So yes, we finally saw China Crisis live as part of the Lost 80s Live tour, and now we are happy to report that the still scarce, self released album “Autumn In The Neighbourhood,” will get a 10th anniversary reissue. The initial release from Pledge Music was a get it there or nowhere else event for quite a few years. Eventually, I found someone online who had an extra copy they were willing to sell me and I was thrilled to hear that this was better than “the old magic is back.” This was the finest China Crisis album yet!
But I was lucky that the seller of my copy was selling for below aftermarket value! Copies were changing hands before 2020 at rising targets and then that year, after Gary Daly had worked with Music Glue to market his solo albums, the band made “Autumn In The Neighbourhood” available there for a time. But that time came and went. And now the CD is once more selling for $50-80 a CD copy. The LP? Twice that! Minimum.
Enter the non-profit label Last Night From Glasgow with the news that they will reissue the album on a label for the first time ever. Both earlier pressings were of band origin. But on November 11th, 2025, the tenth anniversary version will be available for your purchase in CD and LP formats.
Sky Blue LP – original album – $40.00
Forest Green 2xLP – w/10 bonus tracks – $50.00
2 x CD – w/10 bonus tracks – $23.00
I’ll be sitting out the records, but the double CD has my name all over it. I am fascinated by hearing that ten new, unheard songs will be on offer this time. If you’re old school like me, that’s another whole album of material. The mystery, at this juncture, is that no one is describing these ten songs in any way, shape, or form. LNFG’s page on the reissue is annoyingly mum on the details. But the wonder of it is basically this…who cares! It’s ten China Crisis songs we didn’t previously have! How can it be anything other than wonderful?
And I have to say that the CD shipping from Scotland was a scant $7.79 for the double CD! With approximately double that for the 2xLP to The States. So three cheers for Scotland’s thrifty postal rates. Apparently it’s not all punishment and pain the world over on shipping. Last Night From Glasgow are ready with pre-order and the copies should be shipped as early the beginning of October. DJ hit that button!
Another of my several musical deficits to be addressed by this show was my failure to see Dave Wakeling sing in person! My brightest flame burned for all three Beat albums, but he actually had bigger US Top 30 hits with his follow up band, General Public. So no matter how beloved The [English] Beat were in The States, getting behind the General Public name actually carried more weight here. Giving this outing some reasonable heft.
Beyond all commercial concerns, the fact remained that Wakeling was a gifted vocalist with some of the best male vocalizing this side of Billy MacKenzie. After hearing him sing the lead on “I Confess” I’d have followed him anywhere! Unfortunately, this evening, he was all but inaudible on the opening “Hot You’re Cool,” down to the vagaries of the mixing. Which was a shame since his large six piece band really filled up the venue with style to spare. After the song someone in the front row yelled” we can’t here you” and Dave responded that he had just sung his heart out, which I don’t doubt for a second.
Fortunately, the mix improved to normality for the following, “bubbling under” hit “Never You Done That.” At least Wakeling’s voice was reaching ears now. One of the band’s most successful songs was in my Record Cell on the “must have” soundtrack for the egregious “Threesome” film. I enjoyed their cover of The Staple Singers hit from my youth, “I’ll Take You There” as it was a loving take on a soul classic given a Caribbean splash of toasting on the record by Ranking Roger [R.I.P.] and here live by Dave’s backing vocalist/toaster who hailed from Charlotte, North Carolina. Then they capped off a vibrant set with the hit “Tenderness.” Now I really need to see one of Dave’s “English Beat” shows he mounts all over The States…just not where I live.
BIG COUNTRY
Big Country: L-R: Ken Nicol, Simon Hough, Mark Brzezicki, Gil Allen
The penultimate band in the lineup were the resounding Rock of Big Country. I’ll admit that I could not get into the band in the 80 owing to the tendency for singer guitarist Stuart Adamson to strain his vocals in his delivery. Though I was a Skids fan, I could not follow him to Big Country due to that factor. I got parasympathetic discomfort listening to him sing. But that would not be a problem this evening. They opened with the debut single “Harvest Home,” and I marveled at how closely singer Simon Hough came to Adamson’s vocal tone with one crucial difference; he was not trying to vault out of his range.
And of course the rhythm section was massive here with founding drummer and session monster Mark Brzezicki having a thrilling dialogue with bass player Gil Allen who was seriously on fire this evening! I don’t remember Tony Butler playing with such verve. Meanwhile the distinctive leads of Adamson were being served by Ken [Steeleye Span, Al Stewart] Nicol this evening.
