On this day, 14th December, it is exactly 42 ago that Joy Division recorded their very first EP An Ideal for Living (14.12.1977). In fact by the time of these recordings the band was still called Warsaw. It was released the year after on 3rd June 1978 by the band's own label, Enigma, shortly after the group changed its name from Warsaw to Joy Division. The EP was recorded at Pennine Studios in Oldham and self-financed by the band on a budget of £400 (+/-€ 450).

The original 7" version of An Ideal for Living (1000 copies) was sold out by September 1978 and was subsequently followed by a 12" version on 10th October on the band's own Anonymous Records label. All four tracks were re-released on the 1988 singles compilation, Substance.

The cover has a black-and-white picture of a Hitler Youth member beating a drum, which was drawn by guitarist Bernard Sumner. The cover design, coupled with the nature of the band's name (Joy Division was the name from the sexual slavery wing of a Nazi concentration camp mentioned in the 1955 novel House of Dolls) fuelled controversy over whether the band had Nazi sympathies. When the EP was re-released on 12-inch vinyl, the original cover was replaced by artwork featuring scaffolding.

The EP has an overall more punk-rock sound than towards the post-punk/new wave sound that their future releases would get. Founding members Hook and Sumner acknowledged forming the band inspired by and after witnessing a Sex Pistols concert.

An Ideal For Living (Track listing)

1. "Warsaw" – 2:26
2. "No Love Lost" – 3:42
3. "Leaders of Men" – 2:34
4. "Failures" – 3:44

Today, the original 7" pressing has become an expensive collectors' item and copies have been traded on the internet for over € 2,700!

DISCOGS

On the fourteenth-of-December 1979 The Clash reached the pinnacle of their creativity with a release which still echoes not only in music but in society, a sprawling double-album which is still relevant as the band crossover the divide between Rock and Punk.

Joe Strummer channels the chaos of the apocalypse directly into the snarling opener, his venomous-vocal line, with a solid belief in every phrase he spits out;
“London calling, now don't look to us
Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust”.

This is the perfect opener, the mindset and mood is laid out from the start, Strummer uses an almost clairvoyant warning to us of the decay that is coming;
“The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in,
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growin' thin”.

Following this with the psycho-billy rampage of “Brand New Cadillac”, a cover of the Vince Taylor classic and used here as a two-minute bolt of energy.
The new-found reggae and dub sound The Clash started to experiment with found its way onto the album in “Rudie Can’t Fail”, whereas “Spanish Bombs” takes the bombing of hotels in the Costa Brava combined with echoes of the Spanish Civil War and in Strummers hands it becomes the setting for an all out rocker.

A very varying scope on society appears throughout the record, themes of consumerism and over-commercialism is attached on “Lost In The Supermarket”, the divide in social standings all come under appraisal, alienation and the effect on the human psyche. Similar to this is “Clampdown”, the effects of economic-capitalist ideas on the youth, The Clash never lost their punk-spirit, their ideals, all was very much intact even if the music became more refined:
“We will teach our twisted speech
To the young believers
We will train our blue-eyed men
To be young believers”.

Even the Paul Simonon composed and sung “The Guns Of Brixton” is a classic, the reggae-fused song pre-dated the Brixton Riots but already took its story from the movie ‘The Harder They Come’ which dealt with the Brixton-born son of Jamaican immigrants who gets gunned down by police.

There is a cut at the older generation of rock-stars in the incendiary “Death Or Glory”, those rockers who swore they’d rather die than get old, whereas the rock-steady based “Revolution Rock”, which was originally the albums closer is an exuberant number of pure adrenaline;
“Everybody smash up your seats
And rock to this brand new beat
This here music mash up the nation
This here music cause a sensation”.

The closing album-track “Train In Vain” after release as a single became the first Clsh song to break the U.S top-thirty, the Mick Jones sung track with a title which is slightly obscure, more to do with the rhythm sounding like a train, although it got the added on (Stand by me) title on that American single.

