This was one I sure didn’t expect at this late stage in the game! The sole album by former Alternative TV member Henry Badowski, which was an early I.R.S. Records release from 1981, snuck out on CD reissue on March 28th. Courtesy of the Caroline True Records label. I recalled seeing the video on pre-MTV rock video clip shows! And I remember that at the time, the LP was a budget $5.98 list item on I.R.S. and I always thought “maybe I should get that?”

But I dawdled and I was too busy watching what OMD and Ultravox were doing. Perhaps the brighter and shinier things distracted me fatally? But within a year or two, one no longer saw copies of the album “Life Is A Grand” in the bins. And we all moved sadly on. As a former player in Alternative TV, a band I’ve still yet to hear, Mr. Badowski didn’t have the critical mass of rep to make me move definitively in the roiling cauldron of music that filled 1981.

But by the early 90s, I found myself re-orienting from the disappointments of the contemporary music scene [Baggy, Grunge, Techno, House] to anything I remembered from over a decade earlier but had not bought for what seemed valid reasons at the time! Somewhere along the line I finally found the UK 7″ single of that video I had seen, the delightful song “My Face.” At that time, I put the A-side on what was one of the last mix tapes I’d made for a friend. By 2011, I had finally digitized it for listening.

Henry was a very talented guy who played almost everything on his album. The music was like Robyn Hitchcock spiced up with a little Technopop sauce. I’ve still only heard that single, but since buying it, the full album has been on my want list. But it’s not been terribly cheap to come by, so I hadn’t bought one yet. Now I can move past buying a 40+ year old LP and digitizing/denoising it. Caroline True Records have reissued it on CD and 180g record for the first time since 1981.

Henry Badowski: Life Is A Grand – UK – CD [2025]

1. My Face 03:22
2. Henry’s In Love 03:07
3. Swimming With The Fish In The Sea 04:44
4. The Inside Out 03:02
5. Life Is A Grand 03:44
6. Silver Trees 03:35
7. This Was Meant To Be 03:50
8. Anywhere Else 03:55
9. Baby Sign Here With Me 03:49
10. Rampant 04:08
11. Making Love With My Wife (7″ Single Version) 02:38
12. Making Love With My Wife (Machines Compilation Version) 03:02
13. Four More Seasons (My Face 7″ B Side) 04:35
14. Lamb To The Slaughter (Henry’s In Love 7″ B Side) 03:26
15. King-Baby Sign Here With Me (1978 John Peel Session Version) 04:10

The vibe of “My Face” was warm and human sounding. It was not a technological wonder, in spite of having synths on it. That it was recorded [presumably cheaply] in Pathway Studios [also home to John Foxx’s “Metamatic!”] means that eight tracks were available for it. Precluding any overkill possibilities. The song always makes me think of sunny days and simple pleasures.

Caroline True Records have gotten a limited license for this and have produced 300 180g black vinyl LPs as well as 300 CDs. Those who buy it at Bandcamp, will get all of the Non-LP A/B sides [shown above in red] as bonus tracks with the digital version Bandcamp always provides with physical goods, but crucially, their license does not include a digital only option. One cannot buy “Life Is A Grand” as a DL only. Only buyers of the physical goods will get the bonus tracks, though the 7″ A-side version of “Making Love With My Wife” is included as an 11th track on only the CD. It was licensed for physical release.

URGENCY NEEDED

And here’s the important part…I just went to the Bandcamp page for the CD to write this post right now and the page helpfully noted that only 52 copies of the CD were still available after six weeks on sale. I hate to tell you, but now there’s only 51! It’s truly “buy or die” time for certain! The 10 track LP has no such warning yet. Prices for the goods are fair. The CD will cost me only £5.00 to have it shipped to me in America. That’s only a fraction of what it could cost for me to reciprocate! Here’s the purchasing facts:

• 11 track CD – £12.49/$16.65/€14.68
• 10 track LP – £21.99/$29.31/€25.89

We’ll definitely be reviewing this once it comes into the Record Cell! Join us in 4-6 weeks as the norms of society are collapsing under the current regime and it might take that long to receive the goods where just a few years ago it would have taken a week, tops. Not that I’m pointing any fingers! Meanwhile, DJ hit that button!

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