"Laser beam
coming through the night, to my TV screen,
to my color eye."
This EP contains tracks that would later appear on their 1982 self-titled debut LP 'A Flock of Seagulls.' The track 'Tanglimara' is unique to this EP, however.
I find the band's music overall to be pleasant, if somewhat unengaging. But I suppose that 's the point- cold, expansive soundscapes filled with laser-filled smoke clouds where time has no meaning.
I love the bright dreamy colors on the sleeve and how jarringly inappropriate they are to the nightmarish image. Scenes this disturbing should be shunned to a twilight world...
Puppet Wipes / Cuyakoga Creeping Bent / Poor Alpkoga (live) / The Tin Huey Story
Format: 7" EP
Year: 1977
Label: Clone Records
Price: $4.50
Purchased at: Square Records, Akron Ohio
God bless Akron, you've given us so much.
Admittedly what first brought me to Tin Huey were The Waitresses. Tin Huey's Chris Butler was the driving force behind the band- penning most of their hits including 'I Know What Boys Like', 'No Guilt', 'Christmas Wrapping', and the 'Square Pegs' theme. He is also a Guinness Record holder for 'Longest Pop Song in Recording History.' His song 'The Devil Glitch' clocks-in at a staggering sixty-nine minutes. Chris was also in the crowd that was fired on by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University on May 4th, 1970. In 2005 he (accidentally) purchased the childhood home of Jeffrey Dahmer...
Anyway, this single appears to be vintage pre-Chris Butler.
I'm not going to go into Tin Huey's long history, as it's rather convoluted and esoteric to say the least. Suffice it to say they're still at it. A few random Tin Huey facts:
They're one of the bands featured in the 2003 PBS documentary 'It's Everything, and Then It's Gone.' The special covers the history of post-punk and art rock Akron groups including Devo, Waitresses, Rubber City Rebels, Bizzaros, and The Numbers Band.
Tin Huey played at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
I don't really have the words to describe their sound on this EP. Based on my limited vocabulary they remind me a lot of early Devo, especially 'The Tin Huey Story.' Rough, irreverent, and so free-form that they flirt with anarchy.
Regarding the disc itself- I went right to the source and purchased this one in Akron, Ohio. The shop I bought it from had several Tin Huey 7" singles. All were in mint condition. I asked the store owner if they were reissues... and he honestly didn't seem to know. The single is so deadstock-mint that I really can't tell myself, but I will say that there are no reissue markings on it, the paper used for the sleeve is crude and cheap, and I think if it was reissued they wouldn't be using the Clone label so prominently on the sleeve and label?
My knowledge of rap is sufficiently inadequate to make any commentary on the subject naive at best, but there seemed to be a time in the 80s when rap was bright and shiny and new- it hadn't yet fallen into the rigid stereotypes predominate in the genre today. Things were more playful, experimental, and dare I say 'fun.' If I may be so bold I'd like to shoehorn Neneh Cherry, and more
specifically this song, under the 'New Wave' banner. I don't think
that's too much of a stretch...
Born and raised in a hippie commune in Sweden, Neneh moved to England at an early age and then to New York City at 14. Dropping out of school, she returned to England and settled in London where she became roommates with Ari Up (of The Slits fame.)
She was an employee at 'Better Badges', a major producer of punk/New Wave pins. Odds are if you see a vintage 1" band badge it was either made by this company or an imitator.
She was part of several early post-punk/dub/experimental groups including The Cherries, The New Age Steppers (with Ari), and Rip Rig + Panic. These will undoubtedly be discussed in more detail elsewhere...
'Buffalo Stance' was released in 1988, just prior to her first solo album 'Raw Like Sushi' (May 2, 1989.) It was a smash, reaching #3 in both the UK and US- going all the way to #1 in Sweden, Netherlands, and the Canadian Dance/Urban charts. Neneh would continue to have chart success in the 80s and 90s, but nothing approached the lofty heights of this single.
The single was released during Britpop's 'Summers of Love.' See the entry on The Primitives 'Really Stupid' for more musings on the subject. Suffice it to say that the video is a eye-searing example of neo-psychedelia, with heavy use of period motifs such as flower imagery.
