Deacon Blue’s third studio album, Fellow Hoodlums, is being reissued on yellow vinyl later this month to mark its 30th anniversary.
The album reached number two in the UK at the time and includes the top 10 hit ‘Twist And Shout’ along with the singles ‘Your Swaying Arms’, ‘Closing Time’ and ‘Cover From The Sky’.
Fellow Hoodlums was originally released in 1991. The reissue is pressed on yellow vinyl
The reissue pressed on yellow vinyl and includes the 12-page lyric booklet from the original release. It also comes with a download code.
Fellow Hoodlums is reissued on vinyl on 18 June 2021.
In a typically frank post, Roger Waters has revealed what has held up the planned reissue of Pink Floyd‘s 1977 album Animals and seems to indicate that the issue is resolved, albeit fans will be concerned that the very act of publishing this post online – and airing some of this inter-band ‘dirty laundry’ in public – could actually threaten the reissue again.
The good news is that Waters confirms once more that “there are new James Guthrie Stereo and 5.1 mixes” of Animals but then explains that “these mixes have languished unreleased because of a dispute over some sleeve notes that Mark Blake has written for this new release”.
According to Waters, David Gilmour vetoed the inclusion of the notes, saying “He does not dispute the veracity of the history described in Mark’s notes, but he wants that history to remain secret”.
Roger then goes on to say the following: “This is a small part of an ongoing campaign by the Gilmour/Samson camp to claim more credit for Dave on the work he did in Pink Floyd, 1967-1985, than is his due. Yes he was, and is, a jolly good guitarist and singer. But, he has for the last 35 years told a lot of whopping porky pies about who did what in Pink Floyd when I was still in charge. There’s a lot of ‘we did this’ and ‘we did that’, and ‘I did this’ and ‘I did that’.”
The significant element in all this is that Roger Waters states that he is “agreeing to the release of the new Animals remix, with the sleeve notes removed… Sorry, Mark Blake.” However Waters has made the complete sleeve notes available on his site. They don’t seem particularly controversial, albeit “Roger” gets name-checked a fair amount!
Waters also says he is writing his memoirs and includes a preview where he highlights – and then disputes – an account of how the cash register tape loops on ‘Money’ were created. This account was given by David Gilmour to Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke, in 1982. Waters literally says Gilmour has “no fucking idea what he’s talking about”. Eek.
You can read the whole post on Roger‘s website. The video above is simply a filmed summary of the same points being made. At the end of the video is a still that appears to show a box set sticker, indicating a package which includes vinyl LP, CD, DVD and blu-ray, with all formats including the new James Guthrie stereo mixes and the DVD and blu-ray including the 5.1 surround mixes. No new or archive material is included and the label is headed ‘2018 Remix’.
What do you make of all this? Roger left the band in the early 1980s and did try to stop the others using the Pink Floyd name, after all? However, he has since admitted that was wrong to do that. Assuming Waters’ account of why Animals has been delayed is accurate, is David Gilmour being unnecessarily petty? And is it fair for him to deny Waters access to Pink Floyd channels when Waters was clearly a major contributor to the success of the band and that band is now defined by its back catalogue. On the other hand, what does Waters think he’s going to achieve with all this sniping, particularly towards Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson?
It’s clearly complicated, but go with your gut feeling and give your feedback via the simple SDE poll, below! We will keep you informed of any official news regarding an Animals reissue.
A very good price because this triple vinyl deluxe edition of Flaming Pie is incredibly lavish. It includes the gatefold 2LP half-speed mastered vinyl of the album with 16-page lyric book. This slots into an outer slip case alongside a bonus LP of 11 home recordings. The only other place to get these home recordings on vinyl is the £500 collector’s edition box set!
3CD+blu-ray super deluxe includes a new stereo mix, the legendary ‘Brussels Affair’ gig, rarities/alternate mixes and a 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mix on the blu-ray!
Joni Mitchell/Live at Canterbury House 19673LP vinyl
Contains 2LP vinyl, CD, DVD, 10-inch vinyl, book plus loads of ‘stuff’ like repro iternaries, tour passes, setlist, photos, ticket stubs etc. This deal WILL ship to the UK (£57 shipped).
With the delayed Euro 2020 championship due to kick off on 11 June, Sony reissue the classic ‘Three Lions’ on seven-inch red vinyl. The ‘first half’ (A-side) is ‘Three Lions’, while the ‘second half’ (B-side) is ‘Three Lions ’98’.
This half-speed mastered 12-inch is being reissued to mark the 40th anniversary of the classic single. It is backed by Lynval Goldings’ ‘Why?’ and the Terry Hall-penned ‘Friday Night, Saturday Morning’.
Estoteric Recordings will issue an enormous 15CD+DVD box set edition of Be Bop Deluxe‘s 1977 live album Live! In The Air Age.
This was the band’s only live album and it was recorded on a series of dates in the UK in February and March 1977, on the Rolling Stones mobile unit with John Leckie supervising the location recordings.
Remarkably, all of the 24-track tapes multi-track tapes of all the shows recorded on this UK tour have survived. Esoteric are making the most of it, and for this new box set, each concert that was recorded is included in its entirety. These were newly mixed by Stephen W. Tayler, and all seven shows are presented here for the very first time.
This box set also adds a DVD (NTSC, region-free) of Star Rider In Concert which was first shown on TV in 1977 and is commercially issued her for the first time.
An illustrated 68-page book is also included, with plenty of previously unseen photographs and an essay of recollections by Bill Nelson. There are also postcards and a replica poster.
Live! In The Air Age is released on 27 August 2021 (a week later in the USA).
