Das Synthetisches Mischgewebe ‎– "Works" (Das Cassettencombinat ‎– 005) 1982

Everything is in English on this sleeve except for the band name which translates as "Synthetic Mixed fabric"?? Like you get with those cheap pull overs that one buys in Primark for six quid; made at gunpoint in Vietnam by some malnourished kid for a penny a day. 
Alas, mixed fabrics rarely keep you warm during winter. A bit like this tape? 
Its recommended to wear a 100% woolen fairtrade sweater when listening to this during those bleak winter months. Its cold electronic scraping drones tend to induce a frigid lonely feeling in the casual listener.Like squatting in the boiler room at your local synthetic fabric or garbage recycling factory.

Tracklist:

A1 Mary's Penis Operation
A2 Dead But Thinking
A3 Future
B1 Tierversuche
B2 Past
B3 Tones Of Sculls And Bottles
B4 Flesh

DOWNLOAD from the synthetic fabric works HERE!

TASS II ‎– "Unter-Haltung" (Das Cassettencombinat ‎– 008) 1983

What? Another Synth duo? Both of them called Thomas?
Nice hissy cassette fuzzed minimal synth tunes on the legendary Das Cassettencombinat label.
There's even a rare example of Minimal Synth Dub hidden among the murk, "Impression"; Herr Augustus von Pablo goes electronic.Probably only one country does reggae worse than Germany, and that's France.Unbelievably clueless.And then there's the dancing!!! Shocking.

Tracklist:

A1 Necrophil Deadvoice 3:23
A2 Oh God Oh My God 4:44
A3 Radio Message 4:39
B1 Unterhaltung 4:46
B2 Sound Of Nubia 3:30
B3 Impression 3:54
B4 Endsynphonie 2:06

DOWNLOAD ta SS HERE!

Die Gesunden ‎– "Die Gesunden" (Innovative Communication ‎– KS 80.028) 1982

Every country had their take on the Suicide Synth duo template.The UK fused it with pop and soul,France made it artistic,USA punked it up, Belgium made it into a national obsession and Germany made it hard and ,dare I say it, aggressive? Along with the low countries they helped create the genre of EBM for the alternative Disco crowd.
DAF being the obvious example, and they had their imitators.One of which was 'Die Gesunden',who actually supported DAF on tour in 1981.
Their take on the German synth duo was much lighter than their mentors', but it still retains that darkness and those raw synth sounds that made DAF great (up to a point).
They were signed to Klaus Schulze's label, Innovative Communication,and it sounds like they were allowed access to KS's vast synth collection.There are some polyphonic pads cropping up on some of the track, ruining their minimalism.There's no room for Kosmiche in this kind of stuff Klaus.I'm sure he would have had his ten penny's worth of influence as he was the star in the building.
Still it's an obscure classic of minimal electronica.....including the obligatory heavy breathing into the microphone. 

Tracklist:

A1 Instru-Mental 2:10
A2 Die Gesunden Kommen 3:25
A3 Der Weg Zum Erfolg 3:20
A4 Krieg Und Frieden 3:19
A5 Sometimes / Manchmal 3:37
B1 Baby Love 3:15
B2 Leutnant Miller 3:50
B3 Galaxy 3:28
B4 Atmen 2:40
B5 Film Musik 2:10

DOWNLOAD some Daf faD lite HERE!

Die 2. Liga - "Sessions, Live, and Studio 1980-81"

Not only did West Germany have their own Residents (Der Plan), they also had their own version of The Prats too. Modestly called Die 2. Liga (The Second Division), they formed a 'Punk' group(average age 12)played a few live gigs,did a session for Rondo Records, and released a very limited edition tape( a limited edition of 5 I am told!)

This stuff was (re-)released on limited edition vinyl a couple of years ago, but thanks to Die or DIY's German chum, Michael Festerling, we now have far more tracks than on those impossible to find discs.

Punk Rock had a fine tradition of including everyone excluded from such previously exclusive fashionable cliques, like the reprehensible 'Bromley Contingent' in the UK. 

The likes of Eater, The Prats, and The Fatal Microbes would have been excluded, along with the women, from many other youth cults.

We can now add Die 2. Liga to this roll of honour, as champions of German 'Outsider Punk'.

Basically they sound like The Prats, but with better equipment, and they sing in German.    

In the words of Dirk Moll, the drummer, 

"We were founded in 1980 and had our first appearance at the Unterstufenfest (lower school party ?!?) at our high school. All members of EA80 were there ,too, through which we were also motivated to form a band and always appeared as a supporting band with them.
An exception was the gig with ÖSTRO 430 and ZK (see photos).

Our average age was “12″.

In 1983 we disbanded due to lack of perspective and because we were too old."

