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▶ ROCKIN' HORSE - Yes It Is LP
Rockin' Horses' "Yes It Is" has been critically hailed as one of the true lost British power pop relics. When the late Greg Shaw (Bomp Records & Magazine) created his Voxx subsidiary, the first single he decided to reissue was Rockin' Horses' 1971 magnum opus single, "The Biggest Gossip in Town." Shaw declared that the single was the greatest power pop song of all time – heady stuff.
The power pop sounds of "Yes It Is" have been favorably compared to the best of The Beatles' "Let it Be" era and Badfinger's early 1970 efforts. As an homage, the band's name was drawn from The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and the album title itself from The Beatles B-side of "Ticket to Ride."
Rockin' Horse was formed in 1971 by lifelong best friends Jimmy Campbell (The Kirkbys/23rd Turnoff) and Billy Kinsley (The Merseybeats/The Merseys) after the end of their respective Liverpool bands had split. Joining the Liverpool core duo were hired studio guns: Bobby Falloon (guitar), Stan Gorman (drums) and Michael Snow (keyboards).
Having been schooled in the very same musical influences as the Fab Four, the end result is eerily similar to the sound the Beatles were creating at the end of their career during 1968-1970. The album was not an attempt to "ape" The Beatles' sound, but more the end product of having grown up as contemporaries of The Beatles in Liverpool and listening to the same records and playing the same circuits . How could they not end up sounding similar?
Locating a copy of the original album is close to impossible and very expensive. Now you can own one of the greatest power pop recordings of all time on vinyl with its original Hipgnosis sleeve design.
Release Country: UK
Release Year: 1971 / Reissue Date: 01.12
Original Label: Philips
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▶ SCREAMING URGE - 'Homework' b/w 'Runaway'
Columbus, Ohio forms the southern point of Ohio's golden triangle of D.I.Y. (with Cleveland at the north, and someplace between Akron and Youngstown to the east). From these few hundred square miles emerged dozens of bands whose musical roots flow directly from the splendidly guileless art-rock of Rocket From the Tombs and Pere Ubu -with barely a trace of Ramones, Sex Pistols or Elvis Costello... Screaming Urge's "Homework" is this series' theme-song. They were certainly the punkiest outfit in the gloriously experimental Columbus scene at the turn of the '80s, but the thoroughly un-punk artwork on their LPs and the EP still scares off the headbangers. They played the heck out of Columbus' clubs, church halls, sidewalks and a burlesque club they rented. Major label nibbles came to naught, but they left behind a cool 45 (New Age 002) and two LPs-worth of world-class DIY-punk. Drummer Dave Manic went on to Great Plains.
Release Country: USA
Release Year: 1980 / Reissue Date: 01.12
Original Label: New Age.
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▶ AMBULANCE - 'It's All Up To You' b/w 'I Remember'
Finally! This lone single from New Jersey's Ambulance sits in the top tier of power pop 45s and is usually only afforded by serious collectors but now its here for mass consumption! Consisting of Steve William (gtr), Johnny C. (b) and Bobby Padula (d), the trio would call the legendary Dirt club in Bloomfield, NJ their homebase (they even did a commerical for them) but were also known to frequently play the NYC punk clubs. The single, recorded in 1978, and originally issued in an edition of 1000 copies, was well recieved at the time and got decent airplay. Check out their video for 'I Remember' HERE. Also, keep an eye on Ambulance's website for a comprehensive-discography CD to be issued in the next couple months.
Release Country: USA
Release Year: 1980 / Reissue Date: 01.12
Original Label: Urgent Sound
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▶ PUMPHOUSE GANG - Pumphouse Gang LP
Formed from the ashes of a mid-70's rock band called Horse, the founding members of Pumphouse Gang - Ricky Wreckage (vocals), Ralph Von Wau Wau (bass), SG Coolbridge (guitar) and Dread 'Family Man' Jones (drums) were active on the fringes of the UK punk scene as early as late 1976. The band made regular trips from their base in Ryde on the Isle Of Wight to play London's live circuit at venues like The Marquee, The Speakeasy and The Nashville, and on the same bill as acts like Generation X, Fabulous Poodles, The Lurkers and The Only Ones.
