PANCY LAU (劉鳳屏) - THE VERY BEST OF PANCY LAU VOLUME 1 [1968-70]

Here's a post dedicated to my personal "very best" of Hong Kong singer Pancy Lau (劉鳳屏); I created this compilation as an introduction to her beautiful world.

This first part gathers together 25 tracks culled from singles and albums released during 1968-70. A second part focused on more recent recordings will be posted at a later date.

According to the information I was able to find on the Internet, all songs are sung in Mandarin. A few more details about some of them is available below.

Pancy Lau, who is also known as the Sweet Diva, grew up around cabarets and music clubs. She frequently traveled around Asia in places like Taiwan and Malaysia to perform at various venues. Her years of experience have helped to build her strong vocal foundation. Pancy Lau possesses a naturally sweet and beautiful voice, which is pleasant and moving to hear. Her music and success has touched fans from all around the world. The following biography is mostly based on this original feature that our friend Brian was kind enough to translate for us, THANK YOU!

Pancy Lau (Lau Fung Ping, 劉鳳屏 or 刘鳳屏, also referred to as Liu Feng Ping) was born sometimes in the late 40s / early 50s in a family of musicians; her father Lau Bak Lok (劉伯樂) - also known as Tin Ngai (天涯) - was a well-known Cantonese Opera Star. He was her very first music teacher, and guided her through the entertainment world.

Her career started when she was around 8 or 9 years old singing Cantonese Opera. As a teenager she transitioned to singing songs she enjoyed: Pop music. During the early 60s she participated two times in the Sing Tao Daily Singing Competition in Hong Kong with no significant results.

Pancy Lau, circa 1968

During these days, she learned the importance of enunciation when singing Mandarin pop songs: without proper enunciation, songs lose their beauty and meaning. Her passion for music fueled her drive to succeed. Realizing that her Mandarin wasn't great, she took this opportunity to improve herself and spent six months studying with teacher Lui Jing Jing (呂晶晶) from Shanghai. In 1965 at the 6th Annual Sing Tao Daily Competition, she won first place singing Lee Heung Lan's (李香蘭) song "Three Years" (三年).

Upon winning the competition, Pancy's parents suggested that she start working at the Golden Crown Night Club (金冠). It was here that she became a star taking the stage as their principal singing artist. Pancy quickly gained popularity: originally performing only one show a night at 8:00pm, she was soon booked for four shows a night due to high demand, from 8:00pm to 12:30am. Though it was a lot of hard work, she felt a sense of satisfaction, which made all of her prior hardships worth it.

Television Broadcasts Limited (電視廣播有限公司), commonly known as TVB, commenced broadcasting in Hong Kong on 19 November 1967. Pancy Lau was one of the first musical artists who participated in the popular show "歡樂今宵" (Enjoy Yourself Tonight), which was the longest running variety show in Hong Kong's television history. Other famous artist from this show included Betty Chung (鍾玲玲), Stella Chee (奚秀藺), Sandra Lang (仙杜拉) - one half of The Chopsticks duo along with Amina (阿美娜) - and Sylvia Lai (森森).

At this time Pancy was so popular that she was booked seven days a week. She was singing at the night club on Saturdays and the cabaret on Sundays which ran both afternoon and night shows. She was doing 13+ shows per week. At this point she was at the peak of her career.

Pancy Lau, circa 1970

In 1968 Fung Hang Records released her debut album entitled "My Heart Is Beating - 我的心蹦蹦跳". This was her only release to feature an English translation of the title on the cover. The album was the first in a long series of recordings that continued for more than fifteen years.

Following two EPs entitled "水長流" ("Water Flows Long") and "山前山後百花开" ("When the Flowers Bloom On Mount Qian Shan"), Pancy Lau's second album was finally published in late 1969. "快回頭望一望" ("Quickly Take a Look Behind") contained twelve songs, including the eight tracks already released on her previous EPs.

The record was a huge success with no less than four editions published - and sometimes also bootlegged - by different labels in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. At the time, a lot of popular music was coming from being featured on television or were theme songs from television drama series. The album, however, did not need any push from the media to become an instant hit, as it contained enough fresh material to estabilish itself as a modern classic.

1970-71 were probably the most successful years for Pancy Lau, with many other EPs and LPs released on Fung Hang Records (風行) and New Wave Record Co. (新風). However, at the peak of her career, stress began to take its tall, too many commitments and accumulated fatigue took over. Furthermore, after the release of her fourth album, Pancy had come down with Tracheitis and Goiter. Tracheitis is an acute upper respiratory infection while Goiter is an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. Fearing surgery would ruin her voice, she turned to medicine. She lost her voice regardless and was forced to take a six months break to control the illness and recover.

Pancy Lau, circa 1977

Pancy Lau released many more albums during the 70s and early 80s, mostly on Life Records (麗風) and Fung Hang Records (風行), but also on other smaller labels. Since the mid-70s Pancy switched from Mandarin Pop to the more popular Cantonese Pop and in 1974 she had another hit with "紅燭淚" (Red Candle Tears), a theme song from a successful TV series.

During the years she continued to have a loyal following and to perform in many television shows, but was never able to match the huge success - and the magic - of her early releases.

In 1988 Pancy got married and moved with her husband to Canada; she stopped singing in public and making records to become an appreciated singing teacher in Vancouver, where she still lives today.

In 2006 she was featured in an episode of the popular TVB show 友緣相聚 (Where Are They Now?) conducted by iconic TV personality 沈殿霞 (Lydia Sum a.k.a. Fei-Fei / 肥肥); since then she has enjoyed a comeback performing a few concerts for the joy of old and new fans.

