Madness Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie (Enhanced Edition) to feature five new studio tracks

One of the UK’s most beloved British bands, Madness, have announced an expanded version of their first studio album to top the UK charts.

Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est La Vie (Enhanced Edition) is set for release on 7 June 2024 and will feature five brand new studio tracks recorded during their C’est La Vie album sessions.

The new Madness songs are: I’d Do Anything (If I Could), No Reason, Hello Sun, Long Goodbye and Culture Vulture. Also on the album are seven live tracks recorded on last year’s C’est La Vie tour: Theatre Of The Absurd, C’est La Vie, Hour Of Need, Round We Go, Run For Your Life, In My Street and a cover of The Specials’ Friday Night Saturday Morning – originally written by the late, great Terry Hall.

Bumper Version

Speaking on the album repack, Suggs said: “What do we ave ere’ then? Only some more blinding tunes for a bumper version of our No.1 album Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie. We’ve had a blast playing the new songs for you so thought we’d throw in some live version too. Hope you like them!”

The band have released one of the new studio tracks featured. No Reason is a welcome, vibrant addition to the original album and proves the band’s melodic instincts are still very much intact. Watch below:

Top Of The Charts

Madness originally released Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie on the 17 November 2023. It soared triumphantly to claim the band’s first ever No.1 studio album in their 45 year career. Speaking on the album’s success, Madness said: “Would you Adam and Eve it?! It only took us 40 years to get there but we’ve just gone and ruddy scored our first No.1 album.”

Talking with Classic Pop in our Madness interview at the time, Suggs said: “We’ve all stopped farting about a bit and concentrated again. So this new record was a relatively painless process. The mad members are less mad, the sane members are less sane and we’ve all met in the middle somewhere. We’ve collided together in a sandpit of joy.”

The reissue comes in limited edition hardback book 2CD and very limited edition vinyl format available exclusively on the official album store.

Tracklisting

CD1
1 Prologue: “Mr Beckett Sir…”
2 Theatre Of The Absurd
3 If I Go Mad
4 Baby Burglar
5 Act One: “Surrounded on all sides..”
6 C’est La Vie
7 What On Earth Is It (You Take Me For?)
8 Hour Of Need
9 Act Two “The Damsel In Distress..”
10 Round We Go
11 Act Three: “The Situation Deteriorates..”
12 Lockdown And Frack Off
13 Beginners 101
14 Is There Anybody Out There?
15 The Law According to Dr. Kippah
16 Epilogue: “And So Ladies And Gentlemen..”
17 Run For Your Life
18 Set Me Free (Let Me Be)
19 In My Street
20 Fin.: “Ladies And Gentlemen..”

CD2
1 I’d Do Anything (If I Could)*
2 No Reason*
3 Hello Sun*
4 Long Goodbye*
5 Culture Vulture*
6 Theatre Of The Absurd (Live From The C’est La Vie Tour)*
7 C’est La Vie (Live From The C’est La Vie Tour)*
8 Hour Of Need (Live From The C’est La Vie Tour)*
9 Round We Go (Live From The C’est La Vie Tour)*
10 Run For Your Life (Live From The C’est La Vie Tour)*
11 In My Street (Live From The C’est La Vie Tour)*
12 Friday Night, Saturday Morning (Live From The C’est La Vie Tour)*

*Denotes previously unreleased tracks

On The Road

Madness will be heading out on their C’est La Vie’ summer tour in June through to August.

June
14 Margate, Summer Series
15 Plymouth, Summer Sessions
16 Southampton, Summer Sessions
28 Newcastle, Racecourse
29 LincolnCastle
July
5 Edinburgh Castle
6 Lytham Festival
12 Scarborough, Open Air Theatre
13 Llangollen, International Musical Eisteddfod
14 Derby, Summer Sessions
18 Cardiff Castle
19 Englefield Estate
26 Leeds, Kirkstall Abbey
27 Ludlow Castle
28 Blackheath, Uptown Festival
31 Esher, Sandown Park Racecourse
August
2 Audley End, Essex
9 Belfast, Custom House Square
10 Galway Airport, Ireland

Tickets are available here

C’est La Vie (Enhanced Edition) is available to re-order here

Want more from the Nutty Boys? Read Making Madness – The Rise & Fall

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The brand new issue of Classic Pop Presents brings to you: Pet Shop Boys Volume 2!

In this special 132-page second volume of Classic Pop Presents Pet Shop Boys, we pay tribute to the greatest pop duo of all time. In this issue, we revisit Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s unmatched career, from West End Girls topping the charts in the UK, on through their self-titled ‘Imperial Phase’, and up to their superb new album, Nonetheless.

Inside, we speak exclusively to producer James Ford about the making of the new album, plus we get behind the scenes on the 40th anniversary Dreamworld tour with its creative director, Tom Scutt. Elsewhere, we return to the very early days of their career and explore the ‘Imperial Phase’ that followed. Beyond that, we offer up an in-depth look at their sole No.1 album thus far, Very, and its dancefloor-bound companion EP, Relentless.

Of course, we revisit all the albums not explored in Volume 1, as well as delivering our definitive Top 40 B-sides and our pick of PSB’s collaborations.

This special issue is available with two outstanding covers that you can choose between. However, if you can’t decide which cover you prefer, you can order our fan pack that provides you with both!

Order yours here

The post Classic Pop Presents: Pet Shop Boys Volume 2! appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan to appear on Humanist’s second album.

On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World, the second album from Humanist, will feature guest appearances from a stellar cast of vocal talents.

The new record includes contributions from Dave Gahan, Isobel Campbell, Ed Harcourt, Tim Smith, James Allan (Glasvegas), Carl Hancock Rux, and Peter Hayes (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club).

To accompany the announcement Humanist have shared a video for the compelling new single Too Many Rivals, featuring Harp’s Tim Smith, formerly of Midlake. Watch below:

Tragedy, Solace & Hope

A frequent collaborator with the late, great Mark Lanegan, Humanist is the recording alias of multi-instrumentalist Rob Marshall.  Commenting on the new single Marshall says: “Tim’s voice has always had a profound effect on me. In Too Many Rivals it stirs emotions that are both familiar yet strangely unknown. With this piece, Tim delves really deep, evoking a mix of tragedy, solace, and hope. It’s a masterful performance where his melody seamlessly intertwines with my music. It’s a collaboration I’m really proud of.”

On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World is the second album from Humanist following 2020’s self-titled debut.

The triumphant first LP featured vocal contributions from Mark Lanegan, Mark Gardener (Ride) and Joel Cadbury (UNKLE) and Dave Gahan, who appeared on the track Shock Collar, watch below:

Additionally, following Humanist’s recent support slots with Depeche Mode on their European tour, Marshall and his band will open for US rockers Jane’s Addiction on their UK dates:

Monday 27 May – London Roundhouse
Wednesday 29 May – London Roundhouse
Friday 31 May – Glasgow Barrowland
Sunday 2 June – Manchester O2 Apollo

Released 26 July via Bella Union, On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World is available to preorder here.

Fancy more? Check out The Lowdown – Depeche Mode

The post Dave Gahan to guest on new Humanist album appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

Paul Young talks No Parlez

Paul Young ushered in the sound that dominated the second half of the 80s with the eclectic No Parlez, which spanned soul, New Wave, Bowiesque art-pop and even boasted a controversial Joy Division cover. Now celebrated with a new expanded edition, we hear how the album was created from Paul, producer Laurie Latham, bassist Pino Palladino and backing vocalists The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts.

“When people think of ‘The 80s’, it’s usually categorised as New Romantic, because of bands like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet becoming so iconic. No Parlez was a more soul-based departure from what was going on at the time. It really stands up, and it was influential. With its backing vocals, the Simmons drums and, yes, my fretless bass, it’s an album with a strong identity. I still can’t think of an album that sounds quite like it. Paul and his music deserve to be remembered more than they are.”

So says bass legend Pino Palladino of Paul Young’s solo debut album. He’s right, too. No Parlez has become such a staple, and the artists like Simply Red, Wet Wet Wet and Go West who followed in Paul’s wake became so huge throughout the rest of the decade, it’s easy to forget just how radical the album’s sumptuously smooth hits Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home), Love Of The Common People and Come Back And Stay seemed when they landed, while the chart landscape was all about synth-pop and futurism.

Retro Soul

By the time the album was released in July 1983, Paul was finally a star. No Parlez promptly sold two million in Britain, second only to Thriller as the year’s best-selling LP. But the idea of someone regarded as a jobbing retro soul turn becoming massive was a mighty gamble when Sony imprint CBS offered Paul a solo deal away from his band, Stax-influenced brass botherers Q-Tips.

“Being offered a solo deal came as a surprise,” admits Young. “We wanted a new deal for Q-Tips, I wasn’t looking to go solo. But what I ended up with was a solo offer on the table. What I had in my favour was a pocketful of ideas and a confidence in my ability. Q-Tips had played up and down the country for years, so I knew I could hold a stage. And I’d listened to lots of different music, which you can hear in the album’s diversity.

“Coming out of a vintage band like Q-Tips, I thought it was time to embrace technology. All the changes going on in music were there in No Parlez, but I wanted real instruments, too. That mix has helped the album stand the test of time, because I thought synths were just another instrument to use.”

Standing The Test Of Time

CBS were initially unconvinced, as Paul remembers: “CBS wanted me to do a soul album. I said I didn’t want that, that there wasn’t going to be a brass section. CBS said: ‘Well, what do you want? Make some demos to show us what you think the album should be.’”

