This playlist is 79% vinyl friendly. Not bad. 

From 1959, if you fancied a carpet look on your portable suitcase turntable casing and platter(!), the Philips AG9148 mono gramophone was for you, maybe.

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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. 🙂

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Lyric of Playlist 129…

Maybe Marxman’s history lesson, Joy Division and Nick Cave all on the victory rostrum… but in which order?

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00.00

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

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00.41

NEW ORDER – Round & Round – Technique, LP – Factory – 1989

Technically it’s the Technique (Booh Boooom!) band produced, album version on the show, though as their 17th single (or 18th, depending on your source), released in early 1989, we’ll go here with the track in its ‘purist’ form and a visual of the co-produced with Stephen Hague UK 7″. Last heard live (by me anyway, I think) at the 1993 Reading Festivalt, the band’s triumphant return after four years.

Extract from From Heaven to Heaven, New Order Live (The Early Years 1981-1984) At Close Quarters

Hints in the music press of the band’s potential demise in the lead up to Reading ‘93 certainly added some emotional weight to the proceedings and I guess it seemed as much about (once again?) catching, potentially the last New Order gig ever, as it was about catching, for most fans, their first one in nearly four years so, along with Alice (aged four) and ex-New Order roadie and now video director, Angus Cameron (aged more than four) I took in New Order’s very momentary return to a UK stage, as they, in effect, limped to Reading ‘93. Besides the ‘mum’s tummy’ appearance Alice had made at the Manchester G-MEX show, this was her actual gigging debut, and I wonder how many a parent has, with a kid on their shoulders at times like these, quietly thought, ‘even if you don’t really understand it, years later at least you can say that you were there.’ And there she very much was, as at some point Angus takes her right down to the front of the crowd. I could be a Reading Festival or two out here but I do also remember sitting, drinking and catching up with Gillian’s sister, Kim and her hubby, and that was always a cheery chat. As an aside, with every able-bodied New Order fan likely to have been in that field, wasn’t there a Paul Morley/South Bank Show, New Order documentary scheduled on the TV the same evening? ‘Roll the VCR’… but I didn’t.

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05.10

HUMAN TETRIS – Insanity – Happy Way In The Maze Of Rebirth, CD/download only – self released – 2012

What it must be like to be a young Russian musician drawing inspiration heavily from a, largely free thinking, world beyond Putin’s grip I can only wonder at but even with the band’s stop start state of existence it’s managed releases (notably nearly all just digital) since 2009. Maybe surprisingly, they’ve built a large following in South America and somehow have toured there for the last three years.

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08.55

JOHN FOXX – Underpass – 7″ – Metal Beat / Virgin – 1980

The first of a couple of tracks on this show that could or should really have made it to one of the early ’80s Winkles club night 1hr retrospectives heard on some of the early 41 Rooms’ shows… but somehow didn’t.

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12.17

CABARET VOLTAIRE – Magic (Cabaret Voltaire Remix) – Remixed, CD only – EMI – 2001

Cock up alert! The above album is mentioned on the show but the remix was actually first issued as part of the extra 12″ EP included with their pictured here 1990 Groovy, Laidback And Nasty album. Though that era (their ‘house years’, as I like to call them) might have lost the band some early admirers I was a still a fan. The track? Originally written with Marshall Jefferson, I’d suggest the band’s own remix is arguably (surprisingly?) funkier than MJ’s.

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18.25

WALLACE – Papertrip * – 12″ EP – Rhythm Section International – 2024

Following on from the above I’d also argue the point with anyone who’s heard house music for the last thirty five to forty years that it’s a genre steeped in ‘formula’ like very few others, so getting from the tried/tired and tested to the parts that prick the ears enough for 41 Rooms often means an edit. So, once again… I have. Still funky.

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21.03

GOLDEN TEACHER – Golden Chalice – Bells From The Deep End, 12″ EP – Optimo Music – 2013

‘Recorded live in Glasgow at the Green Door Studio‘ with various limited edition pressings of the EP from this Scottish ‘all sorts of beats’ crew active in the mid 2010s.

