Top Secret No 28 (March 1991)

 

In the process of rifling through various hard drives in search of a Brighton Dreamtime gig review I came across a handful more of the West Sussex produced 'Top Secret' fanzine (more specifically issues, 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32). I have it on good authority that after Issue 18, changes occurred within the editorial executive team (by the way, issues 1 to 18 are already uploaded to Aural Sculptors and can be located from the index list located in the site's right hand sidebar). Assuming that issue 32 was the last that was produced, I am still missing issues 19 to 27... anyone have them stowed away but crying out to see the light of day? 

Thanks again to those who took the time some years back now (Nick P and others) to scan and share the copies that I have. Top Secret filled a 'Strangled' shaped hole for many of us at a time when production timelines of the band's official oracle became somewhat erratic. 

Issue 28 is here.

Subhumans The Venue New Cross London January 1991

 

I mentioned in the last post that I eventually got round to seeing Subhumans when they very briefly returned for two gigs at the very beginning of 1991 (2nd and 3rd January). I saw them on the first night where according to Ian Glasper's very comprehensive history of the band 'Silence Is No Reaction: Forty Years of Subhumans', The Instigators supported. That night (and on every occasion that I have seen them since) they were brilliant. This recording came from the Anarcho-punk.net site.

MP3: https://we.tl/t-g0sGJPzjFj

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-pIXfLfHPQm

Buzzcocks BBC Radio 5 11th June 1991

 

I suprised myself today when I realised that at no time in this site's lifetime have I posted this brilliant session. Having got over the nostalgia bit of their 1989 reunion tour of the UK and the US, it was back down to the age old rock 'n' roll business of making records. The new material from the band had a tricky birth. In 1991 an album was near completed in terms of demos when the decision was made to scrap it. The album was quite hot property for some years... it is available now having seen a release a few years back. I do not know what the band's gripe was with it, it had some really good material on it, some of which saw the light of day whilst some of it was sunk, until the recent release. The three new tracks 'Alive Tonight', 'Last To Know' and 'Who Will Help Me To Forget?' played in this session featured on that aborted 1991 album, but did also see an official release at the time as a single along with the track 'Successful Street'.

According to Pete, this Radio 5 session was the first live session that the band had ever done, all of the numerous others that the band had done over their career to date having been pre-recorded.

This is one of two Buzzcocks' BBC sessions I have that were for some reason omtted from the 1998 'BBC Sessions' CD release or the excellent 'Late For The Train (Live And In Session 1989 - 2016)' box set of 2021.

For the record, the album that did see the light of day in 1993 in the form of 'Trade Test Tramsmissions' was just fantastic. For me it is the best 'comeback' album by any band!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-MF1rp3XWM6

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-jo0dSiZc2E

The Venue Edinburgh 4th March 1991

 

Last one for today. An early Mk II gig here from Edinburgh, Paul Roberts's ninth gig with the band. They were given a reasonably easy time of in on this night, this wasn't always the case as the band continued to play throughout 1991, laterly in larger venues. Thanks to malcolm769 for the original upload!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-Sb2An99f5Q

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-kp3mFBkN7H

01. No More Heroes

02. Threatened

03. Something Better Change

04. Sometimes

05. Never To Look Back

06. Someone Like You

07. Laughing At The Rain

08. Heaven Or Hell

09. Always The Sun

10. 96 Tears

11. Brainbox 

12. I Feel Like A Wog

13. Uptown

14. Wet Afternoon

15. Mr Big

16. Hanging Around

17. Toiler On The Sea

18. Down In The Sewer

19. Paul & JJ Speak

20. London Lady

21. All Day And All Of The Night

22. Tank

23. Duchess

Siouxsie And The Banshees Universal Amphitheater Los Angeles 21st December 1991 - UPDATED

 

Sometimes I forget what a great band the Banshees were. For me perhaps I am at odds with other fans of the band but I like early (late '70s material) and '90s material. I appreciate that for many the mid '80s were band's golden years. Each to their own I guess. 

I only managed to see them twice in London, once in '93 and once in '95. Here is a partial radio broadcast of the Banshees in the US, playing as part of Rodney Bingenheimer's KROQ annual 'Acoustic Christmas' gathering of station favourites. This is a short recording with 'Kiss Them For Me' unfortunately incomplete, but over just eight songs is not a bad career retrospective!

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-cx6f2qLIMx

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-5z148Q9uH1

Thanks go to Malcolm for sending me a complete MP3 version of the set with three extra tracks. Cheers, I appreciate it.

