For Record Store Day, Inspiral Carpets are releasing a re-mastered and expanded version of a cassette album they released back in the late eighties. It’s up for pre-order on Amazon- Dung 4 – Expanded Edition: Amazon.co.uk: Music.
‘Dung 4‘, the cassette-only album from the Inspiral Carpets which preceded their more conventional debut LP ‘Life‘ in 1989, is to be re-released for this year’s Record Store Day.
Cherry Records will for the first time issue the album on CD and vinyl formats on April 19th
via The Inspiral Carpets to release ‘lost’ debut album for Record Store Day | Live4ever Ezine.
I’ve written before about the Radio 2 series The Peoples Songs. A few weeks ago, they did an episode about musicals and I tweeted about my desire for a MadChester based one. A piece of whimsy I soon forgot about.
Then I found out about Sunshine On Leith.
If the Proclaimers can have a musical, then surely there’s room for one dedicated to dodging the rain and the bullets.
It’s still whimsy, but I’m going to kick ideas around and something may yet come of it. I’ll probably have a list of songs from ’88 to ’93 that I’d love to see in a film before I have any hint of the story they’d be hung on. But it’s a great excuse to create myself a Madchester playlist and watch videos like this-
Getting a distinct early nineties vibe from the style of the video and the return of the Carpets’ original singer and “garage” sound.
For Neil Armstrong and because I shall never tire of this song.
Cool, as ever, as fuck.
So the BBC is asking members of the public to nominate their own 8 choices for Desert Island Discs, no doubt so they can see how the tastes of we plebs differ from those of the celebrity guests. It seems like the perfect excuse to list my choices here as well. In no particular order beyond as I think of them, here are mine-
1. Echobelly – I Can’t Imagine The World Without Me
1994 belonged to Oasis but, though I do have a soft spot for the mono-browed brothers, it should have been Echobelly’s year. Better songs, more interesting sound and vastly more attractive and interesting singer. I Can’t Imagine The World Without Me is a perfect piece of ego and joy, it can’t fail to make me happy.
2. Inspiral Carpets – Saturn 5
I could have chosen the raw blast of Joe, my introduction to the band, or Sackville, which has the added interest of being about the street I used to study on. But there’s a power to this one. And apart from Sleeping Satellite, how many other pop songs have been about the lapsed glories of the space race?
Bonus Sackville and Joe videos-
3. Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine – Say It With Flowers
I used to have After The Watershed as my Carter song because I pulled to it once and there’s something so wrong about the juxtaposition of the song’s subject and memories of getting laid. And Only Living Boy In New Cross was one of the songs which kept me going in 2001. But Say It With Flowers gave me the title to Sounds of Soldiers
Bonus videos-
James made many damn fine records. But, really, there was only ever going to be one choice from them wasn’t there? It’s an anthem and it’s beautiful.
5. Camper Van Beethoven – Life Is Grand
Because it is. If I ever make a film I want this song over the closing credits.
It gives you shivers. Glorious.
7. The Wonder Stuff – Ruby Horse
Another song that gave me a book title (Ruby Red
8. Frank Sinatra – New York, New York
Many many great nights have wound down to Ol’ Blue Eyes’ anthem. It seems appropriate for it to be the last song on the list.
Manchester music legend Clint Boon is a father again. Say hello to Cassius Rudy Boon.
The Inspiral Carpets and their T-shirt empire on Granada Reports in 1989.
8.15 from Manchester theme tune, originally Find Out Why.
First up- the Inspiral Carpets
