Tag: Richard Bone

ALL THE YOUNG DROIDS: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985

7 July 2025 /

‘All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985’ is a new compilation that gathers obscure electronic pop from an era when both major and independent record labels were looking for the next Gary Numan.

With the man born Gary Webb taking this new waveform to the top of the UK singles chart in 1979 not just once but twice, the adoption of affordable synths became an entry point to those seeking fame and fortune. While OMD, DEPECHE MODE and THE HUMAN LEAGUE became chart fixtures, many others would not.

Compiled by Philip King whose day job is as a picture researcher at Uncut magazine, according to NME journalist Nick Kent back in the day, this was a period of “blokes with dodgy haircuts hunched over keyboard-operated machines stuffed with wires and do-it-yourself tone oscillators making sounds like a brood of geese passing gas in a wind tunnel”. But with the eventual backlash against synths and the rise of digital technology that could emulate real instrumentation, the inevitable end came “not with a blood-curdling bang but with a cheap, synthesized, emasculating whimper.”

As the recent well-received reissue of Life Is A Grand’ by Henry Badowski and the release of 1981 demo recordings of B-MOVIE as the ‘Hidden Treasures’ album have proved, there is present day enthusiasm from synth music fans for little known or previously unreleased tracks from the past. This more than highlights the state of modern synth which continues to deceive, with the quality of VSTs and their array of classic sounds masking a wider deficiency in basic songwriting.

Opening proceedings on ‘All The Young Droids’ are Belgian duo DESIGN with ‘Premonition’ from 1983. Mixed by Dan Lacksman of TELEX using a Yamaha CS-15, Roland Juno-6, Roland TR-808 and no sequencers, there is an appealing Walloon detachment with Gallic girly refrains while the sound quality cannot be faulted.

From the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire, VISION had Paul Statham from B-MOVIE temporarily join in 1982 at the invitation of vocalist Russell Bonnell in time to appear on ‘Lucifer’s Friend’; while its morose vocal delivery was very much de rigueur of the times, it is rich in bright keyboard melodics. A bouncy machine pop number from 1981, Selwin Image’s ‘The Unknown’ is not short of catchy hooks either but limited to self-release at the time on cassette, it was destined never to be widely heard.

A collaboration between Peta Lily and Michael Process, ‘I Am A Time Bomb’ is a delightfully odd feminist synth pop tune that does sound like one of Pamela Stephenson’s pop skits on ‘Not The Nine O’Clock News’, so it’s shame there is no wide eyed big haired visual accompaniment to this. Meanwhile, if Spizz did ‘Where’s Captain Kirk?’ as a synth track, then Kiwi Alasdair Riddell’s ‘Do You Read Me?’ is what it might have sounded like; its rousing Moog Sonic Six solo is rather magnificent.

Released in 1978, ‘The Ultimate Warlord’ was a favourite on the dancefloor of at The Blitz and it shines with a spiritual quality despite the spacey vocal detachment. This was the time when Daniel Miller launched THE NORMAL and produced by him, ‘Science Fiction’ by Alan Burnham is one of the better known recordings thanks to its recurring inclusion on a number of cult synth compilations; as no-one has ever tracked Mr Burnham, was he actually the Mute Records supremo all along?

Written and produced by Andreas Dorau while he was still at school and featuring various class mates on vocals, the original German language ‘Fred Vom Jupiter’ is a cult jewel of the era that got a UK release on Mute Records in 1982; it however loses in something in its English translation but remains delightful just the same.

With rousing crossover potential, John Howard’s ‘I Tune Into You’ was a 1980 major label release on CBS produced by Nicky Graham who later was the studio brains behind BROS. Meanwhile in another Goss twins connection, management interest came from Tom Watkins who also steered PET SHOP BOYS during their imperial phase but the partnership was not to be.

The eccentric Richard Bone was another cult figure of the era and written to test his then-new TEAC 4-track Portastudio, ‘Alien Girl’ from 1982 was one of several excellent singles made by the Anglophile New Yorker and bizarrely, a No1 in the Hong Kong dance music charts.

One person who was to have mainstream UK hit with ‘Hey Matthew’ in 1987 was Karel Fialka who had appeared on Virgin’s 1980 ‘Machines’ compilation with ‘The Eyes Have It’. From the year before, the self-released ‘Armband (The Mystery Song)’ remains a good example of garage synth based around a MicroMoog. Someone who had already tasted fame was THE GLITTER BAND bassist John Springate who in 1985 issued a slice of mad dystopian prog synth in ‘My Life’; comprising of three very different sections crammed into 4 and a half minutes, in places it sounds like DRAMATIS who were the original Numan band!

