Friday 29 May 2015

Various Artists - "Bouquet Of Steel" (Aardvark ‎– STEAL 2) 1980

The infamous compilation from the Sheffield area of Great Britain,released during Sheffields golden era as a leading light in forward looking pop forms.The city was primarily known for its massive steelworks,and giving the world Stainless Steel; but, as has happened in pop music, cheap,lower quality imports,destroyed what made this place special. As the Bessemer Converters are turned into shopping malls,and the steel mills are converted into Loft apartments for the new elite,let us not forget that this is the place that invented Industrial Music.Its only a matter of time before there's an Industrial music museum and theme park financed by taxing the poor and selling them scratchcards at the Job centre.
When this compilation was made,times were hard,but they look positively rosey compared to today,where the population seem to be on the drug of consumerism that helps them readily accept their slavery. Even Thatcher never made noises such as that made recently by Eton cum dump, Dave Cameron:
" For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'?????
Then this mealy mouthed secret government puppet,is presenting legislation to cut off the funding of the opposition,and further crack down on workers rights,and opt out of the European Human Rights charter; tantamount to an Enabling Act for the 21st century?!(Cunt)

Back to the music, and here we have a menu littered with the lesser lights of the steel city,and its grim satellite towns,and the odd higher profile group, Comsat Angels, Artery,and I'm So Hollow. 
(If you're interested you can get all the first 3 Comsat angels Peel Sessions here).
Its all fairly accessible light post punk/proto indie pop,but good fairly accessible light post punk/proto indie pop. One of the better provincial compilations from the early eighties.


Tracklisting:

A1 Artery - The Slide

A2 B Troop - Peroxide Romance

A3 Comsat Angels- The Ju Ju Money
A4 Disease - Psychobin

A5 Flying Alphonso Brothers - Video Date
A6 I'm So Hollow - Touch

A7 Musical Janeens (And Other Party Games) - Glen Miller
B1 Negatives - Was It The Night?

B2 Repulsive Alien - Say And Do
B3 Scarborough Antelopes - Here We Go In Indigo

B4 Shy Tots - Robot Maid
B5 Veiled Threat - Torch

B6 Vendino Pact - Secret Thinking
B7 De Tian - Chorale

B8 Y? - End Of Act One

DOWNLOAD a bouquet of almost stainless steel HERE!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Plus one of the songs mentions Oughtibridge! worth downloading it for that reason alone (I worked there for a couple of years in a foundry-related industry). Thanks for this!

kosmikino said...

I'm glad there are others who picked up on Cameron's outbreak of the fascist mind. If this was written as satire thirty years ago, people would have said it was over the top and even now, hardly any of the UK population understand the profound shift from soft to hard fascism, despite it being said in black and white:

'For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone.'

Made me shudder, it really is right out the pages of a dystopian sci-fi novel - the cold bureaucratic language of death.

Anyway, back to the music!

Yes, a real snap-shot of post-punk Britain at the start of the 80s - what is strange is I am sure there is not a synth to be heard on it - which considering what you have been documenting on the blog re the minimal synth sound of the Steel City, is quite curious indeed - I used to hate that Musical Janeens Glenn Miller track but it's quite listenable now - always liked that B-Troop track, like a very mellow Mo-Dettes - I think the best track is probably the Artery opener - very good rip as well, sounds great on my shit speakers.

Jonny Zchivago said...

Yep! The totalitarian tiptoe gathers pace. Just wait for whats gonna be in the tory "UK Bill of Rights"(it'd be funny if it wasn't true!). even their spokesman say that the European convention on Human Rights was put in place to stop fascism,now they wanna replace it because,and i quote, "Europe is not like that anymore". Its not like that anymore because of the legislation they wanna remove.

i think there is one synth on "Touch"?

I put this up to put a full stop on the Sheffeild stuff,and move on.

I didn't really enjoy listening to this again.My memory told me it was better than it was. Artery track is the best,followed by I'm So Hollow,but i am a fan so doesn't count.

Anonymous said...

i love this blog
but this uh, sucked

Jonny Zchivago said...

Well, quite a lot of stuff on here sucks. Its all part of the rock'n'roll rainbow.

Anonymous said...

thanks for the blog and... the comsat peel sessions.

jay b.

Jonny Zchivago said...

Cheers Jay B, the Comsat's should have been where U2 are today.But they had too much integrity.

giaonhan247 said...
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