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24.24

CHAKA KHAN (feat MARY J. BLIGE) – Disrespectful – unknown mix – ???????

With an a cappella version on official releases around 2007 it would be stunning if a chancer or ten hadn’t also grabbed the vocal to turn out versions beyond a full remixes official release. If this is one of those, whoever you are, you… were… on it!

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29.09

MARXMAN – Ship Ahoy (Acoustic Mix) – 12″ b-side – Talkin Loud – 1992

Conscious rap lyrics, a passing appearance from the sadly now departed Sinead O’Connor, a low/tin whistle… and a ref to Maya Angelou. As is often said, ‘What’s not to like?

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34.52

ANNE CESSNA & ESSENDON AIRPORT – Agua Por Favor – 7″ – Chapter Music – 2022

200 copies pressed on black vinyl with wraparound printed cover… and most probably sold locally before the wider world knew it even existed. And ‘nope’ another I’m guessing I won’t be finding anytime soon. Also, the tone of the spoken vocal slightly reminded me of a Lee Maracle track from a very early 41 Rooms show.

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38.37

LOS BITCHOS – Don’t Change – Streaming only (for now)… 2024

To be included though on their upcoming (in August, via City Slang) Talkie Talkie album. I still can’t help wondering if this instrumental foursome isn’t sitting around in rehearsals with one of them, at least, thinking ‘I wanna SING something!‘ 🙂

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41.47

ECHO and THE BUNNYMEN – The Pictures On My Wall (Original 7″ version) – Zoo Records – 1979

Like John Foxx’s Underpass above (is that some sort of oxymoron?), another nailed on gem that didn’t make one of the early ’80s Winkles club night 1hr retrospectives heard on some of the early 41 Rooms’ shows… but could have. I can nearly smell the club.

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44.32

JOY DIVISION – Passover – Closer, LP – Factory – 1980

Solid gold. Though I never came across any such debate, it no doubt cropped up in someone’s conversation in the years after Ian Curtis’ death as to whether the album title was pronounced with an ‘S’ or a ‘Z’ sound. I most probably had had the album for fully thirty years before one day out of nowhere I suddenly queried the same myself. I had always been a ‘Closer’ lad. ‘Closer’ it was… though it could have worked well as the other version, sadly.

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49.08

THE BEATLES – Tomorrow Never Knows (2022 Mix) – Revolver, LP – Parlophone – 1966

The Fab Four were growing…

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51.50

WORKFORCE – Drowning Pool (John Peel session) – Unreleased – Jan 1986

Early at this stage but I’ve been told there are plans for an official Workforce retrospective release, combining both sessions the band did for John Peel, plus maybe ‘other stuff’, including our (Mick Lowe and myself), Rorschach Testing 12″ Back In The Good Books. Not sure when, though. Watch someone’s space. I think I remember standing in a middle island of two way Sheffield traffic looking on at this photo (shoot). Happy days. 🙂

Photo credit: Mick Lowe

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56.49

DEAD CAN DANCE – Children Of The Sun – Anastasis, 2LP – (PIAS) Recordings – 2012

Re the show dialogue, it’s very true. I genuinely didn’t plan DCD’s inclusion here to coincide… but it does just that. Forty years ago to the day of this upload I promoted them at Bedford Boys Club. Seven DCD tracks in 129 41 Rooms shows, so maybe only a 5% chance they would right now turn up here.

A ‘Dead Can Dance’ search on all the 41 Rooms shows (under which track, I can’t remember) will throw up a fuller account of the day and I’ve also posted it on my Facebook page today. Also, here’s a link to some of the soundcheck.

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01.04.19

NICK CAVE Nick & THE BAD SEEDS – Frogs – Limited Edition 7″ – PIAS – 2024

Ahead of its release later this month, the 1000 run, green vinyl 7″ is already pre sold out. No surprise. An epic sounding second single from Cave’s also upcoming (at the end of August) album, Wild God.