(NB...standing,enviously, in the middle of the photo left to the girl with the white jacket Campino of ZK .He is now the singer of the what most people seem to consider as 'punk rock superstars' „Die Toten Hosen“)

2. Liga were:

Mario Bocks guitar, 

Marcus Hardelauf vocals;

Holger Zander bass (not on the (studio ?!?) recordings, though);

Martin Kircher bass ( on the (studio ?!?) recordings and vocals on „Jungen und Technik“) and 

Dirk Moll drums.

Tracklist:

Rondo Session 1981
01. Hänschenklein
02. Männerwirtschaft
03. Jungen+Technik
04. Beton
05. Vater
06. Bewusstsein

Split-Tape with EA80
(Studio 06.01.`81)

07. Tod
08. Bewusstsein
09. Sportler
10. Groß +Klein
11. Männerwirtschaft
12. Disco Fucker
13. Beton

(Live 07.06.`80 at NGM*)

14. Gedanken 1
15. Tod 
16. Männerwirtschaft
17. Disco Flippies
18. Bauer Putzig
19. Mona Lisa
20. 1 sek Lied
21. Hänschen Klein
22. Tarzan
23. Bewusstsein

(Live 20.09.`80 at Haus Zoar**)

24. H. Klein

* Neusprachliches Gymnasium Mönchengladbach, Germany

** Haus Zoar, Mönchengladbach, Germany

DOWNLOAD from the premier league of kiddie punk HERE!

Der Plan - "Normalette Surprise" (Ata Tak WR007) 1981

Don't feel much like writing anything this morning, so all you need to know is it's Der Plan; who sound like a more minimal synth style,less humouristic German version of the Residents.....which is no bad thing. Lots of vintage synth's, and tunes that don't outstay their welcome.

Tracklist:

Leb doch
Renate
Meine Freunde
Sie Hat Mich Verlassen
Pausen-SassaWenn
Der Sonne Ist Verblüht
Kleine Schlager-Revue
Frl. Nicol
Ich Bin Ein Komputer
Robot-Bolero
Generäle Essen Erdbeereis
Das Insekt
Wat's Dat?
4 Stapfen im Schnee
Zuruck in die Atmosphare
Rot Grun Tot
8 1/2

DOWNLOAD for a normal surprise HERE!

Der Plan ‎– "Geri Reig" (Warning Records ‎– Warning 003) 1980

Der Plan went electronic for their debut album, with a mixture of Minimal Synth classics and lots of mucking about in the studio. There are some silly voices used, like their American equivalents and likely inspiration, The Residents. Alas they are hindered by that famous German drawback, a terrible sense of humour. Our Teutonic cousins should stick to what they're good at, efficient hard electronics, of which there are several examples on this rather good LP. Humour in music has always been a dangerous flirtation, that has rarely been pulled off. Just leave the larking about to someone else please.

Tracklist:

A1 Adrenalin Lässt Das Blut Kochen
A2 Geri Regi
A3 Persisches Cowboy-Golf
A4 Gefährliche Clowns
A5 Kleine Grabesstille
A6 Der Weltaufstandsplan
A7 Hans Und Gabi
B1 Commerce Extérieur Mondial Sentimental
B2 Was Ich Von Mir Denke
B3 San José Car Muzak
B4 Erste Begegnung Mit Dem Tod
B5 Ich Bin Schizophren
B6 Nessie
B7 Gefährliche Clowns (Manisch Idiotisch)
B8 Die Welt Ist Schlecht

DOWNLOAD this good plan despite the silly voices HERE!

Der Plan - "Untitled EP" (Kind Attack Records AAP 001) 1979

Every country had their Residents clones; Renaldo and the Loaf in the UK, DDAA in France, Julio Iglesias in Spain, and 'Der Plan' in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Except, this debut EP from 1979 is like proper unhinged experimental rock rather than our favourite minmal avant-gardists from Louisiana.
Robert Gorl from DAF was in the line-up for this recording, I assume on Drums? Soon to leave for more successful areas  with DAF chum Gabi Delgado.
Der Plan would soon buy more synthesisers,start wearing silly costumes, and prance around the stage getting 'weird', becoming West Germany's Resident Residents Clones.

Tracklist:

Side A
1-5 Untitled
Side B
1-5 Untitled

DOWNLOAD is der plan HERE!

