Boots For Dancing – "The Undisco Kidds (Sessions,Singles,and Demo's 1980-82) " (A Die or DIY? expanded edition) 2022

Bonnie Scotland were not just responsible for such reasons not to exist as Deacon Blue, The Proclaimers,,and Big Country, they virtually invented Indie-pop the night after witnessing Subway Sect on the Clash's White Riot tour....Josef K, Orange Juice,Fire Engines, Boots For Dancing,and......hold on big man,what was that last one?

Yeah, Boots For Dancing, the celtic cousins of Gang Of Four and A Certain Ratio, so accurately described by Rezillo and Dare-era Human Leaguer Jo Callis as "Schrodinger's crazy cats writhing about in a Faraday cage,all charged up"....couldn't have put it better myself. So  scratchy and funky were they that John Peel once threatened to dance upon aural detection. They did release two singles on Bob Last's legendary "Pop:Aural" label after all...all included here.

It's the kind of off kilter post-punk-funk that gets the white man's foot-a-tappin' for sure.A style that would crop up on Top Of The Pops in the form of cute but funky plagiarists Haircut 100 and floppy fringed cringe-meisters Modern Romance,with a polished up version of ACR and Boots For Dancing for the great unwashed and the even the less great unintelligentia who form 90% of the 'Public'. 

Undoubtedly, these groups were also a major influence on Ron Johnson acts such as Twang! and mid-80's post-punk Scot-funksters The MacKenzies,until the Kids found different ways to dance post-chemical enhancement after 1988....i'll leave it to you to imagine what that could have been?

Anyway...All the singles,three John Peel Sessions,and some demo's for a future Lp that never materialized,are on here......groovy baby.

"I Like Dancing but I don't Like Disco's" is the manifesto from the debut single back in 1980.....as for me, I don't Like Dancing and I don't like Disco's.....but if i'm drunk i firmly believe I could to this?.....hmmmm, maybe not?

Tracklist:

1. Boots For Dancing (Pop Aural Single 1980)

2. Parachutes (Pop Aural Single 1980)

3. Guitars & Girl Trouble (Pop Aural Single 1980)

4. (Let's All) Hesitate (Peel Session 17.11.1980)

5. The  Pleasure Chant (Peel Session 17.11.1980)

6. Timeless Tonight (Peel Session (17.11.1980)

7. South Pacific (Peel Session 17.11.1980)

8. Stand (Peel Session 13.07.1981)

9. Shadows Of Stone (Peel Session 13.07.1981) 

10.Wild Jazz Summers (Peel Session 13.07.1981)

11.Get Up (Peel Session 14.04.1982)

12.Salt in the Ocean (Peel Session 14.04.1982)

13.Style in Full Swing (Peel Session 14.04.1982)

14.Bend an Elbow, Lend an Ear (Peel Session 14.04.1982)

15.Just the Ticket  (Barclay Towers Studio October 1981)

16.Money (Is Thin On The Ground) (Barclay Towers Studio October 1981)

17.Wild Jazz Summers (Barclay Towers Studio October 1981)

18.Shadows on Stone (Barclay Towers Studio October 1981)

19.Oh' Bop Sh Bam (Barclay Towers Studio October 1981)

20.Hesitate (The Rain Song 7'' Pop Aural 1980).

21.The Rain Song (The Rain Song 7'' Pop Aural 1980)

DOWNLOAD yer dancin' boots HERE!

Various Artists - "A Classic Slice Of Teenage Angst (Volume 2)" (A classic Slice Of teenage Angst Fanzine Cassette) 1979

There was a second issue of Preston based Fanzine Teenage Angst, a shit-fi multi-media extravaganza which included volume 2 of a cassette of more bands from Preston.
First up is the obscurely named 4NT, a rough as old arseholes proto-indie band, recorded in the lowest possible fidelity like some phantom band haunting a pub, who died in 1979.
In between the tracks we have that droning john cooper clark on mogadon,introducing the bands after a classic slice of his bad teenage poetry.
I did have a cassette of the next band, the PR5 (a Preston post code no doubt), but tragically this rarity disappeared long ago.They sound quite interesting here, with a kind of disjointed Dub Punk which makes me regret somewhat, that I mislaid that tape(probably taped over it with some Simple Minds or something equally horrendous that we thought was musical advancement in 1981?).
"What in the Sam Hill was that?", was a phrase one would hear in american movies in the seventies to replace the 'F' word. Who the Sam Hill was Sam Hill I have no idea,but, here we have the Preston version.
Sam Hill sounds like the kind of irritating prat who brings his acoustic guitar to parties and starts to sing some songs later in the evening.And we all have to listen!......invariably he always got laid no matter what awful, well played shit he came out with. That's what he comes out with on this cassette; awful, technically good, tuneful adult orientated soft rock(Jesus does get a mention,which could explain a lot). Like he must have lived in a cupboard for the previous two years.
The Ribblebeats get fashionably berated by our announcer for(probably) referring to Girls in their merseybeat tinged indie pop,which is charming but unremarkable.
Side two opens with another Earcom band, The Blank Students, who sound very different to their two tracks on "Earcom 1".A bit like a funky Josef K,they obviously had trendy ambitions;even managing a Peel Session in '81.
Urban Renewal are another band on the slippery slope as pop evolved from punk to Indie.You get the sense that they'd like to have been Discharge but couldn't afford the amplifiers.
High Bias, as featured on the "Camouflage Nebula" tape, make a welcome reappearance, with their/his raw minimal analogue electronica. Very second decade of the twenty first century stuff.
Persian Drumstix ,terrible name, are another proto-indie thrash unit,that sound like they were recorded from outside the rehearsal room without their knowledge. Its like the listener(that's us!) is spying on this forgotten group, rehearsing for a gig that never happened, from inside our ferric-oxide time machine.

