dressing gown making
money that way instead of doing all the leg work herself (probably). Clever
woman! So, 'Just Another Dream' was originally her first single
back in 1989 but it didn't really do much in the shops, despite a high profile
from her earlier vocal contributions to D-Mob's
dance tunes. Refusing to accept defeat, the record company arranged a new mix, a
new colourful sleeve and a nice new video - all hastily crafted for a planned
re-release in 1990 (CATHD2) but it was decided to run with a second track to
break the charts instead. 'Touch Me (All Night Long)' (CATHD3) was
a safer bet as it was a cover version (well, sort of) so the record company ran
with that instead - and that's' why the catalogue numbers are not quite in the
right order, trivia fans. So, bingo, Cathy
had a top 5 hit. 'Now, let's try 'Just Another Dream' again', they
thought and that too was a hit second time around (13). However, that first
version has since been quite difficult to get hold of! The original CD single
(CATHD1) is so very scarce and precious and if you were looking for a copy, you
might have to make do with the vinyl... until now. Here's a rip of original
single version from the CD single. I bought Cathy's
'Move To This' album on cassette with an Our Price record
token which I got free when I opened my first bank account. I still have that
bank account. I don't have the cassette anymore - I upgraded to CD. There was a
really good Cathy Dennis
online resource up
until recently
It's
Janet ("Miss Jackson if you're
Nasty!") Jackson! The titty-exposing kid
sister of one Michael Jackson. She hit pop
mega stardom, did she not, with her 1986 dance-funk masterpiece 'Control'
and she's scarcely looked back since... but before she took control, she
was a big fluffy flop. Debut album 'Janet' from 1982 is a cheesy
affair that's dated rather badly (although it sold well at the time) and it's
follow up, 1984's 'Dream Street', saw her trying to redefine her
sound (Disco god Giorgio Moroder
co-produced) and toughen up her image, courtesy of a little motorbike and some
red studded leather gloves. It wasn't quite enough to break the mainstream pop
market but it was certainly a step in the right direction, despite it's low
sales. She was clearly getting her freak on, but her then-weak voice and the
heavy M.O.R. 80s production don't mix too well - and there's a
Cliff Richard duet, of all things, to
contend with! Scratch deep enough, though, and you can hear a voice and style
trying to break free... 'Communication' is just hideously 80s
whichever way you dice it but along with tracks like 'Fast Girls',
it represented hope and offered a glimpse of what would come later. What's
interesting about 'Dream Street' is the fact that the album has
been deleted for years, and it's the only one of her albums that is. Even her
debut is widely available (unfortunately) so we can't help but wonder if
Janet is a little unhappy with this album?
Anyway, she's sold enough records to never have to worry a vocal cord again so
we say come to terms with your 80s demons,
Janet,
and let the people hear how you got where you are!
Pint-sized dance coach, turned pop star, turned 'American Idol'
judge, Paula Abdul, wound up making records
after she whipped Janet Jackson into shape
in the early 80s ("Stretch, bitch, stretch!") and even popped up in a few
of her videos. She had a good run of hit singles in the UK between 1988 - 1992,
including 'Straight Up', 'Opposites Attract' and
'Rush Rush'. However, her Babyface-produced
debut single 'Knocked Out' was denied any chart success on it's
first release in 1988 but thanks to a re-release and a remix from
Shep Pettibone in 1990, it made a
respectable number 21. We really liked it the first time round (we bought it on
12" for 79p in a HMV sale) and even more so on this remix. It's just a bit
longer and has some 'scratching' in the middle. After her third album went tits
up, we all thought that was the end for old Abdul...
But now she gets to offer her wisdom of the music business to others who want to
be pop stars, by judging along side Simon Cowell
on 'American Idol'. "Love TKO!"
So,
Debbie Harry was in
Blondie, obviously. Her later solo adventures
are always considered a bit of a failure by comparison but occasionally, she has
turned out the odd stunner. I think the main problem is that she is only ever as
good as her collaborator. On 'Rush Rush', a single taken from the
soundtrack to the Al Pacino film 'Scarface',
John 'Jellybean' Benetiz
was at the
production helm and as a result, we get a nice 80's dance-pop record.