Although it’s dominated by covers, demos of No Parlez’s three original songs – Tender Trap, Broken Man and Behind Your Smile – were key in convincing CBS their new signing could pull off a pop-soul hybrid. They were co-written with keyboardist Ian ‘Rev’ Kewley, the only Q-Tip to remain in Paul’s solo band.

“We’d written Broken Man while trying to move Q-Tips away from being so retro,” Young explains. “Ian and I felt Q-Tips were being left behind once the Mod movement started to dissipate, that we needed something more contemporary. The others in the band weren’t so keen.”

Restless Spirit

Behind Your Smile was eventually relegated to the album’s CD bonus track and neither of the other original songs became singles, but CBS could see what Paul was trying to achieve. “I’d only just started writing with Ian at the end of Q-Tips,” reasons Paul. “As a songwriter, I was restless. When I was younger, I couldn’t settle. I’d start writing a song in the morning but, by mid-afternoon, I’d be bored out of my brain. I found it hard to concentrate. I don’t think Ian was a natural songwriter either. Looking back, I should have diversified and written with other people as well as Ian.”

Kewley, who died in 2020, may have been a hesitant songwriter, but he flourished as Young’s bandleader. Everyone Classic Pop talks to is passionate about Ian’s role in letting their musical voice be heard on No Parlez. Palladino raves: “It was a very collaborative album. Paul was very encouraging, and the Rev’s arrangements left a lot of space for me to able to play as I’d hoped.”

It helped that Paul and Ian gathered such a strong band, dubbed The Royal Family, for the album. Paul jokes: “They assembled like The Avengers,” and there was a sense of fate in accumulating such great sessioners.

Avengers Assemble

Drummer Mark Pinder and synth player Matt Irving had worked with Kewley in previous sessions. Pinder knew guitarist Steve Bolton. Then came backing vocalists The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts – Kim Lesley and Maz Roberts – who’d sung with Q-Tips. It’s impossible to hear Come Back And Stay or Love Of The Common People and imagine them without Maz and Kim’s contribution.

The pair had worked together for several years, initially in Soho nitespot The Celebrity Club, then as backing singers for Panties, a London rock & roll revue band. Maz recalls: “We did five gigs a week in the West End, running from place to place with costumes under our arms and getting changed in the ladies’ toilets. We’d play to a few hostesses and a load of businessmen, who were off their trolley.”

Their break – and their name – arrived when Jools Holland’s tour manager saw Panties, on the eve of Holland’s first solo tour since leaving Squeeze. He needed two female backing singers. Lesley laughs: “Everything with Jools was hilarious. Jools said he’d make something up on the spot for our name.

Absolutely Fabulous

“We told him: ‘That’s fine, just don’t call us tarts or slags.’ At that first gig, he left a pause between each word: ‘Please welcome… The Fabulous… Wealthy… Tarts!’ Maz and I muttered: ‘You bastard!’ as we went on. It just made us chuckle, really.”

Maz adds: “Paul was a gentleman and referred to us as ‘The FWTs’ in interviews and in the album’s credits. But everyone still knows us as The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts.” They first met Young on the same tour, as Maz reveals: “Kim and I were in our dressing room when we heard a load of shouting outside. We opened the window – it was Paul and his then-girlfriend, asking if they could come in to see the gig. We got them in, and Paul asked us to sing with Q-Tips, too.”

The camaraderie continued when drummer Mark recommended Laurie Latham as producer. The two had worked together in cult indie band The Vampire Bats From Lewisham. Latham was best known as the producer of Ian Dury And The Blockheads, as Paul notes: “Laurie and Rev came at music from such a different angle, but that’s what made the album work. They brought out the best in each other. Laurie had a leftfield, indie sensibility, which was great for an angular guitar player like Steve.”

Iron Out The Rough Spots

Although Laurie was aware that Blockheads guitarist Chaz Jankel had produced Toast, the 1978 novelty hit by Paul’s first group Streetband, the producer hadn’t kept up with his new client’s subsequent career. “I didn’t know an awful lot about Paul’s past,” Laurie confesses. “I was determined to do something different from Q-Tips’ soul revue style, which chimed with what Paul wanted. Paul is quite shy, so it took a while to get to know him. Then, when he started singing, it was incredible. There were elements of Bobby Womack in his voice, with the falsetto of Marvin Gaye. I couldn’t believe it. Also, Paul let me get on with it, which was ideal.”

Although happy to let people do their jobs, Young’s vision for a new type of pop album was in place from the start. “Putting all these great players together could have been a recipe for failure,” he says. “They needed to have a common aim, and I wanted to get a pop sensibility through them. Having been in the game for so long, I was ready.”

A fan of Tom Tom Club, Paul’s first idea was to try Don Covay’s R&B groove Iron Out The Rough Spots updated in the style of the Talking Heads spin-off. It didn’t chart, and is so obscure it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry. “I was really proud of that song,” sighs Paul. “I was so sad it didn’t fly. The video treatment for it was great – a cartoon stage set of a 1950s kitchen, with giant household implements like Hoovers sticking out of the floor and walls. I’d dance my way around those while singing. It sounded amazing, but CBS then wouldn’t put up the money. Honestly, if we’d made the video, I think it would have broken that single.”

Common Cause

Next, Young recorded Love Of The Common People after hearing Nicky Thomas’ reggae version on the radio: “I thought: ‘It’s got four chords and great lyrics. What better can a singer ask for than a simple chord pattern and great words?’” CBS were concerned it didn’t showcase Paul’s voice. A frustrated Young responded: “Does every song have to show my voice off? It doesn’t have to be a great vocal performance, isn’t it more important that it’s a great song?”

Initially, CBS seemed to be right: Love Of The Common People also failed to reach the Top 100. How did Paul feel after his first two singles flopped? “I was recklessly confident back then,” he laughs. “My view was: ‘If they don’t get it, that’s not my fault.’ I just cracked on with making the rest of the album.”

Latham was more concerned: “I always remember hearing Dave Lee Travis saying after playing Iron Out The Rough Spots on Radio 1: ‘That’s such a clever record,’ and then it just didn’t go anywhere. I probably wasn’t too sure whether we’d progress after those first couple of singles. We used to moan about the label at the time but, looking back, they were very supportive and enthusiastic. I always thought Paul deserved to do well, I just hoped the record we were working on would do something.”

Fret Not

The true genesis of No Parlez arrived when Marvin Gaye’s obscure 1969 B-side Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) randomly popped into Young’s head one day. “I hadn’t heard it for about 10 years,” shrugs Paul. “That was typical of No Parlez. All these very different songs had soaked into my head and started to drip out at opportune moments.”

Maz’s boyfriend had already volunteered himself for bass duties on the album. Pino Palladino had met her while playing bass on that Jools Holland tour, having moved from Cardiff in 1981 to try to become a session bassist. He’d seen Q-Tips at Cardiff club Casablanca, thinking: “That singer is really good.”

After buying his trademark fretless bass at a music store in New York, Pino first played it on Gary Numan’s 1982 album I, Assassin, but Paul’s soulful pop would prove a more natural fit. “The timing was perfect,” enthuses Palladino. “I felt so ready to take on a challenge and show what I could do. There wasn’t much of a thought process from me, I was simply: ‘Get in there and get all your ideas out.’ I didn’t want to leave the room until I’d got all my ideas onto Paul’s songs.”

Hats Off

That first session of Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) proved so fruitful that Paul reworked the arrangement to suit Pino’s playing. “Pino started playing and I was immediately: ‘Woah! Oh my God!’,” chuckles Paul. “I’d thought we were just trying Pino out, but what he played was just so good. Pino’s languid style meant Mark’s drums needed to be more intricate, building it all up from what had started as a simple Phil Spector sound.”

Although Pino was the album’s final key ingredient, Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) was Paul’s first single solely with his name, rather than as Paul Young And The Family. “I’m not a natural solo artist,” insists Young. “I wasn’t ready to go completely solo. I was hiding the fact I was suddenly a solo artist by having Paul Young And… after me on the sleeve, until I could get comfortable with the idea that my music was now: ‘This is me, I’m solo.’”

Entering the UK singles chart at No.84, single three looked like it might go the same way as the first two. Sustained radio play helped, as did an unprecedented two successive appearances on The Tube, co-hosted by The Fabulous Wealthy Tarts’ former boss, Jools Holland.

Overnight Success

“Because we knew Jools so well, being on The Tube felt completely natural,” breezes Maz. “The producers, Geoff Wonfor and his wife Andrea, loved us. They were: ‘Wow, that was brilliant! Can you come back next week?’ And suddenly it went nuts from there.”

On the eve of No Parlez’s release, Paul had a No.1 single for three weeks. “When success happens, it happens really quickly,” ponders Maz. “People thought Paul was an overnight success, but Paul and everyone involved had been slugging around for a few years.”

“I was excited once it looked like I’d finally have a No.1, but Ian Kewley was in shock,” reasons Young. “Ian was a few years older than me. It was strange and lovely for me to suddenly have acceptance, but it was so much more important for Ian. He told me: ‘I can finally support my family.’ I didn’t have kids, I wasn’t even going steady. It’s easy to forget pressures like Ian had.”

Royal Welcome

No Parlez being in the can meant Paul already had a classic ready to roll to capitalise on his overdue new success. Its three hits occupy roughly the same pop/soul terrain, making it simple to overlook just what a rewardingly rich and diverse experience No Parlez is overall. Steve Bolton, compared by Paul to David Bowie’s guitarists Adrian Belew and Earl Slick, wrote the wild Ku Ku Kurama, while Anthony Moore of prog rockers Henry Cow penned the even more adventurous sprawling title track. As Paul puts it: “There’s a streak in me that hates being categorised. Those two songs are what help give the album its longevity. Listeners probably skipped over those tracks at first. Then, once they got bored of the singles, there were these other interesting songs to discover. We were out to show we could create great music beyond pop singles.”

