Rubella Ballet - The Ballet's Birthday Box (Double LP)

Rubella Ballet

The Ballet's Birthday Box (Double LP)

1988

Punk Rock Post Punk

England

Tracklist:


01. Ballet Dance (4:10)
02. Slant & Slide (3:17)
03. Love Life (2:53)
04. Trial 13 (3:09)
05. Tangled Web (4:08)
06. 42°F (4:33)
07. Money Talks (2:54)
08. Death Train (4:08)
09. Arctic Flowers (3:09)
10. False Promises (3:05)
11. Thugs (3:09)
12. Plastic Life (2:52)
13. Let Us Out (3:42)
14. T [Emotional Blackmail] (10:13)
15. Rainbow Love (4:09)
16. It'll Never Happen To Me (4:29)
17. Animal House (2:40)


     Rubella Ballet are a punk rock band formed in autumn, 1979, who released several albums before splitting up in 1991. They reformed in 2000.
     The band was formed by former Fatal Microbes Pete Fender (Dan Sansom, guitar), Gem Stone (Gemma Sansom, bass) and It (Quentin North, also bass), with vocalists Annie Anxiety and Womble, and drummer Sid Ation (born Sid Truelove, 18 April 1960, Sutton Coldfield, a former chef, later also the drummer with Flux of Pink Indians). Annie, Womble and It were involved only initially, left and were replaced by vocalist Zillah Minx (born Zillah Elaine Ashworth, 31 March 1961, Birkenhead). Fender and Stone were the son and daughter of Poison Girls singer Vi Subversa. The band used Poison Girls equipment to jam and write songs and their first performance was when they took to the stage at a Crass/Poison Girls concert. They had originally been called Rubella Babies. The band's first proper gig was a fundraiser for the Theatre Royal in Stratford, which ended in a riot, and the band played frequently, often asking audience members to put them up after gigs.
     The new line-up were soon known for wearing brightly coloured dayglo clothes on stage, to differentiate themselves from the anarcho-punk bands who tended to wear black, 'army-surplus' style clothing. Pete Fender left at the end of 1982 and soon afterwards joined Omega Tribe as a full-time member, having been their early mentor and record producer.
     The band released one album on cassette tape, entitled Ballet Bag (1981) and a 4 track 7" EP, Ballet Dance (1982), both for Poison Girls' XNTRIX Records, after rejecting the opportunity to put out a record on the Crass label. Adrian Thrills, reviewing the single in the NME stated "the Ballet have an appealing sharp edge to their claustrophobic punk thrash, a poppy surge and even a discernable funk readjustment...of course, they could always just be taking the piss". After releasing the 42f single on Jungle Records (with Sean replacing Fender) the band started their own Ubiquitous label. Rubella Ballet toured extensively with Poison Girls and Crass, and recorded two John Peel sessions for BBC Radio.[4] In 1984 they embarked on an ill-fated tour of Italy to promote 42F. The band had only been given single airline tickets and after a week of playing without getting paid, they returned to England by train.
     The band's line-up underwent several changes before their next release, "Money Talks" (1985); Sean and Gem had left, to be replaced by Adam and Rachel Minx (Zillah's younger sister Rachel Irene Jane Ashworth), and Adam himself has replaced by Steve Cachman prior to the recording of the debut album At Last, It's Playtime, the same year, an album that has been described as "chugging mid-paced stuff, many of the tracks dominated by Zillah's steamroller-flat vox". The line-up stabilized over the next few years, the band recording a second album, If... in 1986. A compilation and a double live album followed, but it would be 1990 before the next studio album, At the End of the Rainbow. The band split up shortly after its release, Sid already playing in the dance band Xenophobia.
     In 2000, the band reformed for a performance at the European Gathering festival in Milton Keynes, and have continued on and off since, with the core members Sid and Zillah joined by a varying line-up including original guitarist Fender. A retrospective covering the first half of the band's career, Anarchy in the U.V., including Ballet Bag, Ballet Dance, At Last It's Play Time, the 12-inch version of "Money Talks", and two previously unreleased tracks, was released in December 2008. A second volume was released in 2010, containing the remaining tracks from the band's back-catalogue.