MP3: https://we.tl/t-DO1sMGLw65

01. Overground

02. Swimming Horses

03. Christine

04. Pulled To Bits

05. But Not Them

06. Trust In Me

07. Dear Prudence

08. Kiss Them For Me

09. Hong Kong Garden

10. Israel

11. All Tomorrow's Parties

Goldwyns Birmingham 28th February 1991

 

An early one from Mark II here, one that I found whilst trying to tidy up some external drives. My electronic housekeeping really is shocking!

It is hard to hear some of the exhanges with the audience from the stage, but I don't think the band and especially Paul were having an easy time of it. A baptism of fire given that this was only his sixth gig as a Strangler. There was certainly some stick dished out on other dates of this first post-Hugh tour.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-IBdbddogry

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-0D3yEKJqHL

01. No More Heroes
02. Threatened
03. Something Better Change
04. Sometimes
05. Never To Look Back
06. Someone Like You
07. Laughing At The Rain
08. Heaven Or Hell
09. Always The Sun
10. 96 Tears
11. I Feel Like A Wog
12. Uptown
13. Wet Afternoon
14. Mr Big
15. Hanging Around
16. Toiler On The Sea
17. Down In The Sewer
18. Encore Break/Banter
19. London Lady
20. All Day & All Of The Night
21. Tank
22. Duchess

Brixton Academy London 23rd June 1991

 

An early Mk II gig here uploaded in two versions. The first is the version recently uploaded to Dime and the second is a much larger file which is a remastering original files prior to the Dime upload. Larger files, the remastered version has significantly more depth than the Dime version.

Many thanks to malcolm769 for the Dime version and to Mick for his remastering efforts. And thanks to Meanie for the artwork file.

FLAC (Dime 617 MB): https://go.wetransfer.com/t-TSWqDLSalR

FLAC: (Remaster 1.80 GB): https://go.wetransfer.com/t-PCRVgENj4k

Artwork: https://go.wetransfer.com/t-SmWQ2tSZS6

Track listing reflects artwork split across two CDs if burning.

01. 5 Minutes

02. No More Heroes

03. Threatened

04. Sometimes

05. Never See

06. Never To Look Back

07. Someone Like You

08. RB11 (Laughing At The Rain)

09. Heaven Or Hell

10. Always The Sun

11. 96 Tears

12. Brainbox

01. The Raven

02. I Feel Like A Wog

03. Uptown

04. Wet Afternoon

05. Mr Big

06. Hanging Around

07. Toiler On The Sea

08. Down In The Sewer

09. All Day And All Of The Night

10. Tank

11. London Lady

12. Duchess

13. Something Better Change

Buzzcocks The Academy New York 21st July 1991 (TFTLTYTD#2)

 

All of those people who once said that punk was just a noise made by 'musicians' that couldn't play their instruments just weren't really listening, or were listening to some really bad bands... I remember an argument on the school bus with someone in the year above who believed that punk was just heavy metal played badly... Judas Priest anyone?

Buzzcocks did not just make a noise. Over the three albums that the band recorded during their first incarnation Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle wrote a soundtrack to the teenage condition. Shelley in particular was peerless in his ability to produce kitchen sink dramas in 3 minute episodes. What's more, he was 45 years ahead of his time in his writing. A man open about his bisexuality from the start, his songs were lyrically gender neutral by design... boy meets girl, boy meets boy, girl meets girl... you decide, it had no relevance in his songs.

The band first split up in 1981 after a gig in Hamburg (recorded for posterity in 'Auf Wiedersehen') when the members that were considered to be the 'classic line-up (Shelley, Diggle, Garvey and Maher), burned out by touring and bad rock 'n' roll habits went their separate ways. In 1989, that same line up reformed (much to my delight) for dates in the US and UK. Bolstered by a hugely positive reception, the band wrote and recorded new material in demo form. For a reason that I have never really understood, the planned 'comeback' album based on these demo recordings was binned. These demos, long in the hands of fans, only finally saw a release in the last couple of years. Some of those tracks, especially 'Dreaming' and 'Why Compromise?' were classic Buzzcocks tracks that amazingly did not make the final cut when the band did finally release an album of new material in 1993 when 'Trade Test Transmissions' was released. 'TTT' in my opinion is one of the finest 'comeback' album seeing Pete, still unlucky in love, recounting his further tales of angst and frustration. The album bears all the hallmarks of Buzzcocks, but with a nod towards the indie sound of the early nineties (again strongly influenced by another generation of Manchester guitar bands). More information on the 'Trade Test Transmissions' album can be found here.

In their second incarnation, Buzzcocks doubled their initial recorded output with the release of a further six studio albums and whilst for me, 'TTT' was the best, each of the subsequent albums contained at least some of the glittering poetic magic that was Pete Shelley's stock in trade.