Playing to the robotic clichés of Futurism often associated with synth, THE MICROBES’ excellent ‘Computer’ is all staccato semi-spoken vocals to emulate John Foxx while THE GOO-Q’s messy ‘I’m A Computer’ utilises a vocoder that has been mixed far too loud! From 1982, ‘Famous Names’ by INCANDESCENT LUMINAIRE actually could have been autobiographical as DEPECHE MODE attended one of their gigs in their hometown of Stoke but while a good effort, it lacks the proficiency and clarity of the Basildon boys.

Using the Roland TB-303 Bass Line and TR-06 Drumatix combination, 1984’s ‘No Motion’ by DISCO VOLANTE is rhythmically tight but as with much of today’s electronic pop, it lacked a solid tune. However, it is a fascinating technical time piece before the 303 was used and abused in acid house. Dee Jay Bert and Eagle’s ‘I Am Your Master’ though is something of a novelty and what a Dutch Vincent Price impersonator doing a drone soundtrack for a Dracula movie would sound like.

And proving that those who work in the music press are just frustrated musicians, DREAM UNIT is revealed to be Graham ‘Mick’ Meikleham, now Production Editor at Uncut Magazine; while ‘Drop In The Ocean’ has some absorbing synth lines, he probably made the right career choice.

Other tracks such as Ian North’s ‘We’re Not Lonely’, the lo-fi synth instrumental ‘It’s Not What You Are But How’ by SOLE SISTER or the eponymous arty tone poem ‘Gerry & The Holograms’ are less immediate, but no less appealing if one prefers less melody. But the point of this collection is that the majority of these acts were writing and producing pop songs with wider ambitions, even if was to just become big fishes in their own esoteric ponds.

If you liked Cherry Red’s ‘Electrical Language – Independent British Synth Pop 78-84’ boxed set, Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs’ ‘The Tears Of Technology’ or ASPRA’s ‘Play For Tomorrow Vol.1’ but wished there were fewer established acts, then ‘All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978 -1985’ is for you. Painting a picture of beautiful failure, someone’s junk can easily be another’s treasure and there are plenty included here.

‘All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978 -1985’ is released 11th July 2025 on as a transparent pink or black double vinyl LP and double CD by Night School / School Daze Records, available from https://night-school.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-young-droids-junkshop-synth-pop-1978-1985

https://nightschoolrecords.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
7th July 2025

MUSIK MUSIC MUSIQUE 2.0 1981 | The Rise Of Synth Pop

12 October 2021 /

1981 is the year covered by the second instalment of Cherry Red’s ‘Musik Music Musique’ series.

1980 was something of a transition year for the synth as it knocked on the door of the mainstream charts but by 1981, it was more or less let in with welcome arms. From the same team behind the ‘Close To The Noise Floor’ compendiums and the most excellent ‘Electrical Language’ boxed set, ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0 1981 – The Rise Of Synth Pop’ presents rarities alongside hits and key album tracks from what many consider the best year in music and one that contributes the most to the legacy of electronic music in its wider acceptance and impact.

Featuring HEAVEN 17  with ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, OMD with ‘Souvenir’ and the eponymous single by VISAGE, these songs are iconic 1981 canon that need no further discussion. Meanwhile the longevity of magnificent album tracks such as ‘Frustration’ by SOFT CELL and ‘I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)’ by ULTRAVOX can be summed by the fact that they have featured in 21st Century live sets alongside their parent acts’ hits.

Although not quite as celebrated, ‘You Were There’ from pastoral second John Foxx long player ‘The Garden’ captures the move from stark JG Ballard imagery to something almost romantic. DEVO are represented by the LinnDrum driven ‘Through Being Cool’, the opener of the ‘New Traditionalists’ album which comes as a statement that the mainstream was their next target; the Akron quintet were one of the many acts signed by Virgin Records as the label focussed on a synth focussed takeover that ultimately shaped the sonic landscape of 1981.

Then there’s TEARS FOR FEARS’ promising debut ‘Suffer The Children’ in its original synthier single recording and The Blitz Club favourite ‘Bostich’ from quirky Swiss pioneers YELLO. Another Blitz staple ‘No GDM’ from GINA X PERFORMANCE gets included despite being of 1978 vintage due to its first UK single release in 1981. The use of synth came in all sorts of shapes and FASHIØN presented a funkier take with ‘Move Øn’ while the track’s producer Zeus B Held took a more typically offbeat kosmische approach on his own ‘Cowboy On The Beach’.

