| 13th July 2008: |
Some new Thompson Twins news.
Following the success of their 2Cd reissues of Quick Step And Sid Kick and Into
The Gap. Edsel will reissue the Thompson Twins third album as a trio Here's To
Future Days on August 4th. It follows the same format of having all the bonus
cassette mixes plus as many b-sides and 12" mixes that could be fitted onto to
discs. The tracks list which is looking rather good is as follows:
CD 1 On the 28th July Cherry Red Records release Side Kicks The Movie Live In Liverpool on dvd. Filmed at the Royal Court in Liverpool in 1983 this is the first ever Thompson Twins dvd of any kind. Some International Observer news now and Tom Bailey has mixed another track for NZ dub duo Pitch Black called 1000 Mile Drift. It is the third time Tom had given a Pitch Black tracks the International Observer treatment and the mix can be heard via Pitch Black's myspace at http://www.myspace.com/pitchblacknz
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| 29th January 2008: |
On the 3rd March Quick Step And Side Kick and Into The Gap are being reissued as two cd deluxe versions on the Edsel label part of the Demon Music Group. Apart from the albums these releases will also contain the bonus tracks featured on the original double play cassettes plus the extended 12" versions and the non album b-sides. These have been remastered from the original Arista UK master tapes. So far a few tracks or versions of songs have been omitted such as the Club Remix version of The Gap and the 7" of Out Of The Gap but on the whole these cd's are looking good and if a good job is made of mastering the sound then these releases should certainly be something to look forward too. Also if the cd's sell well then Demon/Edsel will consider applying for a license to reissue the other Thompson Twins albums. Here is some info from the sales sheets of the cd's and the track listings so far. QUICK STEP & SIDE KICK [DELUXE 2 CD EDITION]• Newly slimmed down to a trio from the seven-piece collective that had hit the charts in 1982 with “In The Name Of Love”, the ThompsonTwins were set to conquer the world of pop. With Island Recordsproducer Alex Sadkin (Bob Marley, Grace Jones, Robert Palmer, JoeCocker, Marianne Faithfull, Duran Duran, Foreigner, Simply Red etc) at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, they recorded “Quick Step &Side Kick”, which peaked at # 2 in February 1983 .• The album’s release was heralded by the Top Ten singles “Love OnYour Side” (also a US chart hit), “We Are Detective” and “Watching”in early 1983. Being the era of the Pop 12”, each single release featured different 12” mixes and non-album b-sides .• This deluxe 2 CD release presents all the remixes from the originalcassette edition of the album as well as the extended 12” mixes andthe non-album b-sides, the majority of which appear on CD for the firsttime . All this adds up to 130 minutes of “Quick Step & Side Kick”!• The poster booklet features full annotation, singles sleeves andmemorabilia from a fan’s extensive collection.DISC ONE: QUICK STEP & SIDE KICK Love On Your Side 3.33 / Lies 3.13 / If You Were Here 2.56 / Judy Do 3.48/ Tears 5.02 / Watching 3.58 / We Are Detective 3.06 / Kamikaze 3.55 / LoveLies Bleeding 2.50 / All Fall Out 5.28THE CASSETTE REMIXES Love Lies Fierce [Loves Lies Bleeding] 6.45 / Long Beach Culture[instrumental] 6.48 / No Talkin’ – Dub [Lies] 6.18 / Rap Boy Rap [Love On YourSide] 7.22 / Frozen In Time [Kamikaze] 6.28 / Fallen Out [All Fall Out] 3.30DISC TWO: THE B-SIDES AND THE 12” MIXES Lies [Single remix] 3.15 / Love On Your Back 4.06 / Lucky Day 3.52 /Dancersaurus 4.40 / Lies (Bigger And Better) [12” version] 6.35 / BeachCulture 3.55 / Love On Your Side (No Talkin’) [12” version] 5.48 / We AreDetective (More Clues) [12” version] 6.00 / Lucky Day (Space Mix) 6.58 /Watching (You Watching Me) [12” version] 5.48 / Dancersaurus (EvenLarge Reptiles Have Emotional Problems) [12” version] 5.50