That experimentation allowed further freedom for The Royal Family to show their craft. “Being part of such a great band was a big element of No Parlez,” affirms Pino. “I’m not saying we were in their league for historical importance, but that early incarnation of Paul had an edge of Sly And The Family Stone to it. It was funky, rocking and so exciting.”

“There were no bad vibes in that studio, none,” agrees Laurie. “There were so many talented people in the studio and they all gelled. Rev had incredible arrangements and hook ideas, while Paul’s wonderful voice held it all together. It’s an album where it all worked.”

Vocal Acrobatics

Lesley admits: “I didn’t expect it to do so well, because it felt too good to be true. The attitude throughout was: ‘Let’s just do what we want to do and let the record company foot the bill.’ We thought we were making an incredibly eclectic record, and we were. It made for something new and different, something that caught the ears of the country. That band was a love-in – so much so that Maz and Pino ended up with three kids!”

Married to Pino since 1992, Maz was delighted she and Kim were at the forefront of an album that starts with their joyous interplay on Come Back And Stay. “When we met, we discovered that we were both obsessed by The Everly Brothers,” she remembers.

“Our voices blended together well, and we then tried to emulate our harmonies being as good as the Everlys’. Kim has the higher voice and does the vocal acrobatics, while I do the more talking-sounding vocals.

“We were encouraged to think outside the box on No Parlez, doing silly things most singers would never let backing vocalists do. Nothing was too weird in those sessions, it was brilliant.” Young considers: “Maz and Kim are so important to the album. They’d done fairly standard parts with Jools, and I knew they could do a lot more. They were such a find.”

Love/Hate

Once No Parlez went to No.1, a backlash was inevitable, most noticeably from Joy Division fans outraged at a cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart. “I could hear The Four Tops sing it,” explains Laurie, who had suggested it for Paul to tackle. “Doing it in the style of The Four Tops was the starting point, but it moved away from that, especially once Steve’s mad guitar came in.”

“I could see that Ian Curtis was sacred to Joy Division fans,” accepts Paul. “I wasn’t surprised my version was so controversial. I’ve since met Peter Hook, who said: ‘Thank you for covering our song,’ and the turning point was when John Peel played it. He said: ‘I’m a Joy Division fan, and I think that’s a worthwhile interpretation.’ I think fans should be pleased to hear a different version of a favourite song, but I’m guilty of hating covers, too. I’m a big Free fan and I wasn’t best pleased when Pepsi And Shirlie did All Right Now.”

Young’s fame meant he was suddenly a pin-up, too, exploited in some of the later heartthrob single sleeves. “I’m glad I don’t have an addictive personality,” reflects Paul. “I like a drink, but I knew when to stop. My manager had worked with me since Streetband, so there was a lot of mickey-taking going on. I wasn’t allowed to get too big for my boots, but I’m quite a mellow personality anyway.”

Teen Idol

There were far worse singers to scream at, as Kim points out: “Paul was a beautiful-looking man who sang his arse off and danced like a dream. He was a talented guy, and a good guy to boot. We were all OK with girls worshipping him.”

The tour saw offers start to flood in for Palladino, whose imperious playing has since featured on artists from The Who to Miley Cyrus. He says: “No Parlez was massive for me, because the bass was such a feature. I got calls from David Gilmour and Elton John. The band took the piss on tour, going: ‘Fucking hell, who are you playing for today?’”

Latham went on to work with Squeeze, Echo And The Bunnymen and The Christians, confirming: “I got offered so much work that I had to turn down some lucrative offers. In the States, No Parlez was more of a cult album than it is in Britain. I met Tina Turner, who told me it was on heavy rotation on her tourbus, but I turned down what became Private Dancer.”

Young Love

No Parlez stayed in the UK Top 100 for 119 weeks, a word-of-mouth phenomenon that allowed Paul to take his time over his next album, The Secret Of Association. “The record company couldn’t believe it,” grins Young. “The success gave me time. I was a singer first and foremost, and my strong point was how I interpreted other people’s songs. It doesn’t matter to me if they’re mine or someone else’s. We laid ourselves open to publishers and said: ‘See if your songs are good enough.’ It meant we got sent piles of crap, of course, but it meant we found some good obscurities, too.”

The new expanded edition is chance to rediscover how No Parlez is one of the defining albums of pop’s greatest decade. As Laurie Latham summarises: “Paul is quite often excluded when people talk about 80s music. He always seems left out of those tribute programmes to the decade. That’s not fair, but I understand it: you couldn’t pigeonhole No Parlez then and you can’t now. The 80s sound is defined. No Parlez is just too eclectic for that.”

Visit Paul Young’s official website here

Read More: Here Classic Pop tells the story of 1983 in music

The post Paul Young – No Parlez interview appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

Watch rare Elton John concert footage as the singer celebrates 50 years of Caribou

Elton John is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his eighth studio album Caribou by sharing some rare concert footage of his first live performance of the hit The Bitch Is Back.

The video shows Elton on 5 May 1974 in front of 40,000 fans at Vicarage Road at his legendary Watford FC Benefit Concert, playing the song two months before its release on Caribou.

The track would be the album’s second single and would reach No.4 in the US and No.15 in the UK charts.

Elton had recently been appointed as director of Watford Football Club and put on the benefit concert to give the club a financial boost – tickets started from £1 and it included guests such as Rod Stewart and Nazareth.

The concert was not filmed for official release, making the video a rare gem. Watch the unearthed footage below:

The resurfacing of this footage comes just before Record Store Day on 20 April, which will see UMR release a special 50th Anniversary Edition of Caribou.

The reissue will be released as a 2LP set on 180g limited edition sky blue vinyl.

The package includes the original album which features the Elton John songs The Bitch Is Back and Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, plus a newly compiled LP of bonus tracks, including the previously unreleased Ducktail Jiver, which is the only true out-take from the Caribou sessions in January 1974.

Tracklist

SIDE A:
1. The Bitch Is Back
2. Pinky
3. Grimsby
4. Dixie Lily
5. Solar Prestige A Gammon
6. You’re So Static

SIDE B:
7. I’ve Seen The Saucers
8. Stinker
9. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
10. Ticking

SIDE C:
11. Pinball Wizard
12. The Bitch Is Back (New Radio Mix 2024)
13. Ducktail Jiver
14. Sick City

SIDE D:
15. Cold Highway
16. Stinker (Extended Version 2024)
17. Snookeroo

To find your local participating RSD store click here

Want to read more? Pick up a copy of our Elton John Special

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Seal’s second album, remastered and expanded with unreleased tracks, released in June

The singer’s second eponymous studio album from 1994 has been remastered and expanded to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

This edition follows 2023’s expanded reissue of Seal’s 1991 debut which featured Crazy and Future Love Paradise.

Included in the 2CD/Blu-ray is an unreleased version of the worldwide smash Kiss From A Rose. Listen below:

Building on the breakout success of his debut, Seal soared to even greater heights in 1994 with his second eponymous album. In honour of the album’s 30^th anniversary, Rhino will release a Deluxe Edition that includes a newly remastered version of the original, expanded with previously unreleased recordings.

Seal (often called Seal II) debuted in May 1994, showcasing the artist’s distinctive blend of pop, dance, and soul music. Produced by Trevor Horn, the album’s 11 tracks include standouts like Prayer For The Dying, Bring It On with Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman of Prince and the Revolution, and the duet If I Could, featuring the incomparable Joni Mitchell.

The LP topped the UK album chart and peaked at No.15 in the US, where it was certified 4x platinum. In the summer of 1995, Kiss From A Rose was featured in the blockbuster film Batman Forever, propelling it to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earning Seal three Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Unreleased Recordings

The Seal (Deluxe Edition) is set for release on 14 June in various formats. A 2-LP version will be available on black vinyl and a “Milky White” vinyl exclusively from HMV as part of their Vinyl Week. A 2CD/Blu-ray version will feature exclusive Dolby Atmos and PCM 24/96 High Resolution Stereo mixes of the album.

The expanded reissue unveils 10 previously unreleased recordings, offering alternate versions of album tracks like Newborn Friend and Don’t Cry, as well as a haunting take on Dreaming In Metaphors that features Seal alone at the piano.

The Deluxe Edition collects additional gems from that era, including the B-side Blues In E, a cover of Steve Miller Band’s Fly Like An Eagle from the Space Jam soundtrack, and a version of Manic Depression that Seal recorded with guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck for Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

Seal (Deluxe Edition)

2-CD/Blu-ray Tracklisting:
Disc One: Original Album (2024 Remaster)

1. Bring It On
2. Prayer For The Dying
3. Dreaming In Metaphors
4. Don’t Cry
5. Fast Changes
6. Kiss From A Rose
7. People Asking Why
8. Newborn Friend
9. If I Could
10. I’m Alive
11. Bring It On (Reprise)

Disc Two: Rare

1. Bring It On – Alternate Version *
2. Reality *
3. Prayer For The Dying – Alternate Version *
4. Kiss From A Rose – Alternate Version *
5. Fast Changes – Alternate Version *
6. Newborn Friend – Alternate Version *
7. I’m Alive – Alternate Version
8. Don’t Cry – Alternate Version *
9. People Asking Why – Alternate Version *
10. Dreaming In Metaphors – Alternate Version *
11. If I Could – Alternate Version *
12. Love Is Powerful
13. Manic Depression – featuring Jeff Beck
14. Blues In E
15. The Wind Cries Mary
16. Fly Like An Eagle

* previously unreleased

Released through Rhino on 14 June, you can pre-order here.

