Various ‎Artists – "From Brussels With Love" (Les Disques Du Crépuscule ‎– TWI 007) 1980

They say, 'You either love Brussels or Hate them', like marmite.
They are, of course, referring to the noble sprout rather than the capital of the  European Union.
Its a 50/50 split, not unlike the famous 'will of the British public', when it comes to loving or hating the European Union.A rather nietzchien statement from same pitiful twerps who formed the German national socialist workers party in the 1920's.
The stats on this compilation on Ian Curtis' ex-girlfriend Annik Honoré's(RIP) 'Disques du Crepescule' label, should be rather more clean cut than Brexit.
Showcasing the close ties between Brussels and with Factory records in Britain. Its a mixture of stuff from both labels and a smattering of highbrow artists from Eno's Obscure label.
As this post marks the end of our trip in the Belgian underground, and its flavour is distinctly British, it gives one the opportunity to segue smoothly into some UK synth, that was obvious highly influential to the Belgian scene and beyond. It wasn't just Kraftwerk and Suicide that shaped the near future, infact one of these influetial figures is on this tape,personified in John Foxx.Then of course we have Eno.....so godlike that we only refer to him reverentially by a single word......E Knows y'know, Eno does.
As for Brussels, the vegetable, I love them.....but Bollocks to Brexit.And if you support Brexit then Bollocks to you!
Any right wing post-truth propaganda in the comments section will be no-platformed and deleted, so don't fucking bother.

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Various Artists - " Northern Lights, Issue One" 1981

Hopelessly obscure cassette, referred to as an “Audio Magazine” on the insert. Blessed with previously unavailable live Cabaret Voltaire rarities from the Les Disques du Crepescule era. Can't go wrong there then, one of the most influential bands of all time to start and finish yer magazine promises much.

What follows up “Sluggin' for Jesus”? Only the bard of Leicester himself, Kevin Hewick, reciting some of his poetry in a fine example of a toned down east midlands accent; thats right we (yes, I am from Leicester!) don't have brummie accents you southern dick 'eads.

Then, a revelation, Rire to Laugh (I'm sure there should be a comma after Rire?) made more recordings than the ones featured on the classic “Four Ways Out” compilation. These two tracks sound a lot more hip and competent than previous efforts, which is both a good and bad thing. Rire to Laugh were not wilfully amateurish one trick ponies apparently!?

Malc Smith, he of the Mudhutters, does his best impression of the backing music from “Harry Smiths Anthology of American Folk”. Lo-fi acoustic instrumentals that are just lacking Dock Boggs or Blind Lemon Jefferson to add some Appalachian tales of murder and infidelity to finish 'em off.

Or maybe Malc Smith could have accompanied 'member' of “The Situationist Youth Collective”; and his very 'student entertainments officer' monologue. He drones on about the various acts put on at Plato's Ballroom (Sounds like an episode of Star Trek?), which included the very Great Cabaret Voltaire, who finish off this cassette-zine, with an edited version of theWestern Mantra.

This in turn, reminds me of getting an afternoon off school to go to the Dentist in 1980,but instead I went and bought “The Three Mantras” and went home. I never went to the dentist again and still have a full set of reasonably pearly gnashers. I attribute this good fortune to perhaps thee most influential group of my youth; I thank thee CV.

Just brush your teeth after every meal, and floss regularly; and at the first opportunity get your mercury amalgam fillings removed and replaced. These things are toxic, and 'they' put this shit in the mouths of innocent kids,mostly unnecessarily, to cash in on the old skool NHS. Never trust the advice of a professional!

Track Listing:

A1 Cabaret Voltaire – Sluggin' for Jesus

A2 Kevin Hewick – KH recites and comments

A3 Rire to Laugh – Let the Children play

A4 Rire to Laugh – Silent water

B1 Malc Smith – Happy pig dance

B2 Malc Smith – Lookin' over under yonder

B3 Malc Smith – Mountain Song

B4 The Situationist Youth Collective – monologue

B5 Cabaret Voltaire – Western Mantra (Edit)

DOWNLOAD the light from the north HERE!

