SOUNDS SHOWCASE 1 (SOUNDS 1987)

All four tracks were exclusive to this EP on release and all bands were signed to Beggars Banquet.

1.  Outlaw - The Cult

This is an early version of the track from The Cult's 1987 album 'Electric' but not the earliest. Outlaw was first recorded in 1986 with producer Steve Brown along with their new songs at the Manor Studio in Oxfordshire. However, the band had started to move towards a more American heavy rock sound, and the resulting album, Peace, was deemed unsatisfactory. The Cult moved to the US and re-recorded the entire album with Rick Rubin. It was released in 1987 as Electric to a mixture of derision and praise, and rode on the crest of the burgeoning US heavy rock scene eventually outselling their classic 1985 album, Love. The original Peace version of Outlaw, double in length, can be found on the Manor Sessions EP. The version we have here is an early works-in-progress of th official Rubin production giving the UK the first glimpse of the band's new direction.

2. Hey! Luciani (Original Version) - The Fall

Considering this track was released as a single from Mark E. Smith's play Hey! Luciani: The Life and Codex of John Paul I, it's surprising that the near-title track, produced by Ian Broudie, was by far the band's most commercial single to date. Typically, they were rewarded with a not so lofty chart position of #59. The version here is the less commercial original recording of the track produced by John Leckie. Sounds described The Fall on the sleeve as a band with 'a continuing ability to surprise and stimulate with every new release', words that still ring true 25 years later.

3. Spin This Web - The Adult Net

Brix Smith was very much part of The Fall in 1987 and, as founding member of The Adult Net, it's a double feature for her on this EP. Already with a couple of Top 100 singles behind them, this track, pop brilliance produced by that man Broudie again, was meant to be the title track for the band's forthcoming first album. Although a reality at the time of the release of this EP, the album was recorded but remains unreleased. A re-recorded version of Spin This Web appeared on the band's first released album, The Honey Tangle,  in 1989, recorded with Craig Gannon (ex-Smiths) and Clem Burke (Blondie).

4. I Just Get Caught Out - The Go-Betweens

Another exclusive at time of release, ths track eventally made it on to Australian indie-pop band The Go-Betweens' fifth album Talullah. Hugely critically acclaimed, the band recorded 9 albums between 1982 and 2005 until the sudden death of  Grant McLellan in 2006 brought the band to a sad finish.

MELODY MAKER: VINYL CONFLICT 2 (1986)

1. Lucifer Over Lancashire (Alternative Version) - The Fall

First appearance on TheFreeEPs for the mighty Fall. Lucifer Over Lancashire was released as the B side to Mr Pharmacist - a single which marked The Fall's first bona fide hit in the national singles chart - just - at #75. This exclusive alternative version is still a rarity though it was officially released on the Cog Sinister release Backdrop. Like the original version it was recorded as part of  the sessions for the Bend Sinister album.

2. High Priest Of Love (Demo)- Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction

As editor of Flexipop magazine, Mark Manning had all the industry nous and contacts to make an instant splash in the music press with his debauched alter ego Zodiac Mindwarp. The instant music press coverage saw his first EP hit #9 in the indie chart. The follow-up EP, the title track being High Priest Of Love, went straight to the top.  A year later, Prime Mover became his first national Top 40 hit. However, the biker rock shtick soon wore off with the public and Mindwarp's debut album failed to sell well barely scraping the Top 20. The band continue to this day as a cult concern, Mark Manning also finding notoriety as an author. This demo is exclusive to this 7".

3. South Africa - Hollywood Beyond

What's The Colour Of Money? asked Mark Rogers in 1986 taking the song of that name to the Top 10 in the process. Rogers never really got to find out the answer to his question as a second single and album, If, despite co-production by Bernard Edwards, fell short. South Africa is an exclusive song to this release.

4. Orange Appled - Cocteau Twins

A then-exclusive track for the UK, Orange Appled appeared on the US edition of the Love's Easy Tears EP but was omitted from the UK release. Orange Appled has since become a fan favourite and has appeared on an array of compilations including 4AD's best of Cocteau collection Stars & Topsoil.