One of the minor reasons I started this blog was to bring attention to otherwise unavailable or difficult to find records that were place on the b-sides of long-deleted singles, and for a while back in the early days I ran an occasional series.This was one that I would have featured long before now except that I finally got my hands on the elusive piece of plastic just a few days ago while browsing through a crate of 7" singles in a second-hand store.
It was only a short time back that I featured The Monochrome Set and I was delighted to see that my deranged and incoherent chain of thoughts triggered off some happy memories for a number of readers. This relatively quick return to look at them is the result, as the opening paras indicate, the result of a hard-to-obtain b-side. Yes, there are versions available on CD compilations, but I dont think any of them feature the full version that originally appeared back in 1980.
But let's deal with the A-side first of all.
Having gathered a cult following with a series of singles in 1979 on Rough Trade, the band switched over to another London-based indie label, Dindisc for whom they would release three singles and two albums in 1980. This quaint instrumental number was one of the singles:-
mp3 : The Monochrome Set - 405 Lines
Now let's face it, catchy and interesting enough it might be, but its not exactly going to set the radio waves alight is it?
The b-side starts off as if it is a live track, and one that is of poor sound quality at that. You can hear some crowd sing-a-long at the outset in what is clearly a small venue, then some cheering as a guitar as struck. After just under 50 seconds, lead singer Bid utters the words 'Let's Have Some Decorum' and suddenly we switch to a quite gorgeous and moving studio track:-
mp3 : The Monochrome Set - Goodbye Joe
It's about watching an on-screen film performance by this bloke here in case you were wondering.
Oh and for the record, the song was later recorded by Tracey Thorn, and again was consigned to obscurity on a b-side. This time on truly wonderful single released on Cherry Red Records back in 1982:-
mp3 : Tracey Thorn - Plain Sailing
mp3 : Tracey Thorn - Goodbye Joe
Both these songs featured heavily on compilation tapes from that era that were used to impress would be girlfriends that I really did have a sensitive side. Didn't work all that well......
6 comments:
Yeah, mate: those tapes, ey?! I only wish I still would owe a few of the dozens of them I made up back then with all my passion, heart and soul ... instead I gave them away to girls who didn't give a fuck. Literally.
It is because of posts like this that I have VV at the top of my music bookmarks and have to log on each morning as soon as I wake.
7" singles do throw up some interesting tracks on their b sides, sometimes just because they are different mixes ( check out AG it's you again, the b side of Club Country by Associates or one of the 'versions' by Scritti Politti), sometimes because they are better than the a side (Nobody Loves Us by Morrissey springs to mind).
Goodbye Joe is great but I always loved the single version of '405 Lines' too. For some reason the re-recorded it for their 2nd LP and ruined it.
+1 to ximeremix's comment (except I check TVV just before turning in for the night). I can't believe Bid isn't an international superstar with 10 feature films and his own personal fragrance. These songs are great and so are Thorn's. Olympic Gold alpine downhill half-pipe medal for TVV!
Aye. Me too, JC!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! and oh, thank you!
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