Compare prices and pre-order
Be Bop Deluxe
Live! In The Air Age 1970- 1973: 15cd/1dvd Limited Edition Boxed Set
1. LIFE IN THE AIR AGE 2. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT 3. PIECE OF MINE 4. FAIR EXCHANGE 5. SHINE 6. SISTER SEAGULL 7. MAID IN HEAVEN 8. MILL STREET JUNCTION 9. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE 10. BLAZING APOSTLES BONUS TRACKS 11. STILL SHINING (BBC JOHN PEEL SESSION – JANUARY 1977) 12. MILL STREET JUNCTION (BBC JOHN PEEL SESSION – JANUARY 1977) 13. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE (BBC JOHN PEEL SESSION – JANUARY 1977)
DISC TWO: LEICESTER – DE MONTFORT HALL 12TH FEBRUARY 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. INTRODUCTION – BLIMPS (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 2. LIFE IN THE AIR AGE (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 3. FAIR EXCHANGE (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 4. PIECE OF MINE (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 5. SISTER SEAGULL (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 6. MILL STREET JUNCTION (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 7. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 8. SWANSONG (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 9. MAID IN HEAVEN (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 10. SHINE (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 11. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE (LEICESTER 12.2.77)
DISC THREE: LEICESTER – DE MONTFORT HALL 12th FEBRUARY 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. BILL NELSON’S INTRODUCTION (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 2. TWILIGHT CAPERS (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 3. MODERN MUSIC SUITE (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 4. FORBIDDEN LOVERS (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 5. TERMINAL STREET (LEICESTER 12.2.77) 6. BLAZING APOSTLES (LEICESTER 12.2.77)
DISC FOUR: LEEDS – GRAND THEATRE 13th FEBRUARY 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. INTRODUCTION – BLIMPS (LEEDS 13.2.77) 2. LIFE IN THE AIR AGE (LEEDS 13.2.77) 3. FAIR EXCHANGE (LEEDS 13.2.77) 4. PIECE OF MINE (LEEDS 13.2.77) 5. SISTER SEAGULL (LEEDS 13.2.77) 6. MILL STREET JUNCTION (LEEDS 13.2.77) 7. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT (LEEDS 13.2.77) 8. SWANSONG (LEEDS 13.2.77) 9. MAID IN HEAVEN (LEEDS 13.2.77) 10. SHINE (LEEDS 13.2.77) 11. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE (LEEDS 13.2.77)
DISC FIVE: LEEDS – GRAND THEATRE 13th FEBRUARY 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. BILL NELSON’S INTRODUCTION (LEEDS 13.2.77) 2. TWILIGHT CAPERS (LEEDS 13.2.77) 3. MODERN MUSIC SUITE (LEEDS 13.2.77) 4. FORBIDDEN LOVERS (LEEDS 13.2.77) 5. TERMINAL STREET (LEEDS 13.2.77)
DISC SIX: LEEDS – GRAND THEATRE 14th FEBRUARY 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. INTRODUCTION – BLIMPS (LEEDS 14.2.77) 2. LIFE IN THE AIR AGE (LEEDS 14.2.77) 3. FAIR EXCHANGE (LEEDS 14.2.77) 4. PIECE OF MINE (LEEDS 14.2.77) 5. SISTER SEAGULL (LEEDS 14.2.77) 6. MILL STREET JUNCTION (LEEDS 14.2.77) 7. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT (LEEDS 14.2.77) 8. SWANSONG (LEEDS 14.2.77) 9. MAID IN HEAVEN (LEEDS 14.2.77) 10. SHINE (LEEDS 14.2.77) 11. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE (LEEDS 14.2.77)
DISC SEVEN: LEEDS – GRAND THEATRE 14th FEBRUARY 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. BILL NELSON’S INTRODUCTION (LEEDS 14.2.77) 2. TWILIGHT CAPERS (LEEDS 14.2.77) 3. MODERN MUSIC SUITE (LEEDS 14.2.77) 4. FORBIDDEN LOVERS (LEEDS 14.2.77) 5. TERMINAL STREET (LEEDS 14.2.77) 6. BLAZING APOSTLES (LEEDS 14.2.77)
DISC EIGHT: LONDON – HAMMERSMITH ODEON 25th MARCH 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. INTRODUCTION – BLIMPS (LONDON 25.3.77) 2. LIFE IN THE AIR AGE (LONDON 25.3.77) 3. FAIR EXCHANGE (LONDON 25.3.77) 4. PIECE OF MINE (LONDON 25.3.77) 5. SISTER SEAGULL (LONDON 25.3.77) 6. MILL STREET JUNCTION (LONDON 25.3.77) 7. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT (LONDON 25.3.77) 8. SWANSONG (LONDON 25.3.77) 9. MAID IN HEAVEN (LONDON 25.3.77) 10. SHINE (LONDON 25.3.77) 11. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE (LONDON 25.3.77)
DISC NINE: LONDON – HAMMERSMITH ODEON 25th MARCH 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. BILL NELSON’S INTRODUCTION (LONDON 25.3.77) 2. TWILIGHT CAPERS (LONDON 25.3.77) 3. MODERN MUSIC SUITE (LONDON 25.3.77) 4. FORBIDDEN LOVERS (LONDON 25.3.77) 5. TERMINAL STREET (LONDON 25.3.77) 6. BLAZING APOSTLES (LONDON 25.3.77)
DISC TEN: LONDON – HAMMERSMITH ODEON 26th MARCH 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. INTRODUCTION – BLIMPS (LONDON 26.3.77) 2. LIFE IN THE AIR AGE (LONDON 26.3.77) 3. FAIR EXCHANGE (LONDON 26.3.77) 4. PIECE OF MINE (LONDON 26.3.77) 5. SISTER SEAGULL (LONDON 26.3.77) 6. MILL STREET JUNCTION (LONDON 26.3.77) 7. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT (LONDON 26.3.77) 8. SWANSONG (LONDON 26.3.77) 9. MAID IN HEAVEN (LONDON 26.3.77) 10. SHINE (LONDON 26.3.77) 11. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE (LONDON 26.3.77)
DISC ELEVEN: LONDON – HAMMERSMITH ODEON 26th MARCH 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. BILL NELSON’S INTRODUCTION (LONDON 26.3.77) 2. TWILIGHT CAPERS (LONDON 26.3.77) 3. MODERN MUSIC SUITE (LONDON 26.3.77) 4. FORBIDDEN LOVERS (LONDON 26.3.77) 5. TERMINAL STREET (LONDON 26.3.77) 6. BLAZING APOSTLES (LONDON 26.3.77)
DISC TWELVE: BRISTOL – COLSTON HALL 27th MARCH 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. INTRODUCTION – BLIMPS (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 2. LIFE IN THE AIR AGE (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 3. FAIR EXCHANGE (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 4. PIECE OF MINE (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 5. SISTER SEAGULL (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 6. MILL STREET JUNCTION (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 7. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 8. SWANSONG (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 9. MAID IN HEAVEN (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 10. SHINE (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 11. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE (BRISTOL 27.3.77)
DISC THIRTEEN: BRISTOL – COLSTON HALL 27th MARCH 1977 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. BILL NELSON’S INTRODUCTION (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 2. TWILIGHT CAPERS (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 3. MODERN MUSIC SUITE (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 4. FORBIDDEN LOVERS (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 5. TERMINAL STREET (BRISTOL 27.3.77) 6. BLAZING APOSTLES (BRISTOL 27.3.77)
1. INTRODUCTION – BLIMPS (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 2. LIFE IN THE AIR AGE (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 3. FAIR EXCHANGE (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 4. PIECE OF MINE (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 5. SISTER SEAGULL (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 6. MILL STREET JUNCTION (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 7. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 8. SWANSONG (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 9. MAID IN HEAVEN (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 10. SHINE (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 11. ADVENTURES IN A YORKSHIRE LANDSCAPE (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77)
1. BILL NELSON’S INTRODUCTION (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 2. TWILIGHT CAPERS (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 3. MODERN MUSIC SUITE (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 4. FORBIDDEN LOVERS (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 5. TERMINAL STREET (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77) 6. BLAZING APOSTLES (BOURNEMOUTH 28.3.77)
DISC SIXTEEN: BE BOP DELUXE – STAR RIDER IN CONCERT PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. FAIR EXCHANGE (STAR RIDER IN CONCERT FILM) 2. SHIPS IN THE NIGHT (STAR RIDER IN CONCERT FILM) 3. MAID IN HEAVEN (STAR RIDER IN CONCERT FILM) 4. BRING BACK THE SPARK (STAR RIDER IN CONCERT FILM) 5. BLAZING APOSTLES (STAR RIDER IN CONCERT FILM)
World Farty: Typos and errors mar Karl Wallinger’s vinyl reissue campaign
Three albums into the World Party vinyl reissue campaign and the quality control aspect has left much to be desired.
While Karl Wallinger’s debut as World Party – 1986’s Private Revolution – appears to have had been unaffected by gremlins, the same cannot be said for some of the other records. The second album, 1990’s Goodbye Jumbo had some production problems which resulted in the reissue falling out of sequence, pushing the release date all the way back to October (SDE’s analysis of vinyl pressing plant logjam will shed some light on why the delay is so lengthy) and then the Bang! album also had issues.
The rear artwork of the ‘Bang!’ sleeve doesn’t reflect the changes made to the running order (taken from Discogs).