Discography

     Singles
Ballet Dance EP (1982)
"42f" (1984)(12")
"Money Talks" (1985)
"Arctic Flowers" (1986)(12")

     Albums
Ballet Bag (1981), XNTRIX (cassette only, with booklet and badge)
At Last Its Playtime (1985)
IF (1986)
At The End Of The Rainbow (1990)

     Compilations, live albums, remixes
Cocktail Mix (1987)(Ballet Bag + Ballet Dance)
The Ballet's Birthday Box (double LP)(1988)(badge, poster, cut-out doll, sticker & booklet)
Greatest Trips (1990)
Death Rock Daze (2007) (Limited Edition) Rubella Ballet's tracks mixed by Sidation
Anarchy in the U.V. (2008)
Nevermind the Day-Glo. (2010)

     Video
Freak Box (1984), Ubiquitous - Live concert, 60 min, VHS

Madonna - Live To Tell 12''

Madonna

Live To Tell 12''

1986

Pop

USA

Tracklist:


"Live to Tell" (LP Version) – 5:49
"Live to Tell" (Edit) – 4:37
"Live to Tell" (Instrumental) – 5:49


     "Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range. It was produced by Leonard and Madonna for her third studio album True Blue, released in mid-1986, later appearing as a remix on the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection, in its original form on the 1995 ballads compilation album Something to Remember, and most recently on her third compilation album Celebration (again in its original form), released in September 2009.
     The song includes instrumentation from guitars, keyboards, drums and a synthesizer, and its lyrics deals with deceit, mistrust and childhood scars. It is also about being strong, which Madonna recalled in an interview that she thought about her relationship with her parents, while writing the lyrics. The music video, directed by James Foley, shows Madonna's first image makeover, featuring her with a cleaner look, shoulder-length wavy golden blond hair, conservative wardrobe and subtle make-up. This toned down blond appearance was again inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
     Released as the album's first single in March 1986, the song was a commercial success. It became Madonna's third number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and her first number-one on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was generally well-received by music critics, who frequently referred to it as the best ballad of her career. The song faced controversy when Madonna performed it on her 2006 Confessions Tour wearing a crown of Thorns while hanging on a giant mirrored cross. The performance at Rome's Olympic Stadium was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church by religious leaders.

David Byrne & Brian Eno - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

David Byrne & Brian Eno

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

1981

Experimental Art Rock

Scotland / England

Tracklist:


     Side one
"America Is Waiting"
"Mea Culpa"
"Regiment"
"Help Me Somebody"
"The Jezebel Spirit"
     Side two
"Qu'ran"
"Moonlight in Glory"
"The Carrier"
"A Secret Life"
"Come with Us"
"Mountain of Needles"


     My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is a 1981 album by Brian Eno and David Byrne, titled after Amos Tutuola's 1954 novel of the same name. The album was re-released in expanded form in 2006.
     Receiving strong reviews upon its release, My Life is now regarded as a high point in the discographies of Eno and Byrne. In a 1985 interview, singer Kate Bush remarked that the album "left a very big mark on popular music," while critic John Bush describes it as a "pioneering work for countless styles connected to electronics, ambience, and Third World music." The extensive use of sampling on My Life is widely considered ground-breaking—it was one of the first albums to do so—but its actual influence on the sample-based music genres that later emerged continues to be debated.
     The album was recorded entirely with analogue technology, before the advent of digital sequencing and MIDI. The sampled voices were synchronized with the instrumental tracks via trial and error, a practice that was often frustrating, but which also produced several happy accidents.
     Also according to Byrne's 2006 notes, neither he nor Eno had read Tutuola's novel before the album was recorded. Both were familiar with Tutuola's earlier The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952), but his My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was not easily obtained in the U.S. when the material was recorded. Even without reading the book, Eno and Byrne thought the title reflected their interest in African music, and also had an evocative, vaguely sinister quality that also referenced the voices sampled for the album: the vocalists were recorded sometimes several decades before being re-appropriated by Eno and Byrne, and the voices often seemed to take on unanticipated qualities when placed in the new context.