INTO THE GAP [DELUXE 2 CD EDITION]• After the huge success of “Quick Step & Side Kick” (which spent56 weeks in the UK album charts), the Thompson Twins reconvened with producer Alex Sadkin at Compass Point Studios in Nassau andrecorded “Into The Gap”, which went straight into the album chartsat # 1 in February 1984 . It also reached # 10 in the US and chartedthroughout Europe. • The album was preceded by the Top 5 singles “Hold Me Now”,“Doctor! Doctor!” (# 11 in the US) and followed by “You Take MeUp” and “Sisters Of Mercy”. Each single release featured different,extended 12” mixes and non-album b-sides .• This deluxe 2 CD release presents all the remixes from the originalcassette edition of the album as well as the extended 12” mixesand the non-album b-sides, the majority of which appear on CD forthe first time. All this adds up to 143 minutes of “Into The Gap”!• The poster booklet features full annotation, singles sleeves andmemorabilia from a fan’s extensive collection.DISC ONE: INTO THE GAP Doctor! Doctor! 4.38 / You Take Me Up 4.23 / Day After Day 3.50 / SisterOf Mercy 5.04 / No Peace For The Wicked 4.04 / The Gap 4.43 / Hold MeNow 4.42 / Storm On The Sea 5.26 / Who Can Stop The Rain 5.17THE CASSETTE REMIXES Leopard Ray 3.15 / Doctor! Doctor! 7.50 / Panic Station [Day After Day] 4.40/ Down Tools 4.18 / Hold Me Now 9.45 / Funeral Dance [No Peace For TheWicked] 3.12DISC TWO: THE CASSETTE REMIXES continued Compass Points [The Gap] 5.00 / Still Water [Storm On The Sea] 5.40THE B-SIDES AND THE 12” MIXES You Take Me Up (Machines Take Me Over) [12” version] 7.33 / Sister OfMercy [12” version] 9.26 / Let Loving Start [12”] 9.09 / You Take Me Up(High Plains Mixer) [US 12” remix] 8.30 / Nurse Shark 4.05 / PassionPlanet 3.42 / You Take Me Up [instrumental remix] 6.20 / Out Of The Gap[Megamix extended version] 8.57
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| 1st October 2007: |
A new Thompson Twins
compilation cd has just been released titled Love On Your Side The Best Of
Thompson Twins. It is a 2cd set comprising of singles and album tracks
containing most of if not all the material from Into The Gap and Side Kicks plus
tracks from Future Days and Close To The Bone in one of those cardboard
slipcases released on the label Music Club Deluxe
Demon
Music Group Unfortunately this new compilation doesn't
contain anything new for die hard fans even though advertised as containing
rarities and all tracks used are album rather than single versions. This
released probably just best serves as an introduction to the band for people who
are new to their music. This leads me onto some important stuff. All you Thompson Twins fans out there will no that we have always long for a proper Thompson Twins cd rarities collection and some sort of DVD release. You will have seen that most bands from the 80s have had a release of their videos onto DVD or a live concert etc including artists who where not as big or popular as the Thompson Twins where in the 80s. Rumour has it that there may finally get to see exactly this next year. Some things possibly in the pipeline are re-releases of all the Twins albums a Greatest Vids dvd, A Platinum Collection from Warner Bros. and a compilation of Babble material. The Babble release if it goes ahead could possibly be the biggest opportunity for Warner Bros as Tom told us at the Brixton Jamm that there was at least half an albums worth of unreleased Babble tracks and it was in the hands of the record company. Thompson Twins Fan Jester has been working hard to try and get projects like this to fruition. and news of these possible releases next year was gained from his Thompson Twins site www.thompsontwins.moonfruit.com/ Where you can go and add your support and comments and suggestions as to what type of things you would like to see on Thompson Twins reissues. A friend of mine Geoff (Cheeky G) long-time Thompson Twins fan and active member of the discussion groups Big Trash and Love On Your Side has created a myspace page to petition for a Thompson Twins rarities collection. Please visit Thompson Twins Rarities - MySpace Petition and show your support by adding Geoff's page to your top friends list. You can also add in the comments section what tracks and videos you would like to see released. Your help with these projects would be very much appreciated lets help get this of the ground. Geoff has spoken to Tom Bailey and he has said that he could have some material to add and would like to get involved with the project. With people power things can be done. Tom recently did