It’s deeply saddening. I am clearly an admirer of Paul Haig, and yet I only have nine of his titles in my Record Cell. Most of them singles. And all of them hard-fought purchasing battles over the last 36 years. Throw in a few of his posthumous releases of his friend Billy MacKenzie on his own Rhythm of Life label, and that makes an even dozen titles. The latter I did buy directly from his former online store. Still, given his talent and taste…a shameful state of affairs.

It’s past the time where I should have trimmed the sails of my life in the right direction. Les Disques du Crépuscule have now compiled and issued a 4xCD boxed set of god devoted to Haig’s most popular title “The Warp Of Pure Fun.” His 1985 opus and second solo album that saw him working with Alan Rankine, who produced the sessions. I only have the “Big Blue World” 12″ from the album, and it was a winner with a great cover of Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” as one of the B-sides. Well, that gets severely outclassed by the definitive 4xCD set now out. Let’s examine the goods.

Paul Haig: The Warp of Pure Fun – BENELUX – 4xCD [2021]

Disc 1 [Album + B-sides]

1. Silent Motion
2. Heaven Help You Now
3. Love Eternal
4. This Dying Flame
5. Sense of Fun
6. Scare Me
7. Big Blue World
8. The Only Truth
9. One Lifetime Away
10. Love & War
11. Ghost Rider (b side)
12. Endless Song (b side)
13. Dangerous Life (b side)
14. The Executioner (Mix *1)
15. Closer Now (b side)
16. Trust (b side)
17. World Raw(b side)

Disc 2 [Unreleased Tracks/Demos]

1. City Life (1984 demo)
2. Judgement Coming (1984 demo)
3. Love & War (1984 demo)
4. The Only Truth (1984 demo)
5. Heart of Song (1984 demo)
6. Crawling (1984 demo)
7. Fear and Dancing (1984 demo)
8. One Lifetime Away (1984 demo)
9. Trust (1984 demo)
10. Shining Hour (1984 demo)
11. World Raw (1984 demo)
12. All Our Love (1984 demo)
13. Love Eternal (12″ Mix)
14. Shining Hour (lost album)
15. One Lifetime Away (lost album)
16. Fear and Dancing (lost album)
17. All Our Love (lost album)
18. Love & War (lost album)

Disc 3: [Remixes]

1. Heaven Help You Now (12″ Mix)
2. This Dying Flame (12″ Mix)
3. The Only Truth (12″ Mix)
4. The Executioner (Mix *2)
5. Scottish Christmas
6. Theme from ‘The Persuaders’
7. Change of Heart
8. Work the System
9. Heaven Help You Now (Mantronik Mix)
10. The Only Truth (US Remix)
11. The Executioner (Mix *3)
12. The Only Truth (Instrumental)
13. On This Night of Decision

Disc 4: [Live/Demos]

1. Scare Me (live in Japan 1985)
2. Blue For You (live in Japan 1985)
3. Heaven Help You Now (live in Japan 1985)
4. Love Eternal (live in Japan 1985)
5. Interview (live in Japan 1985)
6. Ghost Rider (live in Japan 1985)
7. Big Blue World
8. Heaven Sent (live in Japan 1985)
9. Magdalena 82 (live in Japan 1985)
10. The Only Truth (live in Japan 1985)
11. Testimony (demo)
12. Wrapped (demo)
13. Reach the Top (1985 demo)
14. Eastworld (1985 demo)
15. In-Flight Entertainment (1985 demo)
16. Bridges (1985 demo)

There were four singles released from the album. How do we shape up in terms of inclusion?

Paul Haig: Big Blue World – BENELUX – 12″ [1984]

1. Big Blue World [extended]
2. Ghost Rider
3. Endless Song

Paul Haig: The Only Truth- BENELUX – 12″ [1984]

1. The Only Truth [extended]
2. The Only Truth [music only]

Paul Haig: The Only Truth- UK – 12″ [1984]

1. The Only Truth [US Remix – Mantronik Mix]
2. The Only Truth [instrumental]
3. Ghost Rider

Paul Haig: Heaven Help You Now- BENELUX – 12″ [1985]

1. Heaven Help You Now [extended]
2. World Raw
3. Heaven Help You Now
4. Chance

Paul Haig: Love Eternal- BENELUX – 12″ [1986]

1. Love Eternal
2. Trust
3. Dangerous Life

The prognosis looks aaaaalmost perfect. It seems like the “Big Blue World” 12″ mix got shoehorned into the middle of disc 4. These things are not always tidy. All of the extended versions are accounted for. Only one B-side track, “Chance,” from “Heaven Help You Now,” is not here. All of the various and sundry loose tracks from Crépuscule compilations are all here. If you’ve not heard Haig’s version of John Barry’s “Theme From Persuaders” you’re in for a treat!

All in all, this seems to be a definitive deep dive into the ’84-’86 period of Haig, with his very active release schedule captured here along with another deep trawl through the archives with almost half as much unreleased live and studio sessions. Given that I only have a single 12″ and the “Persuaders” theme in my Record Cell, buying this seems like a no-brainer. Particularly with the low UK price of £22.00 [inc. P+P!]. The Crépuscule webstore says the Euro/Stateside distribution will be through Burning Shed and Darla, but a glance at those stores does not yet show the product in inventory. If worst comes to worst, the Euro/US costs [inc. P+P] will be a not deal-breaking £25/£30 or €29.30/$41.50. You know the drill.

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