This playlist is 81% vinyl friendly. Not bad. 

The idea of Istanbul, Turkey based industrial designer, Pelin Özbalcı, the ‘Ripple’ turntable surfaced at the end of 2021 and continued what he’s sees as a line of ‘joyful products, experiences, and product-user interactions… ‘ If it had been a 1960s design it wouldn’t have looked out of place next to my mum’s baking tins and pudding bowls during one of her kitchen cake making sessions but Yanko Design towed more along the line: ‘A clever play on how sound emanates from a source like ripples from a single point, t he Ripple Turntable turns audio waves into literal waves, with its surface treatment. The pristine white tur ntable comes with a rippled surface, with waves emanating from the spindle at the center of the platter, as well as from the origin of the swing-arm, and intersecting in the middle to create that perfect bit of visual drama… ‘ Annoyingly, the only place I could find mention of the Ripple is on design websites – and none of them quoted even a manufacturers recommended price. Maybe the public just forgot to put in an order… for even one.

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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 122…

I’ve never bought in to the sheer ‘hugeness’ of Dylan but purely as a wordsmith he’s definitely ‘up there’ and though Rolling Stone only clocked the song at #48 in their list of Dylan’s 100 Greatest it’s a love song that may well have moved its subject, Dylan’s then wife, especially as she was unwittingly present at its first performance, the one and only take for the recording.

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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 – Who’s Joe (Glasgow 2006) – Live In Glasgow, 2DVD – Warner Music Entertainment – 2008

Even with the band’s earliest gigs manager, Rob Gretton made more of a point of getting a cassette tape into the mixing desk than I remember. Caught out, at soundchecks us Bedford crew were present at he once or twice certainly asked if we had any spare tapes but back then it would have been for no more than a reference for the band. No one was thinking, ‘This will be useful in a few years.’ As the years rolled on though and the technology improved every gig became fully recorded, with only the band’s own performance the likely issue in any debate when material is looked at for (in New Order’s case anyway) Definitive boxsets, etc. Here, with Hooky’s departure from the band not too far away, it’s a plaintive song particularly suited to Barney’s vocal.

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07.24

MARC ALMOND – Tears Run Rings – 7″ – Some Bizzare / Parlophone – 1988

‘Dramatically orchestrated inoffensive sloothly sung 134bpm canterer‘ – James Hamilton, Jocks, 10.88

Class pop to me. 

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10.54

JIMMY SOMERVILLE – Heartbeat (Radio Edit) – 7″ – London Records – 1995

Soaring falsetto pop!

14.24

ICEHOUSE – Hey Little Girl (Extended Version) (but a big edit) – 12″ promo – Chrysalis – 1983

If not quite with this tune, I thought main man Iva Davies had a bit of a Bowie thing going on back then.

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17.50

THOMAS LEER – Change Of Heart – 1982, CD only – Klanggalerie – 2018

From a ‘Series of tracks for unreleased album Circa 1982‘ says Bandcamp, so I’ll assume from that, roughly around the time I was lapping up his Contradictions and Letter from America releases and maybe a fertile writing period for the man.

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22.09

FRANKIE PAUL – Worries In The Dance – 7″ – Hit Bound – 1983

As with possibly all the roots reggae playlisted on 41 Rooms that emerged in the ’80s, I’d have heard this first via John Peel’s show. Such was the media back then, if there were radio shows airing around the UK purely for the genre the wind wasn’t blowing in the right direction for them to reach me in Bedford. 🙂 Come the ’90s, when I was in London, David Rodigan’s show on KISS FM came in to play.

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28.44

SEN(Y)A (and the WAILERS BAND) – Children Of The Ghetto (Discomix) – 7″ – Impact! – ?????

Yep, Sena or Senya, depending on the pressing… and produced by (and again depending on which pressing) also co artist, Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett. If you know your stuff (and I don’t) you could write long articles attempting to pick the bones out of the chronological release history of reggae singles out of Jamaica, though you’d nearly have to have been in the pressing plants themselves at the time to get it right. In its starker form, ‘Children’ is a tune possibly traceable back to a 1973 release but again it was John Peel spinning this on his radio show that I caught. He’d have fairly quickly spun the pressing he received, so if at some point I dig out the cassette tape and the show that I grabbed it from I might be better able to timeline at least one of its many pressings.

