The Smiths- Hand In Glove 7" (1983)

It was important to me that there'd be something searingly poetic in it, in a lyrical sense, and yet jubilant at the same time...
Morrissey


The Smiths debut was released on Rough Trade Records in May 1983.
A self produced tape of the track, made at a cost of £250 had landed them a one record no contract deal with the company.
Attempts were made to re record Hand In Glove for the epynomous debut LP but eventually John Porter settled on a remix of the original effort.
The b-side was a live recording of the (prepoterously) controversial Handsome Devil (on 25th August 1983 - The Sun newspaper, under the headline Child Sex Song Puts The Beeb In A Spin accused The Smiths of singing about picking up kids for sexual kicks) from the Hacienda gig on 4th February 1983- notable for being the first time that flowers were used on stage by the group (a response, acording to Morrissey, to the sterile inteior of the club).
Morrissey specified that the record should have a paper label with 4 vents around the centre piece (like the 1960s singles he so loved) and that the sleeve should have a 'side vent' so that the disc was put in from the side rather than the top.
Much to his chagrin Hand In Glove did not make the top 40.

The Smiths- This Charming Man (1983)

One of those moments when a vivid, electric awareness of the power of music is born or renewed- Danny Kelly (NME)
...it imparted the first glimpse into the unknown dominion of Smithdom. The prelude now over, This Charming Man felt like The Smiths'concrete beginning.- Simon Goddard (The Smiths- Songs That Saved Your Life).

Tracks:
1 This Charming Man [Manchester*- produced by John Porter]
2 This Charming Man [London- produced by John Porter]
3 This Charming Man [New York Vocal, produced by Francois Kevorkian]
4 This Charming Man [New York Instrumental, produced by Francois Kevorkian ]
5 This Charming Man [Peel Session 21.09.83, produced by Roger Pusey- as featured on the LP Hatful of Hollow]
6 This Charming Man [1992 single remix]
7 This Charming Man [Original 7" version*, produced by John Porter]
8 This Charming Man [ Vinyl rip of original 7" version*, produced by John Porter]
9 Jeane [Vinyl rip of original 7" B-side, produced by Troy Tate]
10 Wonderful Woman [12" single B-side, produced by John Porter]

* On the CD multi single I have Sire Records rather naughtily overlook the fact that the original 7" mix was Porter's Manchester version . Therefore there are only 6 different versions of the track here.

Completists will be aware that Accept Yourself also featured on the B-side of the UK 12". It was an earlier version than the one used on Hatful of Hollow, which was from a David Jensen radio session- both versions were produced by John Porter. Here is the version that appeared on the B-side of the 12" single:

Morrissey- Desert Island Discs (2009)

Sorry for the delay in bringing you this -

Okay nostalgia lovers, who remembers the heady days of November 2009 when the world was a better, safer place? We used to leave our door unlocked in them days...

For those of you who don’t know (i.e.- those who are not from Britain) Desert Island Discs is a long-running radio programme. It was first broadcast on 29 January 1942 .
Imagine that you are obsessed with pop music from a young age- it is your all consuming passion- you become an aficionado.You enjoy a successful 26 year music career in which your work is rich in pop culture references, all influences reverentially eulogised. Then at the age of fifty, after 45 years of obsessive pop fandom you are invited onto Desert Island Discs and have to choose eight records.
Eight.
Practically impossible.
When he appeared in November last year I thought that Morrissey might include: Sandie Shaw, Jobriath, some Rockabilly, Ludus, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell.
Here’s what he did choose:
• New York Dolls - (There’s Gonna Be a) Showdown (overall choice)
• Marianne Faithfull - Come and Stay With Me
• Ramones - Loudmouth
• The Velvet Underground - The Black Angel’s Death Song
• Klaus Nomi - Der Nussbaum - The Walnut Tree
• Nico - I’m Not Saying
• Iggy & The Stooges - Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell
• Mott the Hoople - Sea Diver

Included here are the eight records in their entirity and the complete programme.
For a more comprehensive insight into Morrissey’s tastes and formative influences see the LP Under the Influence .

Joy Division- Peel Session December 12th 1979

Cock Jockeys? No fucking way!

Joy Division’s second session for John Peel was transmitted on December 10th 1979.