Kevin Hewick - "The Early Factory and Cherry Red Recordings" (1980 - 1983)

Kevin Hewick and the Sound - "This Cover Keeps reality Unreal" (Cherry Red 12CHERRY 76) 1983

Kevin Hewick, Side 2 of "A Factory Quartet" 1980

"Kevin On Stage" from "A Factory Quartet" insert

"A Factory Quartet" (Factory Records FACT24) 1980

"Ophelia's Drinking Song" (7" Factory Records FAC48) 1982

 I really admire anyone who carry's on regardless of a disinterested public, ploughing on through waves of  indifference for decades,yet still there. In Kevin's case, still very much there, as an integral part of Leicester's music scene.Probably more active today than he ever was.
It didn't surprise me to learn of his contribution to the recent Patrik Fitzgerald tribute album; an artist very similar to our Kevin, in refusing to go away.
His sound is sort of a doomy outsider-ish folky post punk, which sounds quite an attractive genre to me.
This explains why he fell in with Post-punk misery merchants The Sound for one 12" ep on Cherry Red; and perhaps his most accessible work.
Collected here,for the uninitiated, is a compilation of his early singles and ep's, along with his contribution to the "A Factory Quartet" album, which showcases Hewick's early live performance,and some of the negativity any performer like him got when the audience realised that he had no amp's or drums.
Also, we have his first recordings for Factory, with the as yet un-named New Order, singing in place of the recently departed Ian Curtis.

Some unimaginative splurge about Kevin's loooooong career, lifted from Wikipedia:
 
In the early 80's his work was released by Factory Records. In 1982 he left Factory for a period on Cherry Red Records. Amongst others he recorded a collaboration with The Sound. After 1984 things got quiet around Hewick, which he calls his "black hole period". In the late 90's he emerged again on the music scene.On February 14, 2009 www.kevinhewick.co.uk released a free download album Doomcloud the until-then lost follow up to Helpline, 12 songs recorded in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

The Factory years

Newly added to the Factory roster Hewick had a recording session in June 1980 with producer Martin Hannett in Graveyard Studios where he recorded two tracks "Haystack" (released on From Brussels with Love compilation in 1981) and "A Piece of Fate" with the three surviving members of Joy Division, a month after the death of Ian Curtis and just prior to their adopting the name New Order.[1]

Other Factory releases included the controversial live side of the A Factory Quartet double album (FACT 24) in 1981 - live tracks picked against Hewick's wishes by Tony Wilson of a confrontation between him and a very aggressive audience - and the single "Ophelia's Drinking Song" (FAC 48) which featured producer Donald Johnson of A Certain Ratio on percussion and was mixed by Peter Hook of New Order.[citation needed]

For a time Hewick was privy to many pivotal moments in Factory's early history, describing himself as a "gormless bystander" to those events.[citation needed] He often stayed at the Palatine Road flat of Alan Erasmus but as Erasmus became less involved with the label and Hewick's fraught working relationship with Tony Wilson rapidly worsened throughout 1982 (with Hewick even telling Wilson that The Haçienda was a bad idea as he "couldn't even run a record company properly never mind a club as well") an offer to "jump ship" to Cherry Red Records in London proved too tempting to resist.

Tracklisting:

 Factory single 1982:
Ophelia's drinking song-Katy clown
He holds you tighter

Single 1983 (Cherry Red CHERRY64):
Feathering the nest

Kevin Hewick and New Order, 1980:
Haystack (with New Order)

Kevin Hewick and the Sound - "This Cover Keeps reality Unreal" 1983:
Plenty
Neath Dancing Waves
Amber
Scapegoat In A Country Churchyard

"A Factory Quartet" (Factory Records FACT24) 1980:
Rubble/1940/A Little Feeling/Forget/Morphia/The Enchanted Kiss/Haystack

DOWNLOAD some early kevin hewick HERE!