Contingent - 1980 - Contingent 7'' (BE)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
V.A. - 1979 - Earcom #3 (UK)
V.A. - 1979 - Earcom #3 (UK)
.
tracklist:
Noh Mercy - Caucasian Guilt
Noh Mercy - Revolutionary Spy
Stupid Babies - Baby Blues
Stupid Babies - Baby Sitters
From Chorley - Tablecloth
Deutsch Amerikanisch Freundschaft - Ich Und Die Wirklichkeit
Middle Class - Out of Vogue
Middle Class - Situations
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Graham Parker and The Rumour - 1976 - Heat Treatment (UK)
Graham Parker and The Rumour - 1976 - Heat Treatment (UK)
.
The Rumour (sometimes credited as Graham Parker & the Rumour) were a rock band in the late 70's and early 80's. Members came from veteran pub rock bands Brinsley Schwarz and Bontemps Roulez. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, although they also backed Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and Garland Jeffreys on the tour for his Escape Artist album.
The Rumour released three albums in their own right: Max (1977), Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs And Krauts (1979), and Purity of Essence (1980). A compilation from the last two albums was released by Metro in 2000, entitled Not so much a rumour, more a way of life.
Andrews left the group in 1979 and it disbanded in 1980, after recording Purity of Essence and Parker's The Up Escalator without him.
The Rumour were noted for their hard driving, skilled, tightly arranged ensemble playing. They have been compared to the The Band and the Rolling Stones, frequently recalling both simultaneously. Together with Parker they recorded several landmark records, most notably Squeezing Out Sparks.
Bodnar and Goulding played bass and drums, respectively, on Elvis Costello's first recording, "Watching the Detectives".
In 1979 Bruce Springsteen pronounced Parker and the Rumour the only band he'd pay to see.
.
source Wikipedia (link)
.
the scans are from the reissue of the original 1976 album on the Vertical Label in 1989.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Big Boys - 1980 - Frat Cars 7'' (US)
Big Boys - 1980 - Frat Cars 7'' (US)
.
The debut 7" by the Big Boys is one of those Killed by Death records that is actually worth all the hype. The Big Boys were already writing brilliant songs, including the amazing title track. "Frat Cars" is a snotty punk anthem on par with the Dicks' "Kill from the Heart." The other songs are a bit slower and more atmospheric, although "Mutant Rock" gets pretty manic as Biscuit rants "gimme gimme gimme gimme mutant rock!" "Heartbeat" is a showcase for Tim Kerr, already at the peak of his understated jazzy songwriting talent. They made 500 of these with handmade covers, but it has been reissued once and booted several times, with the song "Influence" substituted for "Mutant Rock" for some reason. At least it is the best Big Boys rarity.
.
source KFTH (link)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Human Switchboard - 1981 - Who's Landing in My Hanger (US)
Human Switchboard - 1981 - Who's Landing in My Hanger? (US)
.
Human Switchboard's sound was extremely reminiscent of the Velvet Underground. Founded in Kent, Ohio in 1976, their fist recording was released in 1977 (an EP produced by David Thomas of Pere Ubu). In 1980 they released Human Switchboard Live which got them signed by Jay Boberg to I.R.S.'s new Faulty Products for whom they released their only full length studio album, Who's Landing In My Hangar? A live release for ROIR called Coffee Break! followed a year later and the band dissolved.
After the band's break-up in 1982, Rob Pfeifer wound up as an A&R guy for Epic Records and recorded a solo LP entitled After Words in 1987. He then went on to head Disney's Hollywood Records. There he handled not only the label's aquisition of the Queen catalog but also took the heat for the label's failure to develop into a dominant force in the music industry as the film divisions (Disney Pictures, Touchstone and Miramax) had become in the film industry. He was unceremoniously "let go" in 1995, despite the fact that most of the reasons cited stemmed from the actions of the previous regime. Myrna Marcarian also recorded a solo LP entitled, simply Myrna. Today she is an administrator at NYU. Ron Metz is a member of The Schramms.
.
source I.R.S. Records Corner (link)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Billy Synth And The Turn Ups - 1983 - Disorderly Conduct LP (US)
Billy Synth And The Turn Ups - 1983 - Disorderly Conduct LP (US)
.
Billy is punkier overall on these two albums since he's being backed by the Turn Ups, but the synths are really prominant on many tracks. His voice also takes some getting used to. Note that about half the songs are 60s garage rock covers.[JF]
.
source CollectorScum (link)
Jacno - 1979 - Jacno LP (FRA)
Jacno - 1979 - Jacno LP (FRA)
.
Jacno, born Denis Quilliard in Paris on 3 July 1957 is a French musician.