Love Will Tear Us Apart

24 Hours
Colony
The Sound Of Music

The various writings of Steven Morrissey 1974-1983

Dear person,
So nice to know there's another soul out there, even if it is in Glasgow. Does being Scottish bother you? Manchester is a lovely place, if you happen to be a bedridden deaf mute. I'm unhappy, hope you're unhappy too.
In poverty,
Steven

In 1980 Morrissey responded to an advert in Sounds from a fellow called Robert Mackie (male Bowie seeks female Bowie for relationship, Glasgow area...). Mackie preserved the letters that Morrissey wrote to him and made them available in a 'fanzine' format in the late 80's (apart from one, apparently, which appears in the second link).

Here is a selection of letters and reviews from the pen of Morrissey that appeared in various music magazines from 1974-1981:

I was beginning to fear that the online version of James Dean is Not Dead published by Babylon Books in 1983 had dissapeared into the cyber ether- but here it is:




And here is Steven's 1981 work on The New York Dolls:




I've hunted these down so that you don't have to- respect to the efforts of the original compilers, transcribers and posters and , of course, to the author himself.

Joy Division-Peel Session February 14th 1979

Joy Division’s first session for John Peel was transmitted on February 14th 1979.
Exercise One
Insight
She's Lost Control
Transmission

Happy Mondays- Freaky Dancin' 12" (1986)

Another forgotten record from 'before they were famous'. Bernard Sumner from New Order producing (not a particularly succesful venture in my opinion- the funky bass gets buried in a rumbling muddy sound at times, and the clangy guitar only sporadically shines through, the overall effect is that there's a hell of a lot going on- this worked on later records like WFL).
I think this is the only place you can find The Egg- a cracking, funky track.
This is probably my best charity shop find for years.

The Return of The Durutti Column (1979) La Retour De Colonne Durutti (1966)

Musical virtuosity may not have been the defining feature of the British 'post punk' era, but virtuoso is an apt description of the Mancunian guitarist Vini Reilly. Graduating from punk band Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds ( he was replaced by Billy Duffy- later of The Cult, and Ed Banger by a certain Stephen Morrissey) Reilly was an early signing for Factory Records. In fact Durutti Column were assembled by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus before they embarked on the Factory scheme. After various line up changes Durutti Column effectively became Reilly's solo project, and this, the first Durutti Column LP, was a collaboration between Reilly and producer Martin Hannett. Included here is a two track record by Hannett that came with initial releases of the album.
Being an admirer of the Anarchist Buenaventura Durruti I had often wondered if there was any significance in the misspelling of his name as used by Reilly, or was it merely an error.
This brings us on to Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, and their seeming fascination for the Situationist International movement of the 1960's. Fac 51- The Hacienda Nightclub, would later be named from Formulary for a New Urbanism , a Situationist work by Ivan Chtcheglov,(the hacienda must be built...)
Le Retour de la Colonne Durutti (The Return of the Durutti Column), was a 4-page Situationist comic by Andre Bertrand given away at Strasbourg University in October 1966- so the misspelling was not down to Wilson, Erasmus or Reilly, but was faithful to Bertrand's text.



*Translation below

The LP itself also made reference to the Situationists. Like Guy Debord's book Mémoires — It came in a sandpaper cover,(the idea in Debord's case being that this would destroy other books on the shelf).



Vini Reilly & Martin Hannett



*Cowboy 1: What's your scene, man
Cowboy 2: Realisation
Cowboy 1: Yeah? I guess that means pretty hard work with big books and piles of paper on a big table.
Cowboy 2: Nope. I drift. Mostly I just drift.

Happy Mondays- Squirrel and G Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) (1987) + Desmond.

This, the Happy Mondays first LP is often overlooked. Some critics have described it as a false start. Shaun Ryder once said that the band were, at the time, modelling their sound on The Doors, making ‘music with gaps’, but he could have been having a laugh. The great John Cale produced. There is a tremendous energy and drive to the songs, and the bass is prominent and funky.
Initial copies of the album included the track Desmond, a re working of The Beatles’ Obla di, and legal action from the owners of that song’s copyright (namely Michael Jackson, proving what a cunt he was) forced the album’s withdrawal. Personally I’ve always thought of Desmond as one of the bands weaker tracks, and it was replaced by 24 Hour Party People- cheers Michael!