a few International Observer gigs that I didn't post news of. Sorry that I hadn't updated the news page for a while. One was the Waveform Project/Festival and the other was Cargo in London. International Observer have an upcoming show at The Volks in Brighton on the 20th October more news and info can always be found at Tom's myspace page www.myspace.com/internationalobserver International Observers third cd has just been released titled "Heard" and contains selected cuts from second cd All Played Out plus some new material and live tracks. Some of the tracks from All Played Out has also been tweaked a little with some new sound effects added etc samples of all tracks can be heard on his myspace page and it is available to buy online at www.amazon.co.uk or Spacific Music
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| 02 February 2007: | The
Holiwater website has been updated and remade in a blog style. It now has new
features such as a guestbook and you can join the holiwater mailing list. A
DVD boxset of the project will be released around June packed with many
features and extras comprising a cd album book DVD. Some DVD extras included
are 70 min montage of images from live show, picture gallery, making of
interviews, out takes music videos and more. As always full details can be
found at www.holiwater.com
Holiwater also now has two myspace
pages http://www.myspace.com/holiwater
and http://www.myspace.com/holiwaterproject
I have really gotten into myspace in the past year and have created a page and profile for myself. Please feel free to drop by my page can be found at http://www.myspace.com/darkraven_
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| 1st September 2006: | International
Observer will be playing live with New Zealand's Pitch Black in London on the
15th Sep. The gig at the club Neighbourhood is a launch party for Pitch
Blacks new album Frequencies Fall. The show runs from 8.30pm till 2.30am more
details can be found here. http://www.pitchblack.co.nz/?s1=live
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| 10th August 2006: | The
new stellar* album will now be released on August 28th 06. The album titled
Something Like Strangers features 11 tracks including Whiplash and For A While
feat Andy Lovegrove from Breaks Co-op. From 14th August at the official
stellar* site you can hear a new track preview from the album every day.
Andrew Maclaren says We've made our strongest album to date.
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| 9th March 2006: | The
new album from Stellar* co produced by Tom Bailey will be released in NZ
around May/June time. The first single from that is called Whiplash and can be
heard via the official site at www.stellar.co.nz
Filming of the video for the single has just been
completed and the album is almost finished with just the finishing touches to
add to it.
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| 15th January 2006: | I
have just added photos of Tom's International Observer gig which was at the
Brixton Jamm London on the 16th Nov 2005. Thanks to Tihoni, Geoff and Rob for
the supplying me with some of these photos. These can be viewed here at this
link and more pics will be added soon. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/peter.finnegan/brixton.htm
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| 13th Nov 2005: | Tom
will be be playing live as International Observer in London on the Wed 16th
Nov 2006: He is due to play at the Brixton Jam a night also featuring Alex
Paterson (The Orb) Dan Donovan (Big Audio Dynamite) and Youth. More details
can be found here.
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| 26th August 2005: | Tom
has just released a new album under his name International Observer in NZ
although this time minus Rakai Karatiana The new cd is called "All Played
Out" and features 13 tracks. Four of these tracks such as London Dub have
been previously released on compilations. But all these have been remixed for
Inclusion on the album. All Played Out is much more up tempo than its
predecessor "Seen". The album was given to 5/5 reviews by the New
Zealand Herald on its weekend of release. The same weekend it was the No.1
seller from Real Groovy's flagship store in Auckland.