Want to read more? Check out our Seal interview from last year

The post Deluxe edition of Seal’s second album to be released appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

The Cult commemorate 40 years as a band with UK tour.

The 8424 Tour will sees The Cult perform songs spanning their 11-album discography.

In late 2023, vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy reformed Death Cult for a series of live performances  including back-to-back sold out shows at the Brixton Electric.

Duffy said: “Following up from the great energy of Death Cult 8323 shows, I’m looking forward to bringing that sense of celebration of the band’s music, and the communion with our fans, to Cult 8424. CFFC. Let the ceremony commence!”

Shamanic goths

From Duffy’s formative, and influential, years in the Manchester underground, to Astbury’s groundbreaking Gathering of the Tribes, the duo has left an indelible mark on modern music, shaping its trajectory in profound ways.

Formed in 1984, the seminal post-punk band dubbed “Shamanic goths”, found international renown with the 1985 album, Love, which featured the enduring rock anthem She Sells Sanctuary, as well as the oft-heard follow-up single, Rain.

Electric arrived in 1987, featuring the memorable tracks Love Removal Machine, Wild Flower and Lil’ Devil, and 1989’s Sonic Temple included the Top 20 hit Fire Woman.

The Cult will embark on a UK tour throughout autumn, starting in Leicester on 21 October. It will include stops in cities such as Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, and London, with a show at the Royal Albert Hall.

UK DATES

21 October – Leicester De Montfort Hall
22 October – Swansea Arena
24 October- Edinburgh Usher Hall
25 October – Manchester O2 Apollo
27 October – Bristol Beacon
29 October – York Barbican
30 October – Newcastle O2 City Hall
01 November – Portsmouth Guildhall
02 November- Wolverhampton Civic Hall
04 November – London Royal Albert Hall

Tickets go on general sale on Friday 19 April at 10am. Click here

​​For more on The Cult check out our Popscene look at Goth Music

The post The Cult announce 2024 UK Tour appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

Here we take a snapshot look at the decade which saw Prince celebrate some of his biggest worldwide hits:

The post Essential Prince In The 90s appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

Shaznay shares Good Mourning, the latest single from her new album, Pages

Featuring the BRIT and two-time MOBO winner Shola Ama (You Might Need Somebody, You’re Still The One I Love) and the pioneering UK ragga/jungle icon General Levy, Good Mourning follows lead single Miracle and Kiss Of Life.

Tackling love loss, the single reveals how a break-up can be an opportunity to rediscover your own self-confidence.

Finding Happiness

Shaznay says: “The chorus is, ‘I don’t want to be lonely,’ it is laying out the rules of what you don’t want. We all want to be loved, but sometimes we sacrifice love and can end up feeling loneliness within a relationship. It’s about finding happiness through self-love and the understanding of self-worth.”

The classic black-and-white shot video, directed by Oscar J Ryan, captures the three artists relishing their collaboration together.  Watch below:

The singer penned the track with Grammy-nominated producer Michael Angelo (Sam Smith) plus Ali Tennant (hitmaker and vocal coach on The Voice), Ben Cullum (Celeste) and General Levy.

Return to the spotlight

Since her phenomenal success with All Saints , Lewis focused on family life and stepped behind-the-scenes to work as a songwriter. Pages, released on 17 May, will be her second solo LP and first in 20 years.

It features further collaborators with the likes of Emily Phillips and Ant Whiting (Florence + The Machine), Johan Hugo (Self Esteem), Jez Ashurst (Maisie Peters), Moyses Dos Santos (Freya Ridings) and Charlie Stacey (Ezra Collective).

The album is available to pre-order here.

After her recent performance at the Roundhouse Gala, Shaznay is set to headline London’s Jazz Cafe on 14 May 14th. Limited tickets remain available here.

For more on All Saints check out our Top 20 girl groups

The post Shaznay Lewis releases new single, Good Mourning appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

Classic Pop Erasure Exclusive

Andy Bell and Vince Clarke have given Classic Pop an exclusive listen to an acoustic version of In My Arms, lifted from the new 2CD Deluxe Hardback Book edition of 1997’s classic album, Cowboy.

Released through Mute/BMG on 31 May, this expanded release features rarities and new remixes by Blancmange, Telex and Stealing Sheep.

This deluxe edition of their eighth studio album, features a rare acoustic version of In My Arms, giving the sublime synth-pop ballad a more intimate feel. Listen below:

The anthemic Don’t Say Your Love Is Killing Me has a new remix by Belgium synth pop maestros, Telex, while Rain is given the remix treatment for this release by Blancmange  and outsider pop trio Stealing Sheep.

Produced by Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Liars, Yann Tiersen), and Neil McLellan (The Prodigy), the album was recorded at studios in Spain and London, and was released in North America on Madonna’s Maverick label. This new edition of Cowboy is packed with a booklet that features sleeve notes by Mat Smith and exclusive photographs by Peter Ashworth, and includes three previously unreleased remixes, along with B-Sides, demos, classic remixes, an extended version of their cover of Blondie’s Rapture, and rarities – full tracklisting below:

CD1

Rain
Worlds On Fire
Reach Out
In My Arms
Don’t Say Your Love Is Killing Me
Precious
Treasure
Boy
How Can I Say
Save Me Darling
Love Affair

CD2

Rain (Al Stone Mix)
Rapture (Extended Version)
In The Name Of The Heart
First Contact (Vocal Mix)
Reach Out (Alternative Lyrics)
In My Arms (Acoustic Version)
Magic Moments (Alternative Mix)
My Love
Earth
Worlds On Fire (Demo Version)
In My Arms (Love To Infinity Stratomaster Mix US Edit)
Don’t Say Your Love Is Killing Me (Telex Remix)
Rain (Blancmange Remix)
Don’t Say Your Love Is Killing Me (Flashback Vox)
In My Arms (Crumbling Down Extended Instrumental Remix)
Rain (Stealing Sheep Remix)
Heart Of Glass (Live In Oxford)

This is the latest release in a series of Erasure 2CD Deluxe Hardback Editions and can be pre-ordered here

In the mood for more Erasure? Find out the story behind the making of The Innocents

The post Erasure Exclusive: Rare Acoustic Track – Listen Now appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

James return with uplifting new album

Having celebrated their 40th anniversary  last year, James are back with new album Yummy. The LP maintains a prolific output since the band reformed, vowing to stop their internal chaos. Tim Booth, Saul Davies and Jim Glennie tell Classic Pop  of the nine-piece’s eccentric creative  process, why they’re so bloody-minded –  and of their macabre sweepstake…

Coinciding with their  40th anniversary,  James were recently honoured with the Icon award by The Ivors.  It’s the biggest prize  in British songwriting, which many would  say is overdue for a band who’ve created classics including Sit Down, Laid, Born Of Frustration and Sometimes.

The band themselves were less certain of their status when they attended the ceremony last May, as multi-instrumentalist Saul Davies admits: “We sat there, thinking about the luminaries who’d won Ivors before us, how they’d studiously sit around a piano and write songs in a technically able way. Then we thought about the unholy fucking mess James are when we write. If the Ivors knew what they were actually honouring, it’d be hilarious.”

Sculpting Songs

With nine people contributing to James’ music, it’s little wonder their songwriting is different compared to most bands. “Everyone needs something to do, and everyone is so talented that what they contribute makes complete sense,” reasons Davies, a focal point of James’ live shows since joining in 1989. “It’s one reason why our records sound so full. The producer putting all our music together will go: ‘Fuck me, I’ve got 600 tracks of noise here. How am I going to do this?’ And we have to say: ‘Well, it’s over to you…’”

In truth, James’ songwriting is more structured than the cheerfully anarchic Saul makes it sound. Davies, singer Tim Booth, bassist Jim Glennie and keyboardist Mark Hunter are the main songwriters, the quartet gathering for sessions a week at a time in secluded locations close to nature – most recently Broughton Hall in Skipton, North Yorkshire – until they have enough jams to start sculpting into songs.

Glennie states 88 different jams feature somewhere in the 12 tracks on new album Yummy. And he should know, as he’s the one who assiduously takes notes on where potential magic lies: “I give sections marks out of 10, put circles around lyrics I like. Everyone else tends to use my notes to work from. I take ridiculous notes of where things change every few seconds. It’s just the way I am.”

Born Of Frustration

However eccentric James’ methods sound, it works. Yummy is their sixth album in 10 years – prolific for a band at any stage of their career, let alone one entering their fifth decade. As Tim Booth smiles over Zoom from his kitchen in Colorado: “It was so funny when The Rolling Stones’ new album came out, hearing Mick Jagger say: ‘We love making records.’ This is your first new stuff in 18 years. What were you doing?”

Although interviewed separately, Tim, Saul and Jim each talk of the “uplift” and “euphoria” in Yummy, stressing how important it is to give listeners some respite from what Glennie calls: “A groundhog day of negativity, a society stuck in a washing machine of problems.”

“We’ve felt joyful in James for at least the past five years,” asserts Booth. “We’ve been unashamedly more positive in our approach. When James are joyful, we’re really joyful. At the same time, we’re realistic about what we witness, in a world that’s not looking so positive right now.”

Magical Process

It’s not just mere productivity which has kept James consistently playing arenas and getting good festival slots. There’s an energy throughout Yummy, which makes it worthy of James’ finest albums. Saul notes: “Making records is a complicated, magical process that very few bands master. We do it occasionally, and Yummy is a good one. We sound excited by the music we make. You can’t fake that.”

