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Tess Parks

Blood Hot - 10th Anniversary Edition

    A native of Toronto, Tess Parks moved to London, England at the age of seventeen where she briefly studied photography before deciding to focus on music.

    Tess made an impression on industry legend Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records, albeit the timing of their meeting could hardly have been less ideal; McGee was no longer involved in music and Tess was due to move back to Toronto. After moving back to her hometown in 2012, Tess formed a band on the advice of McGee and less than a year after their meeting, he returned to music with his new label, 359 Music.

    Tess became one of his first signings and released her debut record ‘Blood Hot’ in November 2013 to excellent reviews. One reviewer described her as “Patti Smith on Quaaludes”. Others have mentioned her “gauzy psychedelic sound” and“smouldering voice”.

    Alan McGee himself said: “She’s only 24 and is already an amazing songwriter... she just doesn’t quite know she is yet ... her most beautiful quality is her lack of ego. Tess is an amazing lady”.

    ‘Blood Hot’ is inimitably confident. It’s slow and psychedelic at times, while being loud and ready to fill a stadium at others. There isn’t a moment on the album that isn’t relatable or that doesn’t ring to the tune of a timeless classic to be talked about for years to come (the same way people discuss The Velvet Underground or My Bloody Valentine records today).

    Her cult-like following has turned into a movement. And Tess is gladly leading us all back into that space within ourselves, both deeply personal and entirely universal. Incredibly relevant yet timeless.Cool and anti-cool. An enigma that doesn’t need solving. Tess Parks is as she’s always been. Her best work is already out there. And her best yet is still to come.


    TRACK LISTING

    Side 1:
    Somedays
    Gates Of Broadway
    When I Am Young
    Refugee Camp
    Stick Around
    Open Your Mind
    Side 2:
    Walk Behind Your House
    Goodnight Love
    This Time Next Year
    Life Is But A Dream
    Love Around.

    Even As We Speak

    Small Fish In A Big Machine EP

      Originally released in 1986 on Australian label Voyeur Records.

      This is the first time that the single has been released in the UK.

      Even As We Speak is an indie band from Sydney, Australia. Formed in the mid 1980s, founding members Matthew Love (guitar, banjo, vocals) and Mary Wyer (vocals, guitar) were later joined by Rob Irwin (bass) Anita Rayner (drums, banjo, mandolin), Julian Knowles (guitar, keyboards, production), and Paul Clarke (guitar, vocals.)

      After a series of vinyl releases on Australian independent labels including Phantom Records, and success on the Australian indie scene, they came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel who started to play the band’s ‘Goes So Slow’ Phantom Records release on his show. This brought them to the attention of UK audiences and began a relationship with UK indie label Sarah Records.

      The band released several singles and an album on Sarah Records, three of which reached the Top 5 of the Melody Maker and New Musical Express UK independent music charts in 1992 and 1993.


      TRACK LISTING

      Side 1:
      Looking Over Your Shoulder
      By The Side Of The Road
      Side 2:
      I Can Do Without
      Falling Down

      The Wedding Present

      You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends / This Boy Can Wait

        The Wedding Present’s third single originally released in 1986.

        Company card inner, re-printed copy of original promo poster. Pressed on transparent blue vinyl.

        Sleeve is a copy of original 12” release.

        This Boy Can Wait is the unedited 12” version.

        TRACK LISTING

        You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends
        This Boy Can Wait

        The Bodines

        Therese

          Limited to 500 copies worldwide. Pressed on Violet vinyl. Includes poster.

          Presented in the alternate 12” sleeve that was used for the original Creation release and includes all 3 tracks on 7” for the first time.

          Originally released in 1986 and was one of the stand out tracks on the legendary C86 compilation.

          In 2023, Mojo magazine ranked the song “Therese” as the 37th greatest UK indie record ever, citing it "a breathless romantic gulp of twin guitar twirl".

          STAFF COMMENTS

          Laura says: One the my favourite singles of all time! A glorious blast of romantic indie pop from Glossop's finest.

          TRACK LISTING

          Therese
          Scar Tissue
          I Feel

          The Charlottes

          Are You Happy Now - 2024 Reissue

            Hard to find debut single originally released on Molesworth Records in 1988
            Formed in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire after drummer Simon Scott met Guitarist Graham Garduilo in local band The Giant Polar Bears.

            They were tour buddies to Ride and most of the late 1980s shoegaze bands. Simon Scott was stolen by Slowdive after a gig at the White Horse in Hampstead in 1990, where the Boo Radleys opened the three-band bill.

            They split after releasing two albums. John Peel loved them and NME gave debut album Lovehappy 9 out of 10.


            TRACK LISTING

            Side 1
            Are You Happy Now
            Side 2
            How Can You Say (you Really Feel)

            The June Brides

            In The Rain - 2024 Reissue

              Brand New Remastered Versions.

              The June Brides debut single originally released in 1984 on The Pink Label.

              Both tracks are from fresh transfers from the master tapes which were then remastered by Jason Mitchell at LOUD Mastering in Taunton in early 2021.

              The June Brides are true innovators, hailing from the first wave of British indie, with fans that include Manic Street Preachers (who covered their song “The Instrumental” as a tribute) , Morrissey and Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch.

              They have always been regarded as pioneers, and one of the most beloved of the bands that formed the original UK independent music scene, which has since been tagged as C86.


              TRACK LISTING

              Side A
              In The Rain
              Side B
              Sunday To Saturday

              Nikki Sudden & The Jacobites

              Jangle Town

                By 1986 Nikki Sudden had found a home at Creation Records releasing Texas.