Tom has been interviewed about the album by Amplifier where he states that he has also just created a classical album of Bach Chorales to bee released soon. To check out the interview and Toms new look sporting a goatee beard visit www.amplifier.co.nz where the cd can also be purchased. It is also available at www.realgroovy.co.nz
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| 30th July2005: | A
Duo called the Plump DJs have sampled Doctor Doctor in a track titled Dr Dub.
The track features on their new album "Saturday Night Lotion"
A sample of the track is available on their site. www.plumpdjs.co.uk
The track can also
be purchased and downloaded via www.fingerlickin.co.uk
or I Tunes.
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| 26th May 2005: | Tom
Bailey has been working on a new project called Holiwater. In NZ and India.
The project is a collaboration between creatives and musicians including
renowned photographer Andrei Jewell creator of the project, Youth, James
Pinker, Isaac Tucker and Indian musicians Vikash Maharaj (Sarod maestro) and
his son Prabash Maharaj (Tabla player)
The whole idea of the Holiwater project is to highlight the plight in India of the River Ganges and its people. A river which is being destroyed by heavy pollution and damming. Holiwater consists of a feature length film and documentary plus a soundtrack album. The film will go out to U.S film festivals later this year. Tom Executive music producer of Holiwater has been doing multimedia shows in New Zealand with James Pinker and along with Vikash and Prabash that featured music and images from the film to great response from the public. You can visit the new site to read more about this worthy cause and also see some pictures of Tom. Just listen to the hauntingly beautiful and stunning clip of the soundtrack theme. And notice in the documentary clip that it is also Tom that narrates this footage.
Stellar* are well on their way to completing their third album. They have been working a lot in the studio and currently the first sing lined up for first single is a track called Take A Girl (Living It Up). Tom features in this track on Dobro guitar that gives the song a slightly bluesy feel. Other tracks confirmed include "Whiplash and Everybody. Hopefully there will be a single or album release sometime 2005 and the new album looks set to be their best yet.
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| 15th January 2005: | A
new Japan only compilation cd has been released on 10th January 2005. It is
called Grooves The 12" Collection. It includes 12 extended and or remix
versions of Thompson Twins singles. Unfortunately it does not contain the
12" versions of Sister Of Mercy, The Gap or Roll Over but it does include
these tracks many for the first time on cd. The version of You Take Me
Up featured is the High Plains Mixer as Lay Your Hands On Me is the original
UK 12" version. This compilation is also available by import through
Amazon etc and also The Ideal Copy.
A new remix version of the classic Twins track Come Inside from 1991 has been revamped for 2005. The release of this record is originally due in Dec 04 is scheduled for the 17 Jan 2005. The original remix versions of Come Inside where huge smash hit in the clubs and with Djs all over the country in 1991 when the Thompson Twins released it as a white label to the clubs where only around 100 or 200 where pressed. They originally released it under the name and alter ego Feedback Max Featuring TT. The Feedback Max House Mix of Come Inside remixed by Tom Bailey and Keith Fernley of the Twins and Babble was well received and took the song to number one in the Cool Cuts Chart. The only info ive found so far was at Hmv Japan and Soul Seduction a Dance music store in Austria. Released on the Playable label any more info on this record would be appreciated. www.soulseduction.com |
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| 07 October 2004: | The reissue of
Quickstep And Side Kick has been delayed slightly to October 12th in the U.S.