Pivotal releases by JAPAN with the ‘The Art Of Parties’ (here in the more metallic ‘Tin Drum’ album version) and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS ‘(It’s Not Me) Talking’ highlight those bands’ then-potential for mainstream success. But in the battle of the New Romantic boy bands, the sitar tinged DURAN DURAN B-side ‘Khanada’ easily blows away the SPANDAU BALLET album track ‘Reformation’ in an ominous sign as to who would crack it biggest worldwide.

The great lost band of this era, B-MOVIE issued the first of several versions of ‘Nowhere Girl’ in December 1980 on Dead Good Records and its inclusion showcases the song’s promise which was then more fully realised on the 1982 Some Bizzare single produced by the late Steve Brown although sadly, this was still not a hit.

The best and most synth flavoured pop hits from the period’s feisty females like Kim Wilde and Toyah are appropriate inclusions, as is Hazel O’Connor’s largely forgotten SPARKS homage ‘(Cover Plus) We’re All Grown Up’. But the less said about racist novelty records such as ‘Japanese Boy’ by Aneka, the better… the actual nation of Japan though is correctly represented by their most notable electronic exponents YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA with ‘Cue’ from ‘BGM’, the first release to feature the Roland TR808 Rhythm Composer.

With these type of boxed sets, it’s the less familiar tracks that are always the most interesting. As the best looking member of TANGERINE DREAM, Peter Baumann had a crack at the single charts with the catchy Robert Palmer produced ‘Repeat, Repeat’ while former Gary Numan backing band DRAMATIS are represented by ‘Lady DJ’ although its epic A side ‘Ex Luna Scientia’ would have equally merited inclusion. But BEASTS IN CAGES who later became HARD CORPS stand out with the stark dystopia of ‘Sandcastles’.

The one that “should-have-been-a-pop-hit” is the ABBA-esque ‘I Can’t Hold On’ by Natasha England and it’s a shame that her career is remembered for a lame opportunistic cover of ‘Iko Iko’ rather than this, but the delightful ‘Twelfth House’ demonstrates again how under-rated Tony Mansfield’s NEW MUSIK were, and this with a B-side!

The rather fraught ‘Wonderlust’ by THE FALLOUT CLUB captures the late Trevor Herion in fine form on a Thomas Dolby produced number with a dramatic Spaghetti Western flavour that is lushly sculpted with electronics. Over a more sedate rhythm box mantra, ‘Love Moves In Strange Ways’ from BLUE ZOO swirls with a not entirely dissimilar mood.

Mute Records founder Daniel Miller was breaking through with his productions for DEPECHE MODE in 1981, but representation on ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0’ comes via the colder austere of ‘Science Fiction’ by Alan Burnham. ‘West End’ by Thomas Leer adds some jazzy freeform synth soloing to the vocal free backdrop, while ‘Surface Tension’ from ANALYSIS is an appealing instrumental.

The strangely accessible weirdness of Chris & Cosey’s ‘This Is Me’, MYSTERY PLANE’s ‘Something To Prove’ and the gritty ‘Brix’ from PORTION CONTROL will delight those more into the leftfield, while AK-47’s ‘Stop! Dance!’, the work of Simon Leonard (later of I START COUNTING and KOMPUTER fame) is another DIY experiment in that aesthetic vein.

Some tracks are interesting but not essential like Richard Bone’s ‘Alien Girl’ which comes over like an amusing pub singer SILICON TEENS, Johnny Warman’s appealing robopop on ‘Will You Dance With Me?’ and the synth dressed New Wave of ‘Close-Up’ by THOSE FRENCH GIRLS. For something more typically artschool, there’s the timpani laden ‘Taboos’ by THE PASSAGE and SECOND LAYER’s screechy ‘In Bits’.

More surprising is Swedish songstress Virna Lindt with her ‘Young & Hip’ which oddly combines showtune theatrics with blippy synth and ska! The set ends rather fittingly with Cherry Red’s very own EYELESS IN GAZA with the abstract atmospherics of ‘The Eyes Of Beautiful Losers’ although they too would eventually produce their own rousing synthpop statement ‘Sunbursts In’ in 1984.

Outside of the music, the booklet is a bit disappointing with the photos of OMD, TEARS FOR FEARS, HEAVEN 17, B-MOVIE and a glam-bouffanted Kim Wilde all coming from the wrong eras. And while the liner notes provide helpful information on the lesser known acts, clangers such as stating Toyah’s ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ was from the album ‘The Changeling’ when it was a standalone 45, “GONG’s Mike Hewlett” and “memorable sleeve designs by Malcolm Garrett’s Altered IMaGes” do not help those who wish to discover the origins of those accumulated gems.