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01.08.45

COCTEAU TWINS – Seekers Who Are Lovers – Otherness, 12″ EP – Fontana – 1996

The only track from the four on the EP included on the band’s Milk & Kisses album from the same year. Robin, Liz and Simon still in fab form.

Btw, look out for Simon’s memoir, In One Ear – ‘Cocteau Twins, Ivor and Me‘, out in September. It will certainly be including a photo (or two?) of mine, from the band’s UK Spring ’84 tour.

The surviving ticket of mine nearest to the Milk & Kisses era.

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01.13.14

LEE GAMBLE – Blurring – Models, LP – Hyperdub – 2023

Sounding like it wouldn’t have been out of place in the ‘trip hop’/slow beats era of three decades earlier.

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01.17.27

EYELESS IN GAZA – Only Whispers – Rust Red September, LP – Cherry Red – 1983

When this album was released I’d had a video machine for about four years, so I’d gravitated to augmenting lots of home video stuff with (any) audio of choice and Only Whispers always brings to mind footage of my dad, unknowing, sitting below the house in the evening sunshine, having a quiet moment. A year or so earlier, the last Hickey family photos had been taken in the same spot, a couple of months before Mum died of cancer.

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01.21.57

SUZANNE LATHAM – Clarity – ?????? – 2000-2010’ish

A few question marks above coz I’m not sure where I sourced this lost gem from. Given the timeline it could have been MySpace. A demo, some intended release or maybe from a session from one of the myriad of bespoke ‘live in the studio’ session-type set ups online? No idea. Suzanne only appears on Discogs as a guest vocalist on someone else’s album but she has a handful of live recordings on Youtube, including one with her (I’m confidently guessing) sister, Louise – and completely separately I’d also taken to a track of hers a few years earlier.

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01.25.08

NIECY BLUES – Violently Rooted – Exit Simulation, LP – Kranky – 2023

‘Folk soul’… maybe… out of South Carolina, USA. 🙂

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01.28.48

VALERIE ETIENNE – I Wanted – On The Down Low, 12″ EP – Clean Up – 1999

Presently back in action with Galliano after a few decades, aside of a suck it and see tester gig in Bristol in 2023, a tour starting in Brighton this very night (July 7) will be their first live dates in as long a gap.

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01.33.53

LIZZY PARKS – Raise The Roof – 7″ – Tru Thoughts – 2008

Brighton again, with the label Tru Thoughts having released two of the three Parks albums in the mid noughties. With no 12″, in single form the full track was actually split over two sides of the 7″. Has a bit of a Jazzanova feel, I reckon.

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01.39.01

PRINCE CHARLES and THE CITY BEAT BAND – In The Street(s) * – 12″ – Solid Platinum Records / Boston International Records – 1979

With a hugely rare and expensive 7″ version out there (yet another split over two sides), for some reason the track’s title extended to more than one street as the track and Prince Charles moved on to Casablanca Records a few years later. 🙂

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01.44.06

ELEKTRONS – Get Up – 12″ – Wall Of Sound – 2007

Very coincidentally, sitting as track no 24 on this episode of 41 Rooms – as they did on the last episode!

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01.46.40

THE PRODIGY – Poison – Music For The Jilted Generation, LP – XL Recordings – 1994

Align yourself with/via an album title… and then Side 1, Track 1, sonically slap your audience in the face.

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01.51.51

JUST MUSTARD – Seven (Live In Dreams version) – Youtube stream only – 2021

From the slightly darker side; captured via that there Youtube, recorded live on home soil at Dundalk Town Hall.

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01.56.17

NIHILISTS – Wallspace – 12″ – Classic Album Club Records – 2016

Under this guise, James Mudriczki with the first of only three singles in eight years since the demise of (hiatus from?) Puressence in 2013.

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Aug 4 for show 130. 🤞

Dec x