This album features the best of Pumphouse Gang's material for Splash Records, including eight tracks never previously released on vinyl. Lost classics like 'When We Were Young', 'Black And White' and 'Teenage Lament' together with those now highly collectable Splash singles only emphasise how wrong the record buying public were to ignore the band back then. Perhaps this LP will go some way to righting that wrong. - James Denholm (Worthless Trash)
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▶ JET STAXX - 'I'm Gonna Be The Best Guy' b/w 'You'll Get The Chop'
In the early 70's Mike Butcher worked as a studio technician at Morgan Studios in London. On relocating to Belgium a few years later to work at Morgan's other studio in Brussels he hooked up with co-worker Alan Ward (Elton Motello) to record two singles under the band names Feather and Rollerball as well as co-writing and playing guitar on most of Elton Motello's two albums. Mike Butcher also recorded two solo singles as Jet Staxx, the first 'I'm Gonna Be The Best Guy' / 'You'll Get The Chop' was released in Belgium (Topkapi 2103 131), Germany (Bellaphon BF 18594) and Holland (Scramble SRS 510.061) in the spring of 1978. In the studio, Butcher (vocals/guitar) was assisted by drummer Pascal Van Het Groenewoud and someone known as Randy Sod on bass, though it's likely Butcher played bass himself. The 2nd single 'French Girls' followed in September 1978. - James Denholm (Worthless Trash)
Release Country: Belgium, Holland, Germany
Release Year: 1978 / Reissue Date: 10.11
Original Label: Topkapi, Scramble, Bellaphon.
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▶ DWARF - 'Gotta Get Louder' b/w 'I Won't Be Back'
Once in a while a single gets plucked out of obscurity which is a total revelation and becomes an obsession to track down, but rarely does this same single get played over and over and you know it has the staying power to remain a firm favourite forever. I am very glad to say that this single is one of these rare beasts. It is everything you could ever wish for and absolutely ticks ALL the right boxes.
How to put a tag on 'Gotta Get Loude'r? It sits somewhere between Proto-Punk, Bubblegum/Hard Rock and Powerpop. It's insanely catchy and an instant exuberant classic. What makes this even more amazing is that most of the band were 15 at the time!
'I Won't Be Back' is stupendous in its snotty Teenage Punk attitude. I was thinking of The Runaways as I believed a girl singer was involved, but this is not the case as explained by Nick Piunti "that would be me, make that pre-pubescent me..." The guitars clang and crash, the drums are full power with added momentum of a glorious cowbell nailing everything down to the beat. So put both tracks together and you end up with the best coupling since Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton! - Robin Wills (PurePop)
**The original release was issued without artwork. The reissue comes housed in a Sing Sing Records company sleeve.
Release Country: USA
Release Year: 1975 / Reissue Date: 10.11
Original Label: Merlyn Records.
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▶ THE LEOPARDS - Kansas City Slickers LP
By 1977, the year of Kansas City Slickers’ release, most bands had happily ensconced themselves in one niche or another--one was either Punk or Power Pop or New Wave or ---- (fill in the trend of your choice), but The Leopards fell into no such handy category. Kansas City Slickers was unique for its time--certainly no other record of its day sounds remotely like it--and remains so today.
Back then its uniqueness baffled critics who, in the few places where the album was actually reviewed, did little more than point to the album’s Kinks influence. While the influence of The Kinks, The Beach Boys, The Easybeats and other Sixties groups is indeed evident on the album, such a superficial assessment does not begin to do justice to the cornucopia of sound on Kansas City Slickers. Herein rock n’ roll meets ragtime, old Hollywood musicals and other forms of early 20th Century American music, a delightfully original melange you will not taste elsewhere.
Recorded and mixed at Moon Studios--ie, the basement of Dennis Pash’s parents’ house on Maggie Lane in Kansas City, Kansas--the production and muscianship reaches a level of sophistication not often associated with basement recordings. Even so, protected by lack of technology from slick by-the-rote machinations of the professional studio, Kansas City Slickers retains its basement charm.