Shaun Ryder- vocals
Paul Ryder- bass
Mark Day- guitar
Gary Whelan- drums
Paul Davis- keyboards
Mark Berry- percussion

Here we have a CD rip:



And here is Desmond, ripped from the original vinyl album:

Happy Mondays- Peel Session 27th February 1989

This, I’m sure, could have been a recipe for disaster. The Mondays, however, came up with three storming numbers, Tart Tart from Squirrel and G Man… and Mad Cyril and Do it Better from Bummed.
On Mad Cyril they really take the Stones to the cleaners, at times it’s practically a cover of Sympathy For The Devil.
I don’t usually go in for hyperbole, but this is an indescribably good record from one of the greatest groups ever at the height of their powers.

Buzzcocks- Another Music in a Different Kitchen (1978)

It's all very surreal and Dada, all those elements that we were exploring back then. The first Buzzcocks album title was a kind of cut-up of the title of one of Linder Sterling’ s other pieces of art. We called it Another Music in a Different Kitchen, which partially came from a Linder piece called Housewives Choosing Their Own Juices in a Different Kitchen. -Pete Shelley

Following the departure of Howard Devoto Pete Shelley took over on vocals, (three songs from the Devoto era get an airing here and the LP opens with the unmistakable intro of the classic Boredom) and Steve Diggle moved from bass to guitar.
This is a vinyl rip of what is simply a great LP.

Pete Shelley - vocals, guitar
Steve Diggle - guitar, vocals
Steve Garvey - bass guitar
John Maher - drums, vocals

The Fall- Extricate (1990)

I think this is my favourite Fall LP.
The sacred cows of British Independent music,
The Fall, in the person of Mark Smith, made anti fashion a fashion, anti pop popular.
The miserable old fucker has been turning out this intelligent though often barely intelligible stuff for 32 years now- for which we should all be eternally grateful.
By the way- I once went to a funeral where the preacher sounded ah just ah like Mark Smith ah, which was strange.
Stephen Hanley- bass
Craig Scanlon- guitar
Marcia Schofield- keyboards, percussion
Mark E Smith- vocals
Simon Wolstencroft- drums
Martin Bramah- guitar, backing vocals

Happy Mondays- Madchester Rave On EP (1989)

Part Mujahedin, part Mountain Rescue- Stuart Maconie
Sex and drugs and…
Dancing?
Yes, after ten years of Thatcher the working class youth of Britain abandoned themselves to the pursuit of pleasure, hi jacking the grooves that had driven Acid House.
With this as a soundtrack you could live with the hedonistic abandon of Mick Jagger in Performance in your one bedroom council flat…
After this no end of indie bands donned baggy trousers and adopted ‘dance rhythms’, but they were all pale imitations of these delightfully flawed geniuses.
To sum it all up: The Happy Mondays were as cool as fuck.

Miaow- Belle Vue 12" (1985)

Anyone remember this treasure?
Miaow, as featured on the 'legendary' NME C86 tape. I first came across them on Peel, also used to have the Underground Strum+Drum cassette, which I was surprised to see was actually 1988... thought it was older.
Cath Carroll - vocals, guitar
Steve Maguire -guitar
Ron Caine -bass
Chris Fenner -drums

There's a history of the band and an overview of Cath Carroll's work here.

Buzzcocks- Spiral Scratch (1977)

Today, so many years later, the shock of punk is that every good record can still sound like the greatest thing you've ever heard.....because it can convince you that you never have to hear anything else as long as you live-each record seems to say everything there is to say…Greil Marcus Lipstick Traces 1989
This is the 1979 reissue of Spiral Scratch.
The record was originally released 29 January 1977 on the band's own New Hormones label, making Buzzcocks the first English Punk group to establish an independent record label. Its initial 1,000 copies quickly sold out, and eventual sales reached 16,000 via mail order, and Virgin Manchester.
Buzzcocks recorded the tracks on 28 December 1976 at Indigo Sound, Manchester on 16-track tape, produced by Martin Hannett (credited as Martin Zero). According to Devoto: It took three hours [to record the tracks], with another two for mixing…The band borrowed £500 from their friends and families to pay for the production and manufacture of the record.
The reissue was credited to "Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto"
Howard Devoto: vocal
Pete Shelley: guitar
Steve Diggle: bass
John Maher: drums

The Smiths- Rusholme Ruffians/ Nowhere Fast – Peel Session August 1st 1984

These two tracks from The Smiths Meat is Murder LP were recorded for a Peel Session broadcast on August 1st 1984. They later appeared as the B-side to the 12” single of Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (1987).