Big Country hit their big finish
The band moved to third album, “The Seer” for the anthemic “Look Away” and then pivoted to the pair of hits from the successful debut album that made such a big splash in 1983 with “Fields Of Fire” and the airplay classic “In A Big Country.” All of it was full on and maybe I’m an outlier here, but I’d never heard Big Country that I was able to enjoy like I had this evening.
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
A Flock Of Seagulls was one of the two bands here I’d seen live before. The other had been Belouis Some. It had been in the early 90s when Mike Score was living in Central Florida with local musicians filling the roster in his band playing a free downtown show. Nothing to write home about. Two years later on from that show and Score would release the fifth AFOS album, “The Light At The End Of The World” on a small label run out of fashionable Winter Park, Florida!
But that was then and this is now. Score had been on a tear in the last decade with A Flock of Seagulls having the original band re-group for an album, “Ascension,” with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Then another string laden album of orchestral versions without the original band, “String Theory.” And finally in 2024, a brand new AFOS album; the first since 1995, but without the original band.
The big difference for me was that in his live band, Score had gotten Gordon Deppe of fave rave Canadian band Spoons to be his lead guitarist. A fantastic idea that I was 150% behind. We think of AFOS as a synthesizer band primarily due to keyboardist Mike Score being the anchorman and singer of the group. But without the capable Paul Reynolds at the six strings that mattered back then, it might have failed to gel for the group. In Mr. Deppe, Score now had the guitar support that was needed to get this bird aloft. And I was excited to see Deppe even as a guitar slinger since I’ll never get to see Spoons live.
And true to expectation, Deppe was slinging that guitar! They kicked off with third album single “The More You Live, The More You Love.” A good, soaring song that hit all of the upbeat AFOS marks. Then a curveball of great surprise was delivered with the title track to the brand new 2024 album “Some Dreams” getting the nod in their set! The Vapors had an even newer album just out a few months ago, but they stuck to vintage material. No such reticence on the part of Mr. Score! I will say that the new song slotted effortlessly into the band’s set.
Possibly a bigger curveball was the next song from the relatively obscure “The Light At The End Of The World” album being “Say You Love Me!” For this type of show to feature deep cuts like that instead of, let’s say, “Wishing [I Had A Photograph Of You]” took some daring, but all of this music sounded just fine together. Then the band took the night home with the double play score [pun intended] of “Space Age Love Song” and “I Ran.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
With that it was ten p.m. and time for the venue curfew. Here’s the rundown of who, what, when, and where.
JOSIE COTTON
He Could Be the One
Systematic Way
School Is In
License to Dance
Johnny Are You Queer?
BELOUIS SOME
Some People
Round Round
Imagination
THE POLECATS
John I’m Only Dancing
Jeepster
Make A Circuit With Me
THE ICICLE WORKS
Hollow Horse
Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)
PETER GODWIN
Emotional Disguise
Baby In The Mountains
Images Of Heaven
CHINA CRISIS
King In A Catholic Style
Arizona Sky
Working With Fire + Steel
Wishful Thinking
THE VAPORS
Prisoners
Waiting for the Weekend
News at Ten
Jimmie Jones
Turning Japanese
GENERAL PUBLIC
Hot You’re Cool
Never You Done That
I’ll Take You There
Tenderness
BIG COUNTRY
Harvest Home
Look Away
Fields of Fire
In a Big Country
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
The More You Live, The More You Love
Some Dreams
Say You Love Me
Space Age Love Song
I Ran
That’s an impressive 38 songs played in four and a half hours. Almost a whole Top 40 worth of New Wave tunes. This is the second “New Wave Caravan” tour that I’ve seen in as many years. I had resisted this type of show in the past largely due to there in many cases being more bands I didn’t care for as compared to must-see groups on such bills. I can’t say that was the case here. I own material by almost every act here. And to be honest, I always wanted the Polecats “Make A Circuit With Me” EP!
Also, the “treadmill of hits” format with each band getting three to five songs moves pretty briskly. So much so that even a few dud acts might be worth sitting through if enough Monk bait groups were top heavy on the bill. And this show had three artists I was extremely invested in seeing! The Vapors were a band where I needed to have all of their albums and the latest, “Wasp In In A Jar” is still sparkly fresh on my want list. I might even get it this year!
As for China Crisis, I have collected the band for 42 years and have nearly 50 releases in the Record Cell. All of the albums, the DLX RMs, and nearly every single in at least one format if not multiple. Alas, “Christian” on 12″ I’ve never found. Sure, sure. A four song set from that band was a compromise but at least it didn’t entail air travel to see them. There’s still hope that I can catch them in a full concert. And Peter Godwin was flat out a miraculous event for this fan. I didn’t care that it was only three songs. Any set with “Images Of Heaven” is worth hours of longer, lesser shows. I still can’t believe that I saw him sing with my own eyes. And he’s singing all over America.