When Dennis Pash and Kevin Sanders first decided to release privately pressed records as The Leopards in 1975 it was quite a revolutionary strategy, the DIY ethos of punk still a few years in the future. The world would simply have to catch up at some point in time. Judging by the appreciative audience Kansas City Slickers has grown over the years--this despite its exceeding rarity (only 1,000 copies of the album were pressed)--that time may very well be now. (James Marinovich)
More info including track listing, bio and press photos is available HERE
Release Country: USA
Release Year: 1977 / Reissue Date: 08.11
Original Label: Moon Records
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▶ BRAD LONG - 'Love Me Again' b/w 'Come To Me'
In and out of unrecorded regional combos since the late 1960's, Logansport, IN music store owner Brad Long issued this, his lone single, on his own Music Stand label in the summer of 1977. Featuring a warm, lo-fi basement pop sound with stylistic roots firmly grounded in the mid 60's, both 'Come to Me' and 'Love me Again' evoke a hazy mood reminiscent of early Twilley. Also included with the release were a series of press releases, a section of which listed Long's heroes as Roger McGuinn, Paul Revere and the Raiders and Joe Meek. Greeted with positive reviews in the pages of ( Ballroom) Blitz and NY Rocker, Long later contributed a cover of the Rolling Stone's 'Tell Me' to the first VOXX ' Battle of the Garages' compilation. (Collin Makamson)
Release Country: USA
Release Year: 1977 / Reissue Date: 08.11
Original Label: No Label, Self-Released.
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▶ ROCKIN' HORSE - Yes It Is LP
The Onion Dolls, a four piece punk band from Belgium managed to release this lone 45 before changing their name to Crossfire and fully embracing the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement that was sweeping Europe in the early 1980's. Both tracks on this 45 are unsuppressed killers with shredding guitar lines giving up more than a hint of the NWOBHM influenced sound that was to come. Originally released in 1980 on the TWINKLE label in an edition of 1000 copies with a truly great picture sleeve this highly sought after single is one of Belgiums greatest Punk Rock gems.
Release Country: Belgium
Release Year: 1979 / Reissue Date: 08.11
Original Label: Twinkle
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▶ CLAP - Have You Reached Yet? LP
Like most followers of rare seventies rock esoterica I first heard about HAVE YOU REACHED YET? via the pages of the now-legendary BOMP fanzine. It was the surf issue if I recall correctly, and editor Greg Shaw, in the course of a pretty positive review, mentioned Clap's ability to mix up what seemed like a healthy late-sixties punk rock attitude with the prevailing hard rock winds of the early-seventies from whence this album came. The album was a charm with the hefty Rolling Stones influences so common of the day being reshaped by a strong Shadows of Knight snarl all filtered through an early seventies heavy metal consciousness giving us...a sound and style that although part and parcel to the stoner seventies mentality had a totally unique and refreshing approach that sounded as if it could stand on its own not only in 1972 but 1966 or even 1987 for that matter. It was teenage rock & roll that continued to sound so long after the entire teen mystique of the sixties and seventies shriveled away, yet it was hard enough for even the most experienced pothead at the supermarket to roll joints to during his coffee break.
So for you youngsters here's an example of what "do it yourself" rock used to mean when you pretty much had to create your own fun, energies, and lives even from scratch and for your oldsters, now's the time to drag out the boas, the mascara and the nylons and re-live the post-Vietnam era the right way. Of course if you get arrested don't come complain' to me, but then again wouldn't that only add to the overall glam/slam effect so common during those rather peculiar times?
(Chris Stigliano).
More info including track listing, bio and press photos is available HERE
Release Country: USA
Release Year: 1972 / Reissue Date: 04.11
Original Label: Nova-Sol
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** All customers residing outside of the US must the select the 'International Orders' option. The difference in cost is only to compensate for extra shipping charges and does not mean that we're charging you more than US residents.