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - "Live FU Berlin 01/11/1980" (Bootleg)

As DAF is an anagram of AFD!......To mark the reappearance of the far right in the German Reichstag for the first time since Hitler shot himself(although its a matter of interpretation as to whether the Nazi party was indeed right wing or, left wing; i think there's a long discussion on that subject on one of the Ramleh posts in the comments section- "Pumping" I believe?) . Here's something from the positive end of the spectrum as far as German culture goes.
DAF were never afraid to confront the ghosts of German History, they were part of the real alternative Germany, not the racist bigots in the AFD
Don't be put off by the cover(They certainly dressed like Germans!), this is pre-duo DAF, so its good, if a little lo-fi. Its an audience recording, but still decent quality, with a bit of room ambiance for good measure.
So...FU, Trump,FU Farage, FU Le Pen and F whoever is leading the AfD as i've heard there's a split already(Shame).

DOWNLOAD the real alternative for germany and FU  HERE!

Deutsch-Amerikanische-Freundschaft ‎– "Kebabträume / Gewalt" & "Der Räuber Und Der Prinz / Tanz Mit Mir" (Mute MUTE 005/011) 1980/81

DAF mark 1 produced a couple of great singles too before Guitarist Spelmans left the band before they turned Disco.
"Kebabträume" is nothing short of a minimal synth classic, backed by electronic noise-fest "Gewalt".
As for "Der Räuber Und Der Prinz" & "Tanz Mit Mir", this represents the difference between Deutsch-Amerikanische-Freundschaft and what would become DAF. The A-side is missing the angular guitar attack of Wolfgang Spelmans, and "Tanz Mit Mir" is classic DAF mark 1,as heard on their first two albums....I remember buying this single from Revolver in Leicester,perfectly pronouncing the full band name to the deaf ears of the sales assistant until the penny dropped, and he said "Ahhhh....you mean DAF!?"......sometimes I don't know why I ever bother?

DOWNLOAD a double german kebab with extra chilli sauce HERE!

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft ‎– "Produkt Der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft" (Warning Records ‎– WR 001) 1979

DAF's first album was the vocal-less "Produkt", featuring 22 short abstract proto math rock instrumentals that twist and turn like a musical eel in ones fingers. This always reminded me of those American bands from the mid to late eighties on labels like Touch and Go, eg Scratch Acid ,Rapeman, Jesus Lizard etc...but singer-less, and  several years earlier. Very Inventive and forward looking stuff indeed.

Tracklist:

A1 Untitled
A2 Untitled
A3 Untitled
A4 Untitled
A5 Untitled
A6 Untitled
A7 Untitled
A8 Untitled
A9 Untitled
A10 Untitled
A11 Untitled
A12 Untitled
B1 Untitled
B2 Untitled
B3 Untitled
B4 Untitled
B5 Untitled
B6 Untitled
B7 Untitled
B8 Untitled
B9 Untitled
B10 Untitled

DOWNLOAD, go on don't be DAFed, HERE!

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft ‎– "Die Kleinen Und Die Bösen" (Mute STUMM 1) 1980

From the cold war chic propaganda artwork of three soviet athletes,probably drugged up on performance enhancing substances at the boycotted Moscow olympics; to the crazed live B-side recorded as support to Wire at the Electric Ballroom. This is without doubt one of, if not thee best German album ever? DAF almost single handedly dragged West Germany out of the terminal jam session hangover from the 'Krautrock' daze (sic). As soon as I heard them on Earcom 3, I knew they something rather special. This sounded like a future I would like to be part of, and still does.
Unfortunately they caved in to become dance friendly shortly after this, and embraced a slightly dodgy sweaty rent-boy image after the band was reduced to just two.....er...members. EBM (Electronic Body Music) innovators they may have been, but the puffing and panting over a hard disco beat never did it for me.
The live side of the album benefited , in the same way Wire did, from the recording being a tad overloaded into the red zone of the VU meters.Creating a live electricity and energy that lodged this band deep into my adolescent brain. 
The Conny Plank produced studio side is less unhinged but shows the more disciplined synth-punk side of the band in 1980. Great enough to permanently expunge the ghosts of both Nazi Germany and Amon Duul 2 forever?

Tracklist:

Studio Side:

A1 Osten Währt Am Längsten
A2 Essen Dann Schlafen
A3 Co Co Pino
A4 Kinderfunk
A5 Nacht Arbeit
A6 Ich Gebe Dir Ein Stück Von Mir
A7 De Panne 

Live side at the Electric Ballroom 29/02/1980

B1 Gewalt
B2 Gib's Mir
B3 Auf Wiedersehen
B4 Das Ist Liebe
B5 Was Ist Eine Welle
B6 Anzufassen Und Anzufassen
B7 Volkstanz
B8 Die Lustigen Stiefel
B9 Die Kleinen Und Die Bösen
B10 Die Fesche Lola
B11 El Basilon
B12 Y La Gracia

DOWNLOAD and be a little wicked HERE!