But these quibbles aside, overall ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0’ is a good collection, although with fewer rare jewels compared with the first 1980 volume which perhaps points to the fact that those who had the shine to breakthrough actually did… 40 years on though, many of those hit making acts (or variations of) are still performing live in some form.

Was 1981 the most important year in synth as far becoming ubiquitous in the mainstream and hitting the top of the charts internationally? With VISAGE’s ‘Fade To Grey’ becoming a West German No1 in Spring 1981 through to SOFT CELL taking the summer topspot in the UK and culminating in THE HUMAN LEAGUE eventually taking ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ to No1 in the US, the sound of synth had done its job. Setting the scene for 1982 and 1983, further editions of ‘Musik Music Musique’ are planned.

‘Musik Music Musique 2.0 1981 – The Rise Of Synth Pop’ is released by Cherry Red on 15th October 2021 as a 3CD boxed set

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/musik-music-musique-2-0-the-rise-of-synth-pop-3cd-clamshell-box/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
12th October 2021

THIRD NOISE PRINCIPLE Formative North American Electronica 1975-1984

14 January 2019 /

‘Third Noise Principle’ is the latest instalment of the ‘Close To The Noise Floor’ compilations and follows the two previous Cherry Red releases, which rather wonderfully rounded up collections of rare, formative and experimental electronic music from both the UK and Europe.

Helpfully described as “Part primitive rave, part synthesiser porn, part history lesson”, this time round sees the location moving across the Atlantic to explore the North American and Canadian electronic music scene. As with the past two releases the album has well-known artists like SUICIDE, THE RESIDENTS, MINISTRY, PSYCHE and RATIONAL YOUTH rubbing shoulders with some acts who (for a variety of reasons) didn’t quite gain the same amount of exposure and musical notoriety.

Kickstarting CD1 is short-lived Arizona synth duo TONE SET with ‘The Devil Makes The Loudest Noise’; almost a leftfield lo-fi cousin of LIPPS INC’s ‘Funky Town’ with a sample recording from a religious radio phone-in over some multi-layered synth bass. The second half of the track goes on a more funky excursion of improvised synth and a completely new progression, but the aforementioned sample ties everything together.

‘Creators’ by DATA-BANK-A is an unashamedly Foxx / League-inspired instrumental combining an Oberheim TVS-1 synth, primitive Maestro Rhythm King beatbox and overlaid synth percussion. Wonderfully quirky and melodic, this is certainly one of the gems of CD1 and the guy behind it, Andrew Szava-Kovats, is still recording under the DATA-BANK-A moniker, having released three albums last year on Bandcamp.

Atlanta’s Richard Bone is arguably a little better known over this side of the pond, having signed to the UK’s Survival Records; ‘Mambopolis’ is full of sharp as a knife hi-hats and another funky synth bass and vocal which recalls that man Foxx again.

Things start to wind their way down the rabbit hole with ‘Logarithms’ by Geoffrey Landers; full of stop-start Roland CR78 and junkyard percussion, the track seemingly takes its cues from the pioneering work of tape-loop innovators like Delia Derbyshire with its found-sound overlays.

After working with Brian Eno, Robin Crutchfield formed DARK BOY and their featured track on ‘Third Noise Principle’ is ‘The Metal Benders’; a glorious hybrid of the original ‘Being Boiled’ and ULTRAVOX’s ‘Mr X’, this is another absolute proto-synth gem.

SUICIDE’s ‘Rocket USA’ is one of the better known tracks here; featured on their classic eponymous 1977 album which was recorded in four days, it helped set the template for their sound with Martin Rev’s minimalist electronics, scratchy organ and drum machine attached to Alan Vega’s classic rock ‘n’ roll-inspired vocal delivery.

Of all of the tracks on CD1, Craig Leon’s wonderfully titled ‘Donkeys Bearing Cups’ is comfortably the most contemporary sounding one here. Whereas most of the works on this compilation are easily dateable via their drum machine and synth sounds, this one certainly isn’t. It’s the kind of track you could imagine The Quietus going bonkers for if it was released this year by somebody like AUTECHRE or APHEX TWIN; incredibly ahead of its time and another superb find.

The second CD of Third Noise Principle’ is arguably more eclectic. ‘Ange Des Orages’ by Philip Glass (which originally appeared on the 1977 album ‘North Star’) features his signature hypnotic hand-played arpeggios with Farfisa / Yamaha / Hammond organ textures which spiral up and down and get progressively more dense throughout the track.