Superfecta has remastered the cd to give the highest possible sound and has
given the album its original track order and full album title. There are
lyrics plus artwork for the singles as well as new liner notes from journalist
Stephen "Spaz" Schnee of the All Music Guide and 4 bonus tracks. The
track listing is as follows:
For More details or to pre order visit. http://www.superfecta.com/ The album will also be available for sale generally in retailers like Amazon etc. It should also be available on import in the U.K. The reissue of Into The Gap has now been released by a company called AAO Music and is only available through American retailer FYE online and instore. This is because it is a joint venture by both companies. The reissue contains two bonus tracks consisting of Heavens Above and The Kiss and an interview by Mark Goodier recorded for Radio Clyde in March 84. A strange choice of tracks since they are from the Future Days period and not from Into The Gap. Fye also AAO also have the rights to Future Days and will release it in a few months. The bonus tracks for that album are reported to be Lay Your Hands On Me 12" and the instrumental version called Alice. Unfortunately it seems Fye dont ship outside the U.S. You can visit the link to the album here. http://shop.fye.com/product.aspx?sku=63905298&loc=50244
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| 6th August 2004: | Live Aid will be officially
released on 4 disc dvd sometime in November 8th 04. The dvd will feature the
performance from the Thompson Twins.
The two Thompson Twins albums Into The Gap and Here's To Future Days may be re-released on cd. A company has gotten hold of the rights and permission to release these two albums. Superfecta Recordings may release the reissue of Quickstep And Side Kick in November. The bonus tracks will be the original 12" versions of Lies, Love On Your Side and We are Detective plus Lucky Day 7" the digitally remastered cd will have artwork for all the singles and new liner notes. It will be based on the UK version of the album with the same title and track list and track order.
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| 19th April 2004: | I have been informed
by a recording company called Superfecta Records that they plan to re-release
Quick Step And Side Kick on cd with bonus tracks providing they get permission
from the Record Company. One of the bonus tracks planned for the cd is Lucky
Day 7" Version. The cd may also be remastered. Superfecta have reissued
many cd by artists such as Del Amirti and sell a wide range of New Wave
and 80s Alternative cds through their website. More details on them can be
found at http://www.superfectarecordings.com/home.html
I have added 10 new pictures to page 2 of the Thompson Twins Gallery. A few more will be added soon.
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| 19 February 2004: | The soundtrack
to the new film "50 First Dates" starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore
features a cover Hold Me Now. The cover is performed by Wayne Wonder. It
has been done like all the tracks in the film in a Reggae/Caribbean style
and stays quite true to the original song. The cover version is to be released
as a single and a video has been made for the song. The album also includes
covers of other 80s songs including The Cars Drive by Ziggy Marley. The
full track can be listened to on the films website.
50
First Dates
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| 01 February 2004: | International
Observer will be one of the artists in the line up to play at the forth
coming gig Splore in NZ. The event takes place on the 5th, 6th and 7th
of March 04. Splore will be held at the Waharau Regional Park Auckland.
Other artists lined up include Pitch Black. Details can be found at http://www.muzic.net.nz/artists/1014.html
and http://www.splore.net/
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| 22 May 2003: | The Best
Of Thompson Twins is from a new series of cds called Platinum And Gold
and features artists like Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. The Thompson
Twins compilation like all the cds is digitally remastered for the best
possible sound and contains some rare photos in the cd booklet. This collection
doesn't have any rare or new music to offer but it does have a few nice
touches. Instead of going for the album version of Sister Of Mercy the
record company have opted for the original UK single version with the piano
intro a good choice in my opinion. This track is harder to find on cd as
most recent Twins hits cd have usually included the album version of the
track. The original version can be found on some obscure 80s compilation
but who wants to buy an cd like that with lots of other songs that you
may not like so including this particular version on Platinum And Gold
would seem to me like a wise move. On the same note Lay Your Hands On Me
features here as the ever popular UK single version. As most fans will
know produced by Tom and the late Alex Sadkin a match made in heaven that
go the Thompson Twins their familiar sound.
