Put The Needle On The Record - Week #52

Put The Needle On The Record Week #52 Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express

For this weeks feature we go back to September 1977 and the Kraftwerk album "Trans-Europe Express".

As a massive Kraftwerk fan, this I consider to be an essential electronic album you should own, it is staggering how far advanced this album was in terms of its sound and concept, this is before synthesizers and drum machines were available in the mass market, an incredible sonic adventure, it also contains one of my all time favourite tracks and favourite Kraftwerk track, "Europe Endless", this is probably one of the first songs I ever heard that features a sequencer!

As I have mentioned previously I discovered Kraftwerk when hearing "Neon Light" on the radio in 1979, I bought the album "The Man Machine" the day after hearing the track and within 2 days of listening to "The Man Machine" album I visited my second home.....HMV on Market Street in Manchester and bought "Trans-Europe Express" and "Radio-Activity", without hearing any of the tracks on the albums! "Trans-Europe Express", I found to my delight, to be an outstanding album, however. "Radio-Activity" was a shock to my system with only a few tracks being actual songs! I couldn't get into that album at all aside from the title track, "Airwaves" and "Ohm Sweet Ohm".

"Trans-Europe Express" includes some Kraftwerk masterpieces, the title track of course and "Europe Endless", in addition the other standout tracks from the album for me are "Showroom Dummies" and "Hall Of Mirrors", the latter is a really haunting piece of music and unlike anything else I had heard around the time the album was released. The album is rightly considered to be one of the best albums of the 1970s.

To promote the album to the press in France, EMI Records hired a train with old-fashioned carriages from the 1930s to travel from Paris to Rheims while the songs from the album were played over the train's announcement system for the critics.

Two singles were released off the album, the title track "Trans-Europe Express" (which failed to make the charts in the UK but did reach number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the states) and "Showroom Dummies" (which also failed to chart on its original release, however, the track was re-released in 1982 and reached number 25 in the UK singles chart).

The album reached number 49 in the UK album chart (baffling it wasn't more successful!).

Track Listing

Europe Endless
The Hall Of Mirrors
Showroom Dummies
Trans-Europe Express
Metal On Metal
Abzug
Franz Schubert
Endless Endless

If you have this album in your collection, dig it out and give it a spin!

Put The Needle On The Record - Week #51

 Put The Needle On The Record Week #51 Gary Numan - Telekon

For this weeks feature we go back to September 1980 and the Gary Numan album "Telekon".

This is one of the best albums ever released in my view and was the follow up to the album "The Pleasure Principle", what amazes me is very few people have cited it as a groundbreaking album that inspired other musicians, it is a fantastic record and undoubtably sees Numan at the top of his game.

Gary Numan played 2 dates at the Manchester Apollo as part of a UK tour to promote the album and I attended both nights and was the first concerts I ever attended, it was a stunning show with an amazing stage design, 2 massive towers either side of the stage which housed the 2 main synth/keyboard players, I remember it well, especially as the intro for "This Wreckage" opened the show with the curtains closed and then opened to reveal the set, an unbelivable experience, man it was loud and after the first concert, I was as deaf as a doorpost!! Thankfully my hearing restored to normality after a couple of days, I attended the first concert with my brother, it was his first live concert too.

By the way Nash The Slash was the support artist, was n't keen on his music, however, he did a stun ning version of the Jan And Dean track "Dead Man's Curve", he performed wrapped in bandages!!

Enough reminiscing, let's get back to the album, Numan had released the singles "We Are Glass" and "I Die You Die", neither of which appeared on the original album, however, they were included on re-issues later down the line, candidates for singles were the tracks "I Dream Of Wires", which should have been a single and the tracks "The Aircrash Bureau" and "I'm An Agent". I like every track on this album and is in my Top 5, of my all time favourite albums.

Just the one single was released off the album and that was "This Wreckage" (which reached number 20 in the UK Singles chart), "Remember I Was Vapour" was released as a 12 inch single in German, which I still have in my collection and "Remind Me To Smile" was released as a single in the states which also included "I Dream Of Wires" on the B side, again I have that in my record collection.

The album reached number 1 in the UK album chart.