                Widely considered Sudden’s solo magnum opus,. Co-produced by Sudden and his brother Epic Soundtracks, Texas is a masterpiece. Like Young’s After the Gold Rush or the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers, Texas holds together as a damaged, atmospheric take on Americana. At this time in rock history, Sudden was nearly alone in referencing Brian Wilson’s Smile album.

                Jangle Town was the opening track and only single that was taken from the album. This reissue uses the 12” artwork


                TRACK LISTING

                Side A
                Jangle Town
                Side B
                The Last Bandit

                The Flatmates

                I Could Be In Heaven

                  Debut single by The Flatmates. Originally released in 1986 on The Subway Organization label giving them a Top 20 indie hit and an appearance in John Peel's Festive Fifty.

                  TRACK LISTING

                  Side A
                  I Could Be In Heaven
                  Side B
                  So In Love With You
                  Tell Me Why

                  The Primitives

                  Really Stupid

                    The Primitives' second single was originally released in 1986 on Lazy Records.

                    This issue contains all three tracks from the 12” . (None of which were included on their debut album), with a slightly different sleeve design that is a mixture of the original 12” and 7” release.


                    TRACK LISTING

                    Side A
                    Really Stupid
                    Side B
                    We Found A Way To The Sun
                    Where The Wind Blows

                    The House Of Love

                    Real Animal

                      Previously issued as a 12” only single on Creation records. It appears here for the first time on 7” and includes all three tracks from the original .

                      ‘Ushered in by deceptively innocent vocal trilligs and sha-las. The House of Love suddenly rip off the mask of Doctor Jekyll to become Mr. Hyde and burst out of the speakers like shrapnel”
                      NME


                      TRACK LISTING

                      Side A
                      Real Animal
                      Side B
                      Plastic
                      Nothing To Me

                      David Westlake

                      D87

                        David Westlake’s first album finally gets a new day in the sun in the wake of his brilliant current LP ‘My Beautiful England’. 36 years after it first appeared in 1987 on Creation Records.

                        David Westlake formed The Servants in 1985, who released 2 excellent singles and appeared on the NME compiled C86 LP.

                        Searching for a stable Servants line-up to release an album he recruited Luke Haines (The Auteurs/Black Box Recorder) via an NME advert , who came on board, and stayed for five years. After failing to find a committed rhythm section, he enlisted the help of Martyn Casey (The Triffids/Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ) & Alsy Macdonald (The Triffids) and recorded the 1987 ‘Westlake’ album for Creation. Overlooked at the time, the record was later described as a minor classic by Luke Haines himself. It is included here on Side One of the album, available on vinyl for the first time in 36 years. and CD for the first time in 30 years.

                        Side Two contains the previously unreleased Janice Long BBC session recorded in the summer of 1987 featuring Go Betweens members Robert Forster, Amanda Brown & Robert Vickers.

                        As chronicled in an interview in US music magazine The Big Takeover (issue 53, 2004), Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch was a huge Westlake fan and tried to locate him in the early 1990s in hope of forming a band with him, before launching Belle and Sebastian in his school class instead.


                        TRACK LISTING

                        Side 1:
                        1. The Word Around Town
                        2. She Grew And She Grew
                        3. Rings On Her Fingers
                        4. Talk Like That
                        5. Dream Come True
                        6. Everlasting
                        Side 2:
                        7. Faithful To 3 Lovers (BBC Session)
                        8. Everlasting (BBC Session)
                        9. The Word Around Town (BBC Session)
                        10. Dream Come True (BBC Session)
                        11. Take Me To Your Heart (demo)
                        12. Never Grow Up (demo)

                        The Pooh Sticks

                        Straight Up: Noise Pollution C88-90

                          ‘Mellifluous’... is a word you won’t hear much when conversation turns to early Pooh Sticks records. But ‘noise pollution’, sure: that comes up. I’ve even used it myself. So look away now if you must: ‘Straight Up: Noise Pollution C88-90’ is a selection of some of the most loved/despised/ignored tracks released by The Pooh Sticks on however many records it was before it all went wilfully ‘American’ sometime around dotted-lining for BMG mega-corp in 1991.

                          The record has highlights and lowlights. You and me, we’d probably agree on most of them. We chose a reasonable cross-section, I think (although there could’ve been more tambourine), including:

                          - “On Tape” - zeitgeist-nailin’ strum and strangle.

                          - “I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well” - long title

                          - “Teenage High” - breathy sweetness sneaked onto the depraved Sympathy For The Record Industry label.

                          - “Dying For It” - the Vaselines cover which beat Nirvana by a full two years (though theirs sold better).

                          ... and more! It’s like Christmas (no, blocking up the chimney won’t help: we’ve cut spare keys). And all of this in a nice gatefold sleeve, and on Steve McQueen’s- eyes blue vinyl. And there’s even a repro poster for the March ’89 Pastels/Pooh Sticks/Vaselines gig up London way (“I swear I was there”, people say).

                          On behalf of the group, I hope you enjoy it. No, really. It was all a long time ago but I remember we had fun. Maybe you were even there having fun with us.
                          Trudi xx


                          TRACK LISTING

                          Side 1
                          1. On Tape
                          2. Time To Time
                          3. Heroes And Villains
                          4. Just Another Minute
                          5. Teenage High
                          6. 123 Red Light
                          7. When The Night Falls
                          Side 2
                          8. Dying For It
                          9. I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well
                          10. Sex Head
                          11. Foxy Boy
                          12. Dare True Kiss Promise
                          13. Do It Again (A Little Bit Slower)
                          14. Indiepop Aint Noise Pollution

                          McCarthy

                          I Am A Wallet - 2022 Reissue

                            Double album set contains the original LP plus 13 bonus tracks taken from their first four singles and the re-recorded version of In Purgatory which originally appeared on the PINK compilation E.P “It sells or it smells” plus bonus 7” a reproduction colour vinyl copy of McCarthy’s first 7” “In Purgatory”
                            All three tracks have been remastered from the original master tape and presented in a wraparound sleeve, just like the incredibly rare “Wall Of Salmon” original.