That diffident attitude is typical of James’ approach. Asked what James have stood for throughout their 40 years, Jim and Saul both mention “bloody-mindedness.” They don’t shun success, but they haven’t made life easy for themselves either. Tim highlights how James rejected an offer from Peter Mensch and Cliff Burnstein, the powerful management duo behind Metallica, Muse and Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as refusing Sit Down’s release as a single in America, two years after it had been a hit in Britain. “The truth is, my psyche couldn’t have dealt with global fame,” the frontman admits. “We made choices to keep the band at a manageable level. We probably could handle that success now, but it’s too late, as we’re old and craggy.”

Keeping Things Manageable

James’ bloody-mindedness extends to their gigs. Fans are used to shows consisting of the songs the nine people in James want to play, not what’s expected of them, a rotating setlist which extends to their festival slots.

“We get criticised for that,” admits the youthful, hyper-enthusiastic Glennie. “We do rest big songs and put them to one side, but we’re the people who are there at every James show. The reason we still do this is because we want to.”

Founder member Jim started James in Manchester aged 15 with his best mate, the long-departed Paul Gilbertson. He fondly recalls the improvisational nature of the band’s early concerts: “We allowed things to change onstage. It wasn’t: ‘Guitar solo!’ for three minutes with the rest of us stood there. The whole band would be playing music none of us had heard before, which would then shoot off somewhere. If it didn’t work, the crowd would be: ‘Wahey!’, but other times it’d be absolutely brilliant.” Or, as Davies puts it: “Sometimes our show is bollocks, sometimes it’s completely life-affirming. We’re less bollocks than we used to be, and people like that. We might not play what people want us to, but we do it well.”

Eternally Grateful

The early James were nearly derailed when, aged 21, Tim fell ill with liver disease. He’s spoken before about how he nearly died, saying now: “I was lucky that my doctor told me: ‘Western medicine has nothing for you’ and not ‘What you have is incurable.’” This led Booth to a strong belief in alternative medicine, especially from China, as well as in psychedelic therapy. He predicts: “It’s not a panacea for everything, but psychedelic therapy will make a big difference in the mental health crisis the World Health Organisation has said is coming.”

Meanwhile, Jim is a strong advocate of changing how the music business deals practically with musicians’ mental health challenges, confessing that James are “much different” in how they value each other than in their early career. Yet the early band surely deserve credit for sticking with their frontman when he was so ill, when other bands would have quietly replaced him.

“Tim has an eternally grateful attitude to that,” accepts Glennie. “Honestly, at the time, it wasn’t like that. Early James was about playing and playing for as many hours as we could. We didn’t even speak very much, we’d just have a concert as a focus for all that playing every now and again. Those days were about finding who we were and getting good at that. When Tim was ill, we just carried on trying to do that, via more playing and playing.”

All Messed Up

A more serious challenge arrived once James achieved success in the 90s. By the end of the decade, James were in chaos, Jim remembering: “I was a mess, unpredictable and all over the shop. Musically, I’m amazed we did as well as we did. I’ve seen live videos from that time, where I think: ‘Wow, we’re actually really on it.’ I don’t know how we did that.”

Tim states simply: “I thought someone could have died in the 90s. James were a wild band, but we kept that secret, circling the wagons to try to look after each other.” On a Lollapalooza tour, James shared the bill with The Prodigy, Tricky, Korn, Tool and Snoop Dogg. Booth says grimly: “The tour’s security said: ‘Look out for James, they’re wilder than any of the others.’”

Golf buggies were particularly at risk of being totalled…

“When you think someone is going to get killed, you don’t want to aid and abet that,” reasons Tim. “Seeing people you love go through that was a big reason why I left.” Splitting for six years in 2001, since James returned everyone has been focused on being the best James they can be.

Glennie points out: “This is the only job where a table full of free alcohol arrives at your workplace every day. It’s fucking mental. It’s weird in the music business not to have had a drug or alcohol breakdown. Do we really need to do that? The industry talks about mental health, but in reality it’s stuck in the 70s.

“You’re shot through with adrenaline after a show for two or three hours. I tend to leave gigs quickly, because otherwise I get pulled into that euphoria. I go out after some shows and enjoy myself, of course I do, but I know what the issues are in a touring band, and I don’t want that.”

She’s A Star

Reformed in every sense, James have been further improved by the addition of percussionists Debbie Knox-Hewson and Chloe Alper, the latter also a strong vocal presence on Yummy. “They’re both great additions, and they’re both cool as fuck,” beams Saul. “Chloe’s vocals really make the most of some of the new songs, and her work ethic is insane.

“Debbie’s drum work is excellent. She’s quite wayward, a bit of a northern bastard. I like that. We met the two women by accident and they joined the band in an ad-hoc way, which is very typically James.”

As delighted as he is by Chloe and Debbie’s contributions, Davies’ dark humour shines through when he reveals there’s a sweepstake within James as to who is going to die first. Asked who his money is on, Saul responds: “I reckon it’ll be unexpected. The girls joined last, so one of them will be first to go. Last in, first out.”

So Much To Say

Saul rallies, briefly serious as he considers what unfulfilled ambitions James have left. “We still haven’t made our Dark Side Of The Moon,” he considers. “I don’t think we ever will, though we got close with Laid. We’ve still got so much to say as a band.

“Every time we go in to start writing, I worry: ‘Is this when we’ve lost it?’ But within 10 minutes, we’re always grinning like kids, jumping up and down, with Tim doing his mad dance and howling about whatever the fuck it is Tim howls about. I think: ‘No, this is great!’ and I can’t see how we won’t always have that between us.”

On Yummy, Tim is largely howling about trying to be “the antidote to the stress everyone is going through.” That’s especially present in the riotously infectious Mobile God, Our Worldand Life’s A Fucking Miracle, though all three bangers are undercut with lyrics respectively touching on dangerous tech, climate change and doomscrolling.

“You can feel in the air that people are losing it,” sighs Booth. “The media is based on selling fear. We all know about the awful things that go on simultaneously, hearing too much about them rather than the positives that balance them. As a singer, it’s important to be informed, but I have to balance that with what my mental health can take. I meditate, because that keeps me sane. If I don’t meditate for a week, I really struggle.”

The importance of Tim’s lyrics means he’s stressing about what he views as a mistake even before Yummy is released. He reveals the album’s inner sleeve will feature lyrics he doesn’t actually sing in conspiracy theory anthem Hey. He frets: “Hey had the line: ‘CIA killed the Kennedys, it was a coup by the way.’ It’s becoming more and more obvious that’s what happened, and I’m so angry with myself that I didn’t sing that line. It would have worked beautifully.”

Destiny Calling

The omission is a microcosm of James’ profligacy in the studio. While Jim is experienced in how to edit James’ jams down, he’s also painfully aware of how much potentially great music they throw away: in James’ whole career, he can only think of 2018’s Extraordinary Times as a song based on a jam left over from a previous LP’s sessions.

Fans will be teased by an idea of Glennie: “If James don’t exist anymore, there’s a ton of unreleased stuff waiting to be utilised, a whole career’s worth of music for somebody to go through. When we finish an album, our view is: ‘We’ve finished that part of James, what’s the next bit?’ It’s all recorded on multitrack, too. We’re more conscious of how to get some of those demos out with this record. Maybe we should put a massive chunk of unreleased music out there and say to the fans: ‘Right, edit this’.” Davies, meanwhile, speaks longingly of a song titled Linger Like The Ocean that got ditched because: “Some wag in the band decided it sounds too much like Echo Beach. I think it’d be a huge hit, but it’s gone and I understand why.”

Production Skills

Yummy is helmed by Leo Abrahams, a producer for Paul Simon and Regina Spektor who was also a protégé of previous James associate Brian Eno. Saul praises Leo for coaxing him into “My best studio work in many years”, while Booth hails the producer for his patience at having less access than usual to the band while they were on tour.

Brian Eno himself had agreed to oversee Yummy, but ultimately wasn’t needed thanks to Leo’s inventiveness, but the legend naturally has a special place in James’ hearts, as Tim emphasises: “If you’ve made five albums with Brian Eno when you’re not making him the millions he’d get from some of his other bands, that’s a certain stamp of approval.”

Another Eno pupil, Coldplay producer and cult electronica pioneer Jon Hopkins, plays piano on Yummy. Sinéad O’Connor sang on I Defeat and Vervaceous, but James haven’t previously been known for collaborations. Saul talks of wanting to make a solo album influenced by The Byrds, Jim of maybe doing a soundtrack, with Tim naming Underworld and Black Country, New Road as bands he’d love to work with outside the day-job.

Not Disappearing Any Time Soon

Any extra-curricular activity might have to wait, though. James have begun work on album 19, having started the first of those week-long writing sessions in January – “Something we often do just before a new album, so we have something to start whatever comes next,” says Davies, who grins: “The bad news for anyone who hates James is that we’re probably not going to disappear any time soon.”

Glennie is a man happy to have spent all his adult life in the band that sort-of shares his name: “People go ‘Hey, you’ve got the same name!’, but the only person to ever call me ‘James’ was my mum when I was naughty.” Relative newcomer Saul has the most inventive way for how to keep James going for another 40 years, revealing: “Chloe and Debbie can become the singer and drummer, continue the James name. Then the rest of us can train up our kids to be in the band when their dads are gone. James can be like a football team, with a new generation of players.” The future of James’ fatalistic sweepstake might have to wait a while just yet.

Yummy is out via Virgin order here

James’ 2024 tour dates:

In June 2024, the group will head out on their biggest ever tour with special guests Razorlight.