Wire ‎– "Document And Eyewitness" (Rough Trade ‎– ROUGH 29) 1981

 

At the end of 1979 Wire embarked on a live tour that only had new unrecorded material on offer with the idea to make a live album of new stuff. This culminated in the gig at the Electric Ballroom in Camden which was recorded for this purpose. They did in fact do an oldie for an encore, and an Ironic run through of proto-hardcore classic "12XU", which doesn't ruin the concept too much. The live recording is enhanced by the sound-man obviously leaning on the fader causing a bit of overload on some vocals. For this reason, i think this is why they added another disc of previous concert recording, notably the superior recording of the 'Notre Dame Hall' concert.
This is the Wire album I play most, due to its electricity and raw qualities. "154" is a bit weak and insipid sounding in comparison. A bit like comparing Live Joy Division to 'Unknown Pleasures. Like two different groups.
One of the best aspects of this concert, is that they 'accidently' recorded the support group for the evening, Deutch Amerikanishce Freundschaft, which is to be posted next, because its brilliant.

(ps, the four missing tracks from the Electric Ballroom set, including all of "12XU" can be found on "Turns and Strokes" here!)

Tracklist:

Electric Ballroom
A1 5/10
A2 12XU (Fragment)
A3 Underwater Experiences
A4 Everythings Going To Be Nice
A5 Piano Tuner (Keep Strumming Those Guitars)
A6 We Meet Under Tables
B1 Zegk Hoqp
B2 Eastern Standard
B3 Instrumental (Thrown Bottle)
B4 Eels Sang Lino
B5 Revealing Trade Secrets
B6 And Then ...
B7 Coda
Notre Dame Hall
C1 Go Ahead
C2 Ally In Exile
C3 Relationship
C4 Underwater Experiences
D1 Witness To The Fact
D2 2 People In A Room
D3 Our Swimmer
Montreux
D4 Heartbeat

DOWNLOAD and ear witness, HEAR!

Wire ‎– "Turns And Strokes" (WMO records WMO4) 1996

This Odds and Sods compilation finally let us hear the band go through a slightly insipid version of "12XU" which was cruelly omitted from the Electric Ballroom sides of  'Document and Eyewitness' except for a fragment.Which along with , "Inventory", "Ritual View" ,"Part Of Our History" and 'Document and Eyewitness'itself, finally represent the complete performance at the Electric Ballroom on the 29th of February1980.
The never previously heard track "A Panamanian Craze?", was recorded in rehearsal in Stoke Newington in 1979, which is typically a Graham Lewis composition, and a tad self-indulgent,bless him.
The rest are repeats from the gigs at Notre dame Hall, and  The Janet Cochrane Theatre, that were posted previously.
Interesting, but strictly for completists only.

Tracklist:

1 Safe 1:38
2 Lorries 4:08
3 A Panamanian Craze? 16:15
4 Remove For Improvement 1:56
5 The Spare One 2:58
6 Over My Head 4:10
7 12XU 2:07
8 Inventory 3:03
9 Ritual View 2:36
10 Part Of Our History 6:02

DOWNLOAD the missing live wire HERE!

Wire ‎– "19th July 1979 Notre Dame Hall, London" (Bootleg)

The complete Notre Dame concert partially included in "Document and Eyewitness".
Its the best Live 'Wire' in my opinion, recorded in excellent quality from the soundboard

Tracklist:

Go Ahead 4:10
Ally In Exile 4:14
Being Sucked In 3:07
Relationship 1:24
Midnight Bahnhof Café 4:28
Underwater Experiences 2:56
A Blessed State 3:25
Witness To The Fact 2:47
I Should Have Known Better 3:51
Safe 1:59
Lorries 4:23
Two People In A Room 1:55
A Question Of Degree 3:45
Our Swimmer 3:07
I Am The Fly 4:07
Heartbeat 3:08
Strange 3:28

the DOWNLOAD notre dame should have made in place of a fictional messiah HERE!

Wire ‎– "10th Nov 1979 Jeannetta Cochrane Theatre, London" (Illegal Legal Bootleg)

There's some rarely performed tunes in the setlist for this one. "Crazy about Love", which I had assumed was a partially improvised tune that they recorded for their final Peel Session, and "The Spare One",which is a rare one  indeed.There's a few numbers that would appear in improved form on Colin Newman's Solo work a couple of years later.
The recording is an audience recording, involving all the usual lo-fi large room ambiance that plagues such endeavors; but its very listenable in it's imperfections.

Tracklist:

Crazy About Love 11:08
Remove For Improvement 2:28
The Spare One 3:39
Two People In A Room 2:20
Lorries 4:21
Underwater Experiences 2:42
A Blessed State 3:15
Ally In Exile 4:04
Over My Head 4:53
Our Swimmer 3:25
On Returning 2:19

DOWNLOAD one musical i would go to the theatre for HERE!