Also the compromise of bands stripping down their lineup to the bare bones to facilitate fast breakdown between sets was another possible negative factor. But at this point in time, I have to be less picky. I’m not getting any younger and the bands in question are up to half a generation older than I am! If I want the particular New Wave Itch scratched that they represent, then I’ll have to take the bait. Especially when the shows like this one were not painfully loud with bass fracking and also featured a well-rounded diverse palette of genres.
Even with me weighing the various factors and coming down clearly on the side of this Lost 80s Live Tour, there are rumblings in the margins that suggest that this type of retro tour approach may not last forever. Three dates in Roanoke, Virginia, Macon, Georgia, and San Antonio, Texas were cancelled. Roanoke was just two hours away from the Cary show that I saw and the Roanoke show was added after the Cary tickets were already on sale. So perhaps the Roanoke audience had already bought into the Cary show.
And with this lineup, I can see it going over well in Atlanta, Georgia. I was shocked to see it popping up 90 minutes away in Macon. Atlanta music fans might not be so into overnighting in sleepier Macon whereas I can certainly see all 50 Macon fans of this tour eagerly going to Atlanta for this. Just ask me. I’ve gone to Atlanta from Orlando and Asheville for shows for the last 40 years. Maybe the right venues were not available so they took a gamble.
Still, The Lost 80s Live Tour has been going for 23 years now. That counts for something. Especially when this year’s second Totally Tubular Fest was cancelled fully. Maybe the days of having punters line up for a greatest hits approach is getting tired? We did note the inveterate 80s fest band Wang Chung who have a few Lost 80s Tours under their belts opted this year to weigh in with Rick Springfield, who has his own 80s fest happening but with half the number of bands. Apart from The Chung, no one I’d want to see though. [since you asked: Rick Springfield, John Waite, John Cafferty, Paul Young] But maybe the days of mini sets are numbered? I’ve now enjoyed two retro festival tours and my biggest gripe, apart from the mix issues that some of the bands were plagued with in Cary was the fact that women were pretty scarce on the stage at both shows. Whatever happens going forward, can we not have more female artists involved?
The Lene Lovich/DEVO/B-52’s tour isn’t huge but the two headliners will surely do full sets of 75-90 minutes, and La Lovich might hopefully get more than four songs. And I just bought tickets for a pair of very different legacy acts plus opener that follows the same format of just three bands. The only thing that I can endorse fully is that if any of these entertainment choices appeal to you then my advice is to go all in and shoot for a good time. Besides, when will Peter Godwin be gracing American stages again any time soon?! Here’s the rest of the tour dates where there may be seats for you available. Note that the August 28 Toyota Arena date in Ontario has moved to The Grove in Anaheim, CA on the 22nd.
REMAINING “LOST 80S LIVE” DATES
Aug. 14 | Saenger Theatre | New Orleans, LA
Aug. 15 | Smart Financial Centre | Sugar Land, TX
Aug. 17 | The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory | Irving, TX
Aug. 20 | Arizona Financial Theatre | Phoenix, AZ
Aug. 21 | Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater | San Diego, CA
Aug. 22 | The Grove | Anaheim, CA
Aug. 24 | The Greek Theatre | Los Angeles, CA
Aug. 29 | Vina Robles Amphitheater | Paso Robles, CA
Aug. 30 | Mountain Winery Concerts | Saratoga, CA
Aug. 31 | The Venue At Thunder Alley Casino Resort | Lincoln, CA
China Crisis L-R: Eric Animan, Eddie Lundon, Gary Daly
With China Crisis music director Jack Hymers onstage with Peter Godwin, it made all the sense in the world to have them perform next. Like Peter Godwin, but only moreso, I have a lot of room in the Record Cell for this band! Almost 50 titles [as they were more prolific than Godwin in releasing things] with room for a few outliers to severe fandom like BBC Transcription Discs and Dutch picture sleeves! Also like Godwin, I’ve made them the focus for a BSOG homeburn project that also included a DVD for that instance! I’ve been thrilled that they have moved forward with both band albums and Gary Daly solo projects when Eddie was busy teaching. And all of these have been magnificent additions to the China Crisis canon.
And now I was finally seeing this band who had beguiled me since 1983 when I chanced to see a bit of the clip for “Working With Fire + Steel.” It’s 2025. I had every album and single, save for the scarce “Christian.” I bought the first pressing CDs. I bought some of the many live albums that I could source. I now have all of the Deluxe Remasters of the band’s Virgin Records oeuvre. They never had a Top 40 hit in America, but that’s to our detriment. Their reputation certainly blossomed amongst the musical cognoscenti here with Steely Dan’s Walter Becker asking Warner Brothers is he could produce their beloved third album, “Flaunt The Imperfection.” I wondered what their set would consist of?