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▶ LIQUID STONE - 'Here Comes The Weekend' b/w 'Because Of You'
From the small town of Buckingham, 60 miles north of London, Liquid Stone was a four piece band that was formed by Ronni, Mick and Muz in the mid Seventies . Various line-ups centred around the key member, Ronni Sunderland (vocals and rhythm guitar) and Mick Prod (backing vocals and lead guitar) but it reached the pinnicle of its career in May 1980 with Ian (Muz) Murray on Bass (also vocals) and Ian (Tanner) Tansley on drums . After supporting the UK Subs at 'Friars' in Aylesbury, the Subs were so impressed they asked Liquid Stone to accompany them on their 'Brand New Age' tour of the UK and in May 1980 the two bands toured the country playing to audiences from St Austell to Hull and culminating in a gig at the famous Rainbow Theatre in London.
The band were well known for their energetic and professional performances. Always a crowd pleaser, Liquid Stone decided to cut their one and only single, 'Here Comes the Weekend' in 1979. All still teenagers at the time the band made their way North to Red Ball Studios in Market Drayton to lay down the tracks but it wasn't until 1981 that the single was formally released. This didn't stop the band topping the offical 'Oi!' charts in 1980 with a live recording of the tracks. Liquid Stone continued to rock clubs and venues around London for the next couple of years and all the members are still playing today.
**The original release was issued without artwork. The reissue comes housed in a Sing Sing Records company sleeve.
Release Country: UK
Release Year: 1981 / Reissue Date: 04.11
Original Label: Liquid Stone Music
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▶THE BUZZ - 'Insanity' b/w 'Him Not Me' 'Sick At Heart'
A very rare and increasingly collectable piece of plastic issued in March '79 on the Redball label in an edition of 1,000 copies, this EP features three under-produced two-chorders, recorded by a Shrewsbury-based outfit formed in early 1978 by Nic Evans (v/gtr), Cob Hillers aka Chris Hill (gtr/v), Gym Slips aka Jim Phillips (b/v) and TwoFourty Volts aka Kevin Higgs (d/v). The killer track is SICK AT HEART with its great Buzzcockian riff and TVPs-like 'ooooh'-chorus. Recommended. A different line-up of The Buzz – Kevin Higgs was replaced by Ian R. Davies, Chris Hill moved to bass and lead vocalist Chris Bellingham was recruited – would enter Foel Studios in July 1981 recording the album ASYLUM, self-released in a pressing of 1,000 copies a couple of months later. (45 Revolutions)
Release Country: UK
Release Year: 1979 / Reissue Date: 04.11
Original Label: Redball
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▶ THE MOONDOGS - 'Heads I Win' b/w 'Two's A Crowd'
A very scarce 7" from a Liverpool-based group formed in 1976 by Ian Irvine (gtr/v), Patrick Colohan (gtr/v), Dave Gough (b/v) and Steve Plumber (d). After making their live debut in summer 1977 at the Hope St. Fringe Festival, The Moondogs built up a growing cult following with the incendiary renditions of Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent oldies. In 1978 Plumber was replaced by Tony Dolman and the new line-up record this single, produced by former Deaf School drummer Time Whittaker and issued in October 1979 on Rexette Records, and independent label created by Roger Earle, founder of Eric's Club. Pressed in an edition of 1,000 copies, the platter includes the Powerpoppy TWO'S A CROWD on the flip and the Freakbeat A-side HEADS I WIN, whose riff is similar to the Psyschodelic cult song MY FATHER'S NAME IS DAD by Fire. In 1980 The Moondogs changed moniker to The English, to avoid confusion with the other Moondogs, releasing one single for Albion Records (the A-side of which, HOORAY FOR THE ENGLISH, is a great Powerpop tune) before splitting. Dolman soon joined Lawnmower, a short-lived combo who included future Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall. (45 Revolutions)
Release Country: UK/Holland
Release Year: 1979 / Reissue Date: 04.11
Original Label: Rexette
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▶ THE BLITZZ - 'Go Now' b/w 'You Got What You Want'
All members of the Blitzz could frequently be seen playing at jam sessions in the 70s Amstedam rock-scene before they decided to join forces. When Mick Ronson (David Bowie's Spiders from Mars) heard them play at a venue in the Amsterdam Red Light District he immediately fell for the compact sound of the band. This memorable evening led to the recording of 'So Free' in a London recording studio soon afterwards.
The first single from The Blitzz was released by EMI in the UK and on the Continent in September 1978. 'So Free' went up the charts in several European countries in the months to follow.