Marvellous. It was released in 1983 and was what they call a 'club hit'
stateside (ie. they played it in clubs, people danced, then forgot to buy it)
and didn't even get a UK release! It was, however, included on the
Blondie retrospective remix collection
'Once More Into The Bleach', released in 1988 and now deleted. It also
features Debbie (who now, in her twilight
years, likes to be known as Deborah)
reworking some of Blondie's hits on her own,
with then-cutting edge remixers like Ben Liebrand,
D:Mob and Coldcut.
Some of the tracks work ('Call Me' out camps itself, 'Denis'
is cute) and some don't ('The Tide Is High' is rather
nasty). Another great solo track from Debbie
is on there, too, 'Feel The Spin', which was from the 1985 'Krush
Groove' film soundtrack. Listen to samples from 'Once More Into
The Bleach'
Goody two shoes, charitable
Christian and grade A student Debbie Gibson
now likes to be known as Deborah Gibson...
but back when she was Debbie, we had a
moment or two with her cutesy pop singles and endless positive energy (actually,
that was a bit tiresome). We got into her 'late', not pricking our ears up until
her 'Electric Youth' album in 1989. I actually danced most
enthusiastically to 'Electric Youth' at some 80's night in
Newcastle just a few years ago and the most embarrassing part is... I requested
it! LOL! Anyway, the record buying public had moved on by the event of her third
album, 1990's 'Anything Is Possible' and oh what a shame because
that's actually her best album (well it is in this house!). She'd matured
just a little by this time and there was a whiff of raunch creeping in (check
out the relatively risqué photo of her on a motorbike inside the sleeve!). The
lead single of the same name was a change of pace and didn't really take off but
here's a decent remix by PWL's Phil Harding
& Ian Curnow from the CD single
that we thought you might like. Live by it.
Tiffany
(Stevie Nicks-meets-Chipmunk in a
cashmere sweater factory) apparently recorded no less 48 tracks during
sessions for her debut album in 1986. It comes as some surprise to find that
the ones that made
it onto the LP weren't the best and in fact it was the leftovers that turned up
on B-sides that actually cut the mustard. Listening to1987's hugely successful
'Tiffany' album now, it's hard to see what people saw in it at the
time (me included) but we still get a kick out of those singles. This old B-side, from the
'I Saw Him
Standing There' single, which reached number 8 in the UK charts in 1988,
is one of her poppier tracks. We also heartily recommend B-side rock-outs
'No Rules' and 'Heart Don't Break Tonight'. Buy some
dodgy CDs
Snake skin boots? Check. Teased
flame-red hair? Check. Riff-tastic 80s rock sound? Triple check. This must be
Tori Amos' early incarnation as rock chick
in now legendary flop act Y Kant Tori
Read.
Not especially rare these days thanks to hundreds of bootlegs and the old
internet but we have a strange fondness for the album and thought we'd post one
of the stronger tracks with 'Heart Attack At 23'. At it's very
worst, 'Y Kant Tori Read?' sounds like the kinda stuff you get on
80s cheesy teen movies but Tori does
actually slip the odd track (usually slow-burner tropical ballad 'Cool On Your
Island') into her live sets still. I guess she's gotten over the whole
disowning of it thing just a touch but still, if she allowed it to be properly
re-issued, it would sell very well indeed. I daren't tell you how much I paid
for my original copy! I think her problem with the album was she didn't have
that much control over the direction of the band or even play chief songwriter.
Tori Amos is currently recording a new
'angrier' album, due to be released in early 2007.
This is a taste of
Cher's New Wave album from 1983. When we say
'New Wave', what we actually mean is she put on some shades and added a few icy
synth sounds to her then-out-of-date MOR disco mix. There are still some
trademark lung-beltin' OTT ballads and 80's staunch productions on there but this
single, apparently her own personal favourite Cher
single, is an odd curio and a hint of what might have been if she'd gone all
Gary Numan and made like a robot. We really
don't like Cher
very much and that, as they
say, is that.
The New Wave movement in the early
80's inspired some brave musical experiments from some established stars who
weren't prepared to be left behind by a new scene. Disco queen
Donna Summer went with the flow in 1984 and
stuck on some 80's street fashions in a bid to appeal to the kids into the new
technology and futuristic electro sounds. 'Cats Without Claws' doesn't do anything but make her look a bit silly. The leap of faith is too far
and for me, it lacks a certain energy. There is one saving grace however, a
track called 'Eyes', which is a paranoid strut of late nite 80's
electro pop. It wasn't earmarked as a single despite it sticking out like a sore
thumb amongst the turgid soft pop ballads and obligatory God-worshipping
'message' songs. If you're thinking of buying any Donna
Summer albums (probably not) then we say leave this one 'til last coz
you've just gotten the best track off it for free!