                            Also Includes:
                            20 page 12x12” full colour booklet containing all the lyrics and packed full with photos, many previously unpublished. Press clippings and other memorabilia. Introduction by Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers and track by track commentary by Malcolm Eden.
                            8 x 10 Black & White press photo.
                            Reproduction European Tour poster “The Well Of Loneliness” Promo poster McCarthy sticker.

                            By the time McCarthy appeared on the NME’s C86 cassette they had already been playing together for a couple of years and released two excellent singles. Their debut “In Purgatory” and the indie masterpiece “Red Sleeping Beauty” (both included on this release). The following year McCarthy released the brilliant “Frans Hals” before unleashing their debut album “I Am A Wallet”

                            Now recognised as an indie pop masterpiece it has gone on to achieve cult status, receiving praise from the likes of Nicky Wire (Manic Street Preachers) as one of the most important albums of the 80s. Known by today's indie acolytes as the band that spawned Tim Gane and Leititia Sadier (who of course went on to form Stereolab).

                            It’s a seamless album reminiscent of the Byrds. Wonderful, if slightly twee, jangly guitars with complex and rarely rhyming lyrics, Malcolm Eden’s strident left wing political views are manifest on I Am A Wallet. Cloaked in pretty guitar and propulsive drums, Eden sets about attacking the pillars of the day, MPs, Prince Charles, Fleet Street, religion, the response to AIDS and on almost every song, capitalism. The horrors and inequalities of the capitalist system are laid bare for all the see. The system which enables some to get rich at the expense of others is reviled and attacked.


                            TRACK LISTING

                            An Mp Speaks
                            Monetaries
                            The International Narcotics Traffic
                            The Way Of The World
                            Antinature
                            Charles Windsor
                            The Vision Of Peregrine Worsthorne
                            The Well Of Loneliness
                            The Wicked Palace Revolution
                            God Made The Virus
                            The Funeral
                            A Child Soon In Chains
                            In The Dark Times
                            The Procession Of Popular
                            Capitalism
                            In Purgatory (re-recorded Version)
                            Comrade Era(re-recorded )
                            Something Wrong Somewhere
                            Red Sleeping Beauty
                            From The Damned
                            For The Fat Lady
                            Frans Hals
                            Kill Kill Kill Kill
                            You’re Alive
                            Bad Dreams
                            Someone Worse Off Antiamericancretin
                            Unfortunately

                            7”
                            In Purgatory
                            Comrade Era
                            Something Wrong Somewhere

                            Prolapse

                            Pointless Walks To Dismal Places - 2022 Reissue

                              Features the original LP plus a bonus disc with the Cherry Red E.P tracks, plus a 16-page booklet containing photos, reviews, and sleevenotes from Mick Derrick, Steve Mack & John Robb.

                              Combining a metronomic krautrock beat played by a monster drummer, looping guitars and a boy/girl vocal that sounded like a bickering bed-sit argument turned into song, Prolapse had all the manic intensity of a nervous breakdown set against a backdrop of inventive guitar work and a really tough rhythm section. There were hints of the Fall, krautrock, PiL and a touch of the pure golden pop of Blondie along with the sense of restless dislocation shared by many of the post-punk bands.

                              Prolapse arrived in the middle of the Britpop era and their tense, almost neurotic music clashed with the stadium-filling, jolly knees- up pop that dominated the indie mainstream of the time. By 1996 indie had become the mainstream in terms of record sales and sound and was strutting around at the opposite end of the cultural spectrum to the indie bands of the Eighties and their war against popular culture. Late arrivals Prolapse were the last gasp of this genuine independence.


                              TRACK LISTING

                              LP1
                              1. Serpico
                              2. Headless In A Beat Motel
                              3. Surreal Madrid
                              4. Doorstep Rhythmic Bloc
                              5. Burgundy Spine
                              6. Black Death Ambulance
                              7. Chill Blown
                              8. Hungarian Suicide Song
                              9. Tina This Is Matthew Stone
                              LP2
                              10. Psychotic Now
                              11. P.D.F
                              12. Screws
                              13. Kilometrica Banca
                              14. Pull Thru Barker
                              15. Dirge
                              16. They Slept In Darkness
                              17. E.O.P.O
                              18. Pile Tent

                              Wolfhounds

                              Bright And Guilty - 2022 Reissue

                                In 1989, while the musical world was fêting serial-killer worshipping noise bands, white boys with dreadlocks and the first glimmers of techno, one band – The Wolfhounds – was describing the times and the country exactly as they were. Or at least as they saw it.

                                Well, not exactly. The privations of finding enough money to live on, a semi-permanent roof over your head and perhaps the hope of real change were all there in the lyrics along with the multitudinous shards of ideas in the music, both raging and reflective – but there was also a sense of magical realism and authentic personal circumstance imbued in it all.

                                Formed as a frantic noisy fusion of sixties garage and independent post-punk in Romford in 1984, by 1986 it was the band’s misfortunate to be corralled with the jangly and quirky bands of the era-defining C86 tape, given away free with the NME that year. The frustration of being lumped with the lumpen was already spilling over into a heightened creativity that would see the band release three LPs in 18 months, the first and perhaps most fully realised of which was Bright & Guilty.
                                The band’s sense of melody saw three singles taken off it, and all received plentiful radio play that resulted in enthusiastic audience responses when the band toured with My Bloody Valentine and the House of Love shortly after the LP came out. This renewed attention also saw them being threatened with legal action by the food company satirically targeted by one of the singles – Happy Shopper.