(If anyone out there know's the Titles of any of these unknow tracks,please feel free to let us know...cheers.)

Track Listing:

1- Theme - the Mysterons
2- 4NT Intro
3- 4NT - Unknown
4- 4NT - Unknown
5- 4NT - unknown
6- 4NT - Unknown
7- Tony Whitaker Intro
8- Tony Whitaker - Evening Post
9- Tony Whitaker - An Accurate representation of my voice?
10- PR5 Intro
11- PR5 - Going Back
12- PR5 - Unknown
13- Sam hill Intro
14- Sam Hill - Unknown
15- Sam Hill - Unknown
16- Ribblebeats Intro
17- Ribblebeats - I'm Gonna Be Your Friend
18- Ribblebeats - Hey Little Girl
19- Ribblebeats - I Won't See You Anymore
20- Side A Outro
21- Blank Students Intro
22- Blank Students - Unknown
23- Blank Students - Unknown
24- Blank students - Unknown
25- Urban Renewal Intro
26- Urban Renewal - Girls On the Street
27- Urban Renewal - What Can I Do?
28- Urban renewal - Sitting In My Room
29- High Bias Intro
30- High Bias - Unknown
31- High Bias - Unknown
32- High Bias - unknown
33- Persian Drumstix Intro
34- Persian Drumstix - Unknown

35- Persian Drumstix - Unknown

36- Persian Drumstix - Unknown

37- Tape outro - The Mysterons

DOWNLOAD a second slice of teenage angst HERE!

Various Artists - "Earcom 3" (Fast Product 9c) 1979

EARCOM 3 ,(2 x 7")-This is the one with the screaming kids on it, THE STUPID BABIES, featuring, as legend would have it,- Adamski (who was number one in 1990-ish with that seal bloke,Killer i think it was). It was him and his little brother complaining about babysitters,and other problems of being under 10.
Great DIY mumblings from a bedroom band called 'From Chorley', who were from....erm... Chorley!!
And the first appearance of the Fantastic "Deutsche Americanische Freundschaft". I once went into a record shop in Leicester (revolver), and asked for a single by this aforementioned German group, pronouncing their full name correctly to a bemused Saturday worker. He said "What???", i repeated it again to his colleague, who paused then replied,"ahhhhhh! DAF!"
You try your best to bring culture to the masses, and this is what you get, an acronym , because joe public can't say it.
Also the first appearance of Hardcore Punk with "Out Of Vogue" by the Middle Class, which was probably the 1st ever hardcore punk single, although that's a much disputed point(Wire and the Victims from Australia probably invented the format methinks,lets call it US Hardcore eh?). I wonder how much influence, if any, bringing this song to the UK might have had on the emerging faster bands starting up then.
And lastly,one of my favorite tunes EVER! Noh Mercy's "Caucasian Guilt" , an anthem against political correctness, and white persons guilt fatigue! (I did try and have Noh Mercy's complete works for download, but I got a DCMA takedown notice; most of their other work was shit anyway,but if anyone wants it, just e-mail me,and i'll send you the link; thats service for you, innit?)

Tracks:

A1 - Noh Mercy - Caucasian Guilt
A2 - Noh Mercy - Revolutionary Spy
B1 - Stupid Babies - Baby Blues
B2 - Stupid Babies - Baby Sitters
B3 - From Chorley - Tablecloth
C1 - D.A.F. - Ich Und Die Wirklichkeit
D1 - Middle Class - Out Of Vogue
D2 - Middle Class - Situations

DOWNLOAD ear communication 3 for free HERE!

Various Artists - "Earcom 2" (Fast Product 9b) 1979

EARCOM 2 - omg! Joy Division were on this! Sold my original copy in 1982 for £20 because of that! If joy division were still Warsaw at the time then i could call them DIY, but unfortunately as they are post-punk behemoths,albeit, thee most perfect pop group ever; i shall have to ignore them here.(fucking gods though!)
The Thursdays' "Perfection" is...er....perfect?.Alas,Unfortunately, they also contributed the worst track on any of the three Earcom records;the lamentable Otis Redding atrocity, "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay".
(Bob) Lastly,the unpronouncable (always a pointer towards the ambition,or,lack of,of a group),Basczax; sound like they were competent musicians before the new wave,probably in some progressive space rock combo,and wore sparkling capes.That very much aside, their two tracks are rather marvelous.
Another Fast Product Classic!