Gary Daly strode onstage in an arresting blue and pink ensemble, rolling up the sleeves of his pink jacket to note the “Miami Vice” vibe of it all. And then they lit into the ebullient Pop [with a dark undercurrent] of “King In A Catholic Style.” A good choice since the “wake up” refrain was easy to sing along with. When I said they never had a Top 40 hit in America, I was referring to the Hot 100 chart, but “Arizona Sky” did reach number 37 on the Adult Contemporary Chart and as such, was probably their calling card to most people here. It was the second song of their set and afforded sax player Eric Animan a chance to luxuriate on the creamy sax fills of that song.
Eddie added his dulcet tones to “Working With Fire + Steel”
Then they finished off with a pair of tracks from their US debut album, “Working With Fire + Steel [Possible Pop Songs Vol. 2].” First the pixilated title track wherein I noted that Gary didn’t gloss over the F-bomb in the lyrics. And finally, their biggest UK Top 10 hit closed their set out with the wistful “Wishful Thinking.” A song of such beauty and delicacy such that I never tired of hearing it. I recently found an interview where Gary discussed the influence of Brian Eno’s moves towards Country Music on “Another Green World” as influencing the writing of that classic! And then it was over. Another 40+ year obsession distilled into 15 minutes onstage.
THE VAPORS
The Vapors: L-R: Steve Smith, David Fenton, Michael Bowes, Daniel Fenton
One of the few graces of the 21st century has been seeing bands that came and went so fast back in the day reunite for another try that was a little more lasting. The Vapors have now doubled their number of albums with this year’s “Wasp In A Jar,” and I was excited to see that they were a part of this lineup. Even though there’s not a huge body of work out there to get, what’s there is quality!
I wondered of the band were going to play any material from their Reformation Period but they opened strong with the clap along favorite “Prisoners.” David Fenton’s son Daniel had assumed guitarist Ed Bazalgette’s place in the lineup after the “Together” album of a few years back. Ed is a busy director and did a tour and contributed to the last album but now Daniel Fenton is one of the band’s four cylinders. On the evidence of seeing him buzzing around the stage looking like a young Joe Strummer with his new ‘do, maybe he was two of the band’s four cylinders!
Two more classics from the “New Clear Days” album followed. The harmonious “Waiting For The Weekend” and, be still my beating heart, “News At Ten,” my personal favorite song from the “New Clear Days” album. The younger Fenton introduced it as “a song he wrote about his old man and now it’s my turn.” If there was ever a single song to encapsulate the strengths of The Vapors, this was the one.
I was pleasantly shocked to next hear “Jimmie Jones” from the under appreciated [but not by me] “Magnets” album 0f 1981. I loved how Daniel cheekily introduced the latter as “now here’s a Pop song about a mass murderer!” I had been pulling for the chance to hear that winner in person and was thrilled that they also thought that the sharp, vivid number was worth revisiting.
We were four songs in and it looked like The Vapors were getting at least one more slot in their set to put across their New Wave Pop hit “Turning Japanese.” As an American, let me state that UK New Wave hits in the US Top 40 were few and far between back in 1980! And this one reached number 36! I was a little surprised that nothing from their two modern albums made the cut, but I get it. This was a retro show. And after that it was time for the home stretch of the program with three more bands.
IMPORTANT VAPORS UPDATE
We just found out that Vapors drummer Michael Bowes was hospitalized when he collapsed after the band’s subsequent August 6th gig in Northfield, Ohio. Unfortunately, this was not the first time this had happened this year with Mr. Bowes. A March 7th show in Brighton, England earlier this year had him hospitalized following his falling ill onstage during the show. Tests gave him a clean bill of health to continue but after this second incident, one can imagine a much deeper probing into the issue. We wish Mr. Bowes a speedy recovery and hope that the source of his ill health will be found.
The Polecats making a circuit with the Lost 80s Live crowd in Cary, North Carolina
Then came something a bit more raucous when The Polecats took to the stage. Lead singer Tim [Worman] Polecat was a flurry of movement. Well, it came with the territory. If you’re standing still at a Rockabilly show, it’s time to check your pulse. They opened with their fabbo, still unexpected, Bowie cover classic of “John, I’m Only Dancing.” One of the two Polecats songs I knew, but the sound mix on this set was leaving a lot to be desired. There was bass distortion throughout their set and if you look at the guitarist on the left of the stage in the photo, you’ll see his beautiful Gretsch guitar. You would have seen it, but you would not have heard it! They next hit another Glammy cover from their US EP, “Jeepster.” Finally, they wrapped it up with the still infectious “Make A Circuit With Me.” One of the best Neo Rockabilly tracks out of the early 80s UK boom period. I love Rockabilly, but I had to strain to hear this set due to the mix distortion and as I said, the guitar was practically silent onstage.