Across the ‘London Calling’ album there are nineteen-tracks of killer without filler, an accomplishment for an album of its length, with the instantly recognizable cover it became an instant success which still reverberates thirty-nine years later.

Tracklist
London Calling
Brand New Cadillac
Jimmy Jazz
Hateful
Rudie Can't Fail
Spanish Bombs
The Right Profile
Lost In The Supermarket
Clampdown
The Guns Of Brixton
Wrong 'Em Boyo
Death Or Glory
Koka Kola
The Card Cheat
Lover's Rock
Four Horsemen
I'm Not Down
Revolution Rock
Train In Vain

DISCOGS

The Mission The United European Party Tour 2020

Formed in 1986 by former members of The Sisters of Mercy, the band released their debut album, ‘God’s Own Medicine’, that same year, which hit #14 in the UK Albums Chart. The band disbanded in 1996 but reformed two years later, releasing their ninth studio album ‘Aura’. After a second split The Mission returned once again to release 2013’s ‘The Brightest Light’. The band released their latest album ‘Another Fall from Grace’ in September 2016.
The band have headlined their own shows and tours across the UK, Europe and even Australia.
The Mission have announced the United European Party Tour for 2020 hitting the UK for shows in spring. Catch them live by checking out the tour dates and ticket information below on Stereoboard.

Wayne states: “Asking me to write about the anticipation of touring Europe whilst in the throes of a 12 week solo slog around the continent & British Isles is a bit like asking me to explain the taste of egg soufflé after being force-fed boiled eggs every day for 3 months.

There is a world of difference between a boiled egg and one that is souffléd. As it is touring solo and touring with The Mission. Hence, we, The Mission, are heading out to tour Europe & Brexit’ed UK in early spring next year. Why? Don’t need a reason, we just fancy it.

Having just toured Europe it strikes me that one thing that unifies people of any & every culture and race is music. It brings people together to celebrate, to commune, to share the experience. This is why I’ve named the tour ‘The United European Party Tour’. Less a political statement (although my personal leaning - and I don’t speak for the rest of the band - veers toward Brexit being a huge backward step) but more a statement about how people can be united regardless of where they are born or where they live or their politics.

Music is about people, emotions, feelings, togetherness; not division, borders, extreme right or left or wanker politicians. So let’s get together, have a sing-song, some fun, and let’s celebrate life and being part of the human family. One thing I wanted to do on this tour to ease the rigours of spending another solid 10-12 weeks on a tour bus is to play two nights everywhere we can. That affords us at least one night in two sleeping in a hotel bed. It also enables us to play completely different sets on each of the 2 nights.

Our plan is to play songs one night exclusively from our 1st, 3rd, 5th and so on albums - First Chapter, Children, Grains Of Sand, Neverland, Aura, & The Brightest Light - whilst the other night will be songs exclusively from albums, 2, 4, 6 etc. - God’s Own Medicine, Carved In Sand, Masque, Blue, God Is A Bullet, & Another Fall From Grace. Which set comes on the first night will be decided on the day, so you’ll never know which you’re gonna get first”, Wayne explains, “A little devious maybe but to ensure you don’t miss a beat you’ll need to attend both nights……Ah, come on, it’ll be fun….”

With the original members Wayne Hussey, Craig Adams and Simon Hinkler being joined by drummer Mike Kelly in 2011 and armed by one of the most rabid fan bases in the world The Mission will continue to excite the legions with the announcements of their forthcoming shows “The United European Party Tour” in 2020