03 June Aberdeen P&J Live
05 June Newcastle Utilita Arena
07 June Glasgow OVO Hydro
08 June Leeds First Direct Arena
11 June Cardiff Utilita Arena
12 June Birmingham Utilita Arena
14 June Manchester Co-op Live
15 June London The O2

For more information click here

In the mood for more? Remembering Manchester’s Haçienda nightclub

The post James – Yummy Interview appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

In the new issue of Classic Pop – as a definitive Blitz club compilation is finally released – we round up a star-studded cast including Boy George, Rusty Egan, Gary Kemp and Midge Ure to tell the story of the home of the New Romantic revolution.

Elsewhere, Sananda Maitreya, who is back with another hugely ambitious studio album and the final part of his Pegasus Project, tells us why he’s returning to these shores to play his first UK shows in more than 20 years.

We also meet Neil Finn and Nick Seymour as Crowded House release a late-career classic in new album Gravity Stairs. Shaznay Lewis also reveals all about why she’s rebooted her solo career and the state of play with All Saints.

Our classic album is Eurythmics’ diverse Touch and there’s more than £2,000 worth of tickets to be won as part of Classic Pop’s 2024 festival special.

INXS’s back catalogue goes under the microscope for our Album By Album feature and we also catch up with Rod Thomas, aka Bright Light Bright Light, to hear more about his new studio LP, Enjoy Life.

Author Daniel Rachel takes us behind the scenes of the recording of The Specials’ seminal No.1 single Ghost Town, we meet Gabrielle as she unveils her emotive new album A Place In Your Heart, and we count down our Top 20 favourite comeback singles.

In a packed reviews section we give our verdict on new album releases including Pet Shop Boys, Paul Weller, Mark Knopfler as well as the aforementioned Crowded House, Shaznay Lewis and Gabrielle plus on the reissues front we have the Blitz club compilation, Electribe 101, Blancmange, Girls Aloud, Sparks and much more. We also check out live shows by ABC, Lust For Life, Alison Goldfrapp and OMD.

Get your copy of the new issue of Classic Pop

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The post Classic Pop Issue 87 is on sale now! appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

Musician and activist Moby will release his new album, Always Centered At Night, on 14 June.

The album is a collaborative project, wherein Moby collaborates with some of his favourite vocalists and he recently shared the track, Dark Days, featuring acclaimed soul-jazz singer-songwriter Lady Blackbird.

A defiant and rhythmic work, Dark Days is propelled by Lady Blackbird’s alluring, deep vocals and earnest soul. Watch below:

The album coincides with the announcement that the artist will be celebrating 25 years of Play by performing his greatest hits in Europe in September – his first live dates in over a decade.

Moby European dates

19 September  – The O2 London, England
21 September  – Sportpaleis Antwerp, Belgium
22 September – Velodrom Berlin, Germany
23 September  – Mitsubishi Electric Hall Düsseldorf, Germany
24 September – Le Zenith Paris, France

Released on 17 May 1999, Play featured the classics Porcelain, Natural Blues and Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? selling more than 12 million copies worldwide and becoming the biggest-selling electronic album of all time.

Moby said: “It’s been over 10 years since I’ve toured, but someone reminded me that 2024 is the 25th anniversary of the release of Play, so it seemed like it might not be the worst idea to do a short European tour to commemorate and celebrate.

“The show will feature well-known songs from Play, but also a bunch of audience favourites, like Extreme Ways, We Are All Made Of Stars, When It’s Cold I’d Like To Die, and even some old rave bangers like Feeling So Real and Go.  What makes the tour most exciting for me is that I won’t be paid anything. 100% of my tour profits will go to European animal rights organisations.”

Tickets for the London date are on sale now, click here

Read more: The gospel according to Moby

 

The post Moby to release new album and tour greatest hits appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

Classic Pop’s essential guide to the best of 2 Tone

2 Tone Records was the DIY indie label whose roster of bands not only raised questions regarding social ills but offered solutions. Bursting out of the deprived city streets of Coventry, The Specials and The Selecter were joined by Birmingham’s The Beat and London’s Madness to lead a post-punk ska revival that reflected a nation’s anxieties in 80s Britain.

Here we list our Top 20 2 Tone tracks… alongside a further 10 related releases that surfaced on other labels:

20. Skinhead Symphony (Live) – The Special A.K.A. Featuring Rico

Lifted from 1980’s chart-topping Too Much Too Young Live (EP), this marvellous medley of Long Shot Kick De Bucket (originally by The Pioneers), The Liquidator (Harry J Allstars) and Skinhead Moonstomp (based on Derrick Morgan’s Moon Hop) is an absolute riot. Recorded at Tiffany’s in Coventry, which now acts as the city library, this sweet selection will get you stomping, skanking, and singing in your living room.

19. Too Much Pressure – The Selecter

The title track from The Selecter’s 1980 daring debut LP opens with Compton Amanor’s ripping guitar before Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson leads the call and response chant of “Too Much Pressure!” “It was a snapshot of my life,” admitted band founder Neol Davies in the notes to the excellent 2021 deluxe edition. “The car had failed its MOT; my wife and I were struggling; I was angry and frustrated. I sat at my work desk fuming: ‘this, it’s too much fuckin’ pressure…’”

18. Enjoy Yourself – The Specials

First published in 1949, with music written by Carl Sigman and lyrics by Herb Magidson, Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think) bookends the band’s sophomore album More Specials. The opener to Side A is an upbeat statement of intent signalled by a sardonic “Hello, I’m Terry, and I’m going to enjoy myself first…” from singer Terry Hall, while the reprise, which closes the album, is slower and features Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s.

17. The Boiler – Rhoda Dakar with The Special A.K.A.

Originally written by The Bodysnatchers before the group disbanded, this harrowing tale didn’t emerge until 1982. Produced by Jerry Dammers and released under the name of “Rhoda with the Special A.K.A.”, the hard-hitting track describes a rape in stark detail from the victim’s perspective. While the track received limited radio-play because of its subject, it still reached No.35 and was ranked among the Top 10 “Tracks of the Year” for 1982 by the NME.

16. Ranking Full Stop – The Beat

The Beat borrow heavily from Laurel Atken’s Pussy Price from 1969 for this B-side to their only 2 Tone release, Tears Of A Clown. The “Ranking” moniker is short for top-ranking and was a titular boast common among reggae MCs. Top toaster, Ranking Roger, is in fine form in this prime example of the Birmingham collective’s irresistible energy. There’s no doubt, judging by the footage of his performance at 1983’s US Music Festival in San Bernardino, that “the English Beat” influenced Operation Ivy and the wave of Californian ska-punk bands who followed later.

15. Monkey Man – The Specials

“This one’s for the bouncers – big, big monkey man…” introduces party starter Neville Staple following an enthusiastic crowd chant of “Rude Buoy!, Rude Buoy!, Rude Buoy!” during this opener to Side B on The Specials eponymous debut LP. A chaotic cover of Toots & The Maytals first international hit, this is a raucous affair perfectly reflecting The Specials’ live show. The Coventry collective are among many acts to have covered it including Kylie, who tackled it with the Wiggles in 2009 to raise funds for UNICEF.

14. Missing Words – The Selecter

In contrast to the band’s previous singles, On My Radio and Three Minute Hero, this is a downbeat track about heartbreak. Released in 1980, it reached No.23 on the UK charts during its eight-week stay. Talking about the song in the notes for the 2021 deluxe edition of Too Much Pressure, Neol said: “Elvis Costello was a massive influence. It had an A minor to F major chord change which was the main theme in Watching The Detectives.”

13. Rat Race – The Specials

Written by guitarist Roddy Radiation and released in May 1980 as a double A-side single with Rude Buoys Outa Jail, this iconic track wasn’t included on the UK edition of More Specials. The music video, featuring the band dressed up as stereotypical teachers, was shot in the main hall of the Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University), where Dammers and Horace Panter had studied. In his book, Ska’d For Life: A Personal Journey With The Specials, Panter said it was a critique on privileged students who “would spend three years pissing it up in college, knowing full well that Daddy would get them a good job when they left no matter what.”

12. Three Minute Hero – The Selecter

“It’s 5pm and you’re on your way home, just another day with that endless grey drone…” with ambitious dreams of escaping the humdrum monotony of a 9-to-5 existence, The Selecter wonderfully encapsulate the hopelessness of working the repetitive rat race. Clocking in at three minutes, this Too Much Pressure album opener was released as a single and reached No.16 on the UK charts. “I wanted to write songs that people could identify with,” said Neol in the 2021 reissue notes.

11. Friday Night, Saturday Morning – The Specials

Coupled with guitarist Lynval Golding’s plea for racial tolerance on Why? as the B-side to 1981’s swansong Ghost Town, Terry Hall’s Friday Night, Saturday Morning is arguably the singer’s most significant lyrical contribution to The Specials. His sombre working-class wit shines on what Hall would describe as, “a mundane song about a mundane lifestyle”. Talking to Classic Pop Golding said: “I believe I’m blessed to have worked with both the best lyricist in the world in Terry and with one of the very best arrangers in Jerry. It’s a real pity it didn’t work out with The Specials because they had such amazing creative visions.”

10. Let’s Do Rock Steady – The Bodysnatchers

Rhoda Dakar and her all-girl Bodysnatchers reached No.22 on the UK singles chart in April 1980 with this cover of the rocksteady special by Dandy Livingstone, which had first appeared in October 1967 as the flip side to his single We Are Still Rude. While some of the band as well as Jerry Dammers wanted to release The Boiler as their debut single, 2 Tone’s parent company Chrysalis pressured the band into releasing this more commercial cut. Despite enjoying moderate success, the group only released one further single, the double-A Easy Life/Too Experienced, before splitting up.

