As debut albums go, Soft Cell hits the ground running, in November 1981 the duo of Marc Almond and Dave Ball had released the ground-breaking, synth-wave ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’, an album which gained a cult-following in its own right, at the same time defying the boundaries of taste in early nineteen-eighties.

This was an album strewn with the stench and sin of the nighttime jungle (Entertain Me), porn theaters (Seedy Films) and prostitution (Sex Dwarf), the single that should have been;
“Luring disco dollies
To a life of vice”.

What we have is an examination of the reality under the microscope of Almonds soulful delivery and Ball with his electronic wizardry.
In the midst of these themes was the classic track “Tainted Love” the song that gained them a number-one and introduced the world to them. This obscure Gloria Jones track was perfect to sculpt a creature with hit making material, however there is more to
‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ than one song and the downside of that massive hit was the over-shadowing of what Soft Cell had on offer.

The track “Bedsitter” was released in conjunction with the album, breaking the top-five single charts, this was a self-penned track, making all the more worthwhile and laced with the flamboyant-sleaze that was part of the band’s makeup.

The final track and final release “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” again broke the top-five, proving the talent of the duo not just for the electro-experimentation but as songwriters in their own right.

Bedsitter;
Sunday morning going slow
I'm talking to the radio
Clothes and records on teh floor
Memories of the night before
Out in clubland having fun
Now I'm hiding from the sun
Waiting for a visitor
But noone knows I'm here for sure.
Dancing
Laughing
Drinking
Loving
And now I'm alll alone in Bedsit land,
My only home
I think it's time to cook a meal
To fill the emptiness I feel
Spend my money going out
I've nothing left, I'm left without
Clean my teeth and comb my hair
Look for something new to wear
And start the nightlife over again
And kid myself I'm having fun.

Original 1981 Track List;

1.”Frustration'
2.”Tainted Love'
3.”Seedy Films'
4.”Youth'
5.”Sex Dwarf'
6.”Entertain Me'
7.”Chips on My Shoulder'
8.”Bedsitter'
9.”Secret Life”
10.”Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”

Kevin Burke November 2018

Coma Alliance, a joint project of Diary of Dreams & Diorama.
Finally the day is here! The first album of COMA ALLIANCE, the joint project of wave / electro artists Adrian Hates (DIARY OF DREAMS) and Torben Wendt (DIORAMA), "Weapon of Choice", hit the stores last Friday. For decades, their paths have crossed time and again while touring or at music productions, leading to the decision to finally use the common musical wavelength, forge a new project out of it and give room to something new. At COMA ALLIANCE, their stylistic roots, firmly embedded in the dark alternative scene, are complemented by trip hop and minimal electro elements. The interaction of both their distinctive voices and their different approach to production creates a unique new sound - groovy, dark, and modern.
After a first joint tour under the Coma Alliance moniker in 2016 with mutual guest appearances, both artists will now take the project one step further and release a first album together which is available now as CD and on the relevant download and streaming platforms. In January 2019, a joint tour will follow with seven concerts in Germany and two shows in Russia - as 1 band with 1 joint stage show.

The entrance to the The Banshees garden of eden is held within the live recording “Nocturne”.
Released on the 25th of November-1983, this set acted as a makeshift ‘greatest hits’ although the sound and the performances are astounding that it transcends any best of label. For fans of Siouxsie And The Banshees this is perhaps their finest and most treasured moment, for newcomers do not be put off by the ‘Live’ tag, the quality is beyond compare to most other live-albums recorded then and perhaps still today.

A recording of two shows in London’s Royal Albert Hall captured the band at the height of their powers while on support of the sublime “A Kiss In The Dreamhouse”, with the added dimension of The Cure’s Robert Smith who stood in to handle guitar-duties for the tour, it is his feedback-screeches that invade the sound with whips of white-noise.

The performance was a milestone in eighties-music, the band work as a cohesive unit throughout as the conjuring of Siouxsie Sioux drags the passion from punk with all the dark-cool of goth. The hypnotic-beats created by Budgie and the layers of bass runs by Steve Severin cemented the foundations of what could only be described as emotional voodoo, ensnaring the listener as much as it had the audience.

There is tension mixed with drama and paranoia, “Eve White/Eve Black” highlights the psychological spell Siouxsie Sioux can manifest with howls and cries from the abyss into the ether, whereas the inclusion of two Beatles covers in the thundering “Helter Skelter” and the mesmerizing “Dear Prudence” showcases the influences which had crept into the bands sound.

A presence of demonic spirituality gathers in the versions here of “Paradise Place” and “Spellbound”, the more honed sound of punk seems to be eradicated and replaced with a dark sophistication of despair all the time though it is executed with brilliance, this is Siouxsie And The Banshees captured beautifully in their natural habitat, the stage.

“It hurts
There's a pain in my head
I wish it would stop
But it never stops”.

Original 1983 Track List;
Israel
Dear Prudence
Paradise Place
Melt!
Cascade
Pulled to Bits
Night Shift
Sin in My Heart
Slowdive
Painted Bird
Happy House
Switch
Spellbound
Helter Skelter
Eve White / Eve Black
Voodoo Dolly

On November the 24th 1978, Gary Numan had his first slice of stardom with the release of his first album, not a solo effort but his band at the time Tubeway Army, their album was the catalyst to everything Numan would do as a solo artist.