www.themissionuk.com

Always at the forefront of innovative music and genre-blending, British post-punk pioneers The Membranes present their new 'Nocturnal' EP, a three-track collaborative effort that features two remixes by darkwave-goth rock luminary DJ Kitty Lectro.
For the 'Kitty Lectro Remix', Kitty Lectro adds an addictive dance floor spin to this already-dark delight, while her 'Meow Meow Money Mix' takes a harsher Meat Beat Manifesto-esque direction.
Kitty's remix credits include Kommunity FK, Andi Sex Gang, The March Violets, Still Patient, Lestat, ANKST, Strap On Halo, Angels Of Liberty, Das Projekt and Dilemma, among others. Most recently, she collaborated with Beauty In Chaos (Michael Ciravolo) on several tracks, including the single 'Darknesses', also involving Wayne Hussey (The Mission) and Simon Gallup (The Cure).
The song 'Nocturnal' was originally on The Membranes' new album 'What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Away', released this summer and acclaimed as one of the best albums of 2019. The band’s new opus is the brainchild of frontman, music journalist, author and media pundit John Robb, who has led Membranes in one form or another for close to 40 years. This set of psychedelic post-punk soundscapes comprises their eighth studio album and the second since reforming in 2010.
"Nocturnal is our death disco dance with Pan, or our dark Dionysian dislocation of the senses that has been remixed to shadowy dance floor brilliance by Kitty Lectro," says frontman John Robb.
"It is from our new double album "What Nature Gives...Nature Takes Away" and examines the beauty and violence of nature, in which we took our bass-driven post-punk and added choirs to it to create an epic brooding soundtrack to the theme of nature itself and its desperate struggle to survive the human race’s hell bent determination to destroy it."

Formed in 1978 in Blackpool, The Membranes played classic bass-driven northern post punk and were part of the same world as bands like The Fall, Sisters Of Mercy, Echo and The Bunnymen and Cabaret Voltaire, all inspired by 1977 to launch their own idiosyncratic journeys. The band released a remarkable series of records that combined their small town frustration with a love of heavy bass and distortion. This ultimately became a prime influence and the precursors to such American noiseniks as Steve Albini, Swans and Sonic Youth.
John Peel and music press favourites, a continual frenzy of releases, public acclaim and touring worldwide with national TV appearances, the band went on hiatus in 1990 until finally reforming in 2010 when former support band My Bloody Valentine convinced them to return to the stage for the ATP festival.
Definitive Gaze is a boutique record label and marketing consultancy formed in 2014 by former Rough Trade/Astralwerks/PIAS alumnus Nick Clift to re-issue the works of ‘80s post-punk artists Ski Patrol, Folk Devils, Ian Lowery, as well as newer output from legacy artists of this era.

TRACKLIST
1. Nocturnal (KITTY LECTRO Remix)
2. Nocturnal (KITTY LECTRO Meow Meow Money Mix)
3. Nocturnal (Album Version)

TOUR DATES (*** denotes headline dates)
Nov 28 Bologna, IT - Freakout Club***
Dec 01 Lausanne, CH – Les Docks
Dec 02 Zurich, CH – Bogen F
Dec 03 Koln, DE – Essigfabrik
Dec 04 Amsterdam, NL - OCCII***
Dec 05 Turnhout, BE – De Warande
Dec 06 Hasselt, BE – CC Hasselt
Dec 07 Roeselare, BE – De Spil
Dec 08 Paris, FR – Le Trianon
Dec 10 London, UK – Roundhouse
Dec 11 Bristol, UK – SWX
Dec 13 Sheffield, UK – Leadmill
Dec 14 Edinburgh, UK – Liquid Rooms
Dec 15 Manchester, UK – Academy 2
Dec. 17 Dublin, IE – Button Factory
Dec 18 Belfast, N. Ireland – Empire

www.facebook.com/theMembranes

Los Angeles synth act More Ephemerol consists of members Sea Fjerstad and Tamara Sky. Though the project has one previously released LP, "Fractal Bath", featuring an array of experimental compositions by Sea, the new material ditches all digital instruments and adds the voice and presence of Sky to the equation, establishing More Ephemerol as a strictly analog synth duo, delivering a newly focused sound inspired by the likes of proto-new wave/minimal wave favorites such as Experimental Products, The Modern Mannequins, Turquoise Days, Oppenheimer Analysis, and early Human League.

'Cult Classics' discusses the human desire to be accepted into groups of individuals who we feel completely outside of, or invisible to. The lyrics focus on intrigue and the raw sort of vulnerability within this rather universal desire.

www.facebook.com/MoreEphemerol