                                The band’s magpie listening habits also saw the first glimmers of an interest in sampling with the track Cottonmouth, hip hop in the drum rhythms of Invisible People and Son of Nothing, discordant post- hardcore in Non-specific Song and even percussive hints of Tom Waits’ Rain Dogs in Charterhouse.
                                The album’s lyrical themes have sustained the relevance of these 30-something year-old songs. The dictatorship of the class system over the economy is touched on in Charterhouse, the unfairness of housing policy in Rent Act and Red Tape Red Light, the desperation of not having enough money to even seek employment in Useless Second Cousin. But there is contemplation and mystery, too: Rope Swing’s nostalgia for pre-teen childhood, Invisible People’s detailing of intangible weaknesses.

                                Of all their peers, The Wolfhounds post-C86 output stands up straight and proud, and you’ll find echoes of their sound in Fontaines DC, Idles and many others – but not performed with the brashness, vigour and uniqueness of the originals.


                                TRACK LISTING

                                Non- Specific Song
                                Charterhouse
                                Happy Shopper
                                Useless Second Cousin
                                Ex- Cable Street Tomorrow Attacking
                                Son Of Nothing
                                Ropeswing
                                Rent Act
                                Invisible Peopl
                                A Mess Of Paradise
                                No Soap In A Dirty War
                                Red Tape Red Light
                                Natural Disasters
                                Cottonmouth
                                Torture
                                Died The Small Death
                                A Mess Of Paradise (scarf Demo)
                                I’m Not Like Everybody Else
                                Set Me Free
                                Second Son
                                Everybody
                                Recycle

                                East Village

                                Back Between Places

                                  Originally released on the Sub Aqua label in 1988. It appears here on 7” for the first time. This is a previously unreleased version of Back Between Places. The band were never really happy with the original single release and having discovered the master tape of a superior version, it is to be mixed and released here for the very first time.
                                  From East Village

                                  Both tracks were recorded at Greenhouse Studios at the same one day session in August 88 and are technically unreleased.

                                  ‘Back Between Places’ is an alternate mix made at the time and better than the one we chose to release.

                                  ‘Violin’ is a completely unreleased recording. It was planned as the original B-side but ended up being replaced by two early recordings ‘Her Fathers Son’ and ‘Precious Diamond Tears’ on the actual 12” release.

                                  We rerecorded ‘Violin’ at few months later at Scruttocks along with ‘Freeze Out’, ‘Vibrato’ and a couple of others that have appeared on the ‘Hotrod Hotel’ LP.


                                  TRACK LISTING

                                  Side A Back Between Places (alternate Mix From August 1988)
                                  Side B Violin (original Unreleased Version From August 1988)

                                  The Wake

                                  On Our Honeymoon

                                    The Wake formed in Glasgow (Scotland) in April 1981, after singer/ guitarist Caesar teamed up with drummer Steven Allen and a bassist, Joe Donnelly. Previously Caesar had played guitar in Altered Images, writing first single Dead Pop Stars and appearing on the first two John Peel sessions, but left the group shortly before they crashed into the mainstream pop charts with Happy Birthday.

                                    With few opportunities to play large live shows the new group financed a single on their own Scan 45 label, coupling upbeat indiepop number On Our Honeymoon with Give Up, a darker song featuring a keyboard line picked out by band friend Robert ‘Bobby’ Gillespie.


                                    TRACK LISTING

                                    Side A
                                    On Our Honeymoon
                                    Side B
                                    Give Up

                                    Black

                                    Human Features

                                      Colin Vearncombe may be forever associated with the worldwide hit ‘Wonderful Life’ but 6 years earlier Black released this incredible single.

                                      Evocative of The Smiths (although this was released years earlier) it contains all the elements of a classic indie single.


                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      Side A
                                      Human Features
                                      Side B
                                      Electric Church

                                      The Monochrome Set

                                      Volume, Contrast, Brilliance Vol.1

                                        Originally released in 1983 this hugely rewarding record acted as a round up of the group’s career to date and was of immeasurable value to fans. It’s aged well, too.

                                        Comprising of A and B sides from their Rough Trade released singles plus extracts from sessions for Radio 1, Capital Radio and EMI Records, this LP contains unique versions of such classic tracks as “The Jet Set Junta” and “He’s Frank (Slight Return)”.

                                        Oddities, and jocular moments run through the album, including John Peel introducing “Fat Fun” and thinking aloud that those Monochrome boys might be having a pop at him. The fact that it includes a wish list of the band’s best songs to this point in their career is another reason to recommend it.

                                        Previously they may have made a handful of slightly-off-target albums, but this 1983 compilation is a front-to-back joy, fast, restless and perfectly sequenced. It plays like a cohesive album.

                                        Includes 2 bonus tracks from the February 1979 Peel Session ‘Love Goes Down The Drain’ & ‘Noise (Eine Kleine Symphonie)’.


                                        TRACK LISTING

                                        Side 1:
                                        Eine Symphonie Des Grauens 
                                        The Jet Set Junta
                                        Love Zombies
                                        Silicon Carne
                                        The Ruling Class
                                        Viva Death Row
                                        The Man With The Black Moustache

                                        Side 2:
                                        He’s Frank (Slight Return)
                                        Fun For All Of The Family
                                        Lester Leaps In
                                        ICI Les Enfants
                                        Fat Run
                                        Alphaville
                                        Avanti (Ten Don’ts For Honeymooners) Love Goes Down The Drain
                                        Noise (Eine Kleine Symphonie)

                                        Article 58

                                        Event To Come

                                          Article 58, named after the Soviet classification for counter-revolutionaries, were formed in Scotland by Gerri McLaughlin (vocals), Douglas MacIntyre (guitars) and Ewan MacLennan (bass), with Stephen Lironi (drums) on these recordings. The group existed for a short period of time, burning brightly before burning out.

