This playlist is 81% vinyl friendly. Not bad.

‘Winner of Best Domestic Design at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023, this Brian Eno turntable has a stunning LED light feature that changes according to your music. Created in collaboration with the Paul Stolper gallery, the psychedelic turntable sold out back in 2021 but hasn’t become any less popular since. You might not be able to buy it, but there’s no shame in staring‘. £ price not disclosed. – muddystilettos.co.uk

Any track marked * has been given either a tiny or a slightly larger 41 Rooms tweak/edit/chop and the occasional tune might sound a bit dodgy, quality-wise. On top of that, the switch between different decades and production values never helps in the mix here.

Lyric of Playlist 139

‘Be Kind To My Mistakes‘ – Maybe more worthy as a usable turn of phrase, seeing as it only turns up once in the song.

00.00

(Intro) THE FLAMINGOS – Stars (Edit) – Unreleased demo – 1983. Episode #1 for info.

00.41

NEW ORDER – Hurt (Inst.) (Peppermint Lounge, New York: 22.11.81) – Movement, Definitive Edition boxset – Warner Music – 2019

Still being titled Cramp at this stage, but reminiscent of the dark new electronic tracks the band were road testing whilst still in development (here, with lyrics yet to surface), along with sometimes simultaneously also grappling with the equipment. It all gave the band’s gigs an edge and an air of the unknown but they’d have wanted for less stress.

06.22

KATE BUSH – Be Kind To My Mistakes – 7″ b-side – EMI – 1989

In actuality, a track that was ‘released’ – on a split (with Brian Eno) German, promo only 7″ – two years earlier than on her The Sensual World album but was also available in the less-cluttered-by-other-tracks setting of another 7″… albeit as the b-side of the fully released This Woman’s World A-side. The version on the show though is actually the lead track from the soundtrack of the 1987 film, Castaway. With the old skool * record company ideal of singles being looked on to promote albums, here it might have been a battle between the artist going for the more stylish and sophisticated album track as the A-side… when the A&R and promotional team must have surely wanted Be Kind… to lead the way.

So old skool, there was even a picture disc 7″

10.07

TALK TALK – My Foolish Friend – 7″ – EMI – 1983

As might have been confirmed by Mark Hollis’ later releases before his untimely passing, maybe his band’s earlier ‘synth pop’ era was a shade too cerebral for the kids, and this wasn’t one of the few TT singles that did make the UK top 20.

13.24

JOHN FOXX with LOUIS GORDON – Hiroshima Mon Amour – Glimmer: Best Of John Foxx, 2CD only – Music Club Deluxe – 2008

A faithful recreation. I reckon this Best Of should have been titled Glimmer / Just For A Moment. IYKYK.

18.09

CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE – Cardboard Lamb (Original Club Mix) – Signals From Pier Thirteen, 12″ EP – Press Records – 1981

With a quirkiness that seems to have leant towards the US new wave/no wave scene of the time, this EP has found a way to regularly get re-released through the decades since… but up until a month ago I’d never heard of them.

20.36

EYELESS IN GAZA – China Blue Vision – 7″ b-side – Ambivalent Scale – 1980

41 Rooms royalty, with the homepage 7″ back out for an airing! Stark punk folk!

23.24

NASMAK – Toy-Line * – Split 7″ flexi-disc – Vinyl – 1983

Ah, the dreaded flexi disc, this time via Dutch magazine, Vinyl‘s own label. Bit of a Nick Cave thing going on with these 41 Rooms regulars?

27.25

JOY ORBISON – Hyph Mngo * – 12″ – Hotflush Recordings – 2009

Was JO’s Peter O’Grady a fan of Joy Division or Roy Orbison, or both, or neither? Dub step? D&B? Who cares! It’s a jittery earworm here.

31.07

THE FLAMINGOS (feat JOSE FELICIANO) – Icarus Descending – CD single only – So… Sparkle! – 1999

I’m biased but this is a lost epic… and it could easily have been in show 1.

I may have known the seven time (at this point) Grammy award winning, Jose for twenty years plus at this juncture in time but it maybe still took some balls to ask him to guest with guitar on the recording… and it took a bit of co-ordinating to actually get it done. Firstly, no winging files via the internet back then, so Jose needed to be in the country, and I think that came about in between a run of dates he was doing at London’s Jazz Cafe and elsewhere around the rest of the UK.

Having given him the track beforehand, I do remember realising in the car with him heading from central London to the Uni of Westminster’s Commercial Music dept, out in Harrow (where I was working at the time) that he hadn’t actually gotten around to listening to the track! A moments panic before I thought ‘He’ll be just fine’.

Also, with Cliff’s lead vocal already done, when we got Jose in to the studio we mic’d him up just for guitar. Maybe I at least should have know better. As soon as the track started rolling it only took maybe a couple of takes for Jose to get in the groove and lay down more than enough guitar… along with some simple but just right backing vocals!… the latter caught slightly in the distance… through only the guitar mic. Doh! If only I’d been thinking. Another thing, we were a hairsbreadth from making the Radio 2 playlist.

Blues & Soul, Tony Rounce 11.1.99 review…

‘Flamingos’ Icarus Descending is only their fourth single in 12 years. They obviously like to get things right if this remarkable release is anything to go by. Unreservedly recommended, it features Jose Feliciano and sounds like George Michael fronting Joy Division‘. – Paul Connolly, Metro, The Times on Saturday, 5-11.12.’98

Below: Flamingos’ Cliff Peacock and Dave Summersgill, with Jose and my daughter, Alice: Uni of Westminster, Harrow, June ’98.

Below: Jose in the studio, guesting on Icarus Descending and engineer, Mark Cash doing exactly what was asked of him, mic’ing Jose up for guitar… only.