     Personnel

David Byrne and Brian Eno – guitars, bass guitars, synthesizers, drums, percussion, found objects
John Cooksey – drums on "Help Me Somebody" and "Qu'ran"
Chris Frantz – drums on "Regiment"
Busta Jones – bass guitar on "Regiment"
Dennis Keeley – bodhran on "Mea Culpa"
Bill Laswell – bass guitar on "America Is Waiting"
Mingo Lewis – bata, sticks on "The Jezebel Spirit" and "The Carrier"
Prairie Prince – can, bass drum on "The Jezebel Spirit" and "The Carrier"
Jose Rossy – congas, agong-gong on "Moonlight in Glory"
Steve Scales – congas, metals on "Help Me Somebody"
David van Tieghem – drums, percussion on "America Is Waiting" and "Regiment"
Tim Wright – click bass on "America Is Waiting"
Rooks on "Help Me Somebody" courtesy of April Potts, recorded at Eglingham Hall

The Communards - So Cold The Night 12''

The Communards

So Cold The Night 12''

1986

Pop Dancepop

England

Tracklist:

So Cold The Night 9:12
When The Walls Come Tumbling Down 4:22
Never No More 2:58


     The Communards were a British pop duo active from 1985 to 1988. They are most famous for their cover of Thelma Houston's song, "Don't Leave Me This Way" as well as "Never Can Say Goodbye".
     The Communards formed in 1985 after singer Jimmy Somerville left his earlier band Bronski Beat to team up with classically-trained musician Richard Coles. Though mainly a pianist, Coles played a number of instruments and had been seen previously performing the clarinet solos on the Bronski Beat hit "It Ain't Necessarily So". They were joined by bass player Dave Renwick who had also played with Bronski Beat. Somerville was well-known for his falsetto singing style, and that he was openly gay during a period of increasing socio-political debate and conflict in the UK regarding homosexuality.
     The band had their first UK Top 30 hit in 1985 with the piano-based #30 single "You Are My World". The following year they had their biggest hit with an energetic cover version of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' soul classic "Don't Leave Me This Way" (in a version inspired by Thelma Houston's cover) which spent four weeks at number one and became the UK's biggest selling single of 1986. It also made the US Top 40. It featured Sarah Jane Morris as co-vocalist, taking advantage of the contrast between Morris' deep and rounded contralto and Somerville's soaring falsetto. Morris performed both backing and co-lead vocals on many of the Communards' other recordings, and appeared in group photos as an unofficial third member.
     Later that year The Communards had another UK Top 10 hit with the single "So Cold the Night," which reached number 8. In 1987, they released an album titled Red, which was partly produced by Stephen Hague. Red featured a cover version of the Jackson 5's hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" (in a version inspired by Gloria Gaynor's cover), which the Communards took to Number 4. Their last released single was "There's More to Love" in 1988, which reached Number 20 and was, consequently, their final Top 20 hit.
     They split in 1988 and Somerville began a solo career. Coles followed his Christian leanings and, after periods as a journalist for the Times Literary Supplement and Catholic Herald, he was ordained in the Church of England, spending time as the curate of St Botolph's (The Stump) in Boston, Lincolnshire. He is now the assistant priest at St Paul's Knightsbridge and Chaplain to the Royal College of Music.