The song is about the entourage of people known as 'Buffalo' (of which Neneh was a part) that formed around Ray Petri, the influential photographer who worked with magazines such as The Face and i-D. And of course there's a direct influence (and sampling) from Malcolm McLaren's 1983 hit 'Buffalo Girls.'
Please enjoy this extremely well done and loving tribute to both 'Buffalo Stance' and 'Buffalo Girls' by DVJ Luka Sao Paulo. A great mashup that bridges the gap between early and late 80's New Wave:
Format: 7" picture disc
Country: UK
Year: 1982
Price paid: $3
Purchased at: The Bop Shop, Rochester NY
"Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? Subtle innuendos follow- there must be something inside"
Adam and the Ants parted ways in 1982, although Marco Pirroni stayed with Adam in the capacity of co-wrtiter.
Drummer Chris 'Merrick' Hughes rejoined 'Dalek I Love You.'
This is Adam's first solo single after leaving Adam and the Ants. It was a
#1 hit in the UK, reaching #12 on the US
charts. This would be his last #1 hit.
Interestingly some Adam solo material- such as this disc-still carry the old 'Adam and the Ants' name. This error was corrected with later releases.
The Expressos were a Rather low-energy rock band that fall under the 'New Wave' monicker due more to timing than any actual progressive musical aesthetic. At least in retrospect. Maybe if you were there back in the day this stuff would seem a little more radical and dangerous? Supposedly Elvis Costello was a big fan...
To my ear though their sound has a 60s retro feel to it, rather stereotypical of bands of this period/locale. 'Kiss You all Over' lacks that patina however, coming off more as standard rock ala Pat Benatar.
It's not bad stuff actually, but comes across as rather tame and conservative when you consider all of the cutting edge music that was going on around them. I'll coin a term here and call it 'Safe Wave.'
A tour around the internets dredges up scant information other than they have a small but enthusiastic fan base. I'd consider myself fairly well-versed in female-lead groups of the period, but other than their name I knew next to nothing about them before researching this single.
It's a bit murky, but it appears that guitarist Mick Toldi formed PIL (Public Image Limited) with Keith Levine (The Clash), bringing the fresh ex-Pistol John Lydon into the fold. Jah Wobble fits in there somewhere as well. At least as Toldi tells it. He left the band (at Rotten's request) before any material was released.
Upon leaving PIL Toldi met Rozzi Rayner, the soon-to-be lead singer of the Expressos...
The band were signed to WEA soon after, but although they toured with the likes of The Jam and Squeeze and bumped shoulders with contemporaries such as Bananarama,The Boomtown Rats, and other up-and-comers, they failed to find lasting public interest or financial success. The band split in 1981.*
The late 80's band 'Escape Club' (known for their song 'Wild Wild West') included The Expressos' former bassist Johnnie Christo.
Mick Toldi died of a brain tumor in April of 2011.
Vocalist Rozzi Rayner's whereabouts are unknown. It appears that she did not continue a music career after the band's breakup.
Regarding the package- I must say I quite like the sleeve. The shocking red/green design pops and, paired with classic DIY collage artwork, really makes a dramatic in-your face impression. Pity the sounds on the disc don't live up to the promise...
*See this link for the raw story, straight from the horse's mouth. For now I'll leave the info as 'anecdotal', but fascinating-Mike Toldi reminisces
"Loving would be easy if your colours were like my dreams:
red, gold, andgreen, red,gold, andgreen."
'Karma Chameleon' is
the first single off of Culture Club's second album, 'Colour by Numbers.'
It was an instant international hit, going to number one in 16 countries
including the US (gold) and UK (where it was the best selling single of
1983.) More impressive still it's considered one of the best-selling
singles ever, having sold some five million global copies.
The song was performed by the band on an episode of 'The A-Team.'
Cover
photography was done by David Levine, who photographed many other 80s
artists such as The Cure, Siouxsie, and Kylie Minogue.
*Fun Fact-
There's a Sex Pistols connection here. Boy George was approached by
Malcolm McLaren to play with Bow Wow Wow, which he did, performing as
'Lieutenant Lush.' Annabella Lwin (the band's lead singer) wasn't crazy
about the idea so he left to form his own band with Mikey Craig and Jon
Moss (Moss had previously worked with The Damned and Adam and the Ants.)
Boy George meets Mr. T. Does it get any more 80s than this?