34.45

GLEN CAMPBELL – Lonely, My Lonely Friend – 7″ b-side – Capitol – 1969

The abundance of 7″ single b-sides that get spun on 41 Rooms must come from the days (in my case, the very early ’70s) when buying a 7″ was an ‘event’ and getting your money’s worth meant also giving the flip side some serious attention. In amongst all the pop, glam and soul, I was more than happy to also do that with Glen back then.

36.59

PETE JOSEF – Utopia – Download only – 2023

Only two of his own albums to date in over twelve years of activity but Josef is a regular folk soul vocal gun for hire, having started to make his mark via Germany’s Sonar Kollektiv label. He’ll definitely be back here.

41.20

DIONNE WARWICK – Walk On By – 7″ – Pye – 1964

A classic… and the sort of songwriting and production we may never hear again? I suspect this world’s equivalent of Dionne and Burt are surrounded by too much crap to tread this way.

44.04

SHAPE NAVIGATOR (feat EVON BRENNAN) – Flow (Like A River) (Mellow Delta Mix) – 12″ – Almo Sounds – 1995

Co-written by one Evon Brennan (though she’s only credited for her guest vocals on the CD formats of the single) but seeing as she for the most part changed careers, I’ll confidently claim 41 Rooms is the only show of any kind to spin two of her tunes. See show 115 for the other, plus her back story.

48.49

EMMA-JEAN THACKRAY – Maybe Nowhere – Weirdo, LP – ??? – 2025

Rather strangely the track first off the grid in promoting Weirdo, as it’s not only a bit ‘rockier’ than her previous leftfield soul, jazz and beats etc leanings, it’s also the only ‘rockier’ track on the album… which is all more down the (usual) road of her previous etc etc etc.

53.34

SOAP&SKIN – Me And The Devil – 7″ b-side – Play It Again Sam – 2013

Not unlike Nico in the vocals, Austrian, Anja Franziska Plaschg with a sought after 7″.

56.34

YHWH NAILGUN – Animal Death Already Breathing – 45 Pounds, LP – AD93 – 2025

Their debut album’s second sighting at 41 Rooms… and there’s nothing quite like ’em around.

59.06

? – Fate Twisted & Turned – Unknown – 1980s

I have absolutely no idea. Early Portion Control or the likes?

01.04.10

CLICK CLICK – 15 Minutes – Rorschach Testing, LP – Play It Again Sam – 1988

And they would have deserved their 15 Minutes…

01.09.49

CABARET VOLTAIRE – Searchin’ – Groovy, Laidback and Nasty, LP – Parlophone – 1990

Marshall Jefferson… Ten City… Stirling Void vocalist, Paris Brightledge. House was in this industrial Sheffield house!

Diary hints that I hired a car and was in Sheffield visiting ex-Cabs drummer, Alan Fisch and wife, Linda on June 4, ’90 – the same day the Cabs were playing their home town, and that would all but confirm we went to the gig… only for the fact that I travelled up with girlfriend, Dan and our just 1yr old daughter, Alice. Maybe all the girls stayed in and us lads went on the town! I think the backstage pass for the next night at the Hacienda in Manchester (albeit a photo copy here) was ex-girlfriend of both me and Alan, Vivien’s.

01.15.20

TEN CITY – Whatever Makes You Happy (New York City Mix) * – 12″ – Atlantic – 1990

And speaking of Ten City. Summer’s coming… Summer’s coming? Although I should have edited it a bit more, the sort of tune that feels right on a sunny beach.

01.22.48

BLAZE – If You Should Need A Friend (Friendship Mix) – 12″ – Debut – 1987

Originally on the US label, Quark and arguably their biggest hit. Skippety and bouncy.

01.28.50

THE B-52’s – Channel Z (Rock Mix) – 12″ – Warner Brothers – 1987

Another apostrophe alert! Channel Zeeeeee sounding better than Channel Zed could ever have done.

01.34.40

TALKING HEADS – Girlfriend Is Better (live) – 12″ Stop Making Sense, 2LP – EMI – 1999  

From the genius Stop Making Sense film soundtrack gigs and album from 1984 but to get this longer version on vinyl you have to hunt around the re-issued/revamped/Special New Edition etc releases that followed from ’99 onwards.

01.39.42

OH WELL – Oh Well – 7″ – Parlophone / 8ighty 8ighty Records – 1989

Yep! Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac fans look/listen away now! German (tongue in cheek?) chancers here with the first of a bunch of ‘classics’ they covered. To be fair, it’s a funky ‘kitch’ groove that might well have sounded better as an instrumental… and I just know I’d never want to see any TV performance they might have blagged.

01.42.54

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS – Pump It Up – 7″ – Radar – 1978

Thumping pop. I had an Elvis ‘moment’ with some of his singles in ’77 and ’78 but never owned an album. Also, another Declan, to be sure, to be sure.

01.46.03

ELECTRONIC – Tighten Up – Self-titled, LP – Factory – 1989

Pure coincidence but from Pump It Up… to Tighten Up… and with that crowd ‘jump up’ chorus lift, it should have been a single.

01.50.22

ADELE – Hometown Glory (High Contrast Mix)/ BROOKES BROTHERS – Tear You Down/CHASE & STATUS (feat TAKURA) – Streetlife – Live radio mix – 2008’ish

D&B heaven!!! Jeeeeez, after all these years I still just love this! And it might still have or have had Chase & Status’ Hurt You in there somewhere at some point. A slightly ropey sounding but still blistering mix – by someone unknown – from a UK national radio show and along the way it was bounced a format or two down (including the compression of mini disc!)… and then I think, even slightly edited by me. For all that it’s still glorious!

Show 140 will be here June 1.

Dec x

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