9. Too Much Too Young (Live) – The Special A.K.A. Featuring Rico

One of the few in-concert singles to top the UK Chart, this raucous footage was captured at The Lyceum in London. Based on the 1969 song Birth Control by Lloyd Charmers, the track perfectly combines social commentary with high energy danceability. Reflecting in 2019, while performing with the reformed Specials, Lynval Golding told Classic Pop: ““It’s incredible, all these youngsters singing along to Too Much Too Young, when those kids weren’t even born when it was written. It shows there’s a longevity to what was created, they get it, there’s no gimmick and it was great music.” With its references to teenage pregnancies and contraception, the track is a timeless classic which has lost none of its immediacy or potency.

8. A Message To You Rudy – The Specials

For this take on another rocksteady classic by Dandy Livingstone, originally titled Rudy A Message To You, The Specials drafted trombonist Rico Rodriguez who had played on the original cut. Born in Havana, Cuba, but raised in Jamaica, Rodriguez moved to the UK in 1961 and his sound adds a vital authenticity to this faithful version on the original. The band’s second single, and first to be lifted from their debut album, A Message To You Rudy climbed to No.10 in the UK charts in November 1979 and the group would perform the track on the legendary “2 Tone takeover of Top Of The Pops” alongside The Selecter and Madness.

7. The Selecter – The Selecter

You cannot underestimate the importance of this instrumental. Talking with Classic Pop in 2021, Neol Davies explained how Jerry Dammers had approached him to put a ska rhythm guitar on a piece of music he had written called The Kingston Affair for use on the B-side of Gangsters. He said: “Jerry asked if he could use it on the flipside of a single that he was releasing. I couldn’t believe my luck… John Peel had a hugely influential two-hour radio show around this time and Jerry sent him a copy of our record. We tuned in hoping he’d play Gangsters and I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard him play The Selecter.” Gangsters Vs The Selecter hit the Top 10 and 2 Tone had arrived. Knowing the name The Selecter had been established, Neol swiftly set about forming his own group.

6. Nelson Mandela – The Special AKA

Written by Jerry Dammers as a protest against the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela by the apartheid South African government, this joyous anthem was a crowning jewel in 2 Tone’s monochrome pork pie hat.

Following the break-up of the original Specials line-up, Dammers formed the Special AKA with drummer John Bradbury and vocalists Rhoda Dakar and Stan Campbell to release the album, In The Studio. While it was not as commercially successful as their previous two LPs, Nelson Mandela would reach No.9 on the UK chart and, more importantly, soundtracked the downfall of apartheid.

Dammers told Classic Pop in 2019: “While I think Ghost Town is better musically, Nelson Mandela had a lot more effect than any other 2 Tone song, and it also led to me being asked to organise Artists Against Apartheid, which included putting together a concert with a quarter of a million people protesting apartheid. That led to the two Wembley Stadium Mandela Concerts broadcast to millions around the world.”

5. The Prince – Madness

Talking to Classic Pop in 2019, Jerry Dammers said: “2 Tone didn’t just happen in Coventry, Madness had completely independently come up with a similar idea of playing ska in London before they ever saw The Specials…” Hailing from Camden Town, Madness formed as the North London Invaders in 1976, but changed name when Graham McPherson (aka Suggs) took over the lead vocals. Written by saxophonist Lee Thompson, The Prince is a tribute to Jamaican ska singer Prince Buster whose song Madness was covered for the flipside and also inspired the band’s name. A surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts at No.16, Madness toured with fellow 2 Tone bands the Specials and the Selecter, before recording their debut studio album for Stiff Records.

4. The Tears Of A Clown – The Beat

The origins of The Beat began on the Isle Of Wight, where singer Dave Wakeling and guitarist Andy Cox met building solar panels. They decided to form a band and, on moving back to their hometown Birmingham, recruited the rhythm section of David Steele and Everett Morton. Joined by the amiable Ranking Roger and Jamaican saxophonist Saxa – who had played with Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken, and Desmond Dekker in the first wave of ska – The Beat recorded this remake of Smokey Robinson’s Tears Of A Clown for 2 Tone.

“The Beat happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Roger told Classic Pop before his passing in 2019. “Jerry saw us and asked if we’d like to put out a record and tour with The Selecter. It was phenomenal, I was fresh out of school and within months I was on Top Of The Pops performing Tears Of A Clown.”

The single reached No.6 on the UK chart but didn’t appear on the debut studio album, I Just Can’t Stop It, which surfaced on Go-Feet Records.

3. On My Radio – The Selecter

Written by Neol Davies in 1978 while he was in the Coventry outfit Transposed Men, On My Radio is a track which predates The Selecter. Following the surprise success of Gangsters Vs The Selecter, Davies built a band.

“I don’t think, when The Selecter formed, we thought anything was actually going to come of it,” remembered Pauline Black with Classic Pop in 2021. “We really were just flying by the seats of our pants during those early gigs. Gaps [Hendrickson] and I would tape lyrics to the front of the stage and race around trying to read the words, people used to say: ‘Well, aren’t they energetic.’ But we all performed with such energy, it was just the natural thing to do. I was still working as a hospital radiographer when Jerry did a deal with Chrysalis enabling 2 Tone to release records by The Specials and any other bands that took his fancy.”

Released through the label in October 1979, The Selecter’s debut peaked at No.8 on the UK Singles Chart and would be their most successful single.

2 Gangsters – The Special A.K.A.

The brainchild of Jerry Dammers, The Specials initially featured vocalist Tim Strickland, guitarist Lynval Golding, drummer Silverton Hutchinson and bassist Horace Panter. Starting out as The Automatics, Strickland was soon replaced by Terry Hall and guitarist Roddy Radiation joined in March 1978 ahead of a recording session of demos. Changing their name to The Special A.K.A., the Coventry collective hit the road supporting The Clash.

“The Clash liked us, so we got the whole tour, 30 quid a night,” Dammers told Classic Pop in 2019. “Neville Staple, who was one of our roadies, jumped on stage and added a lot of energy with his dancing and toasting interjections.” Following The Clash tour, Silverton quit the band and Dammers approached John ‘Brad’ Bradbury. Dammers wrote Gangsters on Joe Strummer’s guitar in the dressing room on The Clash tour, later adding a musical quotation from the 1964 track Al Capone by Prince Buster, swapping ‘Al Capone’s Guns Don’t Argue’ to ‘Bernie Rhodes Knows Don’t Argue’, a jibe towards The Clash’s manager who had attempted to take the band under his wing.

A bombastic statement of intent, Gangsters Vs The Selecter climbed the charts, peaking at No.6, and Dammers received several offers to sign away what he had created with his fledgling 2 Tone label. However, he held out for a deal that would allow 2 Tone to keep its identity. Dammers said: “When we signed the label to Chrysalis, we retained artistic control. I just wanted to give like-minded bands a break and thought if we worked together instead of competing, we could build a ska movement to support each other.”

1. Ghost Town – The Specials

Punk predicted no future, but 2 Tone asked what we could do about it, addressing racism, sexism and class division… But, in the summer of 1981, with urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence raging in Britain’s inner cities, the future looked beyond bleak for many.

The tour for The Specials’ second album in late 1980 had been a fraught experience and as they travelled, Jerry Dammers and co witnessed sights that reflected the depressed mood of a country gripped by recession. Talking with Classic Pop in 2019, Lynval Golding said: “People think that Ghost Town was about Coventry, but it was about all the cities we visited.”  While Dammers offered: “The events in my songs didn’t all happen in Coventry, Glasgow was the initial inspiration for Ghost Town, but it’s irrelevant really, I wanted my songs to be as universal as possible, with a sort of ‘Anywhere, Anystreet, Anytown’ address on them.”

Released on 12 June 1981, shortly after the Brixton riots in London and just prior to the unrest witnessed in Toxteth (in Liverpool), Handsworth (Birmingham), Chapeltown (Leeds), and Moss Side (Manchester), Ghost Town was a biting inditement on Thatcher’s Conservative Britain which topped the UK chart for three weeks. A haunting track with an iconic video, it remains one of the most evocative songs of the era. Still resonating today, Duran Duran released a cover version of the song on their 2023 Halloween-themed album Danse Macabre.

Continue Reading: Here we present a further 10 related releases that surfaced on other labels:

10. Our Lips Are Sealed – Fun Boy Three

“That song came about because Terry Hall and I had a little bit of a tour romance,” Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s told Classic Pop in 2022. “When I returned to California, we continued to write each other letters. He would send me lyrics and said, ‘Someday I’m going to have my own band and it’s going to be great.’ I was really drawn to Our Lips Are Sealed and came up with the music and wrote some more words. It became part of The Go-Go’s repertoire and we released it as our debut single. When Terry formed Fun Boy Three he recorded his version which was a huge smash in the UK. It’s funny, I think most people over there thought that their version was the original!”

9. Peace, Love and Understanding – Rhoda Dakar

Originally written and recorded by Nick Lowe, like most people Rhoda Dakar was introduced to the song by Elvis Costello’s version. Closing her 2023 album Version Girl (Sunday Best Recordings), Dakar said: “I can hear his [Costello’s] influence on my delivery. However, I think the lyrics get more of a chance to shine on our more chilled-out version. We aim to leave you with a smile and a glimmer of hope!”

8. Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Us Around – The Specials

This cover of the freedom spiritual song featured on 2021’s Protest Songs 1924–2012 (Island/Universal Records), the second Specials album led by the trio of Lynval Golding, Terry Hall and Horace Panter. The album entered at No.2 on the UK Albums Chart and would be the final release before the premature passing of singer Hall.