Track Listing

This Wreckage
The Aircrash Bureau
Telekon
Remind Me To Smile
Sleep By Windows
I'm An Agent
I Dream Of Wires
Remember I Was Vapour
Please Push No More
The Joy Circuit

If you have this album in your collection, dig it out and give it a spin!

i-Select #113

White Lion Radio have released edition #113 of i-Select.

This is a series of shows dedicated to electronic/synthpop bands that are unsigned, signed to a small independent label or self release their material.

Listen to the show on Mixcloud here

Playlist

Kraftman - Forbidden Colours
State Of Anguish - I Stand With You
Eckotrigger - Afterlife
Future Perfect - Ghosts
Man Mind Machine - Two Minute Warning (Edit)
Phaserland - Green Light Druid
State Of Anguish - Still The Same
Lonelyklown - Solstice Song
Le Groupe Fantastique - Dance Like Nobody's Watching
O!Dorian & The Lavettes - When The Night Is Cold
MNTL - Don't Wanna Lose This
Platronic - Winter Stores
Uncreated - We Will Attack (Grendel Remix)
Manhatten - Ben-Day
Mayah Camara & Sellorekt LA Dreams - Paint The Town
DanSTAR ft Ellie B - Neverending Story
Sanctions Music - Soulmate
State Of Anguish - Point Of No Return
Lifelong Corporation - Into The Night
Nature Of Wires ft Luka - Under the Radar
Future Analog Ft Neonshe - Algorithm
Obsession Of Time - Last Christmas
Dream Invaders - Commando
Iterations - Transistor Rhythms
Future Perfect - Worst Mistake
Eternity Range - When Doves Cry (Prince cover)
Eckotrigger - Alone With Someone
MTTM - In Your Skin
Phaserland - Lens Of A Dream
Von Kaiser - Christmas Christmas Christmas

Put The Needle On The Record - Week #50

Put The Needle On The Record Week #50 The Human League - Travelogue.

For this weeks feature we go back to May 1980 and The Human League album "Travelogue".

"Travelogue" was the second album released by The Human Leage, the follow up to their debut "Reproduction". This was the last album released by the original line-up of The Human League before the big split, Phil Oakey continued under The Human League name with a new line up and retained the services of Adrian Wright, whilst Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh went on to form Heaven 17, it was a very acrimonious split and time doesn't seemed to have eased relationships.

"Travelogue" is once again one of my all time favourite albums, I just love the sounds and the structures of the songs and believe me, there are some bloody good songs to be found on the album, "The Touchables" (how this wasn't a single I will never know), "Dreams Of Leaving", "The Black Hit Of Space" and the brilliant closing track "WXJL Tonight", one of my favouyrite tracks of all time.

The album has aged incredibly well considering it is nearly 45 years old!

Surprisingly only two singles were released from the album, "Only After Dark", which actually wasn't a single in the true sense as Virgin Records decided to release "Empre State Human" as a single, a track on their album "Reproduction" and package the pressed copies of "Only After Dark" as a free single with the first 15,000 copies of the "Empire State Human" single and "Being Boiled", a re-recorded version which formed part of the "Holiday '80" EP, which also included the tracks "Marianne" (a track that should have been on the "Travelogue" album), "Dancevision" and a medley of "Rock 'n' Roll" and "Nightclubbing" (which reached number 56 in the UK singles chart).

The album reached number 16 in the UK album chart.

Track Listing

The Black Hit Of Space
Only After Dark
Life Kills
Dreams Of Leaving
Toyota City
Crow And A Baby
The Touchables
Gordon's Gin
Being Boiled
WXJL Tonight

If you have this album in your collection, dig it out and give it a spin

Kraftman Digital Download Offers Throughout December

Kraftman has qualified for free download codes from Bandcamp, so I thought it would be a good idea to use these to do a promotion of the Digital Download versions of album released by Kraftman, so if you buy one of the qualifying albums, which are, "Electrique Fabrique", "Electrique Fabrique (12 Inch Mixes)", "Giro D'Italia", "Giro D'italia (Longer Format)", "Chernobyl" and "Chernobyl (Maximum Exposure)", you can choose one other digital download album as your free album from the same list and you will receive a download code via email, so for example you might buy "Giro D'Italia" and you get one of the other 5 albums available for free.

This will run for the rest of December, so if you are missing any releases now is the time to get them.

 https://kraftman.bandcamp.com/

Maximum 80s #131

Welcome to edition 131 of Maximum 80s here on White Lion Radio, a show that celebrates the 1980s 12 Inch Single!