                                          A single, ‘Event To Come’, was produced by Postcard Records’ Alan Horne and Malcolm Ross and released on Josef K manager Allan Campbell’s Rational label.

                                          Article 58 were the opening group on many bills in Scotland, including support slots circa 1981 with A Certain Ratio, Scars, Josef K, Delmontes, Bauhaus, Restricted Code, among others.

                                          Josef K invited Article 58 to support them on some dates in England to promote their only album, ’The Only Fun In Town’, after which Article 58 recorded tracks for an as-yet unreleased album. One track, ‘Reflection’, did surface on a cassette/ zine product (‘Irrational’) released by Rational Records. However the teenage tension and strain of all that accompanies being in a group proved too much and Article 58 split up at the end of 1981.

                                          ‘Event To Come’ was to be the only single released by Article 58. The B side, ‘Icon’, is a previously unreleased recording. Both tracks are presented in a brand new sleeve designed by The Creeping Bent Organisation for release on the Optic Nerve label. 


                                          TRACK LISTING

                                          Side A
                                          Event To Come
                                          Side B
                                          Icon

                                          The Suede Crocodiles

                                          Stop The Rain - 2022 Reissue

                                            Formed in post-Postcard Glasgow as Popgun, Kevin McDermott (vocals/ guitar), Davie McCormick (drums), and Ross Drummond (bass/vocals) were joined by Roddy Johnson (guitar/vocals). In 1983, they changed their name to The Suede Crocodiles and released ‘Stop the Rain’ on the NoStrings label.

                                            Single of the Week in both NME and Melody Maker, this jagged-edged, spiky pop-punk single caught the ear of many. The Suede Crocodiles went on to tour the UK with Nick Heyward.

                                            The band split before releasing their second single, ‘Paint Yourself A Rainbow’ with songwriter and lead vocalist Kevin McDermott going on to form the Kevin McDermott Orchestra and having a successful solo career.


                                            TRACK LISTING

                                            Side A
                                            Stop The Rain
                                            Side B
                                            Pleasant Dreamer

                                            The Bluebells

                                            Everybody's Somebody's Fool - 2022 Reissue

                                              The Bluebells have dug deep into their archive to give us the earliest recordings of these tracks, which have never been released before and are exclusive to this 7”

                                              ‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool’ is longer and more vibrant containing an extra verse and guitar solo which are not on previous versions. This is the closest recording to the one that was originally intended to be released on Postcard in 1981. The sleeve, designed by Bobby Bluebell features 2 of the earliest photos of the band.

                                              THE BLUEBELLS were formed by songwriter / guitarist Robert Hodgens aka Bobby Bluebell in 1980. When deciding to form a group to start performing his songs, Hodgens remembered two punk musicians from Bothwell (brothers Ken and David McCluskey) he had interviewed for his fanzine, 10 Commandments. David (drums/ backing vocals) and Ken (vocals / harmonica) joined Robert and The Bluebells started performing live in and around Glasgow.

                                              The Bluebells were soon involved in the burgeoning scene coalescing around Postcard Records in Glasgow (Orange Juice, Josef K, Go Betweens, Aztec Camera, Jazzateers), and it wasn’t long before The Bluebells were sharing stages throughout the UK with some of the Postcard groups. A single (Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool) was scheduled for release on Postcard, however after appearing on the front page on Melody Maker and in NME / Sounds etc, major record companies started making serious offers to sign the group. The Bluebells appeared on BBC music program The Old Grey Whistle Test, the first unsigned group to do so, and it wasn’t long after this television appearance that the group signed a major record contract with London Records.

                                              The Bluebells were soon in the studio working on songs for their debut album, with Elvis Costello producing. They were invited to open on UK tours for Haircut 100 and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, and started releasing singles to critical acclaim (Forevermore, Cath, Sugar Bridge). However it was their fourth single I’m Falling (co-written by Robert and Ken) that finally resulted in commercial success, chart success, and appearances on Top of the Pops.

                                              The Bluebells released their debut album, Sisters, in 1984 to further commercial chart success, which was continued when their next single, Young At Heart, gave the group their second big hit single. However, when Young At Heart was reissued in 1993, it reached number 1 in the chart for a month, making The Bluebells regular fixtures on Top Of The Pops.


                                              TRACK LISTING

                                              Side A
                                              Everybody's Somebody's Fool

                                              Side B
                                              Some Sweet Day

                                              Folk Devils

                                              Forever EP

                                                The 3-track “Forever” E.P. on Transluscent Red 10” Vinyl is limited to 250 copies and features two new compositions, the title track “Forever” and “My Slum Soul”, plus an incendiary new version of an old live favourite “Ink Runs Dry”. FOLK DEVILS, the London group that took their name from a well-known academic text on social scapegoating, and who blazed a trail across the UK’s independent music scene of the mid-80s with their unique brand of post-punk energy, have returned with their first new music in 35 years.

                                                Recorded at London’s famous Konk Studios in North London and mixed and co- produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Rik Simpson, the re-born Folk Devils drew inspiration from the release of their 2016 career retrospective “Beautiful Monsters” and the reactions at subsequent live shows around the UK with kindred spirits Membranes, Inca Babies and The Cravats. Founder members, guitarist Kris Jozajtis and bassist Mark Whiteley, reformed the group by recruiting members of a short-lived 1987 version of Folk Devils; guitarist Nick Clift and drummer John Hamilton. Together with singer Dave Hodgson they soon discovered they had created a well-oiled twin-guitar juggernaut that brimmed with the same restless, twisted blues that characterized the first and second iterations of the band from 1983-87 when they were fronted by the highly underrated and now sadlydeparted singer/songwriter Ian Lowery.

