Yow! Have you ever heard a song after having spent years tracking down a record that subsequently sat for another eight years in your record racks, unplayed? And has that song been as awe-inspiring as “Nocturnal Operations” by The Sensational Creed? If you have, then you have my deepest sympathies! I was de-noising the vinyl rip I made of this a month or two ago for my upcoming Associates BSOG® and all I can say is that I felt the rapture for the rest of the day as the song didn’t leave my head!

The Sensational Creed were Steve Reid and Christine Beveridge and were known earlier as Orbidoig. They come into the Associates picture since they were friends of Associates singer Billy MacKenzie, who cut the “Ice Cream Factory” single with him under the name “MacKenzie Sings Orbidoig” in 1982 after the classic Associates lineup split. Steve Reid went on to become a member of The Associates for their “Perhaps” album, released finally in 1984. This was released on 7″ under the Orbidoig name in 1981 and it was re-released on the Beggars Banquet label in 1985 as a 12″ with an additional track added on the B-Side.

This song is the kind of Post-Punk track that was pretty common in 1981 but as the years went by, became as rare as an orchid in winter. Hearing it now is like a drowning man getting a hit of pure oxygen! Ms. Beveridge sings like a choirboy amid Reid’s propulsive basslines and her vocal lines echo the tubular bells in the mix brilliantly. Reid sings counterpoint very effectively for a rapturous four minutes. It’s a shame that they did not get enough feedback to manage a full album out of this partnership.

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