Jacno is also the name of a graphic artist who designed the gallic helmet logo of Gauloises brand cigarettes, which the musician smokes infamously. He was a founding member of the first French punk band The Stinky Toys. In the early 1980s, after the group disbanded, he teamed up with former Stinky Toys singer Elli Medeiros to form the pop duo Elli et Jacno. Jacno has also released a number of solo albums since 1979.
.
source Wikipedia (link)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Revenge - 1978 - Our Generation 7'' (UK)
Revenge - 1978 - Our Generation 7'' (UK)
.
Aye aye these boys look like some whimpering power pop band..... a sort of young Cure style band. WRONG !!! A classic three piece playing mid tempo classic punk. I can imagine them in the studio saying "its not loud enough" and turning everything up into the red as instruments and channels all bleed into a distorted cacophonous racket !!! In short two brilliant singles Our Generation / I Love Her Way (Looney Records 78) and We're Not Going To Take It / Pornography (Looney 78) where in the latter's B-side the singer intones 'I'm getting turned on by the size of her tits.'
.
source punk77.co.uk (link)
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Cowboys, The - 1980 - Teenage Life 7'' (US)
Cowboys, The - 1980 - Teenage Life 7'' (US)
.
The liners to Killed By Death #5 say "The obscurist 45 on Volume 5 is the Cowboys. All we can tell you is it's from 1980 and mentions Ohio on the sleeve." It's now pretty well known that vocalist Billy Lee Buckeye was actually Mark Eitzel, who reverted to using his real name for his second record a year later with the Naked Skinnies (an excellent single, but not punk rock) and went on to later fame with American Music Club and a solo career. It seems he's disowned this first record, as a reliable source told me Eitzel tossed all his copies of it in a dumpster a few years after its release. Perhaps that lack of stock copies is what makes it so "obscurist". "Teenage Life", the only punk song Eitzel ever recorded, is the KBD-comped track, and is the B-side to Supermarket, a slow-burn ska song which works mostly thanks to just enough snottiness in the vocals.
.
by Justin Frohwirth at Terminal-Boredom (link)
Nikki Corvette - 2003 - Love Me 7'' (US)
Nikki Corvette - 2003 - Love Me 7'' (US)
.
Detroit power-pop pioneer Nikki Corvette dips her toe into the comeback waters, and comes out with a winner.
Feisty early-'80s power-popper Nikki Corvette is back in action, having recorded two new tracks for the Rapid Pulse label. This is her first release since the Nikki and the Corvettes self-titled album from 1980.
Nikki and the Corvettes recorded some catchy power-pop tunes with their special brand of girl-group vocals. Their simple, upbeat songs touched on typical teenage fare: boys, making out, and cruising town. Their bad-girl attitude and roughed-up sound separated them from the Go-Go's and the Bangles -- groups that emerged a few years later and achieved mainstream success.
A cult favorite, Nikki Corvette's comeback has been well-received in Detroit, her hometown and currently the garage rock revivalist mecca. But as in the cases of everyone from Arthur Lee to Rocket from the Tombs to the Buzzcocks, the question arises as to whether the mature rocker still has that special kick of her heyday.
Judging by Nikki Corvette's "Love Me"/"What's on My Mind" single, the girl's still got it. She sounds just as spunky and youthful as she did over 20 years ago. Side A's "Love Me" features an extremely catchy chorus, with backup vocals by Miss Georgia Peach and Carol Cunnington. The trio makes the song sound like the Corvettes all over again. "What's on My Mind" also packs a punch, and is as seductive as the insert photo of Nikki kicking back in a dress shirt and heels. Complementing the retro music, the jacket cover is hot pink with classic Nikki Corvette photos.
Hopefully this single is just the beginning of Nikki Corvette's reentrance to the power-pop scene. If her live set is just as energetic as her studio work we've got plenty of sunny days ahead of us.
.
source Venus Zine (link)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Passage, The - 1978 - New Love Songs 7'' (UK)
Passage, The - 1978 - New Love Songs 7'' (UK)
.
The Passage were a post-punk band from Manchester, UK who appeared on several record labels including Cherry Red Records, and their own label Night & Day, a subsidiary label to Virgin Records.
The band was formed as a quartet by songwriter and former Hallé Orchestra percussionist Dick Witts in 1978, but later became a trio. Witts produced the band's recordings and sang on most of their releases, the occasional lead vocal being taken by Tony Friel or Andy Wilson. Although they never truly broke into the mainstream, their most successful song was 'XOYO' which came 41st in John Peel's Festive Fifty for 1982, which was the top 50 songs of the year as voted by the listeners. The song was an experiment to see whether John Cage's method of aleatoric composition could be successfully applied to popular music composition. The band broke up in 1983.