Click Click - Yakutska 12''

Click Click

Yakutska 12''

1988

Electro Industrial EBM

England

Tracklist:

A. Yakutska
B. Change of Plan


     Click Click is a British electro-industrial music band.
     Click Click formed in Sheffield, England in 1982 by Adrian Smith, and Derek E. Smith, after the end of their previous rock project "Those Nervous Surgeons" (which formed in 1976 with bassist Tim Wilson). When Wilson bought their first synthesizer, (an EDP Wasp), the direction of the group changed so dramatically, they renamed themselves.
     In 1982, the group acquired guitarist Richard Camp from another band and thus the first experimental synth-rock incarnation of Click Click was born. They cut their first single later that year, but Camp departed over creative issues and formed a blues band.
     Influenced by artists such as Brian Eno, Cabaret Voltaire, The Residents and Frank Zappa, and of course Blade Runner, Clive Barker and "mind-expanding" substances, Click Click continued on with other revolving members down a more electronic path until their eventual break up around 1990. Other members included guitarist Jon Morris, who was replaced by Graham Stronach in 1987, and Pete Hosier who remained with the group until the end.
     After a 7 year hiatus, Adrian and Derek reformed briefly in 1997 to record Shadowblack on the OffBeat label. The album was more EBM than their earlier work and almost completely instrumental. It was greeted with overall positive reviews within the underground music scene. Due to the member's volatile relationship however, the band split again in 1998, with no current plans for another reunion.
     A Click Click vinyl release was issued on NYC-based Sonic Groove Records in 2004, but it is most like that only Adrian was involved, but that is still unclear. Throughout the 2000s, Adrian has been involved with Paperhouse, a darker ambient soundtrack project. Nothing has been released publicly, aside from a few odd compilation appearances, but at least 4 CD-R releases are known to exist: Bug Sun, Sappho, Frey, and Sammlung. In addition, three Click Click CD-Rs surfaced offering odd unreleased and remixed material: Lung Function, Crushed, and Behind Dark Glasses.
     The summer of 2008 brought the news that Click Click's back catalogue would be available again, this time via various download platforms including iTunes. The material will come in remastered versions and will also include the early catalogue. Lung Function, a compilation of remastered singles, was released on iTunes, Amazon digital service and eMusic in 2008.

Clock DVA - Buried Dreams

Clock DVA

Buried Dreams

1989

Industrial Post Punk EBM

England

Tracklist:


A1 Buried Dreams 4:01
A2 Hide        4:30
A3 Sound Mirror 5:43
A4 Velvet Realm 6:44
B1 The Unseen 5:19
B2 The Reign 5:19
B3 The Act        5:22
B4 The Hacker 7:23


     Clock DVA are an industrial music, post-punk and EBM group from Sheffield, England. The group was formed in 1978, with two members, Adolphus "Adi" Newton and Steven "Judd" Turner. Along with contemporaries Heaven 17, Clock DVA's name was inspired by the Russian-influenced Nadsat of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange; "dva" is the Russian word for "two". Adi had previously worked with members of Cabaret Voltaire in a collective called The Studs and with Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware in a band called The Future. Ian and Martyn went on to found The Human League.
     The group was originally known for making a form of experimental electronic music involving treated tape loops and synthesisers. Clock DVA became associated with industrial music with the 1980 release of their album White Souls in Black Suits on Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records. The album Thirst, released on Fetish Records, followed in 1981 to a favourable critical reaction, knocking Adam and the Ants' Dirk Wears White Sox from the top of the NME Indie Charts, by which time the band had combined musique concrète techniques with standard rock instrumentation. "4 Hours", the single from "Thirst" was later covered by former Bauhaus bassist David J on his 1985 solo e.p. "Blue moods turning tail".
     The band split up in 1981, with the non original members of the band going on to form The Box.
     In 1983, Newton formed a new version of the band. First releasing the single "High Holy Disco Mass" on the major label Polydor Records under the name DVA, the band then released the album Advantage (with several singles) under the name Clock DVA. After a European tour, however, the band split acrimoniously.
     After the 1983 breakup of Clock DVA, Adi Newton formed The Anti-Group or T.A.G.C. They released several albums continuing in a similar vein to the early Clock DVA, yet more experimental.
     In 1987, Adi Newton reactivated DVA and invited Dean Dennis and Paul Browse back into the fold to aid Newton's use of computer aided sampling techniques which he had been developing in the Anti Group. The album Buried Dreams, an electronic album which received critical acclaim as a pioneering work. Browse left the group in 1989 and was replaced by R E Baker. The album Man-Amplified was the next album to be released, an exploration of cybernetics. Digital Soundtracks, an instrumental album, was the next release. Following Dennis's departure, Newton and Baker produced the album Sign.
     Adi Newton reactivated Clock DVA along with his creative partner Jane Radion Newton in 2008.

