I’m huge in the UK

I’m feeling 80s today.

Soft Cell – Hendrix Medley
Soft Cell – Martin
Most people don’t know that Soft Cell’s big hit, ‘Tainted Love’, was really a cover of an old soul song from the 60s. I guess Soft Cell thought the best way to replicate their success was to do another cover, this one being an epic medley of Hendrix tunes. The results were…interesting. Judge for yourself.

This second track is another epic from the Soft Cell, this one a synth-pop mini-opera based on George A. Romero’s classic vampire film Martin. Unlike the ‘Hendrix Medley’, this is actually GOOD – a creepy tribute to one of the most underrated horror movies ever made.

Both of these tracks were originally on a bonus EP that was included with The Art Of Falling Apart. On the CD re-issue they were included with the actual record.

Public Image LTD. – Disappointed (Radio Edit)
Public Image LTD. (or PiL for short) was John Lydon’s (AKA Johnny Rotten’s) second band. Not nearly as successful or influential as The Sex Pistols, PiL was actually more innovative than the punk pioneers, combing punk, traditional rock, dance, hip-hop and world music into something entirely new. They also kept The Pistols’ anti-social, F-you attitude, with amazing songs like ‘Disappointed’ a cheery little diddy about how much your friends suck. This is the slightly shorter 12-inch mix.

Echo & The Bunnymen – Do It Clean (Live
I don’t have much to say about Echo & The Bunnymen, except that they probably have the best band name in the history of the world (seriously, name a better one.) This live version of ‘Do It Clean’ originally appeared on a self-titled 1983 EP. It was taken from a concert at The Royal Albert Hall and only appeared on CD once, on a now out-of-print B-side compilation called New Live And Rare.

One Response to “I’m huge in the UK”

  1. Loki says:

    excellent stuff … i love Martin… (the film and the track) Soft Cell were wonderful around that time, even if the Hendrix medley is kinda deranged and fails to work on any number of levels it was an excellent conceit and you gotta love em for it…

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