There is no denying that this cd could do with some rare tracks and unreleased material to make it really stand out from the crowd . The fact that these most of these songs have all been featured on other cds is what lets it down slightly. But to compensate for that a little you do get sound that is noticeably better. You don't have to turn it up quite so loud to get an enjoyable listening level. There are seven photos in all including the front and back cover ones. These are pretty good. I have seen picture from the same photos shoots before but not these particular pics. Two Pictures seem completely new to me the most notable being behind the cd casing which is a shot from the Tv programme Album Flash and another where the Thompson Twins all looking very photogenic are wearing clothes previously unseen. The liner notes by Bill Pitzonka include anything that me and hardcore Twins fans don't already know but they are informative. They go into the Thompson Twins early career as a seven piece in quite detail and even mentions Tom Alannah and Joe's consideration of carrying on the band as a threesome under the name Bermuda Triangle. Its all attractively packaged. If your looking for some new Twins music to satisfy you then i would go for the Camden Greatest Hits with all its rarities. If its great sound your after then The Platinum And Gold Collection may just be what your looking for Peter. Bic Runga
is coming to the UK to do some gigs. Bic from New Zealand is the sister
of Boh Runga from Stellar*. Tom created to remixes of Bics song drive the
title track of her first album which was a massive seller in her home country.
It became the biggest selling album in NZ by a NZ artist. Two tracks from
that album Sway and Good Morning Baby featured on the American Pie soundtrack.
The remixes by Tom where Drive Interstellar Overdrive Mix and Drive Doordarshan
Mix. Bic's follow up album Beautiful Collision has also been extremely
successful and she recently picked up a handful of awards at the NZ Tuis
Awards. Bic will play London at the Union Chapel on the 10Th July. More
dates may be announced and her second album will also get a UK release.
Her music is not always as up tempo as Stellar* but is still very good
Bic's website is http://www.bicrunga.com
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| 12th May 2003: | Tom
and Rakai have now put up a website for International Observer. Rakai is
an accomplished website designer and created an impressive website for
Neil Finn. International Observer's site can be found at www.internationalobserver.com
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| 01 May 2003: |
 Here
is my review of the new Greatest Hits cd from Camden I had planned to put
it up sooner but it took my a while to get hold of the new cd. There has
been so may Greatest Hits packages over the last few years that adding
another one in an already swamped market could be considered overkill.
I would agree that there are some of them we could have done without. This
one however offers a glimmer of hope to die hard Twins fans looking to
hear some unreleased material.
As mentioned previously this new cd has what could only be described as premix or pre-album version of In The Name Of Love and Hold Me Now. If you were ever able to catch the Twins performing Hold Me Now on shows like Top Of The Pops and Crackerjack then you would have noticed that the song sounded a little different. The mix of Hold Me Now that features on this cd is the same or at least very close to the Totp one. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is Sister Of Mercy. With a title like the 7" version you would expect the Piano orientated intro familiar with the vinyl 7" but not here. The intro starts similar to the album version then in the first verse there whole new percussion/drum sounds that gives the song a slightly dubby feel. The second verse gets even better with the inclusion of weird sounding keyboards that sound almost like an electronic bass guitar. This and the drums seems to give the song a more upbeat feel. I have to say i like this version a lot the track ends like the album version but has a booming drum beat in the outro and also the addition of some extra little piano riffs layered over the top. The inclusion of the original 12" inch version of Lay Your Hands On Me is most welcome. The vinyl versions have always been me an many Twins fans favorites. Its a beautiful mix that is always sounded better with Alannah's percussion in the middle section rather than all those rocky guitars. These single versions were produced by Alex Sadkin and Tom and that is was gives them that Thompson Twins sound we've all grown to love. It is also good to see the inclusion of Lucky Day the b.side to We Are Detective and Roll Over. Roll Over is popular with most Thompson Twins fans. This song could have been a huge hit if it had been released as a single as originally planned back in 85. I think this is it first time on cd and apart from some rare promos and white labels only featured on the North American release of Here's To Future Days. I also like the design of this hits cd. Camden have chosen to use the Thompson Twins font and three headed logo an image so synonymous with the Twins something missing from recent hits cd's giving it an altogether more Thompson Twins look and feel. Twins fan Blake Bell owner of the Thompson Twins Homepage has also done a good job with the sleeve notes that accompany the disc. This cd is by no means an anthology that's something i would still love to see but it is a competent release worthy of the Thompson Twins. Camden had a few gems on their last cd "Singles Collection" a disc that featured Perfect Game and a previously unheard mix of Lay Your Hands On Me. Someone recently told us that during making Into The Gap Tom had composed almost double the amount of songs that where chosen for that album. These record company's vaults must be a virtual Aladdin's cave of rare music. Will it ever see the light of day? We can only wait and see Here's To Future Releases
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Hi
Thompson Twins Fans there is good news this week. On Monday the 7th April
a new Greatest Hits cd was released. Not another one i hear you cry. Yes
that was my first thoughts too but this one has a few surprises on it.
