On this day, 35 years ago, Siouxsie & The Banshees released ‘Wheel’s On Fire’ (5 January 1987). It was the preliminary and first single of their upcoming all-covers album, Through the Looking Glass.
It was released by Polydor Records on 7” and 12” vinyl and climbed to number 14 on the UK single charts. Although the original song was composed by Bob Dylan, it had been said the band was not aware of this before recording the song. Apparently they decided to cover this song because they liked Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity's version released in 1968.
Wheel’s On Fire (7”)
A This Wheel's On Fire 4:04
B Shooting Sun 4:10
Wheel’s On Fire (12”)
A. This Wheel's On Fire (Incendiary Mix) 7:32
B1. Shooting Sun 4:44
B2. Sleepwalking (On The High Wire) 4:10
Wheel’s On Fire (Lyrics)
If your memory serves you well
We were gonna meet again and wait
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
And sit before it gets too late
No man alive will come to you
With another tale to tell
But you know that we shall meet again
If your memory serves you well
This wheel's on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode
If your memory serves you well
I was gonna confiscate your lace
And wrap it up in a sailor's knot
And hide it in your case
If I knew for sure that it was yours
But it was oh so hard to tell
And you know that we shall meet again
If your memory serves you well
This wheel's on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode
If your memory serves you well
You'll remember that you're the one
That called on me to call on them
To give you your favors done
And after every plan had failed
And there was nothing more to tell
You knew that we would meet again
If your memory served you well
This wheel's on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode
If your memory serves you well
If your memory serves you well
Songwriters: Richard Danko / Bob Dylan
Industrial Rock Band DEATHLINE INTERNATIONAL Addresses Climate Change With 'Parasite'
Industrial Rock Band DEATHLINE INTERNATIONAL's single “Parasite” addresses a problem that was once in the rear mirror, but now starts to loom large in our life. The band is based in California, a state that is ravaged by wildfires and water shortages on an unprecedented scale so it is not surprising that this is on their mind.
With the help of Christopher Hall [STABBING WESTWARD], John Fryer, and SICK JOKES, DEATHLINE INTERNATIONAL has created the sonic equivalent of a flashing warning sign.
The STABBING WESTWARD mix is a driving dance monster that sets the aggressive tone for the single. The John Fryers Single mix is more intimate and has more somber undertones. Labelmates SICK JOKES deliver a sonic assault weapon-grade mix that leaves nothing but scorched earth behind.
DEATHLINE INTERNATIONAL produced a short film based on the STABBING WESTWARD remix which brings a visual statement to the message of climate change.
On this day, 66 ago, British singer/songwriter and record producer 'Barney' Bernard Sumner was born (4 January 1956, Lancashire, UK).
Sumner was one of the founding members of Joy Division, formed in 1976. He and childhood friend, Peter Hook, both attended the fabled Sex Pistols concert at Manchester's Free Trade Hall on 4 June 1976 and whose music inspired them to perform together under the Warsaw moniker.
To avoid confusion with the London punk band Warsaw Pakt, the band renamed themselves Joy Division in early 1978 and became widely considered one of the most influential bands of the era. Sumner was lead guitarist as well as playing the keyboards.
In May 1980 after the suicide of its lead singer, Ian Curtis, Joy Division was disbanded. Then, Sumner, together his fellow ex-Joy Division members, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris formed New Order (later joined by keyboardist Gillian Gilbert) and became the leading protagonists of synthesizers in the electro-dance music scene.
Other projects:
Electronic: with former Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr.
Bad Lieutenant: with fellow New Order member Phil Cunningham and Jake Evans of Rambo & Leroy.
Darkwave Band CRIMSON BRÛLÉE Addresses Love Lost & Redemption With 'Tragica'
New York-based darkwave band, CRIMSON BRÛLÉE has just dropped their debut EP, Tragica.
The songs weave tales of love lost and redemption; the refusal to accept the inevitable. Tales of forgiveness and the sincere hope that true love will rise in the end –if only at the very end. …Words for the wounded hearts of the world.
The sound of Tragica has been described as a melodic combination of David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, and Depeche Mode with post-punk elements of Joy Division and Bauhaus. Bright melodies juxtaposed with heavy, dark lyrics.
In January 1988 Canadian electro-industrial band Front Line Assembly released its second studio album State of Mind. However, since most of the material featured on State Of Mind was recorded in 1987, before the release of their first release The Initial Command, State of Mind can be seen as the actual debut album of Front Line Assembly. Although the original release's labels bear the publishing year 1987, the album didn't see the daylight until early1988.
This album was recorded and composed entirely by Bill Leeb in August 1987, mixed by Michael Balch and edited by Dave Olgivie. State Of Mind sounds quite rough and differs from the later Font Line Assembly releases and features some elements Bill Leeb later would elaborate further in the FLA side project Delerium. Wide open soundscapes, creaking and crashing noise samples, and echoing sound design, a spartan, bleak electronic landscape which is atmospheric yet taut.
One remarkable fact is that the verse melody of the track 'Resistance' would later be re-incorporated on the 'Tactical Neural Implant' album and become the chorus melody of Front Line Assembly's underground club hit 'Mindphaser' (1992).
It was originally released by Dossier on vinyl and CD and later re-released on Cleopatra Records on CD (1996) with alternate artwork and a bonus track, ‘Inside Out’ and finally again on vinyl, also by Cleopatra, in 2016 but with only 8 tracks.
State Of mind (1988 Release tracklist)
01. First Reprisal 5:21
02. Consequence 5:36
03. Burnt Soul 2:42
04. Testimony 5:26
05. Landslide 4:45
06. Terminal Power 5:49
07. Malignant Fracture 4:16
08. Eastern Voices 5:27
09. Resistance 4:31
10. Sustain Upright 4:07
11. No Tomorrow 5:06
12. And They Shall Bow 4:45
DISCOGS