ICICLE WORKS
Ian McNabb with Mark Brzezicki on drums
With these package tours, economy is often driving the bus. The Icicle Works have five proper albums, pretty much ending in 1990. Followed by twenty six Ian McNabb solo albums taking us from 1993 to this year! But in The States, who knows Ian McNabb? Over here he’s Icicle Works. But without a standing band one has to improvise. In his case he was fortunate enough to have ace drummer Mark Brzezicki from Big Country with Jack Hymers from China Crisis on keyboards for this tour.
I always wanted the first Icicle Works album at the time. I thought that “Whisper To A Scream [Birds Fly]” was like the unholy offspring of Ultravox and Bow Wow Wow. A fantastic song bursting with enough hybrid vigor to ignite whole new genres. But it took me until 2012 to finally buy a copy! I always thought that Ian had a strong vocal delivery, but 1983 was a long time ago! 42 years later he was like a force of nature to be reckoned with! Honestly, I don’t think the guy even needed amplification. He performed “Hollow Horse” from the [unheard by me] second Icicle Works album, “The Small Price Of A Bicycle.” Then we had to get “Whisper To A Scream [Birds Fly]” and Ian turned this one into a big audience sing-along. When you are known for one song, that sort of makes sense, actually. Marking Icicle Works as the band who, with two songs, had the shortest set at the event, though the time onstage was comparable to others.
PETER GODWIN
Peter Godwin getting emotional [disguise]
Now it was nearing the middle of the show and Peter Godwin was really going to be playing a live set 25 feet in front of our disbelieving eyes. He was abetted by show promoter Rob Juarez, who was the drummer in a version of When In Rome, along with Jack Hymers of China Crisis playing synths. Properly, Rob was playing electronic drums for that classic Peter Godwin circa 1982 sound. In fact, this would be the only act here today that used e-drums!
Before the show, my friends The RAHB and Todd Lewis [also in attendance with me] and I imagined what the set might consist of. For certain, we would get “Baby’s In The Mountains” and the almighty “Images Of Heaven.” But I suspected that the third leg of the set would probably be “The Art Of Love.” After all, it had been reactivated in a Johnson Somerset remix in recent years. I had also told Todd that he should familiarize himself with Mr. Godwin’s origins as Metro, and there was that David Bowie cover of “Criminal World,” which everyone in attendance would probably be familiar with. On that level it made sense, but I discounted the notion at the same time. That song was perhaps a trifle obscure.
Peter Godwin’s graceful stage moves stood out in this bill
Peter glided onto the stage and stunned us all by digging into “Emotional Disguise” as his opening number! Now that I think of it, it made sense. The programmed rhythms, along with the live drumming over the top worked like a charm in the two-man setup, and Mr. Hymers was China Crisis’ musical director so he had chops to spare. I’d read somewhere along the line that Godwin was a tango dancer, and he obviously knew the value of movement onstage as he sought to incorporate the physical and the musical.
Then with the cold ending of “Emotional Disguise” down, he gave an introduction to one of the most glorious breakup songs ever in “Baby’s In The Mountains.” Recounting the love affair that ended at the time of its writing in 1980. It’s a rare one that didn’t wallow in self-pity but instead felt like a celebration of what once was and will never be again. It actually seemed to evince excitement at the new possibilities that it represented.
And then it was time for the song that I can listen to every day of my life without tiring of it. This was one of my all time favorite songs and Peter Godwin was in my state, 30 feet away singing it live in front of my very eyes. Rob’s drums evoked the classic Warren Cann Simmons fills while Mr. Godwin sang this fascinating paean to the eternal power of image to beguile us all. Hymer’s synths soaring all the while.
Then, at the point where the inevitable fade would have occurred, Godwin slipped in a new coda and made space for the audience to sing along but the crowd this day were, sadly, like “bumps on a log,” to quote my first grade music teacher and the transcendence evaporated like the morning dew. The spell broken, we prepared for the next half of the show as the impresario Rob Juarez joined Peter and Jack onstage to say a few words to the audience before the show moved on.