Bon Jovi - Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi

1984

Hard Rock Glam Metal

USA

Tracklist:


1. "Runaway"  
2. "Roulette"  
3. "She Don't Know Me"  
4. "Shot Through The Heart"  
5. "Love Lies"  
6. "Breakout"  
7. "Burning for Love"  
8. "Come Back"  
9. "Get Ready"


     Bon Jovi is the debut album from American rock band Bon Jovi, released January 21, 1984. Produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn, the album is significant for being the only Bon Jovi album on which a song ("She Don't Know Me") appears that was not written or co-written by members of the band. The album charted at #43 on The Billboard 200.
     Aside from hit single "Runaway", songs from the album were rarely performed live after the band released their breakthrough album Slippery When Wet in 1986. However, on the band's current Circle Tour, songs including "Roulette", "Shot Through the Heart", and "Get Ready" have been performed.
     The album was ranked the 11th best rock album of 1984 by Kerrang! magazine.
     In 1980, Jon Bon Jovi started to work at Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility where his cousin, Tony Bongiovi, was a co-owner. Jon Bon Jovi made several demos and sent them out to many record companies, but failed to make an impact.
     In 1982, Jon Bon Jovi went to local radio station WAPP 103.5FM "The Apple". DJ Chip Hobart listened to Jon's demos and loved "Runaway", deciding to include it on the station's compilation album of local homegrown talent. The studio musicians who helped record "Runaway" were known as The All Star Review. They were: guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan, drummer Frankie LaRocka, bassist Hugh McDonald, and additional singers David Grahmme and Mick Seeley
The song began to get airplay around New York. Jon signed to Mercury Records, part of the PolyGram company. Jon Bon Jovi wanted a group name and the A&R staff at PolyGram came up with Bon Jovi
     In March 1983 Bon Jovi called David Bryan (then Rashbaum), who in turn called bassist Alec John Such and an experienced drummer named Tico Torres. At that time Bon Jovi's lead guitarist was Dave Sabo (a.k.a. The Snake), who later formed the group Skid Row. Dave Sabo was eventually replaced by Richie Sambora.
     The band recorded the album (originally titled "Tough Talk" but renamed it after the record company decided it was wiser to issue the album as a self titled release) at Power Station Studios and produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn. Most of the songs are written by Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, and Richie Sambora. "Burning For Love" and "Come Back" were the very first songs written for the album. Three singles were released from the album, "Runaway", "She Don't Know Me" and in Japan only, "Burning For Love".

     Personnel
Jon Bon Jovi – lead vocals, guitar
Richie Sambora – guitar, background vocals
Alec John Such – bass, background vocals
Tico Torres – drums, percussion
David Bryan (credited as David Rashbaum) – keyboards, background vocals
     Additional personnel
Roy Bittan – keyboards
Chuck Burgi - additional drums
David Grahmme - background vocals
Doug Katsaros - additional keyboards
Frankie La Rocka – drums
Hugh McDonald – bass
Aldo Nova - additional guitar, additional keyboards
Tim Pierce – guitar
Mick Seeley - background vocals