Crate Digging

I've got an old fruit crate full of 45s that encapsulate the years 1979-1985, the years I lived in the UK and bought 7" singles every week. This week's mp3s are all ripped from that crate...


From 1980 come two tracks - New Musik's Sanctuary. Fronted by producer Tony Mansfield they were a slick blend of live instruments and synths. They had some minor success in the charts - I always thought they were under rated and deserved beter. Sanctuary was not a big hit but should have been - it's super catchy new wave pop, shiny and full of those excellent '80s synth claps. Check out Tony's resume - Aha, B52's and The Damned. A great tune.


Department S were fronted by the most eloquently named Vaughn Toulouse, and were one hit wonders. Is Vic There? is the hit - a cool guitar riff, lyrics about a mysterious phone caller, and the classic break where Vaughn repeats the title over the beeping of a phone. A novelty song that rocks and is actually good!


From 1982 comes Bauhaus' Kick In The Eye. Take a kick ass bass riff, mutant disco beats and sharp post punk riffing and you get the band's funkiest moment ever - very refreshing considering their usual goth output. Even Peter Murphy's croon is curtailed - much more of a shout on here. This tune holds up very well, and would sound just fine mixed in with much of today's post punky funky stuff.


Orange Juice released What Presence in 1984 to great acclaim but not a lot of success. One of the best songs they ever did, it rides a huge twangy riff, features fab gospel back up vocals (What you gonna do when the river runs dry?) and a searing guitar solo from Edwyn Collins. The band broke up after their self titled album featuring this single came out - the label dropped them and it was over. Ironic considering that it's one of the best things they recorded.


This is the first time I've ripped from vinyl to mp3 so I hope these tracks aren't too quiet. If you peeps like 'em I might dig back into the crate for a future installment!