Wire ‎– "Mittnacht Bahnhof Cafe Nostalgia (Tiffanys, Hull 3rd July 1979)" (Bootleg)

A back in the day audience recorded live bootleg from....well....back in the day?
Wire hit the thriving metropolis of Kingston-upon-Hull back in the summer of '79. Whether the sun actually shined, or ever shines in Hull is open to conjecture,but I've been there once and had a thoroughly marvelous time.The lady on the back cover looks rather familiar from that evening.
Apart from the frankly awful local accent, it seemed a lot less squalid to what I was led to believe.
Wire,however, deliver a thoroughly professional set,with no 'Pink Flag' material, focusing on the post-'154' era.
As Graham Lewis says early in the set, "All those who have problems with Nostalgia can go home NOW!"
The recording quality is, as you'd expect from an audience recording, lacking a bit of depth and has a strong 'large room' ambiance; but its very listenable indeed.It's Wire innit?
I especially like the "Dedicated to Franz Kafka, NOT dedicated to Darby Crash*" line on the rear; and the pay no more than £4.50, which is a king's ransom these days for music, especially for the quality of this groups music.

*(One of those poor little rich boy Californian punks,this one was in a fairly terrible group called 'the Germs' and died)

Tracklist:

A1 Go Ahead
A2 Ally In Exile
A3 Relationship
A4 Being Sucked In Again
A5 Safe
A6 Lorries
A7 Midnight Bahnhof Cafe
B1 Underwater Experiences
B2 Blessed State
B3 Two People In A Room
B4 I Should Have Known Better
B5 A Question Of Degree
B6 Our Swimmer
B7 I Am The Fly
B8 Too Late

DOWNLOAD some baader meinhoff nostalgia HERE!

Wire ‎– "12 Nov 1978, SO36, Berlin" (Illegal Legal Bootleg)

Wow! I never noticed before,looking at the cover photo's, that three of Wire are essentially the same person, plus Graham Lewis. Also what a miserable bunch of sods they were! Maybe they were trying to look like serious 'Artistes'? This would explain why they were popular in France, where the serious/miserable 'artiste' is king. I'm in fact registered as an 'Artiste' in France, and i'm definitely a miserable fucker too; but as i'm very English, i'm not at all serious.....and I assume this applies to our glum chums in Wire also?
This is strange, because Wire were/are very popular in the States for the opposite reasons; mainly because 'Pink Flag' rocked in a unique no nonsense style that motivated those Rock lovin' colonials to copy it and invent 'Hardcore Punk', which still resonates with the yoof to this very day!?...Wire, miserable sods that they aren't, quickly moved on from this innovation, to continue to innovate in a decidedly non rock direction. In fact they de-rocked themselves to such an extent eventually, that at least a couple of them became respected avant garde composers? Now that goes down very nicely in 'La France'!?
Here we have them, a year on from 'Pink Flag', playing a set of short,angular avant-pop tunes, sans "12XU", to an appreciative West Berlin crowd at one of the standard venues on the european Post-Punk circuit, the SO36 club.This is 'Punk'art, definitely NOT 'Punk Rock'!Leave that kind of stuff to the terminally repetitive UK Subs and their like.

Tracklist:
Practice Makes Perfect 1:56
Two People In A Room 1:56
I Feel Mysterious Today 1:51
Being Sucked In 2:49
Once Is Enough 2:46
A Blessed State 3:06
A Question Of Degree 2:45
Single KO 2:14
Mercy 5:24
40 Versions 3:16
Former Airline 0:51
A Touching Display 7:58
A French Film Blurred 3:01
Map Ref 3:35
Men 2nd 1:44
Heartbeat 3:40
Pink Flag 4:36

DOWNLOAD through the berlin wall HERE!

Wire ‎– "25 Oct 1978 Bradford University" (Illegal Legal Bootleg)

No "12XU" in evidence for this Wire gig in 1978, the year zero of Post-Punk. In fact there's quite a lot of the third album "154" in this set, showing how fast our fav arty punks had traveled in less than a year. For them, the Punk template was only a viable concept for one album,single, or six month period; then move forward.The difficulty most of the new wave had with second albums backs this idea up completely. 
Always an exception, Wire's second album, "Chairs Missing", was a noble,but successful, attempt to distance themselves from their previous selves and contemporaries. They still retained the vital elements of Punk Rock with their lack of a showbiz persona, no technical arrogance,and the essential trait of following your own path creatively and in life.
No doubt there were some 'Punks' in the audience in leather jackets and Travis Bickle haircuts, calling for "12XU", but after this tour I doubt they'd be back again.