The new vinyl reissue of that 1993 album omits ‘Give It All Away (Reprise)’ from the end of the album (in itself a questionable decision) and the running order was shuffled forward, so that the last track on side 1 (‘Sooner or Later’) became the first track on side 2. However, no one thought to update the artwork, so both the sleeve and the label on the vinyl record have ‘Soooner or Later’ as the last song on side 1 and suggest that ‘Give It All Away (Reprise) does indeed finish the album – which it doesn’t!
If you’re the forgiving type, you might put that down to a bad day at the office, and remember that we all make mistakes, but sadly the errors have continued and the most recent one is a clanger of almighty proportions.
The last World Party studio album Dumbing Up (originally released in 2000) was reissued on vinyl yesterday, but the spine on the 2LP gatefold package takes issue with traditional naming convention and proudly declares the album is called ‘Private Revolution’. D’Oh!
“You gotta be shitting me…” – Dumbing Up vinyl has the wrong name on it (click image to enlarge)
The odd typo is one thing, but such high-profile mistakes should really not be happening “at this level” (as football pundits like to say). SDE takes no pleasure in reporting these cock-ups (there but for the grace of God go I) but would urge Karl Wallinger to employ the services of a proof-reader. If he’s already done that, then dispense with said proof-reader and get another one!
It has been two and a half years since Blondie announced their box set
Blondie box set ‘definitely’ coming in August 2021 – says someone in the know
When questioned on twitter about when the long-awaited Blondie box set will be coming out, drummer Clem Burke was definitive with his answer.
Tweeter ‘Simon’ referenced an Uncut article from October 2020 which mentioned the box and asked Burke directly “is the box set still happening this year?”. The answer as you can see below states “Yes definitely August 2021”. As fans, we have no reason to doubt this, although the announcement in 2018 telling fans that the box would arrive in 2019 seemed fairly definitive as well, especially since there was artwork to go with it! SDE will maintain a watching brief.
“Happy 40th birthday, Greatest Hits. I got you this slipcase… No, really it was nothing”
Queen reissue Greatest Hits for its 40th birthday but it’s all about them and not you
Queen’s 1981 Greatest Hits is the biggest selling album in the UK, having clocked up sales of over six million copies (6.75m, to be exact). That’s 22 times platinum in the UK!
The reason for mentioning this is because the album is 40 years old this year (it was released in October 1981) and it seems that the 900+ weeks on the UK chart aren’t enough to satisfy band and label and so they have decided to plan another assault on the UK pop charts and reissue it for the 40th anniversary.
Of course, you’d hope they would do something very special for a very significant birthday. Perhaps a CD+blu-ray combo-pack which offers a Dolby Atmos surround mix of every song on the album, linked to restored and remastered video footage? Or how about a two-CD set that offers remixes and rarities on disc two? Or what about a 17-disc CD singles or 12-inch box set that offers each song on its own disc with accompanying rarities?
They haven’t done any of that. What Queen have decided to do is reissue the standard CD with a slipcase around it and offer some limited edition ‘collectors edition’ coloured cassettes.
The four collector’s edition cassette tapes of ‘Greatest Hits’
To be fair, yesterday when this was announced they did offer a bundle of the four cassettes and the slipcased CD with a signed insert (Brian May and Roger Taylor, only) along with a badge. This was priced at £55 and limited to 1000 units. It sold out in about 10 minutes.
What is disappointing about all this, is that the cassette tapes and the signed bundle are a blatant attempt to get the album back to number one in the UK charts. The label deliberately limited the signed bundle to UK fans so that every sale counted towards the UK chart. Each bundle is five sales (four tapes and a CD) so in the 10 minutes or so that it took to sell out that bundle they registered 5000 sales for the chart which will be announced on 9 July (a week after the reissue date). Albums in Britain tend to get to number one these days with between 30,000 and 40,000 sales so that’s already a big step. If 10 thousand further fans buy all four cassette tapes then they are more or less home and dry. The other aspect to bear in mind here is that they are not starting from zero. This very Greatest Hits album is number 12 in this week’s album chart, just through standard catalogue sales!
Of course, there is nothing new in trying to get to number one with multiple formats (hello, Paul McCartney), but this is squeezing fans until the pips squeak! Everyone has this album already. Queen and their record label could have – should have – made some more effort and delivered a product that gives them the sales, but also rewards fans with something new. Anything. Tapes and a slipcase around the standard CD is a bit pathetic, to be honest. We should be thankful there’s no capacity at vinyl pressing plants right now, otherwise we’d almost certainly have had multiple coloured copies and/or picture discs with band members’ faces on them in addition to what has already been announced.
Limited coloured vinyl pressing signed by Paul Young only for SDE
Paul Young‘s classic 1991 compilation From Time to Time: The Singles Collection is being reissued as a 2LP vinyl set pressed on blue vinyl for its 30th anniversary. And SDE is selling exclusive signed copies via the SDE shop.
This greatest hits set was issued between Paul’s fourth and fifth studio albums (Other Voices and The Crossing) and was an enormous success in the UK, entering the album charts at number one in September 1991 and staying in the top 10 for 14 consecutive weeks. Such was its longevity, the album was still in the top 40 in late February 1992.
An original TV ad promoting ‘From Time to Time’
The album features all seven of Paul Young’s UK top ten hits (including number one single ‘Wherever I Lay May Hat (That’s My Home)’, as well as songs that did well in America, such as US number one single ‘Every Time You Go Away’, ‘I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down’ and ‘Oh Girl’ (which reached number eight, stateside, in the summer of 1990).
The compilation also includes Paul’s cover of Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ (the single issued to promote it) and his hit with Zucchero, ‘Senza una donna (Without a Woman)’.
Paul Young will sign the coloured vinyl reissue only for SDE
Originally released on one vinyl record 30 years ago, this 14-track compilation is now reissued for the first time as a 2LP set and is pressed on limited edition translucent blue vinyl. This are numbered and are limited to 2000 copies worldwide (2000 blue vinyl in total, of which the SDE signed copies are a subset).
Paul Young is a good friend to SDE and regular readers will know that we’ve collaborated on various releases and reissues over the years. I’m delighted to say that Paul will be signing copies of this From Time to Time reissue exclusively for the SDE shop. Each vinyl record will be personally signed by Paul Young and a coloured photo of Paul signing the album will be included with your vinyl!
Secure your signed copy of From Time to Time: The Singles Collection 2LP blue vinyl by pre-ordering now from the SDE shop using this link or the button below. We ship internationally and have done our best to keep tracked shipping rates low. These will ship on or around 12 July 2021.
Tracklisting
From Time to Time: The Singles CollectionPaul Young/2LP blue vinyl
Side A
Everytime You Go Away
Come Back And Stay
I’m Only Foolin’ Myself
Senza Una Donna (Without A Woman) (feat. Zucchero)
Having released the box set last month, Rhino have announced that they will reissue standalone 3CD and 2LP vinyl versions of the Fleetwood MacLive reissue.
As a reminder, this live double album was originally released in 1980 and features music mostly recorded during the world tour for 1979’s Tusk. The strong setlist includes massive hits such as ‘Dreams’, ‘Go Your Own Way’, ‘Rhiannon’, and ‘Don’t Stop’.
The new standalone three-CD set is as the same as in the box, so two discs as per the original release – except remastered – and a bonus CD featuring over an hour of unreleased live material. The 14 bonus live tracks include seven songs from the Tusk tour (1979-80), four from the Rumours tour (1977) and three from the Mirage tour (1982).
The 2LP vinyl isn’t quite so exciting since it’s simply a remastered version of the original. There is no bonus seven-inch because that is exclusive to the box set. Nevertheless, you now don’t need to buy that same box if all you want is remastered vinyl.