Warsaw demo (1977)

Warsaw took their name from the track Warszawa off David Bowie's Low album.
In January 1978 They changed their name to Joy Division to avoid confusion with metal band Warsaw Pakt

Recorded at Pennine Sound Studios, Manchester, July 18th , 1977, this was intended as a demo, and is noteworthy as being their first recorded work.
The line up contains a couple of transparent aliases- Pete Hookey is of course Peter Hook, and Barney Rubble later reverted to Bernard Sumner. Steve Brotherdale was only with the band briefly before leaving to join an outfit called Panik, who, he felt, had more potential than Warsaw. (Either that or the other band members simply abandoned him at the roadside one night). Steve Morris took over on drums, completing the line up that would be Joy Division and later the backbone of New Order.

The Smiths - Hacienda, Manchester, July 6th 1983

It's a pity you didn't sign the Smiths…
God to Tony Wilson, in the movie 24 Hour Party People.

Here's another film:
In 1982 Factory Records impresario Tony Wilson opened a nightclub in a disused Bollywood cinema . It was named The Hacienda (The name comes from a slogan of the radical group Situationist International: "The Hacienda Must Be Built", from Formulary for a New Urbanism by Ivan Chtcheglov)and given the Factory catalogue designation FAC 51.
This was The Smiths 14th gig, their 2nd at the Hacienda. To date they had only released one single. Two days previously Morrissey had given his first national radio interview on the David Jensen Show.
Press:
Smiths sign to independent label Rough Trade
The Smiths, generally considered one of the brightest prospects to emerge this year, have signed a long-term deal with Rough Trade Records. They say this "represents a conscious decision of preference" for the independent label, which was competing against three major labels, one of whom offered a six-figure cash advance. Their single 'Hand in Glove' has already been released, and they are currently in the studio with producer Troy Tate recording tracks for their first album and follow-up single.
New Musical Express, July 9, 1983

Why the importance in carrying flowers?
Morrisey: "They're symbolic for at least three reasons. We introduced them as an antidote to the Hacienda when we played there; it was so sterile and inhuman. We wanted some harmony with Nature. Also, to show some kind of optimism in Manchester which the flowers represent. Manchester is so semi-paralysed still, the paralysis just zips through the whole of Factory..."
Sounds, June 4, 1983
Line up for those born too late or just plain indifferent:
Morrissey- voice
Johnny Marr- guitar
Andy Rourke- the bass
Mike Joyce- drums

Happy Mondays- 45EP (1985)

Do I think the Mondays will go down in musical history? I couldn't give a fuck! -Shaun Ryder.
Is it really twenty one years since Bummed?
Salford’s finest had already been around for a while when the Madchester craze swept the country. They entered a Battle Of The Bands at The Hacienda nightclub. They came last but Tony Wilson signed them to Factory Records anyway.
Forty Five E.P. is their debut E.P. (it is often called the Delightful E.P. after its first track) released on Factory Records in 1985.
Notably, Vini Reilly (of The Durutti Column) was originally to produce the EP. After two hours in the studio, Reilly quit - he couldn't stand the band.
Shaun Ryder - vocals,
Paul Ryder - bass,
Mark Day- guitar
Paul Davis- keyboard
Gary Whelan-drums

New Order- Power, Corruption and Lies (1983)

Here is the gorgeous FACT 75. New Order’s second LP is a fantastic record that saw them wade deeper into dance and electronica. The music has trance like qualities and Bernard Sumner described it as ‘a pounds shillings and pence (as in L.S.D ?) type of record’.
It is also, in its original form, a beautiful and enigmatic object.
The cover shows a painting by the 19th century French artist Henri Fantin -Latour. The LP was often referred to as the roses album, and the sleeve featured no text.
Designer Peter Saville created a colour-based code to represent the band's name and the title of the album, and the decoder was featured prominently on the back cover of the album. The blocks of colour can therefore be read, on the front cover as FACT 75 and on the inner sleeve as Power Corruption And Lies New Order.
In case you too young to know or too old to remember the line up:
Bernard Sumner – Vocals, guitars, melodica, synthesizers & programming
Peter Hook – 4 & 6 stringed bass, electronic percussion
Stephen Morris – Drums, synthesizers & programming
Gillian Gilbert – Synthesizers & programming, guitars