Tracklist:

Indirect Enquiries 2:49
Men 2nd 1:59
Lowdown 2:22
On Returning 1:51
Being Sucked In 3:05
I Feel Mysterious Today 1:52
The Other Window 2:27
A Mutual Friend 4:14
Former Airline 1:05
Mercy 5:31
Stepping Off Too Quick 1:33
Strange 4:00
Another The Letter 1:10
Sand In My Joints 2:21
French Film Blurred 2:40
I Should Have Known Better 4:35
Practice Makes Perfect 1:38
Reuters 3:11
106 Beats That 1:05

DOWNLOAD wire through your wires or wirelessly HERE!

Wire - "Peel Sessions 1978-79" (Strangefruit SFRCD108) 2009

If its possible, there was only one post-punk band who were probably even worse musicians than Joy Division, that was Wire.Who i'm sure if they could have been more proggy sounding they would have.Like Joy Division they also miraculously mutated, as if overnight, from a thrashy punk band into something incredibly unique and disconnected from their roots.(Check out their '76 Demos HERE).The first album, 'Pink Flag' was however very influential in the USA, and possibly could even be credited as the first 'Hardcore' album.But,unlike most punk groups who headed into a Hardcore blind alley,Wire swerved this dead end and headed for the horizon.
Luckily they were nowhere near good enough on their instruments to be at the proggy end of post-punk like Cardiacs, or Punishment of Luxury.Even though they were on Prog Rock label, Harvest. Instead, they tuned their progressive content towards the 'Ideas' end of the spectrum, and played well within their limitations.In the process, along with Joy Division,PiL and Siouxsie and the Banshees, they became the ultimate Post-Punk group.
Always looking to do the unexpected right angle turn within their angular tunes, Wire were one of the few groups to sound worse in their John Peel Sessions than they did on their official releases!?
Probably their best session was the third one, where they just improvised a 16 minute piece("Crazy About Love") instead of four rehearsed songs from their live set.
A great example to demonstrate why Ideas and Art are far more important than technical ability, or creative safety.

Tracks 1 to 4 recorded on 18/1/78 
Tracks 5 to 8 recorded on 20/9/78 
Track 9 recorded on 11/9/79 

Tracklist:

Practice Makes Perfect 3:38
I Am The Fly 3:49
Culture Vulture 1:57
106 Beats That 1:07
The Other Window 2:22
Mutual Friend 4:16
On Returning 2:08
Indirect Enquiries 4:19
Crazy About Love 15:26

DOWNLOAD and be crazy about wire HERE!

I'm So Hollow - "Demos and Live Rarities (1978-80)" (a Die or DIY? Compilation)

Joy Division is a hard act to follow,
So i'll stay in their era with 'I'm So Hollow. 

The tenuous link connecting these two acts to segue from Joy Division to Sheffield's 'I'm So Hollow', is that they both played the Futurama Festival in Leeds; albeit 'I'm So Hollow did Futurama 2 and JD did the first one.
However, apart from the PiL and Joy Division recordings from Futurama 1, the only other I have is one track from I'm So Hollow's set at Futurama 2 in 1980.

Having already featured their lone album "Emotion/Sound/Motion" HERE!...and their Peel Session HERE!......naturally it's time to put all their errant rare Demo's and Live appearances together in one of Die or DIY?'s crypto-compilations.

Love this group, everything about them actually.Music aside(previously described by your scribe as 'Wobbly Sci-Fi Rock'), i admire the way they stopped as soon as they had achieved their ambitions,and never did anything ever again.In fact they split up before the album was released.If only a lot more bands did that? 

Tracklist:

01.Number One (Demo 6/10/1979)
02.I'm So Hollow (Demo 6/10/1979)
03.Fashion (Demo 6/10/1979)
04.I Don't Know (Demo 6/10/1979)
05.Touch (Demo 6/10/1979)
06.Which Way (Demo 6/10/1979)
07.I'm So Hollow#2 (Demo 6/10/1979)
08.Days (Live Weston Park Festival 05/08/1979)
09.Mistake (Live Weston Park Festival 05/08/1979)
10.Dreams to fill the Vacuum (Live Weston Park Festival 05/08/1979)
11.I Don't Know (Live Weston Park Festival 05/08/1979)
12.Monotony (Live Weston Park Festival 05/08/1979)
13.Mistake (Live at the Blitz 11/03/1980)
14.Unknown 1 (Live Now Society,Sheffield 02/10/1978)
15.Unknown 2 (Live Now Society,Sheffield 02/10/1978)
16.Monotony (Live Now Society,Sheffield 02/10/1978)
17.Touch (Leeds Futurama 2 Festival 13/09/1980)

DOWNLOAD to fill the vacuum HERE!