Buzzcocks went on to have a second wind that lasted from 1989 to 2018 when Pete played his last gig with the band on 25th August 2018, a gig I feel privileged to have witnessed. Pete Shelley succumbed to a heart attack in Tallinn, Estonia on 6th December 2018. Steve Diggle has continued to play under the Buzzcocks banner with the band's last line-up less Pete.

The family at the Pete Shelley memorial mural

(Leigh, Greater Manchester)

Many thanks to the original Dime uploader (notsaved) of this great quality recording from New York in 1991 that brilliantly showcases the pre-split material as well as new songs from the 1991 demos.

FLAC: https://go.wetransfer.com/t-B7ir9xlkQA

Artwork: https://go.wetransfer.com/t-xLWeoD67D2

01. Intro
02. I Don’t Mind
03. Love You More
04. Chat
05. Who’ll Help Me To Forget?
06. Alive Tonight
07. Tranquilizer
08. Never Gonna Give It Up
09. 16 Again
10. The Last To Know
11. Chat
12. Autonomy
13. Chat
14. Get On Our Own
15. Successful Street
16. Why Compromise?
17. Moving Away From The Pulsebeat
18. Everybody’s Happy Nowadays

01. Everybody’s Happy Nowadays (Cont)
02. Chat
03. Dreaming
04. When Love Turns Around
05. Mad Mad Judy
06. Harmony In My Head
07. What Do I Get?
08. Chat
09. Ever Fallen In Love With Someone (You Shouldn’t Have)?
10. Encore Break
11. Promises
12. Fast Cars
13. Noise Annoys
14. Orgasm Addict
15. Boredom
16. Outro

In The Night Demos 1990-1991

 

Another definitive demo collection here from the Rat Zone treasury, complete with tracks that ultimately didn't make the cut onto either the UK or US release of the first post-Hugh album. Thanks again to The folks at The Rat Zone who lavished so much care and attention on this and the other recordings too!

WAV Disc 1: https://we.tl/t-TJDbk6lzpD

WAV Disc 2: https://we.tl/t-NHe0KeU5MM

The Warehouse Leeds 5th March 1991

 

The unveiling of Paul Roberts to Yorkshire folk in early 1991. This one is a request. Thanks to Malcolm for sharing and apologies Andrew, there seems to be an issue with you email and I keep getting delivery failures, but here it is.

MP3 (as received): https://we.tl/t-2ZLJjsE4Wl

Artwork: Included in download folder.

01. No More Heroes
02. Threatened
03. Something Better Change
04. Sometimes
05. Never To Look Back
06. Someone Like You
07. Laughing At The Rain
08. Heaven Or Hell
09. Always The Sun
10. 96 Tears
11. Brain Box
12. I Feel Like A Wog
13. Uptown
14. Wet Afternoon
15. Mr Big
16. Hanging Around
17. Toiler On The Sea
18. Down In The Sewer
19. London Lady
20. All Day & All Of The Night
21. Tank
22. Duchess

Town and Country Club London 20th March 1991

 

Early days with the Mark II line up and with the low key club dates behind them the band felt confident enough for Paul Roberts to step onto the big stage for the London finale of the 'Heaven & Hell' tour. The set featured quite a few songs that would be included on 'In The Night' that would see the light of day the following year.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-vqSeVwTKdD

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-rCIoqQggkT

01. No More Heroes

02. Threatened

03. Something Better Change

04. Sometimes

05. Never To Look Back

06. Someone Like You

07. Laughing At The Rain

08. Heaven Or Hell

09. Always The Sun

10. 96 Tears

11. Brainbox

01. I Feel Like A Wog

02. Uptown

03. Wet Afternoon

04. Mr Big

05. Hanging Around

06. Toiler On The Sea

07. Down In The Sewer

08. London Lady

09. All Day & All Of The Night

10. Tank

11. Duchess

Night Town Rotterdam 22nd June 1991

Here's an anniversary gig from way back.... and as I recall it was the night that young Owen and Jacquie first played tongue tennis, which makes them new to this coupling game in my eyes.

The band seem to be having some issues with people chucking beer at them. Sod that, I have some experience of gigs in the Lowlands and I have to say that after all of the palaver of going to purchase plastic tokens en-route to the bar, the last thing that I would consider would to be launching a hard won beer at a band, no matter how shit they were!

Highlight of this gig is when Paul Roberts prior to 'Sometimes' enquires of the crowd 'Alles gut?' to which one very Dutch voice responds 'Fuck You!'.