Both three-CD and 2LP versions of Live will be released on 25 June 2021.
Limited to 2500 copies • Signed by surviving members of the band
Who Do You Think We Are?, a new career-spanning CD box set featuring Canterbury Band Caravan, will be released in August.
The 35CD+DVD+blu-ray box set features all the official Caravan albums, newly remastered – studio and live recordings among them – and are joined by 11 discs of previously unreleased live performances. A Blu-ray includes a Steven Wilson 5.1 surround sound mix of the classic In the Land of Grey and Pink album. In addition, a DVD includes vintage European TV performances from 1971 – 1981 (London Marquee, German TV’s ‘Swing In’, Bataclan, Paris & French TV show ‘Pop 2’).
The box set includes 144-page hardback coffee table book with rare Caravan photos and memorabilia, and a full discography. A second Fan Club book assembles historic press articles from across the band’s career, alongside a new interview with founder member Pye Hastings.
The box includes aphoto signed by the three surviving members of the original Caravan line-up: Pye Hastings, Richard Sinclair and David Sinclair.
Finally, a selection of memorabilia includes a Caravan-centric map of Canterbury; a specially commissioned Caravan family tree poster, charting their long and circuitous progress and two replica 1970s gig posters.
Who Do You Think We Are? has been put together with the band’s full co-operation and is strictly limited to 2500 units worldwide. It is released by Madfish.
You can secure your copy by ordering via the SDE shop using this link or the button below. If you are in Europe, please remember that you may be charged VAT/import duty/clearance fees when your order arrives at your country.
Track listing
CD 1
CARAVAN (MONO VERSION)
1 Place Of My Own 4:03
2 Ride 3:42
3 Policeman 2:44
4 Love Song With Flute 4:08
5 Cecil Rons 4:05
6 Magic Man 3:58
7 Grandma’s Lawn 3:23
8 Where But For Caravan Would I? 8:59
CARAVAN (STEREO VERSION)
9 Place Of My Own 4:00
10 Ride 3:41
11 Policeman 2:42
12 Love Song With Flute 4:08
13 Cecil Rons 4:05
14 Magic Man 4:00
15 Grandma’s Lawn 3:22
16 Where But For Caravan Would I? 8:59
CD 2
IF I COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, I’D DO IT ALL OVER YOU
1 If I Could Do It All Again, I’d Do It All Over You 3:05
2 And I Wish I Were Stoned / Don’t Worry 8:17
3 As I Feel I Die 5:08
4 With An Ear To The Ground You Can Make It / Martinian / Only Cox / Reprise 9:50
5 Hello Hello 3:45
6 Asforteri 1:19
7 Can’t Be Long Now / Francoise / For Richard / Warlock 14:19
8 Limits 1:32
BONUS TRACKS
9 A Day In The Life Of Maurice Haylett 5:04
10 Why? (And I Wish I Were Stoned) (Demo Version) 4:20
11 Clipping The 8th (Hello Hello) (Demo Version) 3:09
12 As I Feel I Die (Demo Version) 4:36
13 Hello Hello (Single Version) 3:12
CD 2
IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK
1 Golf Girl 5:00
2 Winter Wine 7:36
3 Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) 3:04
4 In The Land Of Grey And Pink 4:50
5 Nine Feet Underground (Medley) 22:42
(a) Nigel Blows A Tune 2:50
(b) Love’s A Friend 2:50
(c) Make It 76 2:50
(d) Dance Of The Seven Paper Hankies 2:50
(e) Hold Grandad By The Nose 2:51
(f) Honest I Did 2:51
(g) Disassociation 2:51
(h) 100% Proof 2:51
CD 4
IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK
BONUS TRACKS
1 I Don’t Know Its Name (Alias The Word) 6:08
2 Aristocracy 3:41
3 It’s Likely To Have A Name Next Week (Winter Wine Instrumental) – Stereo Mix by Steven Wilson 7:46
4 Group Girl (Golf Girl first version) 5:01
5 Dissassociation / 100% Proof 8:32
6 It Doesn’t Take A Lot 3:13
7 Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) – Stereo Mix by Steven Wilson 3:20
8 Nigel Blows A Tune (First Version) 5:50
CD 5
WATERLOO LILY
1 Waterloo Lily 6:45
2 Nothing At All / It’s Coming Soon / Nothing At All (Reprise) 10:20
3 Songs & Signs 3:37
4 Aristocracy 3:01
5 The Love In Your Eye / To Catch Me A Brother / Subsultus / Debouchement / Tilbury Kecks 12:29
6 The World Is Yours 3:37
BONUS TRACKS
7 Pye’s June Thing 2:52
8 Ferdinand 2:56
9 Looking Left, Looking Right / Pye’s Loop 6:54
CD 6
FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT
1 Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss 9:13
2 Hoedown 3:14
3 Surprise, Surprise 4:03
4 C’thlu Thlu 6:11
5 The Dog, The Dog, He’s At It Again 5:55
6 Be Alright / Chance Of A Lifetime 6:30
7 L’Auberge Du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise) (Medley) 10:02
(a) L’Auberge Du Sanglier
(b) A Hunting We Shall Go
(c) Pengola
(d) Backwards
(e) A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise)
BONUS TRACKS
8 Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss (U.S. Mix) 9:16
9 No! (“Be Alright” – Waffle (“Chance Of A Lifetime) 5:07
10 He Who Smelt It Dealt It (Memory Lain (“Hugh”) 4:40
11 Surprise, Surprise 3:12
12 Derek’s Long Thing 10:57
CD 7
CARAVAN & THE NEW SYMPHONIA (Live At The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, 28th October, 1973)
1 Introduction By Alan Black / Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss 10:58
(a) Introduction By Alan Black
(b) Memory Lain, Hugh
(c) Headloss
2 The Dog, The Dog, He’s At It Again 6:35
3 Hoedown 3:53
4 Introduction / The Love In Your Eye 19:39
5 Mirror For The Day 4:29
6 Virgin On The Ridiculous 7:47
7 For Richard 14:16
8 A Hunting We Shall Go 10:21
CD 8
CUNNING STUNTS
1 The Show Of Our Lives 5:42
2 Stuck In A Hole 3:06
3 Lover 5:06
4 No Backstage Pass 4:30
5 Welcome The Day 3:58
6 The Dabsong Conshirtoe 17:56
(a) The Mad Dabsong
(b) Ben Karratt Rides Again
(c) Pro’s And Con’s
(d) Wraiks And Ladders
(e) Sneaking Out The Bare Quare
(f) All Sorts Of Unmentionable Things
7 The Fear And Loathing In Tollington Park Rag 1:07
8 Keeping Back My Love 5:10
CD 9
LIVE AT FAIRFIELD HALLS 1974
1 Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss 9:26
2 Virgin On The Ridiculous 7:14
3 Be Alright / Chance of a Lifetime 6:37
4 The Love In Your Eye 15:00
5 L’Auberge Du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise) 8:31
6 The Dog, the Dog, He’s At It Again 6:23
7 For Richard 16:54
8 Hoedown 5:58
CD 10
BLIND DOG AT ST DUNSTANS
1 Here Am I 6:16