                                                Hodgson, a fellow transplant from the North-East, had known Lowery in the early 80s prior to Folk Devils, when the two were in their respective post-punk bands Ski Patrol and Parting Shots. On the re-recording of “Ink Runs Dry” Kris Jozajtis notes...”It’s a classic Folk Devils song with a brilliant lyric by Ian. So it’s an acknowledgment of the debt we owe him, a nod of respect to one of the great unsung talents of rock’n’roll. It always felt like a ‘BIG’ tune to us; Yet despite there being two pretty decent radio session versions of it available, there’s always been a sense of unfinished business because “Ink” had never received the full studio treatment the song deserved.

                                                I think the new, turbo-charged twin guitar version puts that right.” ”the songs will hopefully still speak to malcontents like ourselves, who are both fascinated and appalled by what we might encapsulate as ‘the human condition’. The dark humour and mordant wit that characterized Lowery’s lyrics is still intact I think, and despite the inevitable encroachments of age we haven’t really lost the dissatisfaction and anger that we tried to articulate in words and music back in the ‘80s. So we’re likely to continue making a mighty and righteous racket, both live and on record, as long as anyone cares to listen.”

                                                Bob

                                                You Can Stop That For A Start

                                                  The album is accompanied by a selection of some of the band’s favourite demo recordings made between 1988 and 1994.

                                                  The long awaited and eagerly anticipated new album by BOB captures the band at their peak and includes some of their best material ever committed to vinyl and CD. A 12-track vinyl record is available in coloured and black vinyl and includes digital download of all 28 tracks contained on the double CD version. ‘You Can Stop That For A Start’ is an exclusive album of previously unheard material written and recorded by BOB over a five day period in 1992. The almost legendary archive of unreleased professional and demo recordings by BOB is a rich one, and this release showcases some of the band’s best work.

                                                  All the recordings in the set have been newly mixed by songwriters Simon Armstrong and Richard Blackborow, and come packaged in artwork conceived by the band and accompanied by period images and new sleeve notes. 

                                                  Potted BOB History:
                                                  BOB’s initial line-up was Richard Blackborow (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Simon Armstrong (guitar, vocals).
                                                  Jem Morris (bass guitar), joined the duo in 1986 and, augmented with a drum machine, they recorded the band’s first release, a flexi disc, released in 1986 on their own House Of Teeth label, and containing three short songs: “Prune (Your Tree)”, “Groove” and “Brian Wilson’s Bed”. The band gave a copy to John Peel in a fortuitous encounter in the Rough Trade record shop, and he played it many times.
                                                  The drum machine was replaced by drummer Gary Connors in 1987, and this line-up recorded 1987’s What a Performance single and the first of three John Peel sessions. The band were now able to take to the UK’s motorway network in their newly acquired ‘vintage’ Transit van, and begin a series of tours that eventually saw them play hundreds of gigs the length of the country and beyond.

                                                  Early in 1988, Gary Connors was replaced by former Jamie Wednesday drummer Dean Leggett, and the band recorded their second single, Kirsty, a session for BBC Radio One’s Simon Mayo, and their second John Peel session. Both singles received heavy play by John Peel. The two singles were brought together with the earlier flexi disc as the compilation LP Swag Sack, which was their final release on the Sombrero label. All later records were on their own House Of Teeth label.

                                                  In 1989, the band released a single Convenience, which charted well in the NME and Melody Maker indie charts and, more importantly, reached no.31 in John Peel’s Festive Fifty at the end of the year. This was followed by a limited edition/fan club release containing three songs: “Esmerelda Brooklyn”, “I Don’t Know” and “Sink”. After their third and final John Peel session, Morris was replaced by ex-Caretaker Race bassist Stephen ‘Henry’ Hersom, and this final line-up recorded the Stride Up EP in 1990, an LP Leave The Straight Life Behind, the single Tired in 1991, and one last 12”, the Nothing For Something EP in 1992.
                                                  BOB became one of the victims of the demise of Rough Trade’s distribution arm, which limited sales of the album and forced the band to tour for an extended period to recoup the album’s costs. A feeling of disillusionment with the ‘business’ side of the music caused a drop in morale, and despite having produced a large body of unreleased work, they disbanded early in 1995.

                                                  In February 2014, “Leave the Straight Life Behind” was re-released by British independent label 3 Loop Music as a 2CD expanded edition which included the remastered album plus a bonus CD of all the John Peel and BBC sessions, as well as extra tracks.

                                                  In 2015, “The Singles and EPs” was released by 3 Loop Music as a 2CD compilation of remastered tracks from Swag Sack and all vinyl Sombrero and House of Teeth releases.

                                                  In 2019, the band announced six final concerts in England and Germany featuring Blackborow, Armstrong, and Leggett with newly recruited old friend Arthur Tapp on bass. A limited edition 7” of Convenience with an unreleased B-side from 1992 was released on Optic Nerve. The single reached number 18 on the official UK vinyl sales chart.

                                                  BOB on the new album You Can Stop That For A Start:
                                                  “The tracks that make up You Can Stop That For A Start were recorded over a five day period in our final years, as the hectic touring schedule that had kept us financially viable began to tail off. What funds the band could glean from occasional publishing deals were spent on studio time, with the hope of creating work that would eventually attract more substantial financial investment. As this never materialised, the songs have largely remained unheard since the early nineties. 