In December of the same year their second single 'Go Now' was recorded at the renowned Pebble Beach Studio in Brighton and released in the beginning of 1979. After three years of successful touring the band decided to split up to pursue personal goals.
Release Country: UK/Holland
Release Year: 1979 / Reissue Date: 01.11
Original Label: EMI
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▶ THE BLITZZ - 'So Free' b/w 'Degeneration'
All members of the Blitzz could frequently be seen playing at jam sessions in the 70s Amstedam rock-scene before they decided to join forces. When Mick Ronson (David Bowie's Spiders from Mars) heard them play at a venue in the Amsterdam Red Light District he immediately fell for the compact sound of the band. This memorable evening led to the recording of 'So Free' in a London recording studio soon afterwards.
The first single from The Blitzz was released by EMI in the UK and on the Continent in September 1978. 'So Free' went up the charts in several European countries in the months to follow.
In December of the same year their second single 'Go Now' was recorded at the renowned Pebble Beach Studio in Brighton and released in the beginning of 1979. After three years of successful touring the band decided to split up to pursue personal goals.
Release Country: UK/Holland
Release Year: 1978 / Reissue Date: 01.11
Original Label: EMI
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▶ VOICE OF THE PUPPETS - 'I Don't Wanna Know' 7"
Hailing from Newcastle, Voice Of The Puppets – Russell McDonald (b), Steve 'Stesh' Millar (gtr/v), Chris Welton (k) and 'Stapps' (d) – began playing together in 1978 and one year later recorded these two tracks at Impulse Sound Studios, Wallsend. A self-produced and self-financed single surfaced in mid-1980, by which time Voice Of The Puppets were reduced to a trio following Chris Welton’s departure. The 250 copies pressed were all housed in a nice poster-sleeve featuring a cartoon history of the band drawn by Chris Welton. The two songs have their roots firmly in 1977 melodic Punk and are worth a spin with their infectious mix of Buzzcockian guitars and TVPs-like vocals. The combo had already split by 1981 with all members quitting music altogether. Steve Millar would sadly commit suicide in 2002. (45 Revolutions)
Release Country: UK
Release Year: 1980 / Reissue Date: 08.10
Original Label: Impulse Records
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▶ STRAIGHTSHOOTER - 'Straightshooter' b/w 'She's So Fine'
A four-piece group formed in 1976 and active in the Southampton area with a line-up of Dom O'Riley (gtr), Pete Luck (v), Tony Ecclestone (b) and Mike O'Riley (d). In 1977 Straightshooter joined the local heat of the Melody Maker-sponsored 'Rock & Folk Contest', but their Punk/Powerpop set witht he occasional Hard Rock overtones failed to impress the jury. Recorded at Airport Studios on April 20, 1979, the combo's one and only vinyl output was co-produced by sound engineer G. Dewhurst and privately issued in an edition of 500 copies through the SRT pressing service in the second half of July. The two self-penned songs are remarkable efforts and justify the collector's status reached by the 7", with the B-side, a melodic but energetic Powerpopper entitled SHE'S SO FINE, as the stand out cut. (45 Revolutions)
**The original release was issued without artwork. The reissue comes housed in a Sing Sing Records company sleeve.
Release Country: UK
Release Year: 1979 / Reissue Date: 04.10
Original Label: Strolling Bones.