Patrick Cowley (who is best known for his pioneering HI-NRG disco work) features next with one of his earlier more experimental works; ‘Primordial Landscape’ (which was released on the album ‘School Daze’) is an intriguing piece, almost TANGERINE DREAM-like in places, slowly evolving with white noise shot percussion and a clavinet bass part. For those familiar with his later work including his remix of Donna Summer’s seminal ‘I Feel Love’, the musical aesthetic of this piece will come as a quite pleasant surprise!

Mute Records artist NON (which was a collaboration between Boyd Rice and Robert Turman) make an appearance with their track ‘Modes of Infection’; owners of the ‘Mute Audio Documents’ compilation will recognise this piece which takes a four note synth riff and hammers it out for the entirety of the track over a simplistic hi-hat pattern.In terms of production values and melodic content, ‘Oreo Strut’ by Marc Barreca is head shoulders above most of the pieces on CD2; the synth programming and sequencer work here is certainly ahead of its time. Barreca continues to produce now and has some of his work included in the collection of The British Library.

Laurie Spegel is now rightly acknowledged as one of the pioneers of female electronic music; ‘Drums’ (which ironically doesn’t actually feature any percussion) is one of the tracks she created using early interactive computer systems. Put together using a Bell Labs GROOVE (“Generating Realtime Operations On Voltage-controlled Equipment”) computer system, which in Spiegel’s words “… was used to make sudden sharp electrical transients, simply the sound of individual bits being turned on and off, which were wired out to pulse high-Q resonant filters”. The end result is a hypnotic, polyrhythmic piece; although lacking in much in the way of melody, ‘Drums’ is a fascinating polyrhythmic work which could be seen as sowing the seeds of the Minimal Techno genre.

The tracks which make up most of CD3 are (depending upon preference) either works of leftfield genius or the kind you’d pigeonhole as CABARET VOLTAIRE-style B-sides or experiments, to be listened to once and then never again. The artists which fall under this category include the pieces by GIRLS ON FIRE, XX COMMITTEE, DOG AS MASTER, CONTROLLED BLEEDING and SMERSH.

Moving onto CD4 and an early highlight is ‘Geomancy’ by Joel Graham, recorded live on primarily Korg gear including an MS10, MS20, VC10, SQ sequencer and an SH101. Once you get past the slow build minimal 2 minute intro, the track bursts into life with a chordal synth part and what you have is a piece which pre-dates ORBITAL by several years that is brilliant stuff…

’Thirty Years’ by EXECUTIVE SLACKS is another gem, one of the few works on the compilation to feature vocals, this song is almost EBM-like or a combo of DAF with added guitars. In the accompanying album booklet, there is a rather wonderful recounting of some the band’s early live performances, including ones which were more art project than actual gig. This including hosting a cheese and wine house party, putting the refreshments in the corner and then subjecting the audience to a pathway of noise experiments before they got to their food and refreshments.

In terms of the more higher profile artists here, TUXEDOMOON feature with their lo-fi twisted cover of Cole Porter’s ‘Night & Day’ whilst Canadian trailblazers RATIONAL YOUTH are represented with a demo of their KRAFTWERK-inspired ‘Dancing On The Berlin Wall’. The latter’s album ‘Cold War Night Life’ deservedly went onto become one of Canada’s best-selling independent albums of the era with support opening for OMD to follow.

When NASH THE SLASH toured the UK supporting Gary Numan, he was exposed to THE WOMBLES animated kids TV series and wrote ‘Womble’ as a result. Although it is hard to see the connection between the track, which is a dark industrial piece, and the furry animal featuring TV show, NASH THE SLASH remains an underappreciated and influential artist who never really got the acclaim he deserved.

Steve Roach’s ‘Worlds’ takes things back to TANGERINE DREAM-style ambience; beautifully produced with interlocking Berlin School style sequencers, this 1983 track has hardly dated one iota. YOUNG SCIENTIST continues on in the same vein with ‘Ice Flow’, a collaboration between artists featured elsewhere on this compilation and channels the sound of TD’s ‘Rubycon’ yet still sounds original…

This sixty track compilation deserves to be held in the same kind of reverence as the ‘Mute Audio Documents’ one; it pulls together a superb mixture of hard to find tracks and more established tracks from the US synth scene and does it exceptionally well.

If you are looking for an album which helps reinforce and define the importance of the US on electronic music, then this is definitely the one.

With thanks to Matt Ingham at Cherry Record Records

‘Third Noise Principle’ is released by Cherry Red Records on 25th January 2019, pre-order from https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/third-noise-principle-formative-north-american-electronica-1975-1984-various-artists-4cd-48pp-bookpack/

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Text by Paul Boddy
14th January 2019

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