This a series of shows that features some of the finest 12 Inch Singles from the 80s all in one continuous mix.

The biggest hits in the 12 Inch format from the greatest decade in music history!

Listen to the show on Mixcloud here

Playlist

A-Ha - Take On Me (Long Version)
B-Movie - A Letter From Afar (Big Mix)
Lakeside - Fantastic Voyage (12 Inch Version)
Tina Charles - I Love To Love (12 Inch Teenage Mix By Sanny X)
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (Extended Version)
Dollar - Oh L'Amour (Bonus Beats Boys 12 Inch Mix)
Depeche Mode - Shout (Rio Mix)
UB40 - Red Red Wine (12 Inch Version)
Madonna - Angel (Extended Dance Mix)
David Bowie - Blue Jean (Extended Dance Mix)
Diana Ross - Upside Down (12 Inch Version)
The Stranglers - Skin Deep (Extended)

Put The Needle On The Record - Week #49

Put The Needle On The Record Week #49 Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell

For this weeks feature we go back to October 1981 and the Depeche Mode album "Speak & Spell".

"Speak & Spell" was the debut album released by Depeche Mode and I recall the time I bought the record, I was in the small HMV shop in Market street, in Manchester and was walking upstairs to the section where they sold the 7 inch & 12 inch records, half way up I caught a glance of an LP cover that stood out to me, it was a silver swan wrapped in plastic on a warm red background, then I saw it was the "Speak & Spell" album by Depeche Mode, I did an about turn and picked up a copy of the record, at the time I didn't even know they had released an album!

It has been a big favourite of mine ever since, a timeless synthpop classic with the majority of the songs written by Vince Clarke, a genius where melody lines are concerned, sadly he left the band after this album and of course went on to form Yazoo, then Erasure. It is one of my most played records from the 80s.

The album has plenty of other standout tracks that could have been released as singles, such as, "Photographic" (an early version had been released on the Some Bizarre album), "Nodisco" and "What's Your Name?"

Three singles were released from the album, "Dreaming Of Me", (which reached number 57 in the UK Singles chart), "New Life", which I heard for the first time at the bigger HMV on Market Street, what a record that is, (which reached number 11 in the UK Singles chart) and "Just Can't Get Enough", (which reached number 8 in the UK singles chart).

The album reached number 10 in the UK album chart.

Track Listing

New Life
I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead
Puppets
Boys Say Go
Nodisco
What's Your Name?
Photographic
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Big Muff
Any Second Now (Voices)
Just Can't Get Enough

If you have this album in your collection, dig it out and give it a spin!

Kraftman To Release A Festive EP

Kraftman releases a new EP tomorrow, titled "3 More For Christmas".

 

 

The songs recorded are "Forbidden Colours (Theme to the film "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence"), originally by Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian, "The Power Of Love", originally by Frankie Goes To Hollywood and an uplifting electronic take on the David Essex Christmas song "A Winter's Tale".

The inspiration to record the "Theme from "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence" came after was a youtube video of kraftwerk performing their version of the track at a concert in Japan as a tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto.

 

Kraftman has given the theme his own kraftwerk styled makeover!

 

https://kraftman.bandcamp.com/album/3-more-for-christmas-ep

Rubik's 80s Mix #131 (July 1980)

Welcome to edition #131 of  Rubik's 80s Mix series, each month we are going to focus on tracks that were in the charts on a specific month in the 1980s, which hopefully will bring back special memories for you, on this show, we feature tracks that were in the charts in July 1980.

Listen to the show on Mixcloud here

Playlist

Kate Bush - Babooshka
New Musik - Sanctuary
Kool & The Gang - Hangin' Out
John Foxx - Burning Car
The Gap Band - Oops Upside Your Head
George Benson - Give Me The Night
Change - A Lover's Holiday
Bow Wow Wow - C30, C60, C90 Go
ABBA - The Winner Takes It All
Roxy Music - Oh Yeah (On The Radio)
Adam & The Ants - Kings Of The Wild Frontier
ELO - All Over The World
Kelly Marie - Feels Like I'm In Love
Average White Band - For You For Love
Sheena Easton - 9 To 5