Peter Godwin touches down in Cary, North Carolina at the Lost 80s Live Festival
I could hardly wait to attend the stop of the Lost 80s Live Tour in Cary, North Carolina last Sunday. Against incredible odds, we would be seeing Peter Godwin, one of our favorite artists who we’ve collected for 43 years. My homeburn CD-R project of his non-LP tracks across two CDs is my most listened to project I’ve ever made. I re-compiled it four times over the years to make it as current as possible. It’s not that I had given up hope of seeing him perform. I never had any to begin with! Peter lives in Nice and hardly undertakes extensive touring, to put it mildly. His appearances worldwide seemed rare enough! Setlist.fm lists the Sanremo Festival in Italy in 1983, Numbers Night Club in Houston in 2012, and the W-Festival in Belgium in 2018. And then the veritable avalanche of dates in this years’ Lost 80s Live tour. My jaw is still scraping the ground over his appearance only hours from where I live. But that was not the whole of it.
The year after I first found out about Godwin, I heard Liverpool’s China Crisis and it was love at first note. I wasted no time in delving backward with them even as I’ve ridden their bus for 42 years and a dozen albums [including Gary Daly solo projects and various live editions] now. With nearly 50 titles by the group in the Record Cell, I made them the focus of one of my Boxed Sets Of God, complete with DVD, as detailed here. They have never played within my state before, but in 2022 I see they played the City Winery in Nashville, Tennessee. The same venue where I last saw Midge Ure, only five hours away! Maybe Midge Ure has “no regrets,” but right now I’ve got a big one. Had I only known. Ay-yi-yi.
I arrived at the venue with two friends in tow, both figure in the comments here. The RAHB from 45 years of friendship and Todd Lewis of Fluid Japan; a much newer friend who melted in the sun with us last summer during the Totally Tubular Festival in Raleigh last year. But that was at the Red Hat Amphitheater; a concrete slab in the middle of Raleigh. We were thrilled to see that this show was in a picture perfect setting; nestled lakeside in a glade of trees and with a minimum of concrete. Only the grounds directly in front of the stage were concrete. The bulk of the venue was grass for lawn chairs! I made sure to bring ours along for the show, but Todd opted to rent one instead.
While he did that I hit the merch table and bought China Crisis and Peter Godwin T-shirts! I know I own too many, but I was not going to pass these up! When trying to rent his chair, Todd found out that we were actually in the seated section in front of the stage and clued the rest of us in. I had bought our tickets so long ago that I had forgotten that we had fifth row, stage left seats! Well, it was for Peter Godwin! We weren’t going to let this show slide for cheap seats!
JOSIE COTTON
Josie Cotton [center] flanked by her backing band
As soon as we sat down the PA was serenading us with about ten minutes of New Wave classics. I think I only ever heard “Fade To Grey” in public this single time in my life! Then the show began with the MC, Richard Blade onstage to introduce the first act. Blade was the right man for the job of MC at a show like this. He’s New Wave royalty from his days at KROQ-FM and he knows all of the talent like the back of his hand. Who better to fill the space between acts than a DJ? First up was Josie Cotton. She had a live guitarist and bass player who performed BVs with her with the drums and keys being programmed. Josie opened with her keen Pop tune, “He Could Be The One” given her New Wave Girl Group treatment from her debut album, “Convertible Music.” Then she sang a deep cut I’d not heard before from the same album, “Systematic Way.”
Next she sang a pair of songs from her sophomore album, “From The Hip,” but neither of them were the single I was familiar with, “Jimmy Loves Maryann.” We got “License To Dance” and “School Is In,” instead. With her fifth and final song, naturally we heard the famous “Johnny Are You Queer?” I marveled at how the song incorporated a word that wasn’t a slur 40+ years later but instead had been adopted fully by the LGTBQ+ community in the intervening years. Her set all done, Ms. Cotton and band took their leave of the stage while roadies made slight adjustments for the second act.
Richard Blade preps the crowd for The Polecats
The wisdom of having Richard Blade add his long history with most of these bands to the show was a great decision, for the most part. The roadies were able to quickly transition sets equipment and remove anything no longer needed after it had been used by a band now offstage. Meanwhile, Blade would talk about the group or their music, and connect with the audience. Taking questions from the audience and doing his best to break down any perceived barriers. The only time it went off rails was when he was talking about his ill-started romance with Berlin’s Teri Nunn we had a situation where the bands were all ready to go and were waiting for Richard to wrap it up. Ouch.
BELOUIS SOME
Belouis Some had a four piece band for their set
Next came a band that I had seen on their debut US tour in 1985, opening up for the one real Frankie Goes To Hollywood US tour! Neville Keighley was better known as Belouis Some, and his Mid-80s Pop was the next stab at something big by the Berrow Brothers, who’d managed to ride Duran Duran to the top. Belouis Some also copped the Duran Duran move of having an “R-rated” video salted with nudity for the single “Imagination” which insured that I saw it played in clubs for nearly a decade past its issue date.