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▶ ROLLERBALL - 'Savage Eye's b/w 'Lay You Down'
No, nothing to do with the "Teach Me To Rock'n'Roll" lot, it's way more important than that. This Rollerball was a pre-Elton Motello thing involving Alan Ward and Mike Butcher (Jet Staxx). Here's what Mike revealed... 'Rollerball was just a one off, with me on guitar, Alan on vocals and 2 studio assistants, Alex on bass and his brother Pascal on drums. Pascal also played the drums on the Jet Staxx singles. We never played a gig and I don't think we even got many radio plays.'"Savage Eyes" and B-side "Lay You Down", both Ward/Butcher compositions, were recorded late 1976 in their adopted home of Brussels, Belgium (the mecca of pseudo punk), with a production credited to Rollerball as a band. It seems that it was only released in Holland on CNR Records in the first half of 1977 with the Dutch copies also being distributed in Belgium.The B-side is a decent rock number with a few New York Dolls moves, but the real action is on the glorious glam/punk of "Savage Eyes". Considering who was behind this record and how great it is, it's a total mystery why it's remained unknown for over 30 years. (Worthless Trash)
Release Country: Netherlands
Release Year: 1977 / Reissue Date: 01.10
Original Label: CNR
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▶ THE RPMS - 'I Don't Wanna Be Young' b/w 'Loved By You'
The RPM'S, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, began as a cover band playing with pickup drummers at local bars. An impromtu practice at Jill Kossoris' (Shivvers) house and the introduction of her friend, drummer Rob Mccuen took the band out of the cover circuit and focused their talents on writing original material. The bands only 45 was released in November of 1980 and ranks as one of the best two siders to emerge from the incredible Milwaukee music scene of the 1980's. The single was released in a run of 500 copies on the bands own Hit-Man records and is highly sought after today as both cuts are flawless powerpop tunes.
Release Country: USA
Release Year: 1980 / Reissue Date: 11.09
Original Label: Hit-Man
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▶ JEFF HILL BAND - 'Something's Wrong With My Baby' b/w 'Whatever She Wanted'
Immediately after the release of the Chiswick single, Jeff Hill recruited drummer Dave Buckley (ex-Moonshine, who recorded a 1976 EP titled TOO YOUNG TO LOVE ME) and bass player Ray Humphries: the Jeff Hill Band played their first gig in Burtonwood on October 19. A few demos were taped in Warrington on November 26, two days before entering London’s Pathway Studios to record a second 7” for Chiswick which never saw the light of day. In the second half of 1978 a deal with Rabid Records was negotiated and two tracks were taped at Cheshire’s Revolution Studio on February 19, 1979, with Steve Hopkins (k) as guest musician and Andy Mac taking production duties. Rabid planned the release of a single then decided to include the two tracks on a compilation album: both projects were eventually aborted. Undeterred, the Jeff Hill Band decided to found their own label, Balloon Records, and self-financed the pressing of 500 copies of a 7” housed in a cartoon picture cover with a Ramonesy drawing of Jeff wearing a 'gabba gabba hey' badge. The record emerged on December 20, 1979, and is worth tracking down, though it is quite hard to locate: its two Punk/Powerpop songs are enjoyable efforts with the A-side SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH MY BABY arguably being the better track. Plagued by sparse distribution, sales were minimal causing the combo’s demise after a final gig in Warrington on April 19, 1980.
Release Country: UK
Release Year: 1979 / Reissue Date: 11.09
Original Label: Balloon Records
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▶ ORBITS - 'Make The Rules' b/w 'Phenomenal World'
Formed in Milwaukee, The Orbits were a mod/powerpop three-piece band whose outstanding "Make The Rules" can be heard on the 2nd volume of Powerpearls. Old bandmate (and also Shivvers' drummer) Jim Richardson once qualified the combo as "Brian Jones on speed fronting The Jam". In fact, the trio was typical of the US vintage late `70s powerpop sound, as they were true garage activists drawing from the `60s legacy much more subtly than their UK contemporaries. Juvenile, disarming, devoid of all pretence or anything. Original members, bassist Scott Krueger, guitarist Breck Burns and drummer Bob Wrenn weren't at the first attempt to start out a band. They played in early incarnations of The Orbits like In A Hot Coma, The Craze (which included guitarist Howie Epstein), and The Drones but their only 7" vinyl appearance was due to The Orbits. Indeed, released on the tiny label No.1, "Make The Rules" backed with smashing "Phenomenal World" were in the bins in 1980, in fact the same week than Milwaukee bandmates The Shivvers' "Teen Line" 7" single. They would be remembered for their blistering sets (they covered The Jam's "In The City", The Who's "So Sad About Us") but their studio counterparts were really worth a try. The Orbits sound was tight like a strong black coffee (or its chemical equivalent) but enriched with a lot of pop artifacts (clear vocals, handclaps, peals of guitar riffs, "lalala-la" background vocals). The Shivvers and The Orbits would later morph into one, keeping The Shivvers name and would include Jim Richardson, Scott Krueger, Breck Burns, guitarist Mike Pyle, and singer, songwriter, keyboardist Jill Kossoris.