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33.14

MORGAN HERITAGE – Exalt Jah – Protect Us Jah, LP – VP Records – 1997

I could be wrong but given their commercial success from the off (a 1994 Grammy award winning debut album) the purists might have slightly ‘mistrusted’ the band? It’s worth noting though that they then relocated from the US to Jamaica, to better soak up the vibe and it’s from there the Protect Us Jah album sprung.

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37.53

SALIHA – Moment de Gloire (Compacted Edit) – 12″ – Virgin 1992

Without looking I’ll nearly guarantee I pretty much said the same thing when playlisting another mix of this a few years back – the French language suits rap way better than most.

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41.37

ROB BASE & DJ E-Z ROCK – It Takes Two – 12″ – City Beat – 1988

Platinum selling, the beats were so head noddingly infectious you could have got away with spinning the instrumental.

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45.31

COLDCUT – Say Kids! (What Time Is It) – 12″ – ‘white label’ – 1987

Slightly less than legal but possibly their earliest vinyl release, and though I never taped it off John Peel’s radio show at the time this would have been a revelation coming out of the UK (as opposed to the US hip hop scene) and I’m sure Peely would have been on this like a shot. I’d have certainly only heard it via him, that’s for sure, rather than any pirate radio set up of the time.

US mag…

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53.35

TROUBLE FUNK – Pump Me Up – 12″ – SugarHill Records – 1982

And from where Coldcut took much of their inspiration – and the odd sample – the party music of Trouble Funk’s go-go infused funk.

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56.53

JIM CROCE – You Don’t Mess Around With Jim – 7″ – Philips – 1972

Jumping out of daytime Radio One at the time and maybe even Radio 2, if Mum was in control of the dial. 🙂

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59.10

T. REX – Ride A White Swan * – 7″ – Fly Records – 1970

Solid gold (easy action? 😉 pop… and more to the point than My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair… But Now They’re Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows.

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01.01.17

COCTEAU TWINS – From The Flagstones – Sunburst and Snowblind, 12″ EP – 4AD – 1983

A track count suggests Robin, Liz and Simon crop up, on average, every six 41 Rooms shows. Quite right, too.

Simon, soundchecking – Liverpool Uni, Mountford Hall: 18.4.84

Photo copyright/credit: Dec Hickey

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01.04.28

JOSE FELICIANO – Nature Boy – 7″ – RCA – 1968

The wider (and very much older) world will know of this Eden Ahbez tune for the massive hit it gave Nat King Cole in the late ’40s but with maybe a huge swathe of bias, this is the version for me, and whatever else that might be in the weighing up, the then 20 year-old Jose’s version certainly has more ‘soul’. Included on his 1966 album, Fantastic Feliciano, the only places you’ll handily find his version on a legal 7″ is either via Turkish (below) or South African singles or a Portuguese EP. Look into Ahbez’ life, it’s an interesting one… and if he was getting his publishing royalties, one maybe cushioned by the regular cheques. Writing just one massive hit can sort a lot in life, and here’s hoping the royalties from this Turkish release did indeed get to him… and not the Swedish four piece… who weren’t actually to be in action for another few years.

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01.07.21

BOB DYLAN – Sara – 7″ b-side – CBS – 1977

Well, it was in Spain anyway. Recorded in 1975 but in nearly all vinyl collections it’s best known as a track on the 1976 album, Desire, the one and only Dylan album I’ve ever owned.

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01.10.30

THE LOVED DRONES (feat LAETITIA SADIER) – Contact (Live in Brussels) – Soundcloud only – 2011

Yup, the uncredited photo is pretty ropey but it is seemingly from the night. Possibly an unannounced appearance from the Stereolab vocalist?