Tracks:

A1 - Thursdays - Perfection
A2 - Basczax - Celluloid Love
A3 - Basczax - Karleearn Photography
B1 - Joy Division - Auto-Suggestion
B2 - Joy Division - From Safety To Where
B3 - Thursdays - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

DOWNLOAD ear communication 2 and joy division(!) HERE!

Various Artists - "Earcom 1" (Fast product 9a) 1979

The must have compilation of 1979 was EARCOM 1 - which was famous for including the quintessential DIY band, The Prats. A bunch of four high school friends: Paul McLaughlin, David Maguire, Greg Maguire, and Tom Robinson(not the gay one). While their instruments were basic - including a cardboard drum kit - they were able to quickly produce a demo which they sent to a local indie label Fast Product, and in the anything can happen atmosphere of the age, they ended up on this record. Subsequently they got to do a couple of peels sessions, but adolescence ruined them and they split in 1981.
The Prats are covered in more detail earlier in this blog,with their full recorded activities for download (Click Here!)
Love the Blank Students,and their singers 'I'm a thick and I don't give a fuck' delivery  .The Flowers were pretty good too, but probably too competent as musicians I wager.
New Wave mega-stars The Rezillo's make a guest appearance, probably unknown to Sire Records which is why they aren't credited; oh the rebelliousness of it all?
Pretty much everything on here is fantastic, a classic.

Tracks:

A1 - Prats - Prats 2
A2 - Blank Students - Fun At The Fair
A3 - Graph - Drowning
A4 - Blank Students - Background Music
B1 - Prats - Inverness
B2 - Prats - Bored
B3 - Flowers - Criminal Waste
B4 - Flowers - After Dark
B5 - Guest Item - (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures

DOWNLOAD this first ear communication HERE!

The Mekons -"The Quality of Mercy is not Strnen" plus Fast Product Singles (1978-79)

There comes a point in any "movement"s life span that it flirts with the mainstream. Like communism, Beatniks, Dada , and it happened here for DIY........the Mekons released a DIY "sounding" album on Virgin!? And worst of all, its fantastic. Rudimentary musicianship, great lyrics, terrible vocals, what seemed like a no-sell out situation, corrupting the media from within(which was Bob Last of Fast Products main aim with getting them signed up in the first place). It seemed that we could take over, but then of course they went clever/clever and made country and western records in a desperate act of obtuseness to swerve a creative impasse.
Yes their later records were the stuff of bank managers coffee tables,but their earlier work for virgin and Fast Product verged on the unsurpassable.

Tracks:
01. Like Spoons No More
02. Join Us in the Countryside
03. Rosanne
04. Trevira Trousers
05. After 6
06. What Are We Going to Do Tonight
07. What
08. Watch the Film
09. Beetroot
10. I Saw You Dance
11. Lonely and Wet
12. Dan Dare
13. Teeth
14. Guardian
15. Kill
16. Stay Cool
17. Work All Week
18. Unknown Wrecks

Also included in the download are the Mekons' first three singles which are works of outstanding non-beauty.
Namely, the first two fantastic Fast product singles,and the first Virgin Single "Work All Week".

A		Never Been In A Riot	1:45
B1		32 Weeks	1:38
B2		Heart And Soul	2:38

A		Where Were You	2:42
AA		I'll Have To Dance Then (On My Own)	3:05

 

A		Work All Week	3:16
B		Unknown Wrecks	3:13

DOWNLOAD the Mekons when they were good HERE!

Various Artists - "Fast Product - Mutant Pop" (Virgin 1979)

A rather marvellous posthumous collection of Fast product tracks, released by Virgin after Bob Last sent his wards off to infiltrate the enemy and he formed Pop/Aural and Postcard.
Never in the field of human artistic conflict has a more perfect collection of singles and e.p. tracks been assembled in one place.
The peerless piss take of the clash's "White Riot" by the Mekons is enough to make any ex-public school folkie turned "punk rocker" blush with embarrassment.
The Scars début single is fantastically scratchy and future leaning. Subtle pointers to the forthcoming Postcard sound.They only went downhill from here.
As did The Human League, but Being Boiled has to be the greatest electronic pop single of all time?....discuss.
2.3 from Sheffield as the weak links here, but still great.(wasn't Adi Newton from Clock Dva in 2.3?
The Flowers were overlooked genius's.....check "After Dark", might have been a number one hit in a Parallel universe somewhere!
And of course ,The Gang Of Four....what can i say?

Track Listing:

Mekons
01. Never Been in a Riot
02. 32 Weeks
03. Where Were You

Scars
04. Adultery
05. Horror Show 

The Human League 
06. Being Boiled
07. Circus of Death

2-3
08. All Time Low
09. Where to Know?

The Flowers
10. After Dark
11. Confessions

Gang of Four
12. Love Like Anthrax
13. Armalite Rifle
14. Damaged Goods

DOWNLOAD this mutant pop HERE!