This album important for many reasons but the most important is because it was the hybrid of Punk and Electronic Sounds, it was transitional for Numan as his change in style between early singles such as the punk inspired “Bombers” and what would happen after on the electro-based “Replicas”.
By all accounts this transition was by accident, the album “Tubeway Army” was set to be a purely hard-rock sounding affair however, a Minimoog synthesizer in the studio lead Numan to experiment with the compositions and instead of purely guitar sounds he began to give an experimental quality to the album.

The blending of guitar and keyboards mesh wonderfully well throughout, the dark and at times dystopian-style lyrics show a darker side to Numan, this is cyber-punk, the themes incorporate elements of death, science-fiction, the isolation in loneliness and flirtations with the question of sexuality.
This was far removed from the star he would become, though the lyrics would never be bettered, “Everyday I Die” and the sublime “Shadow In Vain” showcase the talent on offer;
“Stagger down main street
A knife in my side
And I fall to the gutter In tears but with pride
And me I'm feeling okay”.

The tracks themselves became some of the strongest in the repertoire of Gary Numan, these range from the standout “Listen to the Sirens', through to “Friends' and 'Jo the Waiter' though still used today they are solid constructions and still stand the test of time.


Tubeway Army:
Gary Numan – guitars, lead vocals, keyboards
Paul Gardiner – bass guitar, backing vocals
Jess Lidyard – drums

Track listing;
'Listen to the Sirens'
'My Shadow in Vain'
'The Life Machine'
'Friends'
'Something's in the House'
'Everyday I Die'
'Steel and You'
'My Love Is a Liquid'
'Are You Real?'
'The Dream Police'
'Jo the Waiter'
'Zero Bars (Mr. Smith)'

Kevin Burke 24/11/18

With the implosion of the Sex Pistols came the death of Johnny Rotten, from his corpse rose the figure of John Lydon along with a new band, Public Image Limited.

With the aid of bassist Jah Wobble, guitarist Keith Levene (The Clash) and drummer Jim Walker (The Furies) a band was constructed who were capable of stretching further than within the limitations that punk presented.

After a debut release within a year of the Sex Pistols dissolution; “First Issue”, this was received with mixed reviews and it took a further album to open both critics and fans eyes which arrived on the 23rd-of November-1979 in the form of “Metal Box”.

It was here that Lydon’s vision of the Dub-Sound against electronic-experimentation in a punk framework came to fruition.
Here, Jah Wobble was key to the albums sound, the triple 12-inch set was a released as such due to that very bass sound and to provide the space on the vinyl to incorporate both the landscape and depth of drum and bass a more lavish release was conceived.

The songs themselves are unlike anything released at the time, the ten-minute opener; “Albatross”, an atmospheric showcase of where the band were heading with the strength of their musicianship;
“Slow motion, slow motion
Getting rid of the albatross
Sowing the seeds of discontent
I know you very well, you are unbearable”.

The ghost of the Sex Pistols crawls back to life on “Memories”, a break in the albums flow, showing that the album still retains roots in the genre while creating its own path.

A shot of organic-dub fires with “Poptones”, a twisting, turning-beast, easily Pil’s finest recorded moment, whereas the pain in Lydon’s voice during “Death Disco(Swan Lake)” is very real, there is both a menacing but vulnerable quality to his vocal delivery.
The recent death of his mother along with his friend earlier that year; Sid Viscous, comes out in a sublime, poignant dance of despair;
“Seeing in your eyes
Words can never say the way
Told me in your eyes
Final in a fade”.

The industrial aspect is very alive in “Careering”, a dark minimalism, which potentially builds with intensity only to fall down again as if a false promise is realized, whereas “No Birds” is a sonic, soaring guitar based number where Lydon punctuates his dreary lyrics all the whole Wobble guides all from the veering off course against Walkers drumming.

With the instrumental “Graveyard” a new wave prototype with cutting-guitar riffs against a steady beat as it rolls to a sudden halt and flows into “The Suit”, a creepy lyrical affair, a spite-bitten song, depressing and rambling words from Lydon and almost inaudible boogie piano riff. Still, though it does sound interesting and it brings us to an almost Captain Beefheart standard of arrangement.

The funky instrumental “Socialist” shows Jah Wobble in full-flight while surrounded by electronic-textures which tease but never fully form, as we break into “Chant” punk raises its head again, with a confusing-meshed vocal which loses the listener at times, “Metal Box” is at times hard work but ultimately worthwhile. In a huge contrast the beautiful and elegant new-age style of “Radio 4” closes out the album, from as if out of nowhere this piece of music arrived.

“Metal Box” stands as both highly influential and an anomaly in music which defies a categorization and so remains ambitious, stylish and would never be repeated by PiL, very little sounded or was ambitious at the time, while very little has had the same impact since.

Released On 23rd-November 1979, Six-Sides Played At 45rpm.

Original 1979-Track List;

Albatross

Memories

Swan Lake

Poptones

Careering

No Birds

Graveyard

The Suit

Bad Baby
Socialist/Chant/Radio 4

Kevin Burke November 2018