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01.15.39

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS – Flowers – Self-titled, LP – CBS 1980

Most of the album reminds me either of a car journey (girlfriend, Jenny driving, with me looking at the countryside, in the early evening sunshine) to The Paddock in Northampton in Jun ’80 to see the Furs live… or DJ’ing at Winkles in Bedford in 1981.

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01.20.25

THE FALL – Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul – 7″ – Kamera Records – 1981

Most of the damage on my copy’s sleeve was done back in my DJ’ing days (again at Winkles), though the vinyl itself is quite easily the worst I own! In between the proper grooves, if the eras and geography had aligned, Tarantino directing a video to these or any Mark E Smith ‘observations’ would have been interesting.

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01.23.39

THE SHRUBS – Blackmailer – 12″(EP) – Ron Johnson Records – 1986

Nick Hobbs attacking the mic in his usual style… with the show’s only whistling to boot.

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01.26.52

CLAIRE – Wife Lover Killer – The Hauntings of Lady Anne’s Bed, cassette only – ? – 1985-1986

A bunch of demos, which if I’ve got the order right, followed on from another, untitled cassette’s worth of tracks I was given by the (Milton Keynes-way?) band back around the years above. To my ears, shades of the previous two bands above… or maybe neither, if you happen on either of the Williams’ brothers involved.

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01.30.30

LUCY ROSE – Could You Help Me – Streaming only (for now) – 2023

Feels like an indie-topped d&b feel going on here… and likely the only song ever to make it to 41 Rooms written around trying to get a (I think) bad back fixed.

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01.32.29

TIGA & HUDSON MOHAWKE (feat JESSE BOYKINS III) – Silence Of Love * – Download only (for now) – 2023

Oh so slightly dark electronic bizniz mixed with a soulful vocal. I’ll take that!

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01.35.40

CHEZ DAMIER – I Never Knew Love (MK Club Mix) – 12″ – Network – 1992

‘Mark Kinchen at home and on form with this superb house “love” song, and Chez Damier proves he is no one-hit-wonder. This is very bit as firing as ‘Can U Feel It’. MK Club Mix contains the full vocal with its memorable chorus and beautiful harmonies while the bubbling bass and organ give the track its momentum‘. – Rhythm Doctor, Hot Vinyl, Record Mirror 12.12.92

Yep, the early ’90s was my era for house. Even with the very oft near throw away lyrics, right then I needed its carefree feel.

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01.38.17

STEVIE WONDER – Think Of Me As Your Soldier – 7″ b-side – Tamla Motown – 1970

Right around the time I was beginning to hoover up Stevie’s 7″ singles – and he never put duff tracks on b-sides.

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01.42.42

THE LOVELITES – How Can I Tell My Mom & Dad – 7″ – Lock Records – 1969

The ‘Help me explain’ is weirdly cute, in a story played out for real a million times.

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01.48.25

EDDIE HOLMAN – This Can’t Be True – 7″ – Parkway – 1965

And spotted on the net at 75 still hitting these notes just a couple of years ago.

If the owner of this UK acetate is offloading anytime I’ll happily accept…

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01.54.01

MACY GRAY – Do Something (Album Mix) – 12″ promo – Epic – 1999

Sassy and smokey.

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01.54.01

ROÍSÍN MURPHY – Sow Into You – 12″ – Echo – 2005

I’ve already spun a couple of versions on 41 Rooms but this got through sort of ‘by default’, as its an unedited version that keeps in a bridge I never liked. Still, it’s some bouncy quirkiness from the Arklow, Wicklow (‘up the road’) born gal.

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01.54.01

HEAVEN 17 – The Height Of The Fighting – 7″ – Virgin – 1982

With vocalist, Glenn Gregory sounding ‘serious’ consider the ‘He-La-Hu’ as… optional. The song ‘acts as both a satire of gung-ho militarism and a rallying cry for anti-capitalist insurgency‘ wrote one review… nowhere near Smash Hits.

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01.54.01

YAZOO – Don’t Go * – 7″ – Mute – 1982

The sort of snappy synth pop I attach a visual of girls back in the day dancing at our club nights.

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