Joy Division - "High Hall,Birmingham University 02/05/1980" (Bootleg)

A notable performance,that brings us to the end of this seemingly endless series of Joy Division Bootlegs, for two reasons.
One, it was the only time Joy Division performed "Ceremony",and, two, this was the bands final performance.
For those of you who live on some exo-planet somewhere, Ian Curtis, vocalist and lyricist of Joy Division(?),committed suicide a little over two weeks after this concert,after enduring a turbulant personal life and suffering from worsening epilepsy.
This sad fact adds some poignancy to this performance(despite Bernard's constant bum-notes!), which sounds like a well recorded funeral march to these ears in retrospect.The lyrics read as some kind of preemptive obituary....."Ceremony", "A Means To An End" "Isolation" are all very ominous titles, but maybe the lyrics to "New Dawn Fades" seem to accurately describe his desperate situation and feelings:

New Dawn Fades:

"A change of speed, a change of style
A change of scene, with no regrets
A chance to watch, admire the distance
Still occupied, though you forget
Different colours, different shades
Over each mistakes were made
I took the blame
Directionless so plain to see
A loaded gun won't set you free
So you say

We'll share a drink and step outside
An angry voice and one who cried
We'll give you everything and more
The strain's too much, can't take much more
Oh, I've walked on water, run through fire
Can't seem to feel it anymore

It was me, waiting for me
Hoping for something more
Me, seeing me this time
Hoping for something else." 

He does seem to be going through the motions during this performance,as do the rest of the band.

He was actually helped offstage again during "Decades", but returned for a rousing version of "Digital",which as a fitting (no pun intended) monument for his last word sung in public,included the word,'Out!';which he undoubtedly wanted to be.Then his last words were ominously "Thank you, Goodnight".

As an Epitaph to the life of Joy Division, there are better concerts; but as an elegy to the troubled existence of Ian Curtis, this show exposes his vulnerability perfectly.....it's a pity nobody noticed or were willing to do anything about it.It was an era when men's mental health was frequently laughed off, with a 'Pull yourself together man' attitude. The only answer his management and 'mates' could come up with was an 'American Tour' that their singer never made.Then we got, the not very good, New Order?!

[To those who care, its a quality soundboard recording, with two very fuzzy soundcheck recordings to kick it off with.]

Tracklist:

01. Ceremony(Soundcheck)

02. Decades (Soundcheck)

03. Ceremony
04. Shadowplay
05. A Means To An End
06. Passover
07. New Dawn Fades
08. Twenty Four Hours
09. Transmission
10. Disorder
11. Isolation
12. Decades
13. Digital.

DOWNLOAD the premature burial of joy division HERE!

Joy Division - "Imperial Hotel, Blackpool 27/07/1979" ("All Angels Beware" Bootleg)

A bit out of sequence as I failed to realise I had this, as it was listed under the title of the "All Angels Beware" Bootleg.
This is from the "Year of the Child" benefit concert, as organised by Blackpool's own Section 25.
To the uninitiated, the line-up reads like a Nazi sympathisers rally; what with Joy Division, then a band called 'Final Solution', along with some group called 'Zyklon B'!?
Also playing were the Glass Torpedoes, OMD,and Section 25 headlining.
The Joy Division set was a high octane affair, and well recorded by several audience members.

Tracklist:

01. Dead Souls
02. Glass
03. Disorder
04. Auto-Suggestion
05. Transmission
06. She's Lost Control
07. Shadowplay
08. Atrocity Exhibition.

DOWNLOAD from blackpool's unknown pleasure beach HERE!

Joy Division - "Ajanta Theatre, Derby 19/04/1980" (Bootleg)

Massive as Joy Division were becoming, they still played Shit-Holes like this former,partially demolished, cinema in Derby.The old seats were still in place, except for a few that were torn off of their perches to allow dancing, if required.
Again, another cavernous sounding audience recording,and again we are treated to a joint band version of "Girls Don't Count" for the rarity value.
Due to cancellations, probably due to Ian's failing health, this would turn out to be the penultimate Joy Division performance, before.....well,you know what happened next!?

Tracklist:

01. Dead Souls
02. Wilderness
03. Digital
04. Insight
05. Passover
06. Heart And Soul
07. Isolation
08. These Days
09. Transmission
10. She's Lost Control
11. Colony
12. Girls Don't Count/jam with SECTION 25

DOWNLOAD the penultimate joy division gig HERE!

Joy Division - " Winter Gardens, Malvern 05/04/1980" (Bootleg)

Incredibly, instead of taking at least one day off after Ian's epileptic fit at the Moonlight Club the previous evening , they played another gig the next night!?.....he really was doomed wasn't he?
Seems like a decent performance however,if the recording of it is a little cavernous.It does finish with everyone one from Joy Division and Section 25 doing a version of S25's "Girls Don't Count", to which an audience member remarks, "He-He-Hey! A bit of variety(pronounced 'vari-e-teh' in an East Midlands accent)".
Who said entertainment was dead?