2 Chiefs & Indians 5:12
3 A Very Smelly Grubby Little Oik 4:11
4 Bobbing Wide 2:30
5 Come On Back 3:55
6 A Very Smelly Grubby Little Oik Reprise 2:23
7 Jack & Jill 6:26
8 Can You Hear Me 6:17
9 All The Way 8:40
CD 11
SURPRISE SUPPLIES
1 Here I Am 6:14
2 Chiefs & Indians 5:25
3 Can You Hear Me 6:24
4 All The Way 7:17
5 Very Smelly Grubby Little Oik 13:01
6 Love In Your Eye 16:57
CD 12
BETTER BY FAR
1 Feelin’ Alright 3:25
2 Behind You 5:00
3 Better By Far 3:22
4 Silver Strings 3:54
5 The Last Unicorn 5:47
6 Give Me More 4:35
7 Man In A Car 5:38
8 Let It Shine 4:22
9 Nightmare 6:23
CD 13
THE ALBUM
1 Heartbreaker 3:37
2 Corner Of Me Eye 3:37
3 Watcha Gonna Tell Me 5:47
4 Piano Player 5:20
5 Make Yourself At Home 3:25
6 Golden Mile 3:09
7 Bright Shiny Day 6:17
8 Clear Blue Sky 6:25
9 Keepin’ Up De Fences 5:15
BONUS TRACKS
10 It’s Never Too Late 6:23
CD 14
BACK TO FRONT
1 Back To Herne Bay Front 5:56
2 Bet You Wanna Take It All / Hold On, Hold On 5:19
3 A.A. Man 5:00
4 Videos Of Hollywood 5:08
5 Sally Don’t Change It 4:06
6 All Aboard 4:07
7 Taken My Breath Away 4:51
8 Proper Job / Back To Front 8:17
CD 15
COOL WATER
1 Cool Water 4:01
2 Just The Way You Are 3:38
3 Tuesday Is Rock And Roll Nite 4:17
4 The Crack Of The Willow 5:34
5 Ansaphone 4:56
6 Cold Fright 5:20
7 Side By Side 4:35
8 You Won’t Get Me Up In One Of Those 3:53
9 To The Land Of My Fathers 4:54
10 Poor Molly 5:52
11 Send Reinforcements 4:46
CD 16
THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS
1 It’s A Sad, Sad Affair 3:20
2 Somewhere In Your Heart 5:40
3 Cold As Ice 4:08
4 Liar 6:05
5 Don’t Want Love 6:46
6 Travelling Ways 3:49
7 This Time 5:15
8 If It Wasn’t For Your Ego 3:32
9 It’s Not Real 5:27
10 Wendy Wants Another 6” Mole 2:23
11 I Know Why You’re Laughing 5:32
CD 17
ALL OVER YOU
1 If I Could Do It All Again, I’d Do It All Over You 3:28
2 Place Of My Own 4:04
3 The Love In Your Eye / Ro Catch Me A Brother 4:15
4 In The Land Of Grey And Pink 3:42
5 Golf Girl 4:33
6 Disassociation (Nine Feet Underground) 3:49
7 Hello Hello 3:13
8 Asforteri 25 2:44
9 For Richard / Can’t Be Long Now / Francoise / For Richard / Warlock 8:11
10 Memory Lain 5:01
11 Headloss 4:47
CD 18
LIVE FROM THE ASTORIA – CANTERBURY COMES TO LONDON, 17th SEPTEMBER 1997
1 Memory Lain, Hugh 5:04
2 Headloss 4:53
3 Nine Feet Underground 17:33
4 The Dog, The Dog He’s At It Again 6:28
5 Cold As Ice 5:47
6 Somewhere In Your Heart 5:39
7 I Know Why You’re Laughing 5:47
8 Liar 6:42
9 For Richard 11:04
10 Golf Girl 7:08
CD 19
ALL OVER YOU…TOO
1 Hoedown 4:07
2 Very Smelly Grubby Little Oik 3:26
3 Bobbing Wide 4:07
4 The Dog, The Dog He’s At It Again 6:01
5 Stuck In A Hole 3:57
6 Ride 7:27
7 Nightmare 6:58
8 C’Thlu Thlu 7:03
9 Bobbing Wide – Reprise 3:01
CD 20
THE UNAUTHORISED BREAKFAST ITEM
1 Smoking Gun 5:35
2 Revenge 5:15
3 The Unauthorised Breakfast Item 4:44
4 Tell Me Why 6:16
5 It’s Getting A Whole Lot Better 8:56
6 Head Above The Clouds 7:19
7 Straight Through The Heart 4:39
8 Wild West Street 4:47
9 Nowhere To Hide 8:54
10 Linders Field 3:35
CD 21
THE UNAUTHORISED BREAKFAST ITEM – BONUS DISC
1 Smoking Gun (Right for me) 7:56
2 The Unauthorised Breakfast Item 6:16
3 Tell Me Why 5:45
4 Revenge 5:43
5 For Richard 14:21
CD 22
LIVE AT SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE PART ONE, 8th OCTOBER 2011
1 Memory Lain Hugh 4:36
2 Headloss 8:32
3 Why Why Why? 1:15
4 Smoking Gun 6:08
5 Golf Girl 5:16
6 The Unauthorised Breakfast Item 4:52
7 Nightmare 9:12
CD 23
LIVE AT SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE PART TWO, 8th OCTOBER 2011
1 In The Land Of Grey And Pink 5:02
2 The Dog, The Dog He’s At It Again 5:30
3 Fingers In The Till 5:46
4 It’s Not Real 5:48
5 9 Feet Underground 18:09
6 I’m On My Way 4:42
7 Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) 4:00
CD 24
PARADISE FILTER
1 All This Could Be Yours 4:30
2 I’m On My Way 4:27
3 Fingers In The Till 4:44
4 This Is What We Are 4:09
5 Dead Man Walking 5:58
6 Farewell My Old Friend 4:05
7 Pain In The Arse 4:28
8 Trust Me I’m A Doctor 4:28
9 I’ll Be There For You 6:14
10 Paradise Filter 5:59
CD 25
ENSCHEDE, HOLLAND, 16th MARCH 1972
1 Nothing At All (Jam) 19:33
2 Waterloo Lily 8:26
3 Anger Management (Jam) 8:04
4 The Love In Your Eye 14:21
5 For Richard 18:54
CD 26
A HUNTING WE SHALL GO, EBBETS FIELD, DENVER, NOVEMBER 1974
1 L’Auberge Du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise) (Medley) 8:31
2 For Richard 18:45
3 Hoedown 5:50
CD 27
NOTTINGHAM POLYTECHNIC, DECEMBER 5th 1975
1 The Show Of Our Lives 4:40
2 Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss 9:42
3 The Dabsong Conshirtoe 12:29
4 Virgin On The Ridiculous / Be All Right / Chance Of A Lifetime 14:20
5 The Love In Your Eye 18:20
6 For Richard 16:49
CD 28
LONDON MARQUEE, JULY 29th 1983 PART ONE
1 Behind You 5:57
2 Memory Lain, Hugh 4:22
3 Headloss 5:04
4 Golf Girl 5:41
5 A Hunting We Shall Go 4:23
6 Backwards 3:05
7 A Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise) 1:06
8 Clear Blue Sky 6:37
9 Nine Feet Underground 16:50
10 In The Land Of Grey And Pink 5:38
11 Nightmare 6:33
CD 29
MARQUEE, JULY 29th 1983 PART TWO
1 Heartbreaker 4:02
2 Keepin’ Up De Fences 6:23
3 The Last Unicorn 7:15
4 For Richard 14:20
5 Hoedown 5:33
CD 30
OLD BUCKENHAM, NORFOLK, SEPTEMBER 28th 1990 PART ONE
1 Behind You 5:30
2 Headloss 4:39
3 Golf Girl 6:03
4 Videos Of Hollywood 6:37
5 Nine Feet Underground 19:50
6 Winter Wine 8:53
7 In The Land Of Grey And Pink 4:39
CD 31
OLD BUCKENHAM, NORFOLK, SEPTEMBER 28th 1990 PART TWO
1 Nightmare 9:15
2 For Richard 16:42
3 Place Of My Own 5:02
CD 32
DISS, SUFFOLK, JUNE 12th 1999 PART ONE
1 A Very Smelly Grubby Little Oik 6:00
2 Memory Lain, Hugh / Headloss 9:43
3 The Dog, The Dog, He’s At It Again 5:53
4 Travellin’ Ways 4:05
5 Nightmare 8:05
6 I Know Why You’re Laughing 5:44
7 Somewhere In Your Heart 5:50
8 Medley 13:11
9 C’Thlu Thlu 6:06
CD 33
DISS, SUFFOLK, JUNE 12th 1999 PART TWO
1 Liar 7:10
2 Nine Feet Underground 18:34
3 Golf Girl / If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do Ot All Over You 9:19
CD 34
TRADING BOUNDARIES, FLETCHING, EAST SUSSEX, NOVEMBER 11th 2018 PART ONE
1 Memory Lain, Hugh 5:16
2 Headloss 5:48
3 Why Why Why? (I Wish I Were Stoned) 3:03