But the set today began with the upbeat Pop of the single “Some People,” which I’d had on 12” back in the day. This was a joyful song that made for a top set opener and an earworm of delight. It was his first single to scale the UK Top 30. Of all the songs I’d hear this evening, this was the one in my skull on “replay” the next morning. Then he followed that with the two songs of his I could name; “Round And Round” from the “Pretty In Pink” soundtrack and finally, the Bowie-esque “Imagination.” Surprisingly, the sleazy sax solos of “Imagination” were from playback, in spite of the live band handling everything else. With several sax players in the pool of talent, I was surprised that they couldn’t make it happen live. Other than that little lapse, a real change of pace from the previous act; which we’d see plenty of this evening.
Your choice of CD or two different colored LP sets, but not with all the same tunes
If this Monk had a nose full of nickels for every wag who has been crying out for a Deluxe Remaster of OMD‘s 1985 “Crush” album, I could retire from my labors right now. The tale of how their third album, “Architecture + Morality,” sold a million copies and netted them three Top 10 UK singles, two of them with the same name, is well known. That they had the chutzpah to mistake their shining moment in the zeitgeist with undying public fealty led them to conclude that they could indulge in their wildest whims for a follow-up album that leaned hard into the left-field Art Rock what was “Dazzle Ships.”
Then “Dazzle Ships” saw the band sell 1/10th the number of copies and then the indebted band began to sweat bullets. They reacted by the move toward the center which was “Junk Culture.” Which this Monk found to be a fine and surprising album in its 1984 environment. It was the fourth distinctive album from the band and I considered their newfound directness in composing much more emotional songs to be a strong move. The band even got signed to A+M Records in The States, who seemed to be snapping up most of my big time favorite acts who were usually import bin material.
When the next year rolled around, “Crush” came out and started to make serious inroads to the US charts for this former cult act. At the time I found it to be a hard push towards the middle of the road. The first single was even a [gasp!] love song from this band which formerly vowed to never go there. That song reached #26 in the US Top 40 that year and I was agog at OMD getting MTV airplay. And then the second single was another love song. Gulp.
For years, I was a bit down on the album but when I examined every OMD album for the Rock G.P.A. in this blog, I found that my feelings about OMD’s sixth and seventh albums had reversed over time. I now liked “Crush” more than “Pacific Age” although neither were go-to OMD albums for this listener. They still are the runts of the OMD 80s period. If I ignored the songs “So In Love,” “Secret,” and “Hold You” [the latter mooted as a fourth possible single], the rest of the album still has enough OMD sauce to qualify for a seat at the table.
Now comes the news that like the first four OMD albums, “Crush” is getting the DLX RM attention that many fans online [I suspect they might all be Americans] have been clamoring for years to buy. The first two OMD albums were remastered in the early noughts in single disc versions with B-sides and remixes. “Architecture + Morality” got a bonus live DVD from the early 80s. Then “Dazzle Ships” got a single disc DLX RM with a few B-sides/mixes and even unreleased tracks. A 2xCD of “Junk Culture” followed in 2015 salted with more unreleased material in addition to the expected mixes and B-sides. Then in 2023, a second stab at a “Dazzle Ships” DLX RM manifested with only unreleased material! Geez, I had forgotten to buy this as we were in high-savings mode at the time for our trip to Europe! That brings us to the next phase.
BMG | UK | 2xCD | 2025
OMD: Crush DLX RM – UK – 2xCD [2025]
CD 1 – 1985 album
So In Love
Secret
Bloc Bloc Bloc
Women III
Crush
88 Seconds In Greensboro
The Native Daughters Of The Golden West
La Femme Accident
Hold You
The Lights Are Going Out
CD 2 – singles + rarities
Wheels of Steel
Lana Turner v.1
Hold You (Rough)
Choral
Lana Turner v.2
Drift (Demo)
All or Nothing (Demo)
Concrete Hands
Firegun
Maria Gallante
Drift
Secret (Extended Mix)
So In Love (Special American Dance Remix)
So In Love (Extended)
La Femme Accident (12″ Mix)
Concrete Hands (Extended)
The album we know. Where my interest lay are in the bonus disc materials. We get seven developmental unreleased tracks, and any way to roughen “Hold You” could only improve it! We’ve heard tales of “Wheels Of Steel” before. It was revisited as “The Future, The Past, And Forever After” on the “History Of Modern” album and while I liked the song, many others did not. All of the B-sides are here, including the excellent “Firegun.” Good also to see the UK and US mixes of “So In Love.” We like attention to detail. The 1988 US remixes of “Secret” are not here, but that makes sense. They were commissioned to promote the “Best Of OMD” compilation where “Secret” was reactivated as a US single again. And as such, are out of the purview of this album release period. And speaking of albums, here’s the 2xLP version.