Recent compilations have been much of the same. But this new mid price
cd is definitely worth buying. Its out on the Camden Label and is called
Thompson Twins Greatest Hits. Now let me tell you what makes it so special.
The rare tracks are:
In The Name Of Love an early mix version. Hold Me Now also a pre mix version. Sister Of Mercy advertised as 7" version but apparently an different mix of the track never heard before. Lay Your Hands On Me Original 12" version from the 12" vinyl its first time on cd. King For A Day Fools In Paradise version. Lucky Day never before released on cd. And the Original 7" version of Roll Over never released commercially. This track was due to be one of the first singles from the Future Days album but was cancelled due to Tom falling ill in 85 and only some promo copies of this got out. Other tracks are the standard versions of these songs We Are Detective 7", If You Where Here, Doctor Doctor, Love On Your Side 7", You Take Me Up, Don't Mess With Dr Dream, Nothing In Common, And Get That Love. I'm still waiting on my copy so i haven't heard the tracks but ive been told the rare version of Sister Of Mercy is great. The cd was co compiled by Blake Bell owner of the great Thompson Twins Unofficial Homepage. He told the co. what tracks he would like to hear and they say yes. The booklet notes have been written by Blake and there are some rare pics in there too. It out in the UK now. Its not an Anthology but at around £5.99 its great value. And can also be purchased online through sites like HMV and Amazon. Finally there is another greatest hits compo on the way from Arista to be released in the US 6th May. I have saw a list of the tracks from this one and it seems like just the standard singles. I will post details here if i find anything different about this one the interesting point would seem to be this its Remastered i will keep you up to date. All we need now is a Thompson Twins Dvd Here's To Future Days Peter.
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Stellar* are finally to play for the fist time in the UK this is good news for UK fans. The band will be supported by another great NZ band The Feelers. This will be over 2 hrs of New Zealand music. The band will play the Shepherds Bush Empire London on Friday the 30th August at 7.00pm with tickets priced around £17. Stellar are produced by Tom Bailey and have had two No.1 albums with their first going 5 times platinum. They also swept the boards at the NZ Tuis awards where Tom has picked up awards for best producer for both albums. For more info and tickets visit www.1stcontact.co.uk | ||||||||||||||
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Brand new Stellar* single out now in NZ. The latest single Star from their no.1 album Magic Line also contains a remix of Taken, unreleased track We Go Out plus a third track. And is available to buy at www.netcd.co.nz | ||||||||||||||
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A
new Ep has just been released by International Observer the
NZ duo consisting of one Mr. Tom Bailey and Rakai Karaitiana. The Seen
Ep was out 27th May on vinyl is available through all good record shops
and the website www.diffdrum.co.uk
The new Ep contains 2 exclusive tracks
"London" a stomping house track , a new mix Vale (6/8 Bengal version) and
2 tracks from the album seen. Flip Flop Cemetery and Barone. International
observer are also playing live in the UK 5th-7th July at an event called
The Big Chill. Tickets are £99 for 3 days and event is held in Wiltshire
more details can be found at www.bigchill.net
This info courtesy of Passion Planet head over to his
site where he has just secured an exclusive interview with Tom Bailey www.passionplanet.co.uk
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Andrew Maclaren from Stellar* mentioned recently that the band may be coming to the UK. This is good news for UK fans if it happens. Fans of the band in the UK have been hoping for this for a long time it would be nice to see Stellar* racing up the UK charts more news will be posted here. | ||||||||||||||
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Congratulations
to Stellar* on going straight in at no.1 in the NZ album chart with
their excellent new album Magic Line. The first single All It Takes is
still riding high in the charts. It stayed at no.11 for the second week
running as Stellar* prepare for the start of the new Magic Line Tour on
Nov the 7th. Stellar* have been appearing heavily on tv and radio in their
home country to promote the release and it looks like its paid off. The
Cd can be purchased from www.netcd.co.nz
There have been a few changes to the track titles
from what was originally suggested the album consists of the following
tracks.
