Word in Your Attic. David Hepworth, Mark Ellen and M'self have a collective natter going from Abbey Road to Zodiac Mindwarp

One of the earliest entries on this blog involved Batman 222 wherein the Caped Crusader investigates a 'Paul is Dead' type mystery - September 2007 to carbon date the actual post.. A few weeks later it appeared in Word mag' ish 56, after a very generous offer from Mark Ellen to write 250 words on it...

Fast forward 13 years and a fantasticus chat was had with David and Mark for a birthday treat. 
In forty five mins, we cover: rock stars in unlikely places - comics. football programmes, Rod Temperton's dodgy toplines. The sky-high value of collectable comics. 

My Radio 1 calendar/diary, with odd singles bought during this period, and tales including - Radio Luxembourg Roadshow comes to Southend - with  m'self and pals getting  drunk on crate of Crocodillo I won doing the pop quiz.  Naked neighbors displaying. Dressing up as KISS at the School Arts Festival... and of course records bought 

 You can grab full timeline of diaries here 

And risk Rod Temperton doing Rock With You below 


 

To Westcliff-on-Sea where our celebrating patron offers highly entertaining memories of the "white stiletto crowd" at the Lacey Lady in Ilford, the Fickle Pickle Folk Club in Southend, a 'Paul Is Dead' Batman comic, Toni Basil's effect on a Bowie sleeve, Petula Clark, Sex Pistols ads, a Goofy Greats compilation and the Ladykillers at the Pink Toothbrush ("Altamont meets the Muppet Show") - and we play Southend Stackwaddy and guess the psychedelic album that starts with a foghorn.

12 x 12: Going down in the subway

Sticking with a London-ish theme, we're going underground by way of a lower league release (peaking at a chart position of 24) from Soft Cell

Bedsitter, Torch, Say Hello 12“ers were all retweaked with excellent extended interludes and additions, but rather than pitch in with one of the biggie singles which seem to be fairly well represented around and about the blogs, thought it may be worth revisiting this overlooked oddity..

Soft Cell - Down in the Subway (12" Remix}



Surprisingly, I haven't flipped the single and tried the cover of Johnny Thunders - Born To Lose. Yet! The Cell's Subway vid can be viewed here: wherein Marc Almond sleazes about in a leather cap and a tache free but freshly crimped Dave Ball stands static throughout...

Like Tainted and What before - Subway was another northern cover and if you've never heard it - Jack Hammer's original mod stomper is well worth a wallop

12 x 12: I don't need this pressure Ron

To round off our run of 80s retromania - I'm pitching in two tricky-to-track down 12"ers, both of which I believe are still unavailable in a digital format..

Until they started punting out a run of soapy soul from True onwards - Schpandau Ballet (as Tommy Vance inisted on calling them) were achingly hip and always several beats ahead of the trend-pretenders: kilts, black leather, checks and corduroy - literally new looks for every release..without the assisted swish of a stylist...

So two curiosities from the catalogue then..

Spandau Ballet - Chant No 1(Remix) *offline temporarily*

A Richard James Burgess remix (that'll be him from Landscape)  found only on the flipside of the Instinction 12" or the Diamond box set, more on that in a mo' - one of the few alt-versions I remember hearing in a club and sounding impossibly now-wave (see also ABC's white label, the Human League's Love and Dancing mix of Love Action and most Soft Cell 12"-ers)

Spandau Ballet - Paint Me Down (Remix)*offline temporarily*

Again heard in the same club (Zero 6) and almost impossible to find until getting a limited release on the Diamond Album box set - where all 8 album tracks were given the extended remix treatment and pressed on 4 x 12" singles

Finally a spin of the under-played poppet that is...

12 x 12: When your world is full of strange arrangements

And there's no stranger arrangement than this semi-official, white label Look of Love twelve inch. Trevor Horn - the Joe 90 of pop production - punches every programme on the rinse 'n' spin remix machine: backward loops, varispeed vocals and Fairlight slams make this something of a pop curiosity from the ABC catalogue. Although the whirring blur and boom-box beats all pull tidily into place by the closing coda.

ABC - Look of Love 12" (Special Remix) *offline temporarily*



A Merchant Banker Bonus

I’ve seen the future, I can’t afford it.

Yuppiedom and Sloanies come full circle. With the Blue Meanies in office, tax hikes, library closures, charity snatching and the privatisation of forests (oi Cameron get off our land) and billion pound banker bonuses -  this undervalued tune fits the mood of the moment perfectly

ABC - How To Be A Millionaire 12" (Wall St Mix ) *offline temporarily*

The regulation 7 inch edish, sounds like.....


ABC - How To Be A Millionaire
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12 x 12: Sex, Drugs & Sweet Perversions

A new monthly feature starts on the blog today 12 by 12. Twelve 12" singles posted by 2012. You'll know most of them - not that I'm entirely sure what 'most of them' will be yet. But it's a playlist that's sure to shape up with a few extended rarities, oddities and possibly, in some cases - classics..

We'll kick off with a 1979 double A-sider bagged just a few months back - Patrick Duvet, who, until last week I thought was Patrick 'I Love America' Juvet: the whispy-pitched, dungaree lovin' Friso-Disco star. Apparently not though...so any info on this Patrick (Duvet) please shout!

My guess - he's French: Disques Clouseau label and sleeve notes en francais.. and is it me or would these two tracks make a perfect fit for some Scissor Sisters style swishery...

Patrick Duvet & His Sweet Perversions - Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll



Patrick Duvet & His Sweet Perversions - Wake Up And Make Love To Me