Tracklist:

01. Disorder
02. Wilderness
03. Twenty Four Hours
04. Heart And Soul
05. Atmosphere
06. Love Will Tear Us Apart
07. Isolation
08. Interzone
09. She's Lost Control
10. Girls Don't Count/jam with SECTION 25.

DOWNLOAD from the winter gardens of joy division HERE!

Joy Division - "Moonlight Club,Hampstead, London 02/04/1980 ,03/04/1980 & 04/04/1980" (Bootleg)

Two good quality(the third night is a bit muffled) audience recordings from the infamous 4 gigs in three days stint at the beginning of April 1980. This included three consecutive nights at The Moonlight Club in West Hampstead, with a 'big gig' at The Rainbow sandwiched inbetween.
Utter madness considering Ian Curtis's failing health.
Predictably, on the night of the fourth, after playing an intense performance at the Rainbow, Ian was noticeably ill, and after twenty minutes into their second gig of the night at The Moonlight Club, Ian had another epileptic attack at the end of 'Interzone' to finish the evening.An understanding audience member shouted 'Fuck Off' as Curtis was carried offstage and Bernard announced that this was the end of the evening.
The tragic disregard of Curtis's condition was nothing more than criminal ignorance on behalf of his cohorts,and I expect nothing more from the demanding public.And it's no disconnected fact than he killed himself a month later almost to the day.

Tracklist - 02/04/1980:

01. The Sound Of Music
02. Wilderness
03. Colony
04. Love Will Tear Us Apart
05. A Means To An End
06. Transmission
07. Dead Souls
08. Sister Ray

Tracklist - 03/04/1980:

01. Love Will Tear Us Apart
02. Glass
03. Digital
04. Heart And Soul
05. Isolation
06. Disorder
07. Atrocity Exhibition
08. Atmosphere.

Tracklist - 04/04/1980:

01. Intro

02. Transmission
03. A Means To An End
04. Twenty Four Hours
05. Day Of The Lords
06. Insight
07. Interzone.

DOWNLOAD from the moonlight zone on 02/04/1980 HERE!

and/or

DOWNLOAD from the moonlight zone on 03/04/1980 HERE!

and/or

DOWNLOAD from the moonlight zone on 04/04/1980 HERE!

Joy Division - "Lyceum Theatre,London 29/02/1980" (Bootleg)

Probably Joy Division's most prestigious concert in their short lifetime, at the posh Lyceum Theatre.
What a great line-up too?
This is a very high quality audience recording, with a hint of ambiance, with a recording of the soundcheck included.
Again, the set is comprised of the newer material from the as yet unreleased 'Closer' album.

Tracklist:

01. Komakino (Take 1,Soundcheck)
02. Heart And Soul (Soundcheck)
03. Incubation (Soundcheck)
04. Komakino (Take 2, Soundcheck)

05. Isolation (Take 1, Soundcheck)
06. Isolation (instrumental, Soundcheck)
07. Isolation. (Take 3, Soundcheck)

08. Intro

09: Incubation
10: Wilderness
11: Twenty Four Hours
12: The Eternal
13: Heart And Soul
14: Love Will Tear Us Apart
15: Isolation
16: Komakino
17: She's Lost Control
18: These Days
19: Atrocity Exhibition.

DOWNLOAD and make larry olivier spin in his grave HERE!

BONUS!: Here's the Killing Joke Set  to DOWNLOAD as well,if you so be inclined?

Joy Division - "Warehouse, Preston 28/02/1980" (Bootleg)

Equipment failure plagued this concert,with Curtis actually asking for requests after a long break during 'Heart and Soul'; while they fiddled about with the amps.Naturally the accepted request was for "Shadowplay".
There's also an amusing moment when a young lady with a northern accent makes an announcement informing those poor buggers from Burnley that their coach is leaving in five minutes! As if living in Burnley wasn't bad enough as it is?
Probably one of the most interesting JD live bootlegs,if only for the solitary time that the voice of the late Rob Gretton appears on a JD Recording.("Wossgooinon?...'ookeh,'ookeh!...Wass'appnin'?)
I bet Toyah never had these problems??

Tracklist:

01: Incubation
02: Wilderness
03: Twenty Four Hours
04: The Eternal
05: Heart And Soul
06: Shadowplay
07: Transmission
08: Disorder
09: Warsaw
10: Colony
11: Interzone
12: She's Lost Control.

Get Depressed in Preston HERE!