Are You Waiting All It Takes Taken Star Lightspeed Imperfect Crazy Sorry Magic Line If I Could One More Day. Plus one hidden track of unknown title. The second cut from the album Taken will include the mix of All It Takes by Charlie Clouser from Nine Inch Nails.
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The new revamped Stellar* site is now online and has new features and media including audio clips of "All It Takes" and "Taken" the full video of All It Takes in higher resolution and new photos and desktop wallpaper. All this to accompany the new album The site can be found at www.stellar.co.nz | ||||||||||||||
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Congratulations to Stellar* who's new single All It Takes has just reached no.9 in the NZ top 50 chart up from 23 lets hope it goes to no.1More International Observer news received is that "Seen" is to also get a US release on October the 16th good news for American fans. International Observer are also doing a live gig in NZ at St James on 12th October along with other bands. If anyone is lucky enough get along it should be a good gig and its good to see Tom is still getting out there to play live. | ||||||||||||||
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The first single "All It Takes" from the forthcoming Stellar* album Magic Line was released yesterday Friday the 14th September in NZ. It is available on cd single only and also features a previously unreleased demo version of the song "You" and a live version of their hit single Violent. | ||||||||||||||
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Stellar* have confirmed the track list for their new album titled Magic Line. Tracks are All It Takes, One More Day, Baby You're A Star Lightspeed, Magic Line, If I Could, Taken, Ready To Fall, Nowhere, Imperfect And Crazy not necessarily in that order. All It Takes is the first single and is released to Radio in New Zealand now. This track has been played live for some time now at Stellar* gigs and has been well received. The album is due out October/November. | ||||||||||||||
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You
may know that Tom Bailey has been working with New Zealand combo Stellar*.
He produced their first album Mix and played keyboards on the album as
well as remixing some tracks. Tom is also producing their second release
and they are currently in the studio working on tracks hopefully
for a release sometime later in 2001. The second album is expected to have
an International release exciting news as Mix was only available in their
home country and Australia. See the official site
http://www.stellar.co.nz/
for details.
International Observer have finally released their full cd after some previous tracks were only available on compilation cds or remixes for other artists Including Pitch Black. The new cd is called Seen and was released in New Zealand around the 26th June 2001. Int Observer are Tom Bailey and New Zealander Rakai Karaitiana a dj and also a web designer who designed the Impressive looking Neil Finn website. Seen will be released in the UK in Sep through different drummer records www.diffdrum.co.uk and a sample can be heard here. http://www.diffdrum.co.uk/pages/album_sideways.html The music is downbeat ambient dub music but with strong melodies and has been receiving rave reviews from the press and media. Groove magazine says wonderful on all fronts especially when your stereo speakers appear to move sideways during the terrific and tricky "Barone". While NZ shop Marbecks says. A superb production job tops off one of the best electronica debuts this country has seen for some time. With International Observer gigs lasting as even as long as 4 to 5hrs and this full release Tom Finally seems to be getting the recognition he deserves. |
Here
are details of the track listing for the forthcoming Arista cd Platinum
And Gold. So Far most interesting here Is the addition of remastered sound
for better quality. This is a US release.