7. Tenderness – General Public

Released as a single in May 1984, from their debut studio album All The Rage through I.R.S. Records, General Public was initially formed by Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger of the Beat, with Mick Jones (of The Clash), Horace Panter (The Specials), Mickey Billingham and Stoker (Dexys Midnight Runners). The song performed well in the States (reaching No.27) and appeared in the films Sixteen Candles (1984) and Weird Science (1985).

6. Celebrate The Bullet – The Selecter

Signing with parent label Chrysalis, bad timing consistently plagued The Selecter’s second album Celebrate The Bullet. Released as a single on 6 February 1981, the title track was swiftly banned by BBC Radio 1 due to the murder of John Lennon. The LP’s release was blighted further following an attempted assassination on US President Ronald Reagan. Pauline Black told Classic Pop in 2019 that it was her favourite 2 Tone track: “Even if it is one of ours, it remains prevalent. Look at the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s a sophisticated song and an absolute joy to play live.”

5. Mirror In The Bathroom – The Beat

Lifted from their debut studio album, I Just Can’t Stop It, and released through their own label, Go-Feet Records as a single in April 1980, Mirror In The Bathroom reached No.4 in the UK singles chart. The song was also ranked at No.3 among the Top 10  Tracks of the Year for 1980 by the NME. Jerry Dammers told Classic Pop in 2019: “I love Mirror In The Bathroom, to get a song about the mental illness of narcissism into the Top 10, was an amazing achievement.”

4. The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum) – Fun Boy Three

Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding released this UK Top 20 through Chrysalis following their split from The Specials as Fun Boy Three. “We were convinced the natural follow-up to Ghost Town should’ve been The Lunatics,” Golding told Classic Pop in 2022. When the guitarist joined Hall and Horace Panter to record The Specials’ splendid 2019 album Encore, the band decided to revisit the track.

3. Lip Up Fatty – Bad Manners

Fronted by Buster Bloodvessel, Bad Manners released Lip Up Fatty through Magnet Records and in June 1980 reached No.15 in the chart. The single was taken from the album Ska’n’B, which also included the hits Ne-Ne Na-Na Na-Na Nu-Nu (No.28) and Special Brew (No.3).

2. One Step Beyond – Madness

“Hey you, don’t watch that, watch this! This is the heavy heavy monster sound, the nuttiest sound around…” Released through Stiff Records in October 1979, this Prince Buster cover reached No.7 on the UK chart. Straying from the ska influence, the group would go on to rack up the hits with singles such as Baggy Trousers, My Girl, It Must Be Love, Our House, and the UK No.1 House Of Fun.

1. Stand Down Margaret – The Beat

Stand Down Margaret was first released on I Just Can’t Stop It in May 1980 as part of a mash with the Prince Buster 1968 classic Whine & Grine. This remixed dub version surfaced in August 1980, alongside Best Friend, where the proceeds from the single’s sales went to the Anti-Nuclear Campaign and the CND. Just prior to his passing in 2019, Ranking Roger told Classic Pop: “There was a lot of disillusioned people that didn’t understand different cultures. Our music was a melting pot designed to unite. We spoke about world politics, people politics, personal politics… 2 Tone helped change a generation willing to open their minds and every generation has a shining light: a Bob Marley or John Lennon… we had Jerry Dammers.”

Visit Coventry Music Museum for the lowdown on 2 Tone, The Specials, Selecter, Primitives and more – details here

In the mood for more? Find out the story behind 2 Tone art with David Storey

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A family ticket worth £1,300 is up for grabs in our Camp Bestival competition

Designed by families, for families, the much-loved Camp Bestival combines an all-encompassing festival experience with an action-packed camping holiday.

The Dorset event, which runs from 25-28 July features a UK festival exclusive appearance by Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics – Jules Buckley & The Essential Orchestra. Making her festival debut as a headliner is Paloma Faith and completing the acts at the top of the bill will be McFly.

Elsewhere, this year’s line-up includes James Arthur, Orbital, The Darkness and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. 2024 will see a brand new range of free activities joining the all the current favourites, including everything from parkour and freerunning to a football club, wall climbing and dance classes as well as a Space Camp and Planetarium to fit with the event’s space exploration theme.

The sister event at Shropshire’s Weston Park runs from 15-18 August will see the return of McFly and Paloma Faith as headliners with the addition of the mighty Faithless. Also making the trip from the Dorset event will be The Darkness and Orbital while Rick Astley will be switching things up as a new face on the line-up.

To win 1x Family Ticket (2x adults and up to four children aged 17 and under) to either Camp Bestival Dorset or Shropshire including a Camping Plus pitch in their reserved pitch field, click here

For further information click here

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

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Classic Pop is thrilled to offer its readers an exclusive chance to win one of five signed copies of Sananda Maitreya’s new album, The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan.

Due for release on 11 May and two years in the making, The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan, is the new double album from Maitreya. Completing an arc started with his Prometheus & Pandora LP in 2017, and that continued on 2021’s Pandora’s PlayHouse, this new 41-track record includes over two hours of incredible music.

Few musicians give more to the game or are plainly having as much fun playing it than Maitreya. The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan is an epic that soars, gallops and tumbles, revealing fresh insight with every listen.

The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan is available for pre-order from the official website here or on Sananda’s shopify here.

 For your chance to win a signed copy of The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan, click here

*T&Cs: This competition closes on 31 May 2024 and is open to UK residents only, must be 18+ to enter.

Click Here To Enter

The post Win A Signed Copy Of Sananda Maitreya’s New Album appeared first on Classic Pop Magazine.

NPG Records and Paisley Park Enterprises release rare Prince song to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Musicology

To commemorate two decades of Musicology, NPG Records and Paisley Park Enterprises, in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment, have released United States Of Division.

The rare 2004 Prince song was initially offered as a virtual B-side download for Cinnamon Girl exclusively from Prince’s NPG Music Club and eventually as a non-LP bonus track for the UK CD single of Cinnamon Girl, but has not been distributed via streaming services until now.

Protest Song

United States Of Division is a powerful protest song that sees Prince boldly confronting the social and political issues that continue to plague the nation to this day. Over a percussive backbeat and slinking bassline colored by synths and horn stabs, Prince laments the state of a fractured nation: “How far from heaven must we go? / Before the winds of change will blow and show / This world how it’s supposed to be / Land of peace and harmony.”

Released in the midst of the US war in Iraq, United States Of Division serves as a potent reminder of Prince’s often underappreciated passion for social commentary.

Listen below:

Prince’s Grammy winning 28th studio album Musicology received rave reviews from critics and fans alike when it was released nearly 20 years ago. Its revolutionary direct-to-fan marketing strategy, effectively changed music promotion forever.

The new spotlight on this song also celebrates the 20th anniversary of Prince’s landmark Musicology Live 2004ever tour, a remarkable run of shows that saw the trendsetting star distributing copies of his most recent album Musicology to thousands of concert attendees along the tour route.

Groundbreaking

On Prince’s request, the tour featured reasonable ticket prices that encouraged fans young and old to attend shows. Devised by Musicology executive producer L. Londell McMillan, this grassroots approach to album marketing profoundly changed that way the music industry.

Creative Innovator

Speaking about this era of Prince’s career, McMillan noted: “Some called it his comeback, Prince called it Musicology. The brilliance of this classic album was coupled with the commercial success executed on his tour with ticket sales, resulting in Prince’s highest chart position since the 80s. Prince was simply awesome and the music world owes him a great debt for his creativity and innovation.”

In an interview clip, Prince described how his creative process had changed at this stage in his career. He said: “This record…remember it’s made by someone who’s been there and back. Hopefully people feel that and listen to it with that set of ears. Music is music ultimately. If it makes you feel good? Cool.”

Read More: Prince – The making of Sign O’ The Times

Watch below:

Read More: Remembering Diamonds And Pearls

Musicology  was first released on 29 March 2004 (appearing in stores in the UK on 19 April 2004).

A major critical and commercial achievement, Musicology proved to be Prince’s most successful album in years. It reached No.3 on the Billboard Top 200 and won two Grammy Awards.

Stream United States Of Division here

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In the mood for more Prince? Find out the story behind the making of Purple Rain

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Pet Shop Boys release Dancing Star, the second single off their forthcoming album Nonetheless.

Inspired by the life of the ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who defected from the Soviet Union and became a global star, Dancing Star is released with two previously unreleased tracks and three remixes.

Listen below:

A six-track bundle package contains the non-album tracks Sense Of Time and If Jesus Had A Sister, written and produced by PSB. Also included are two Dancing Star remixes by Solomun and a Superchumbo (Tom Stephan) remix of Party In The Blitz, featuring the voice of London clubland legend, Princess Julia.

The bundle is available through all digital outlets and a CD single will be released on 3 May, pre-order here

DIGITAL BUNDLE/CD SINGLE INCLUDES:

Dancing Star
Sense Of Time
If Jesus Had A Sister
Dancing Star (Solomun extended remix)
Party In The Blitz (Superchumbo remix)
Dancing Star (Solomun remix)

It is the second song to be previewed from Nonetheless following the release of Loneliness in January.

Out on 26 April, the LP features 10 new Pet Shop Boys songs and was produced by James Ford who has recently worked with Blur and Beth Gibbons.

ON THE ROAD

In July PSB will play five sold-out nights at London’s Royal Opera House, after headlining the Isle of Wight Festival. The duo also play shows in Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester and Belfast – their first show in Northern Ireland in over 30 years.

A European tour includes dates in Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Finland and the Czech Republic.

For more information click here

Read More: Complete Guide – Pet Shop Boys albums

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