                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                  TRACKLIST LP
                                                  SIDE ONE
                                                  01 Telepathy
                                                  02 Say You’re Alone
                                                  03 That’s What Tomorrow Brings
                                                  04 Round
                                                  05 Now
                                                  06 Sundown

                                                  SIDE TWO
                                                  01 Plastic
                                                  02 She’s Something Like Me
                                                  03 Green Pepper Feast
                                                  04 Queen Of Sheba
                                                  05 Plastered In Paris
                                                  06 Don’t Kid

                                                  TRACKLIST 2CD
                                                  CD1
                                                  01 Telepathy
                                                  02 Say You’re Alone
                                                  03 That’s What Tomorrow Brings
                                                  04 Round
                                                  05 Now
                                                  06 Sundown
                                                  07 Plastic
                                                  08 She’s Something Like Me
                                                  09 Green Pepper Feast
                                                  10 Queen Of Sheba
                                                  11 Plastered In Paris
                                                  12 Don’t Kid
                                                  13 I Must Need Some Sleep

                                                  CD2
                                                  01 Long May We Increase
                                                  02 Too Far Down
                                                  03 STP
                                                  04 When The Saints
                                                  05 Helvetia
                                                  06 On Your Side
                                                  07 Buy Me A Barstool
                                                  08 There She Was
                                                  09 Shoot
                                                  10 207
                                                  11 Jehovah
                                                  12 Hanging On
                                                  13 Thunderfeet
                                                  14 Turn That Racket Down
                                                  15 Before A Fall

                                                  The Wee Cherubs

                                                  The Merry Makers

                                                    Before The Bachelor Pad, there was The Wee Cherubs.
                                                    A collection of lost recordings made in Glasgow between 1982 & 1985. Restored and remastered especially for this release.

                                                    Formed in 1982 by Martin Cotter, Christine Gibson and Graham Adam & part of the Glasgow indie scene of the early 80’s.

                                                    The Wee Cherubs only released one single. The recently reissued Dreaming, (which is included in this set) before calling it a day in 1985. Their range of influences are on show here, and although some tracks are redolent of Orange Juice and Aztec Camera there is no definitive Wee Cherubs sound, which makes this collection an exciting and rewarding discovery

                                                    Cotter went on to The Bachelor Pad a psyche fuelled head on collision between The Buzzcocks & Syd Barrett. 


                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                    Side 1 
                                                    1. Dreaming
                                                    2. Pastures New
                                                    3. Waiting
                                                    4. Two Things At One Time
                                                    5.Flame

                                                    Side 2
                                                    6 Poor Little Lost Soul
                                                    7 Painless
                                                    8 Goodbye
                                                    9 Theme
                                                    10 Waiting For My Man 

                                                    Meat Whiplash

                                                    Don't Slip Up

                                                      Their one and only single was originally released in 1985 on Creation and spent 19 weeks in the independent chart. From East Kilbride in Scotland, they morphed into Motorcycle Boy.


                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                      Side A
                                                      Don’t Slip Up

                                                      Side B
                                                      Here It Comes

                                                      Metro Trinity

                                                      Die Young

                                                        The Die Young EP was released on the group’s own Cafeteria label, released early 1987. Michael Fury was inspired by James Joyce’s short story The Dead. Only previously available on a 4 track12” .This 7” version comprises 3 of those 4 tracks. 

                                                        Metro Trinity were a short lived Manchester based indie band that included Jon Male, later of Soul Family Sensation and Republica fame. Drummer Colin Rocks, bass player Tim Whiteley and Doves guitarist Jez Williams.
                                                        Metro Trinity only other release came on a split with the Inspiral Carpets on Dave Haslam’s Debris fanzine. Which featured the track “Stupid Friends”.

                                                        Andy Williams of Doves joined the band later on, but does not feature on this EP. The band split up shortly after. 

                                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                                        Andy says: Stunning song writing. The b-side " Michael Fury" is unbelievable. A proper heartbreaker.

                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                        Side A
                                                        Spend My Whole Life Loving You Just Go
                                                        Side B
                                                        Michael Fury 

                                                        The Wake

                                                        Pale Spectre / Plastic Flowers

                                                          Part of The Optic Sevens Reissue Series. 
                                                          Limited to 500 copies on splatter vinyl Includes Poster & Postcard.

                                                          Originally released on Factory Records in 1987 on a 4 track 12” EP entitled “Something That No One Else Could Bring” These 2 tracks make their first appearance as a 7” single. 


                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                          Side 1
                                                          PALE SPECTRE

                                                          Side 2
                                                          PLASTIC FLOWERS

                                                          “Dub Sex’s music is a stark but galvanising post-punk surge – reverberant drums and cheese-wire guitar plus a what-it-says-on-the-tin dub-edge to the bass. But it’s Hoyle’s voice that dominates the recordings – a hugely expressive thing without obvious parallel” - Roy Wilkinson, Mojo ‘Buried Treasures’ 2014. 

                                                          Dub Sex release ‘Search For The Right Words’ – a complete 23 track compilation of their studio works brought together for the first time. CD digipack with 24 page booklet.

                                                          Originally released on a series of EPs and mini-albums between 1987-89, most of these recordings are long-deleted and several have never previously been made available in a digital format. The package also includes unreleased John Peel session tracks and an Edward Barton cover recorded for a compilation tribute album.

                                                          The band reformed in 2014 playing a handful of festival dates and low-key headline shows in Manchester and London. With core members Mark Hoyle (vocals/guitar), Cathy Brooks (bass) and former guitarist Chris Bridgett (guitar), Dub Sex will be playing more dates in 2019.