MP3 (as received): https://we.tl/t-eNhlvMWwyR

01. No More Heroes

02. Threatened

03. Something Better Change

04. Sometimes

05. Never To Look Back

06. Someone Like You

07. Laughing At The Rain

08. Heaven Or Hell

09. Always The Sun

10. 96 Tears

11. Brain Box

12. Uptown

13. Wet Afternoon

14. Mr Big

15. Hanging Around

16. Toiler On The Sea

17. Down In The Sewer

18. All Day And All Of The Night

19. Tank

20. London Lady

Milton Keynes Bowl 24th August 1991 (Remaster)

A great quality recording broadcast by BBC Radio 1. Thanks as ever to The Rat Zone and Eric.

WAV: https://we.tl/t-BEWi03IPW7

1991 Four Track Demo Chipping Norton Studios

Another from The Rat Zone Collection and a new beginning for the band. Originally issued as a 7" bootleg single.

WAV: https://we.tl/t-xcbVwLYXBo

Buzzcocks Maxwell's Hoboken NJ 15th July 1991

Here's another anniversary gig with an early reformation gig from Buzzcocks. Interestignset list with a couple of songs from their aborted album that never mad ethe cur for the excellent 'Trade Test Transmission' comeback album of 1993.

FLAC: https://we.tl/MDP7UFVJjJ

Artwork: https://we.tl/HFnXVmS6uG

01. I Don't Mind
02. Love You More
03. Who Will Help Me To Forget
04. Alive Tonight
05. Tranquilizer
06. Run Away From Home
07. Last To Know
08. Autonomy
09. Get On Our Own
10. Dreaming
11. Never Gonna Give It Up
12. Everybody's Happy Nowadays
13. No Comprimise
14. When Love Turns Around
15. Serious Crime
16. Isolation
17. Mad Mad Judy
18. Harmony In My Head
19. What Do I Get
20. Ever Fallen In Love
21. Fast Cars
22. Orgasm Addict
23. Boredom

Chipping Norton Studios 1991 The Demos

Here's a reposted demos collection from 1991, tracks that eventually formed the 'In The Night' album. I must thank Eric2Vini for permission to post his excellent work on this site from time to time.

FLAC: http://we.tl/TwRQHSL753

Artwork: http://we.tl/LoihOV3szz

01. Heaven Or Hell
02. Wet Afternoon
03. So Uncool
04. Brainbox (Mix 1)
05. My Time Will Come
06. Time To Die
07. Be Seeing You
08. Brainbox (Mix 2)
09. Southern Mountains (Instrumental)
10. What Makes The World Go Round (Lost Days) (Instrumental)
11. Goodbye Mister Big (Instrumental)

Siouxsie And The Banshees Le Zenith Paris 28th October 1991

Here's a pretty late stage Banshees recording from the European leg of the 'Superstition' tour. From the Le Zenith venue in Paris this was broadcast on the radio, hence the annoying voice overs between tracks. Why on earth continental radio DJs consistently feel the need to gob off between songs is beyond me. Just give us the music uninterrupted for God's sake!

If you can get beyond the running commentary the sound quality is excellent.

FLAC: http://we.tl/RvOYMhEitj

Artwork: http://we.tl/FgrMEhIuBJ

01 The Last Beat Of My Heart
02 Dazzle
02 Cry
03 The Killing Jar
04 Melt
05 Kiss Them For Me
06 Peek A Boo
07 Painted Bird
08 Fear (Of The Unknown)
09 El Dia De Los Muertos

Palace Gardens Paris 21st June 1991

An early Mark II European date. Short and sweet, sound not great but listenable certainly.

MP3 (as received): http://we.tl/xOgajFm0Is

01. Laughing At The Rain
02. Heaven Or Hell
03. 96 Tears
04. Brain Box
05. Uptown
06. Wet Afternoon
07. Mr Big
08. Hanging Around
09. Toiler On The Sea

The Junction Cambridge 26th February 1991

Here's one I received in a recent trade with accompanying artwork courtesy of MeAnIe (cheers!). The band are finding their feet on one of the earliest UK dates with new lead singer Paul Roberts. The Junction is a very local venue for me and on of my favourites in the country.

MP3: https://we.tl/t-mOwX5KEO6t

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-CyvfJorYoz

Windsor Old Trout 1991 - Sounds Review

I knew I had this somewhere. Here's the review of Paul's first UK gig that appeared in Sounds the following week. It was written by a friend, Andy Peart, then on the paper's staff, who did ask for my opinion after the gig.... from memory I think it was me who mentioned an 'over the top' stage performance!

Live review by Andy Peart

Sounds

March 1991