4 Golf Girl 7:08
5 Better Days Are To Come 5:42
6 If I Could Do It All Again, I’d Do It All Over You?) 3:59
7 The Love In Your Eye 9:05
8 For Richard 7:00
CD 35
TRADING BOUNDARIES, FLETCHING, EAST SUSSEX, NOVEMBER 11th 2018 PART TWO
1 Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) 3:26
2 Farewell My Old Friend 3:34
3 Nightmare 11:16
4 Smoking Gun 5:06
5 Dead Man Walking 7:29
6 I’ll Be There For You 10:19
7 9 Feet Underground 20:24
8 I’m On My Way 5:16
DISC 36 (DVD)
RARE PERFORMANCES
1 Place Of My Own (Marquee, Sept 5 1971) 6:19
2 The Love In Your Eye (Marquee, Sept 5 1971) 6:22
3 If I Could Do It All Again, I`d Do It All Over You (Marquee, Sept 5 1971) 2:35
4 Waterloo Lily (Marquee, Sept 5 1971) 4:27
5 For Richard (Marquee, Sept 5 1971) 8:29
6 The Love In Your Eye (Video – Rockenstock, December 9th 1973) 6:03
7 The Dog, The Dog, He`s At It Again (Video – Bataclan, November 26 1973) 1:43
8 Memory Lain, Hugh (finale) / For Richard (second part) / A Hunting We Shall Go: L `Auberge du Sanglier; A Hunting We Shall Go; Pengola; Backwards; A Hunting We Shall Go (reprise) (Video – Bataclan, November 26 1973) 12:29
9 Heartbreaker (Video – French TV, May 13 1981) 3:06
DISC 37 (BLU-RAY)
IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK – 5.1 SURROUND MIX BY STEVEN WILSON
1 Golf Girl 5:01
2 Winter Wine 7:37
3 Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) 3:04
4 In The Land Of Grey & Pink 5:00
5 Nine Feet Underground 22:39
BONUS UNRELEASED TRACKS
6 Frozen Rose (I Don’t Know It’s Name Alias The Word) 6:06
7 Golf Girl (Take 4 / Steven Wilson Mix) 8:20
8 Golf Girl (Unedited Album Master / Steven Wilson Mix) 6:32
Cherry Red are to release Pop Don’t Stop: Greatest Hits, a new Kim Wilde box set that includes five CDs and two DVDs.
The package features radio edits of many of Kim’s singles, including ‘Kids In America’, ‘You Came’, ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’, ‘Love Is Holy’ and ‘Kandy Krush’, as well as two brand new tracks – ‘Shine On’, featuring Boy George and ‘You’re My Karma’ with Tom Aspaul.
Kim Wilde’s Pop Don’t Stop: Greatest Hits box set (click image to enlarge)
Also included is a disc of B-sides (four tracks are new-to-CD) and a CD of remixes. Two DVDs (NTSC, region-free) offer almost 50 videos (including a bonus 2021 interview and a ‘look-back-at-the-videos’ feature with Kim.
The box set also includes a booklet with a Kim Wilde Q&A and lyrics and rare photos.
Pop Don’t Stop: Greatest Hits will be released on 6 August 2021. A two-CD version will also be available.
After Metrobolist, last year’s Tony Visconti stereo remix of The Man Who Sold The World, Parlophone offer David Bowie fans a companion release in The Width of a Circle, a two-CD set that very much rounds up odds and sods from the first half of 1970. By the end of that particular year The Man Who Sold The World was completed and was released (in America, at least – the UK had to wait until April 1971).
The first CD in The Width of a Circle is devoted entirely to The Sunday Show, what was then a new BBC Radio One 60-minute ‘in concert’ series. As the excellent 48-page book makes clear, this was recorded on 4 Feb 1970, which was less than two months after the release of the David Bowie/Space Oddity album, so it’s no surprise to hear plenty of songs from that record – in fact David plays everything off it, bar his one bona fide hit at the time, ‘Space Oddity’, and ‘Letter to Hermione’.
But ever one to look forward, Bowie had by this time already recorded a new song, ‘The Prettiest Star’ and so he also plays that track for this live session. The 1970 studio recording of ‘The Prettiest Star’ is famous for featuring Marc Bolan, but this live version is also notable for employing the services of a certain Mick Ronson, someone David had apparently only been introduced to a couple of days earlier! So this recording has enormous historical significance, being Ronson’s first performance with Bowie.
Mick only features on just over half of The Sunday Show songs, since Bowie was quite clever about how he presented his music for this audience, starting alone on acoustic guitar for four tracks, then playing with just Tony Visconti (bass) and John Cambridge (drums) for a couple of further tracks, before Mick joins in for full ‘rock band’ line-up. As well as the songs from the David Bowie/Space Oddity album, there’s a some oddities peppered in the setlist. David performs ‘Karma Man’, an at-the-time unreleased track that would be included on The World of David Bowie compilation when it was issued the following month and Jacques Brel’s ‘Amsterdam’ (which was on Scott Walker’s 1967 debut album). Bowie also covers ‘Buzz The Fuzz’, a relatively anonymous 1968 Biff Rose song. Just when you think his interest in this artist might be misplaced, he later tackles another Rose song (on the same album as ‘Buzz The Fuzz’) called ‘Fill Your Heart’. The penny drops. It’s the same song David would record for Hunky Dory the following year. He knew what he was doing…
The Width of a Circle is a two-CD book set with the discs held in a plastic insert at the rear
‘The Width of a Circle’, the track that gives this new deluxe set its name, is the only number from The Man Who Sold The World performed and it’s certainly an interesting listen, primarily because it’s so obviously still a work-in-progress. Don’t forget, at the time this was broadcast that album was still 14 months away from release in the UK. Given the prevalence of material from the David Bowie/Space Oddity album there is a argument that says all this material is more of a ‘companion’ to that 1969 record, rather than The Man Who Sold The World, but although the Keith McMillan outtake cover and the title signals the latter, The Width of a Circle is ultimately a standalone product, so this is rather a moot point.
John Peel introduces every song performed on The Sunday Show and if his droll patter seems at first charming and evocative of the era, it soon gets rather tiresome; his dry humour on occasions missing the mark somewhat. More than once I found myself thinking “get on with it!” as he rambled on, delaying the actual music.