My Life
Story were great. Are great. They just reformed for a
spectacular one off gig on 26th June 2006 and it was a huge sell out success, so
I'm told. During the Brit Pop years they were a sophisticated alternative to
your average union jack touting, cock-rock bands and I like to think of them as
a mix of The Divine Comedy and
Pulp, only with lashings more panache. They
released 3 fairly successful albums in the 1990s and had 6 top 40 singles
including 'Sparkle', 'Strumpet', 'The King Of
Kissingdom' and '12 Reasons Why I Love Her'. The track
we're featuring here today is a special extended version of the latter, found on
CD2 of 'Sparkle' which boasts "5 extra reasons free with this
CD!". You just don't get that kind of marketing slogan these days. Sigh. Anyway,
I feel duty bound to inform you all of the forthcoming compilation, 'Sex
And Violins - The Best Of My Life Story', which is due to be released on
July 3rd via main man Jake Shillingford's
own label
Any
Kylie fan worth his or her salt will instantly recognise this as being a
track from Kylie Minogue's 'Rhythm Of
Love' album, but Ex-Eastender Sophie Lawrence
recorded it with S.A.W. for her second
single in 1991 (we already posted her debut, 'Love's Unkind', about a year ago).
Perhaps wisely, this was withdrawn from release altogether and is fairly rare to
find a copy these days. She doesn't add anything new to the song and her weak
20-year-old voice lacks any kind of obvious vocal talent. But you can't blame
her for trying. And who is this listed in the credits? One
Simon Cowell, no less, is down as 'Executive Producer'. Arf.
Now, I recall hearing this in indie
discos when I were a lad but never being able to find the track in record shops.
It was to be years later I stumbled across it and unearthed some more
information from the Net. The Yeastie Girlz (with a 'z') were a nasty bunch of gutter mouth 'ladies' who didn't shave their
arm pits and performed obscene acappella songs. They released a 10 track 7" EP
in 1988 on Look Out! Records (none of the tracks longer than 2 mins) and
it featured family favourites 'Orgasm Addict', 'Sperm Brain'
and 'Fuck Yourself'. Charmed! Anyway, one track,
'You Suck!', got the club-friendly grunge-disco treatment in 1992
courtesy of U.S.A. industrial act Consolidated.
The track turned up on their album 'Play More Music', where it was
credited as a collaboration with The Yeastie Girls
(with an 's') and even got a single release stateside. Warning! Sexually
explicit content! That's all you need to know really.
A timely reminder of the genius of
Lawrence and his monkier
Denim. We posted 'Middle Of The Road'
last year to good reception and some bright spark at Cherry Red
Records was obviously listening coz one year on, they've gone and
re-released parent album 'Back In Denim' from 1992 this week! You
can
It's
Baz.
She scraped into the top 40 in 2001 with her chill-out soul debut single 'Believers'
(complete with a nice 'Seal
meets Yazz' type of sleeve) and that was as
good as things got commercially. She came from decent pop stock though, with
club luminary Dave Angel
for a brother and
Monie Love for a sister. Her father was even
a Jazz musician. But her follow up single, 'Smile To Shine', which
we really like, didn't do any business and by the time her smooth debut album
'Psychedelic Love' landed, it seemed the moment had been and gone. 5
years later and there's no news on what she might be up to these days. Anyone
know? Her label One Little Indian still have
So, we've had a bit of sunshine
recently (sort've) and we're running with that as a mini-theme this update. Here
is Right Said Fred sound-a-like
Stan, who brought us novelty record 'Suntan' in 1993. I'm pretty sure
Zig & Zag
reviewed this on 'The Big Breakfast' at the time but
otherwise you'd be forgiven for missing it completely. It was released on Hug
Records, a spin-off from Tug Records and carries the delightful
catalogue number of BUM1. Needless to say, it was
Stan's
only release... wasn't it? No! I found another one.
Stan are actually two blokes, Simon
Andrew (vocals) and Kevin Stagg
(music). They released a second single in November 1993, and a
festive one at that. 'Turkey (Don't Give Me Nun!)', on
Welfare Records, was another out and out flop... There was a Stanclub,
too. Tacky!