Release Country: USA
Release Year: 1980 / Reissue Date: 11.09
Original Label: No. 1
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▶ TINOPENERS - 'Set Me Free' b/w I'm Not Your Type'
Tinopeners were an Irish punk band formed in May of ‘77 to perform at their high school’s battle of the bands. Soon after, they began playing out, recorded a few rough demos at a local music store and sent them to George Doherty of Rip Off Records. The demos were well received and Rip Off put them in George Temple Patrick Studios to record a single which would be produced by Clive Culbertson. Afterwards, Culbertson brought the tape to London and LOGO Records offered to distribute the single. The singles’ two tracks sit more on the pop side of punk and contain some super catchy lyrics. Thus, the single was fairly successful; selling upwards to 3000 copies, but by 1981, the skinhead scene was growing in Northern Ireland, creating a social tension that would ultimately lead to the band’s end. A second single was recorded but never released.
**The original release was issued without artwork. The reissue comes housed in a Sing Sing Records company sleeve.
Release Country: Northern Ireland
Release Year: 1979 / Reissue Date: 08.09
Original Label: Rip Off / Logo Records
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▶ DE CYLINDERS - 'We Must Pay' b/w 'Chartbuster'
“We must pay”, an intoxicating musical mix of fun, frenzy and finances, was De
Cylinders’ second single for CNR. Remarkably, the song was recorded in a single take during the same sessions that spawned the first single. As such, the sound of “We must pay” comes very close to what De Cylinders delivered as a live band. Propelled by a haunting Farfisa organ, “We must pay” is 24 karat power pop. The medium-tempo flipside “Chart buster” is no stinker either.
Fact: Today, nearly 30 years later, CNR is home to André Rieu, king of the Wiener Waltz, a definite non-power pop megastar from the Netherlands.
Release Country: Holland
Release Year: 1980 / Reissue Date: 08.09
Original Label: CNR
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▶ BLAZE X - 'Some Hope' b/w 'Rippy'
Blaze X formed in late 1975 in Tuam. They quickly learned to play and scored support slots for touring bands such as The Radiators, The Fuze, Tony Koklin and most famously U2 at Leisure Land in Galway on December 18, 1980. In November 1980 they entered RCF Studios in Galway and recorded their self-released single which sold well locally but didn't have much distribution apart from some mailorder sales. Only 500 copies pressed and it's a tough one to find these days. Most were sold locally and some were sent out as promos -- one of which went to RTE DJ Larry Gogan, who made it his Hit-Pick of the week (though the B-side "Rippy" was banned). Despite this success, the band failed to get on TV and no more copies were pressed. They split in 1981 when they failed to achieve their ambitions. (Eamonn Keane)
Release Country: Ireland
Release Year: 1980 / Reissue Date: 08.09
Original Label: Fixed Wheel
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▶ DE CYLINDERS - 'I Wanna Get Married' b/w 'Looking For Work'
De Cylinders, a six piece power pop band from the Netherlands, had a solid reputation as a live band in the Netherlands and Belgium playing along side bands such as the Pretenders and Ultravox. They recorded this 45, their first of three for the CNR label, in 1979 at Soundpush studios, Blaricum with Dennis Kloeth acting as producer. The playing on the 45's is tight, the production is spot on and the songs are extremely well crafted. The anthemic “I Wanna Get Married” did not permeate deeply into the personal life of the band members; as of today not more than two Cylinders are wearing a wedding ring. The back side, “Looking for work” was more prophetic: all six Cylinders are nowadays firmly employed, though five of them no longer in the music business.
Release Country: Holland
Release Year: 1980 / Reissue Date: 05.09
Original Label: CNR
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Sing 039 :: ROTTWEILER |
a] I'm Down
b] Wanna Be Your Friend
COMING MAY 2012! |
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Sing 040 :: NASAL BOYS |
a] Hot Love
b] Die Wüste Lebt!
COMING MAY 2012! |
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Sing 041 :: THE NOTHING |
a] Scream N Cry
b] Uniformz
COMING MAY 2012 !
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