                                                          “Dub Sex are one of the great lost Manchester bands; they made an unsettling yet hypnotic grinding music with these great loping bass lines, and were fronted by the charismatically awkward Mark Hoyle whose twitching presence, unique hollering and impassioned vocal style de ned the band” John Robb, Louder Than War 2014.

                                                          “What makes you really want to take the next train to Manchester is the way (they) assimilate two music’s that always left you feeling dwarfed and abandoned; one is Joy Division’s black marble, the other white pop’s meeting with dub (PIL etc.).” Paul Oldfield, Melody Maker 1989. 

                                                          “Dub Sex are a great raging awkward intensity ... (they) come from right inside the skull. Guitar and drums latch onto an idea and dive deep, ever more knotted and resonant as Hoyle howls pained words. This compilation - dark, devious and deviant - is genuinely capable of taking my breath away.” Ian Gittins, Melody Maker ‘Splintered Faith’ review 1989. 

                                                          “Dub Sex, one of my very favourites” John Peel BBC Radio 1 1988.

                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                          Barry says: If you know anything about Manchester music, you already know Dub Sex, but for those of you that don't, one of John Peel's favourite bands are a shadowy, rawkous, simmering burst of chaos and fire, and thoroughly essential listening.

                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                          1. Then And Now
                                                          2. Tripwire!
                                                          3. The Underneath
                                                          4. Swerve
                                                          5. Push!
                                                          6. Caved In
                                                          7. North By North-East
                                                          8. Instead Of Flowers
                                                          9. Kicking The Corpse Around
                                                          10. Man On The Inside
                                                          11. Splintered
                                                          12. I Am Not Afraid
                                                          13. Green
                                                          14. Time Of Life
                                                          15. Kumina
                                                          16. Kritallnacht
                                                          17. The Big Freeze
                                                          18. Play Street
                                                          19. Every Secret (That I Ever Had)
                                                          20. Snapper
                                                          21. Voice Of Reason
                                                          22. Believe
                                                          23. Barber Barber

                                                          Folk Devils

                                                          Beautiful Monsters (Singles And Demo Recordings 1984-1986)

                                                          First time ever on CD. Digitally restored audio. The complete Folk Devils singles collection plus bonus unreleased demo recordings. Limited edition 180 gram double vinyl. 

                                                          Initially managed by Ray Gange, star of The Clash's film Rude Boy, the Folk Devils first single "Hank Turns Blue" recorded for £180 (allegedly the bands combined dole money) and released on the label Ganges Records and distributed through Rough Trade resided at number three in the indie charts for six weeks being kept off the top spot only by New Order and Depeche Mode.

                                                          Luminaries such as Jason Pierce of Spiritualized still regard the Folk Devils as a highly influential musical force.

                                                          Named after Stanley Cohen’s book on youth subcultures “Folk Devils and Moral Panics”, this highly underrated British band was as far as one could get from ‘folk music’ at the time. They were formed by Co. Durham native Ian Lowery (formerly of The Wall and Ski Patrol) in late 1983 with a line up that consisted of Whiteley (Bass), Kris Jozajtis (Guitar) and Alan Cole (Drums). Throughout their short lifespan, the band released several acclaimed independent singles including “Hank Turns Blue”, “Beautiful Monster”, 1985’s intense “Fire And Chrome” EP, and recorded three sessions for BBC Radio’s John Peel Show.

                                                          By early 1984, their heady brew of swampy rock on a bed of bastardized blues had created a vehicle for Lowery’s increasingly misanthropic worldview. A well-honed gutter poet since the early days of punk, Ian developed an idiosyncratic style, fusing a natural gift for sly wordplay and a well-turned snarky phrase with his often vitriolic and poignant lyrics channeled through an explosive onstage persona.

                                                          By 1985, their sound was becoming sharp, ominous, brooding and urgent, and had taken shape with the help of producer Richard Mazda, with whom they collaborated several times. The band moved label and management duties to Nick Jones’ KARBON operation, gigging constantly, most memorably opening for the likes of The Fall, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Gun Club and Spacemen 3. They also toured extensively throughout Europe and were featured prominently in the UK music press. Sadly, by early 1986 frustration within their ranks had created a point of no return, and the band imploded.

                                                          These newly digitally re-mastered recordings have been painstakingly restored from the original master tapes, which had spent 30 years languishing in Nick Jones’ archives Never before released on CD, the re-mastered sound captures the ragged fury and adrenalized energy that uniquely characterized the Folk Devils oeuvre. Also included here are eight demo recordings that feature some of their best unreleased material, both musically and lyrically.

                                                          Listening again to the ferocious sonic snarl of Whiteley’s Rickenbacker, Kris Joz’s rhythmic wall of sound and sparse, blues-inflected guitar figures, Al’s crisp, metronomic drumming, and Ian’s artful, grimy tales of love, loss, loathing and libation, one can’t help but think it was becoming a sound unto itself, an insatiable and yes, beautiful, monster. We hope you enjoy these resurrected gems, and in doing so, join us in honouring the band’s legacy and paying tribute to the twisted genius of Ian Lowery, who died in 2001, age 45.


                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                          01. Hank Turns Blue
                                                          02. Chewing The Flesh
                                                          03. Beautiful Monster
                                                          04. Art Ghetto
                                                          05. Brian Jones’ Bastard Son
                                                          06. Nice People
                                                          07. English Disease
                                                          08. Where The Buffalo Roam
                                                          09. Wail
                                                          10. Evil Eye
                                                          11. Illiterati
                                                          12. Tight Sleep
                                                          13. Broken Head
                                                          14. Albino
                                                          15. Nicotine Tan
                                                          16. It Drags On
                                                          17. Belly Up
                                                          18. Happy Face


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