It’s a miracle that we have access to this audio at all, since, in their wisdom, the BBC didn’t keep the tapes. However Tony Visconti had the foresight to record this, off air, from his own radio at the time it was broadcast (8 February 1970). Of course, it’s not the same as a pristine master tape transfer, but it’s not bad at all, so well done that man!
The second disc of The Width of a Circle starts with five tracks that make up The Looking Glass Murders aka Pierrot in Turquoise. This incorporates fairly sparse versions of Deram-era songs as sung by Bowie in a Lindsey Kemp ‘pantomime’ (called Pierrot in Turquoise). David also performed in the show, when it played in small theatres in late 1967 and he took part again for a one-off performance when it was filmed in early February 1970 for Scottish TV (four days before The Sunday Show). ‘When I LIve My Dream’ has always been a lovely song and sounds great set to a lonely organ. ‘Harlequinn’ and ‘Columbine’ are acoustic guitar driven curiosities, while ‘Threepenny Pierrot’ – narrative lyrics set to the tune of ‘London Bye Ta-Ta’ – probably sounded fairly dodgy from the stalls in 1967. It hasn’t improved in the intervening 54 years.
The next part of the second CD is subtitled ‘The Singles’. It starts with the excellent 45 version of ‘The Prettiest Star’ (the one with Marc Bolan on guitar). First issued on CD in 1989 as part of Rykodisc’s Sound + Vision box set, this song has aged well, although with this ‘Alternative Mix’ you’ll be hard pushed to spot any differences from the master version. The 1970 re-recording of ’London Bye Ta-Ta’ is the single that never was. Again, it was first issued on the Sound + Vision box. At the time, I thought this lost Bowie track was great. But this once rare number seems to crop up everywhere these days (although not – ludicrously – on Re:Call 1 from Five Years) and the novelty has rather worn off. While it features a great array of musicians (including Marc Bolan once more and Rick Wakeman on piano), two versions in a row (mono and stereo versions) rather spoils the ‘playability’ of this disc. Both mixes have been released before; the 2003 reboot of the Sound + Vision box featured the stereo version and the same mix also popped up on the 2009 reissue of David Bowie/Space Oddity.
Like ‘London Bye Ta-Ta’, the A and B-side versions of David Bowie/Space Oddity album closer ’Memory of a Free Festival’ single are also not rare any more, but I’d forgotten quite how different these re-recordings are when compared to the minimalistic album cut. Apart from John Cambridge being on drums (instead of Woody Woodmansey), this is the full The Man Who Sold The World band (with Mick Ronson), playing on a David Bowie/Space Oddity track. It’s fantastic but it doesn’t sound like a hit to me – and it wasn’t. This was primarily re-recorded for single release at the behest of Mercury in America but it was still issued in the UK which has always felt weird considering it followed ‘The Prettiest Star’, a brand new non-album track.
‘Holy Holy’ completes ‘The Singles’ and this version is actually quite rare. There were no commercial 45s from The Man Who Sold The World, but this track was released in the UK in January 1971 a few months before the album came out (the B-side was ‘Black Country Rock’). The reason it’s rare is because while the Rykodisc version of The Man Who Sold The World claims to host the original 1970 recording, it actually features the re-recording from later the same year (1971) which was intended as an album track on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardustand the Spiders from Mars (this obviously never happened, although it ended up as the B-side to ‘Diamond Dogs’!). So when the actual 1970 recording appeared on Re:Call 1 in the 2015 Five Years box set, that was the first official release on CD. The Width of a Circle becomes the second, and the first time it is available without buying an expensive box.
Next up is The Sounds of The 70s: Andy Ferris. Although this may sound like another live performance these are ‘in session’ studio recordings and this 25 March session features the same four musicians from that early February Sunday Show – namely David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Tony Visconti and John Cambridge. Three of these four tracks have never been issued on CD (‘The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud’ being the exception) and I have to say that the version of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Waiting For The Man’, with its hard rock minimalism, is a real highlight of The Width of a Circle. In fact, all the Andy Ferris stuff is brilliant. ‘The Width of a Circle’ has developed since February but David still hasn’t written the “He swallowed his pride and puckered his lips…” section. It’s good to hear another track from The Man Who Sold The World in ‘The Supermen’. Like the VU cover this is very heavy with bottom end and sounds superb.
Tony Visconti’s 2020 stereo remix of ‘Holy Holy’ is featured on The Width of a Circle
This new compilation ends with some new 2020 stereo mixes by Tony Visconti. It makes sense to do this, given that The Man Who Sold The World was remixed almost in its entirety for The Metrobolist. ‘The Prettiest Star’ sounds wonderfully lush and is probably the pick of the bunch, while ‘London Bye Ta-Ta’ still sounds like a right old racket! ‘Holy Holy’ is great but remains a strange little song.
If The Width of a Circle seems a little bit all over the place, then that’s purely because it’s a reflection of where Bowie was at this time. He was over five years into his professional career in early 1970 and while he had one hit to his name, the 23-year-old was not resting on his laurels and didn’t want to be defined by it (possibly why he didn’t play it on The Sunday Show). He would take any opportunity that fell into his lap, whether that be travelling across Scotland for £60 to perform in that Lindsey Kemp ‘pantomime’, developing and recording new songs, doing radio sessions or even helping Decca to put together a new compilation of old material (The World of David Bowie). He was throwing everything at the wall and waiting to see what would stick (if anything would stick). It’s interesting to note that for both the David Bowie/Space Oddity and The Man Who Sold The World albums David recorded and released new songs almost as soon as they were out (‘The Prettiest Star’ and ‘Holy Holy’, respectively). He was not short of material, ideas or energy and certainly didn’t lack confidence (on The Sunday Show recording he has a mild disagreement with Peel on the concept of ‘Art Labs’ which was a typically esoteric point of discussion).
For anyone not there at the time, it’s impossible to look back at this era 50 years on and get a truly clear picture of what was going on, since the image is clouded with the knowledge that David Bowie went on to become one of the world’s most creative, inventive (and successful) musicians and songwriters. We can’t help but see these recordings and this activity as stones, carefully laid, in a path to success. We know that path led to Hunky Dory, The Spiders from Mars, the alter-ego of Ziggy Stardust and ‘Starman’ – but David didn’t know where it would lead. ‘Nowhere’ was a distinct possibility. But in these early years, Bowie’s perseverance, his confidence in his own talents, and the perspiration that went with the inspiration is not something that is discussed too often.
Packaged in a smart linen-style book, The Width of a Circle feels like some kind of lost journal. The sort of item detectives in films find in the floorboards that prove a protagonist’s innocence. It fills in the gaps between album two and album three and makes some sense of the confusing single release schedule. Most importantly, it confirms that David Bowie was master of his own destiny and determined to succeed by unrelenting dedication to his art. While the rewards were not immediate, the sustained commercial success that finally came a couple of years later was well earned.
The Width of a Circle is released this Friday, 28 May 2021, along with a vinyl picture disc of The Man Who Sold The World.
For The Record, The 6LP white vinyl Fawlty Towers box set is out on Friday and Amazon in the UK have some more available, signed by John Cleese.
I should stress that these are still limited to 1500 copies worldwide, but it seems some cancellations and an element of ‘playing it safe’ has left Amazon in the UK with some signed spares.
The box set features all 12 TV episodes of the classic British comedy series, made up from the four original BBC vinyl albums – Fawlty Towers, Second Sitting, At Your Service and A La Carte – and two newly created collections, Plat du Jour and Enjoy Your Stay.
