TVV IS 4...

... and the band who have turned up to play at the party are Josef K, and as a special treat its all 10 of the tracks released on the only LP ever released on Postcard Records. The mp3s are ripped from the original vinyl of The Only Fun In Town which was given a release number of 81/7.

mp3 : Josef K - Fun 'n' Frenzy
mp3 : Josef K - Revelation
mp3 : Josef K - Crazy To Exist
mp3 : Josef K - It's Kinda Funny
mp3 : Josef K - The Angle
mp3 : Josef K - Forever Drone
mp3 : Josef K - Heart Of Song
mp3 : Josef K - 16 Years
mp3 : Josef K - Citizens
mp3 : Josef K - Sorry For Laughing

The Only Fun In Town was recorded in Brussels in April 1981 and was in the shops by late June. It was only recorded after the band had deemed the original efforts for an LP to be called Sorry For Laughing, due for release in January 1981, to be inadequate and unrepresentative of their sound.

The production on The Only Fun In Town stunned quite a few fans and those in the press who were championing the Postcard acts as being the best thing since punk. It was abrasive and edgy, with the guitars high and the vocals low, perhaps reflecting that Paul Haig has never, even to this day, regarded himself as a good singer (incidentally, he's wrong about that!!!)

The press hated the album and the reviews were pretty scathing. Within weeks.....16th August 1981 to be precise, Josef K had played their final gig and officially split a few days later.

The thing is, while a lot of music that was released in 1981 now sounds awfully date, there's a case to be made that The Only Fun In Town has aged well. Yes, the production is a bit bizarre, but then again, it does allow you to enjoy better the guitar talents of Malcom Ross. The difficult thing is judging whether the versions of Crazy To Exist, It's Kinda Funny and Sorry For Laughing are better or worse than those that had been released as earlier singles or b-sides. Personally, I call it a score draw with one being an improvement, one being poorer and the other being as good as.

Seems apt writing about Josef K on the 4th Birthday given that some of the most enjoyable moments at TVV have been around Paul Haig Day and Paul Haig Day II on 6th April 2009 and 2010 respectively. I asked Evan his manager for a wee update on what the great man has been up to and was told, by email :-

Remix of Trip Out The Rider is scheduled for October release on 7" and ayetoons

Rumour has it Avalanche Records Kevin Buckle is trying to persuade domino to release the Entymology album on vinyl.

Also Paul has found some 24 track masters of Josef K tracks. Would need baked but have floated the possible idea to domino regarding remixing some tracks.

Could maybe via the blog see if anyone has good quality live recordings try to unearth some hidden gems.

Oh maybe we could find the lost 24 track masters for Sorry For Laughing, It's Kinda Funny, Chance Meeting etc - maybe Alan Horne has them in his postcard wardrobe...

Rumours of a best of Paul Haig album to accompany Entymology but nowt definite as load of ownership red tape to untangle ...

Paul is working on new material and is quietly pleased that La Roux used Big Blue World on her compilation thing...

More As It Happens.....

Don't know about the rest of you, but all of that has whetted my appetite for going ahead with Paul Haig Day III in 2011. But before then, plans are afoot to have all sorts of blogs commemorating John Peel on the 26th October. I'll have more details about it all and details of how you can get involved early next week.

Cant believe that this time next year I'll be old enough to go to school.

Here's a video clip for you:-



Happy Listening