BMG | UK | 2xLP | 2025
OMD: Crush DLX RM – UK – 2xLP [2025]
LP 1 – 1985 album
So In Love
Secret
Bloc Bloc Bloc
Women III
Crush
88 Seconds In Greensboro
The Native Daughters Of The Golden West
La Femme Accident
Hold You
The Lights Are Going Out
LP 2 – singles + rarities
Wheels of Steel
Lana Turner v.1
Hold You (Rough)
Choral
Lana Turner v.2
Drift (Demo)
All or Nothing (Demo)
So In Love (Special American Dance Remix)
Secret (Extended Mix)
La Femme Accident (12″ Mix)
Concrete Hands (Extended)
The B-sides and the UK 12″ mix of “So In Love” were jettisoned to fit on LP format. Given that the US 12″ mix of “So In Love” was probably a rare item in the UK, that makes sense. So the revisionist album will be released on October 10th. The band’s webstores [UK and US] each carry the goods so buyers in America can get a little break on shipping – huzzah! And what’s the asking price for this round of re-buy?
2xCD – $17.50
2xLP [black vinyl] – $53.00
2xLP [clear vinyl] – $54.00
Yow, any multidisc DLX RM for under $20 is a pe-sale in my universe! I have to say that the OMD resistance to the expansive 5-7 disc ultraboxes of the variety that other Monsatic faves like Simple Minds or Ultravox indulge in [though I do love the ones I buy] is a boon to both budget and space in the ever shrinking Record Cell! While I’m not among the throngs pining away for a “Crush” DLX RM, the modest buy-in insures that I will be adding this to the large stack of OMD music in there with a minimum of discomfort. Presale began on Tuesday and get your orders in to avoid disappointment. The 2xCD of “Junk Culture” is inching towards three digit pricing in the current aftermarket. DJ’s hit those buttons!
I have to admit…Mat McNerny was not on my musical radar. His roots in the Norwegian Black Metal scene are outside of my realms of interest. But when this song came over the transom it slipped right into that sweet spot that we know and love. The kind of bad that feels so good. With a title like “Another Day, Another Abyss” it sure sounds like it was written for these, the end times.
The driving motorik beat was down to the classic bass, guitars and drums that sometimes get buried under synths and production. But at the end of the day, this is all we really need to make an impact. Nate Newton’s bass chug motors the track along at a nice clip as drummer Tor [Viagra Boys] Sjödén interjected a great drum hook on the off beats throughout the song. With McNerny’s guitars ringing along for the harmony.
When Mr. McNerny entered the song I was treated to a vocal of clarity and poise. Not at all what I was expecting from the press photo! Here was a singer content to let the music and lyrics to have their impact without over egging the dish with guttural delivery or effects. It makes perfect sense, even if it flies in the face of expectations. With lyrics this to the point, only an idiot would want to obscure them. And McNernry’s no idiot, as we can hear below.
Another fallout zone, another mind invasion, Another act of war, another chain reaction, Another genocide, another day of terror, Another day, another abyss
“Another Day, Another Abyss”
I loved how the rhythm guitar here gave the track a almost Ska-like rhythm skank as the vibe of the track was more in the direction of early Cure. The song grips your lapels and doesn’t waste a second of your three minutes. And it’s over way before you can even think about being bored. McNerny calls this work “Apocalyptic Post-Punk” and when such words are bandied about, can the spectre of Killing Joke be far behind? Apparently not, because Big Paul Ferguson is also a guest musician on the upcoming “Slime Of The Times”‘ album due for release on September 19th on CD/LP.
Peaceville Records | UK | CD | 2025
Scorpion Milk: Slime Of the Times – UK – CD [2025]
All the Fear 3:34
The Will to Live 4:06
She Wolf of London 3:11
Another Day Another Abyss 3:07
Wall To Wall 3:46
Slime of the Times 4:57
Silver Pigs 4:41
All Snakes No Ladders 4:03
Children are Dust 4:41
The Peaceville store has the album in pre-order with the black LP at $24.99, the red LP at $26.99, and the CD at $15.99. This song had such a clarity of vision and delivery that I am interested in hearing where this ship sails to. If you are in agreement, then DJ hit that button!
Post-Punk Monk 