The Fawlty Towers box set with John Cleese signed print
The episodes are presented in their original vinyl LP edits and are as follows: Communications Problems (aka ‘Mrs Richards’), The Hotel Inspectors, Basil the Rat (aka ‘The Rat’), The Builders, The Kipper and the Corpse (aka ‘Death’), The Germans (aka ‘Fire Drill’), Waldorf Salad (aka ‘The Americans’), Gourmet Night, A Touch of Class, The Wedding Party, The Psychiatrist and The Anniversary.
The 12 episodes which have a special linking narration – supplied by hapless waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs) – which is unique to the vinyl versions and hasn’t been available since their original pressings.
This limited edition set comes with a art print of harassed hotelier Basil Fawlty SIGNED by co-creator John Cleese. It’s released on Friday, 28 May 2021.
This new compilation from the Now team is released on 22 June 2021. For more information, including full track listing, visit the original news post on SDE.
Two limited edition collectors’ sets from the Now team
The ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ team are going ‘deluxe’ with a brand new compilation, Now Yearbook ’83,which celebrates the year when the series first started, with a massive selection of hits from the likes of The Police, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club, The Human League, The Cure, Eurythmics, Genesis and more!
Like a souped-up Now 1, Now Yearbook ’83 offers 80 tracks across four CDs and best of all, comes in a limited edition deluxe hardcover book version some classic Now design touches, including period-style track-by-track annotation, and a Now Yearbook ’83 quiz!
The 4CD deluxe edition of Now Yearbook ’83 comes in casebound book packaging (click image to enlarge)
Also, for the first time for a Now reissue Now Yearbook ’83 is available as a special 3LP edition. Featuring a 43-track selection, this triple vinyl set is pressed on translucent red vinyl.
SDE has an exclusive video preview of the limited editions of Now Yearbook ’83
The 3LP red vinyl edition is strictly limited to 3,000 copies, while the deluxe book 4CD edition is limited to 5000 units. Only the standard, 4CD edition isn’t a limited edition.
Now Yearbook ’83 will be released on 25 June 2021. Full track listings for both CD and vinyl can be found below.
30th anniversary coloured vinyl box set with signed print
Demon Records will issue Renaissance, a coloured vinyl M Peoplebox set which features all the group’s studio albums and adds a bonus 12-inch single. A limited version comes with a Kevin Davies print signed by band members Mike Pickering, Paul Heard and Shovell.
M People Renaissance 5LP coloured vinyl box with signed print (click image to enlarge)
The four albums are each presented in their original sleeves and pressed on coloured vinyl, as follows:
Northern Soul (1991) – red vinyl
Elegant Slumming (1993) – white vinyl
Bizarre Fruit (1994) – blue vinyl
Fresco (1997) – yellow vinyl
Exclusive 12” with remixes by Sasha: ‘Someday’ and ‘How Can I Love
That 12-inch single is available commercially for the first time and this coloured vinyl box set with signed print is limited to 1000 units.
Renaissance will be released on 6 August 2021 (was 16 July). A 9CD+2DVD edition of this box was issued last November.
Compare prices and pre-order
M People
Renaissance - limited 5LP vinyl box set with signed print
In July, Cherry Red will follow up the first volume of their Level 42Complete Polydor Years box set with a second 10CD package that focuses on the years 1985-1989, the band’s most commercially successful period.
The Complete Polydor Years 1985-1989 contains the 1985 live album A Physical Presence and three studio albums: World Machine (1985), Running in the Family (1987) and Staring at the Sun (1988).
That’s five CDs to cover the albums. A further five discs brings together B-sides, 7″ remixes, 12-inch remixes and other rarities from this period. Like the first, very well received, box set this has been compiled in conjunction with Level 42 and band experts Paul Wallace, Paul Waller and Simon Carson.
Sleeve notes are once more by Daryl Easlea who has spoken to band members current and past. Packaging will be consistent to what came before (check out the SDE unboxing video) although this time the box is presented in a striking black design.
The Complete Polydor Years 1985-1989 will be released on 30 July 2021. Please rate this release by using the feedback functionality at the top of this post!
After the disappointment towards the end of the David Bowie ‘Brilliant Live Adventures Campaign’, Parlophone said sorry and promised fans who missed out that they would get a chance to buy the products at a later date.
“As promised, due to unexpected demand, we will be making the Brilliant Live Adventures available again. Please select the products you wish to register your interest for below, and then enter your details at the bottom of the page. As soon as we have more information on when the products will be available to pre-order again we will contact you with more details”.
You have three weeks to register your interest in each specific release/format since registration closes on Monday 14 June.
So Young: Suede 1991-1993 is a forthcoming deluxe photo book documenting the formative years of UK rock band Suede.
Featuring unseen photos, gig flyers, early posters and diary entries from the archives of band member Simon Gilbert it begins with the drummer making his way to London in the early 90s, hellbent on joining a band and forging a career in music.
So Young 1991-1993 is a deluxe book in an outer slipcase
So Young is described as a “rip-roaring journal of a vital musical era; a must-read time capsule for those who weren’t there and a potent reminder for those lucky enough to have experienced the chaos first-hand”.
The book features a foreword by Stuart Maconie who was a champion of Suede from their very early days. Detailed specification of So Young is below:
200-Page limited edition deluxe photo book
Printed On 170 gsm Gardamatt FSC Paper
Anti-Scratch Matt Finish Hardback Book in Slipcase
Dimension: 310mm x 268mm x 28mm
Signed & Numbered Certificate of Authenticity by Simon Gilbert
Foreword by Stuart Maconie
So Young 1991-1993 will be published on 8 October 2021 (was 3 September) and can only be pre-ordered via the official store. A specially-priced bundle of book and 24″ x 24″ art print of the front cover is also available.
Universal Music are to release a five-CD super deluxe edition of the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe’s film Almost Famous (released in 2000).
The semi autobiographical comedy drama follows the exploits of a young Rolling Stone journalist as he tours with the (fictional) band Stillwater. It was well-received at the time and won plenty of awards including a Best Original Screenplay Ocscar for Crowe.
The Almost Famous soundtrack included artists such as Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Cat Stevens and more plus six songs by the movie’s make believe band, Stillwater.
The new five-CD super deluxe version includes 102 tracks (songs/dialogue/score etc.) and features some unreleased cuts, including Elton John‘s ‘Tiny Dancer’ newly mixed with the cast members singing alongside the song (as featured in the film) and The Who’s ‘Amazing Journey / Sparks (Almost Famous Version)’, which was newly remixed & edited.
Neil Young‘s ‘Cortez the Killer’ wasn’t on the original soundtrack at all (since the audio featured in the movie was taken from the bootleg of a 1999 show), but Young recently unearthed it from his archive and newly mixed from the original multi-track analogue tape for this release.
The Almost Famous 5CD super deluxe edition (click image to enlarge)
The reissue of Almost Famous includes film dialogue, Stillwater demos & jams and original score tracks by Nancy Wilson.
Physical items in the super deluxe include a William Miller cover story on Stillwater as a ’73 Rolling Stone, a book, concert tickets & poster.
This all sounds quite groovy until you see the price for this box set. The bean-counters at the label seem to have embraced the theme of Seventies rock excess, since UMC are asking £120 for five CDs and some bits of paper.
An alternative is the original 17-track soundtrack which is also being reissued as a 2LP vinyl set with some unreleased photos to “enhance the packaging”. There’s also D2C version presented in a ‘tip-on’ vintage-style gatefold jacket with unique cover art & photos plus a massive storyboard poster.
The 5CD super deluxe of Almost Famous has been pushed back to the 20 August although the 2LP set will be reissued on 9 July 2021. A 4k UHD blu-ray edition of the film is also due in the summer.