Dick Witts is now a lecturer at Goldsmiths College, part of the University of London. Andy Wilson is a club and radio DJ based mainly in Ibiza. Joe Mckechnie is a producer/remixer/DJ based in Liverpool. He has released records on Acacia (Detroit) Ochre (UK), Blood (UK) and Aspro (Holland) amongst others. Recent remixes include Ladytron/ROC and Echo & The Bunnymen.
In 2003, the entire Passage back catalogue was reissued and remastered across 5 CDs by the LTM label.
.
source Wikipedia (link)
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Killjoys - 2002 - Studio Demos 18-10-1977 7'' (UK)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Schoolgirl Bitch - 1978 - Abusing The Rule 7'' (UK)
+front.jpg)
Schoolgirl Bitch - 1978 - Abusing The Rule 7'' (UK)
.
In Autumn 1976 'Blitzkrieg Bop' by 'The Ramones' was the first Punk record to really grab 'Nick Name' and 'Phil Serious' (known officially as 'Nigel and Phil McHugh respectively). The 'Sex Pistols' hype machine also attracted the pair, but it was in April 1977 that the debut 'Clash' LP 'The Clash' hit 'Nick Name' like the FINAL SOLUTION. Suddenly everything made sense and everything seemed possible! 'SCHOOLGIRL BITCH' came out of this inspiration against a backdrop of adolescent depression and hopelessness. The name was coined by 'Phil Serious' after splitting with his girlfriend who at the time was still at school.
Through 1977, fuelled further by the 'Sex Pistols' Jubilee fiasco, the group, now a 3-piece completed by 'Kid Sick' on the drums, played at Youth Clubs and Rock Venues in the North West and even managed to get banned by Blackburn Council for a brief spell. They supported such acts as 'The Boys', '999', 'The Boomtown Rats' at the local venue 'The Loadstar'.
In late 1977, a record was cut in Manchester 'Chaos Studio', 'Phil Serious' worked in 'Mullards' Electrical shop, Blackburn to earn enough money for pressing the vinyl. The record 'Abusing the Rules' and 'Think For Yourself' eventually hit the streets around March 1978 by which time 'Phil Serious' had decided being an anti-hero wasn't for him!
'Nick Name', desperate to carry on, recruited 'non-musician' 'Nigel Talbot' from an ad' in the Lancashire 'Evening Telegraph'. Re-named 'Evil Doctor Talbot', partly because he looked like 'Sid Vicious'. 'Nick Name' taught him to play Bass lines from the single in two days. The band built up a set which began to sound more and more like a Punk version of 'Jimi Hendrix'.
In September 1978 after the bands last Northern gig supporting White Reggae band 'China Street', the 'Doctor' and 'Nick' went to try their luck in London leaving 'Kid Sick' behind. The 'Doctor' only managed to stay until Christmas before splitting back up North to Accrington. 'Nick Name' continued in London recruiting 'Griff Johnson' on Bass and 'Gabby Shearman' on Drums. They played gigs supporting 'The Thompson Twins' and 'The UK Subs' in and around London.
Becoming more and more disillusioned 'SCHOOLGIRL BITCH' finally split after being threatened with legal action over their name by the management of two bands, 'Girlschool' and 'Bitch'. That was the end. The SCHOOLGIRL BITCH had been out bitched.....their career ended in March 1979!!!
As for the single, two original different picture sleeves exist. The first being the hand sprayed Blackmail lettering type sleeve. This was the first issue and was made while the band were still in their home town of Accrington. Then when the band relocated to London, 'Nick Name' still had a pile of unsold singles all of which didn't have the sprayed painted sleeve so he decided to make a new design up giving him more of a chance to sell his remaining copies. This was the in-famous Gas Mask picture sleeve. This sleeve was made up in the last few months of 1978.
Wait for it......The story doesn't end there!! in 1996, Detour Records managed to track down 'Nick Name' while still living in London and he still had a box of 25 singles under his bed. He agreed to sell us these remaining singles and knocked up a third sleeve. This time it featured the Queen's head on one side and the in-famous Gas Mask was used on the reverse. Even though this third sleeve was made up some 18 years after the initial one was made, only 25 copies of this new sleeve exist and was made by the man himself!!!! A rarity of the future? Only time will tell.
Also, there is a demo tape out there some where which the band recorded in late '77 or early '78. It contains the tracks 'Smashing The System' / 'What's In Store' / '18 Year Confusion' / 'Pollution' / 'Lust For You'. Sadly the band members haven't got a copy of this tape...could the tracks be lost forever???
An unreleased track as just been unearthed by one of Nick Name's old friends who he hasn't seen for years. It was one of the last tracks to be recorded by 'Schoolgirl Bitch' and is titled "Heading For The City".
Nick Name 1998
.
source Bored Teenagers (link)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