Pancy Lau, late 70s / early 80s

"The Very Best of Pancy Lau Volume 1 [1968-70]" contains the following songs:

01. 莫負青春 (2:20)
02. 我的心蹦蹦跳 (2:08)
03. 阿里郎 (1:44)
04. 紅睡蓮 (2:22)
05. 誰能替我傳心意 (2:36)
06. 我的心裡有個他 (2:09)
07. 姑娘的心意 (2:00)
08. 一吻定情 (2:33)
09. 我還是永遠愛著你 (2:47)
10. 山前山後百花開 (2:15)
11. 黃葉舞秋風 (2:10)
12. 難忘負情的你 (2:46)
13. 快回頭望一望 (2:53)
14. 採檳榔 (2:57)
15. 銀花飛 (2:46)
16. 夢的祈禱 (2:02)
17. 戀愛的季節 (1:50)
18. 寂靜的夜 (2:25)
19. 淚的衣裳 (2:15)
20. 磁性的迷惑 (2:30)
21. 讓我慢慢告訴你 (2:38)
22. 你幾時回家 (1:44)
23. 討厭的電話鈴 (2:14)
24. 月光小夜曲 (3:20)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyls and CDs in September and October 2012, and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files, both formats include complete printable artwork as PDF files. Please have a look at the comments for the download links.

Pancy Lau's debut album "我的心蹦蹦跳 - My Heart Is Beating", FHLP 1001, 1968

Here's a few information about the songs included on this "best of". The translations of the song titles are approximate in most cases, but anyway... I would like to thank duriandave from Soft Film 軟性電影 for his kind and precious help with the most difficult titles.

01. "莫負青春" (Don't Turn Your Back on Youth) is a song from the movie with the same title; it was originally performed in 1947 by singer / actress 周璇 (Zhou Xuan), one of China's seven great singing stars. You can listen and watch the original version here.

02. "我的心蹦蹦跳" (My Heart Is Beating) is the title track from FHLP 1001 (...see Pancy Lau discography here); it was also performed by 江鷺 (Kong Lo) and 鍾玲玲 (Betty Chung), I'm not sure about who was the original performer... Anyway, Kong Lo's version is available here.

03. "阿里郎" (Arirang) is one of the most famous Korean traditional folk songs. In its original form it has been sung for more than 600 years: who would even think about it listening to the swinging version presented here? There's plenty of versions available on YouTube.

04. "紅睡蓮" (Red Water Lilies) was originally a Japanese song recorded by 李香蘭 (Shirley Yamaguchi) in 1940 (available here). Mandarin versions were later recorded by 美黛 (Mei Dai), 張露 (Chang Loo) and many others.

05. "誰能替我傳心意" (Who Can Replace the Object of My Affection) was also recorded by 陳依齡 (Irene Chan, her version is available here) and 张小英 (Chang Siao Ying, here).

06. "我的心裡有個他" (There is Somebody in My Heart) was adapted from a Japanese song recorded by 翁倩玉 (Judy Ongg, available here) in 1967. This version appeared on Pancy Lau's first EP in 1968 and is one her earliest recordings. The song was also recorded by 鄧麗君 (Teresa Teng).

Pancy Lau's second - and most successful - album "快回頭望一望", FHLP 608, 1969

07. "姑娘的心意" (A Maiden's Heart) is another adaptation of a song imported from Japan. The original was popularized by 美空ひばり (Misora Hibari, available here - the song begins at about 2:00); the Mandarin version was also successfully performed by 張露 (Chang Loo).

08. "一吻定情" (One Kiss To Mark Our Love) is my favourite Pancy Lau song for sure: the arrangement is simply marvellous, probably the grooviest Far-East track I happened to listen ever! The original version was, once again, a Japanese song recorded by singer / actor 橋 幸夫 (Yukio Hashi, available here) in 1964. 黃菱 (Wong Ling) performed the original Mandarin version, that you can listen here, in 1967.

09. "我還是永遠愛著你" (I Will Still Love You Forever) is an old Taiwanese folk love song which during the years has been performed by many famous female singers including 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su Rong, available here, the song begins at about 3:00), 鄧麗君 (Teresa Teng, available here), 湯蘭花 (Tang Lang Hwa, here) and 陳芬蘭 (Chen Fen Lan, here).

10. The sweet "山前山後百花开" (When the Flowers Bloom On Mount Qian Shan) is another one of the early Pancy Lau recordings committed to vinyl in 1969. The original version was recorded in 1962 by 劉韻 (Liu Yun, available here). The song was also later covered by 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su Rong, available here) and 奚秀兰 (Stella Chee, here).

11. "黃葉舞秋風" (Dance of the Autumn Yellow Leaves) features a sort of bonna-nova arrangement. This song was performed by 周璇 (Zhou Xuan) in 1947 in the movie "長相思" (An All-consuming Love) starring herself, the original version is available here.

This is supposed to be Pancy Lau's third album "劉鳳屏之歌", NWLP 2021, 1970...

12. "難忘負情的你" (Your Unforgettable Love) is taken from Pancy Lau's fourth album (...FHLP 635, see her discography here...), I wasn't able to find any relevant information about it...

13. "快回頭望一望" (Quickly Take a Look Behind) is the title track from Pancy Lau's 1970 second album (...FHLP 608...) and his one of her signature songs. During the years it has been covered many times and has become a karaoke classic.

14. "採檳榔" (Picking Betel Nuts) is a popular Taiwan song, it was performed by many female singers, including Zhou Xuan (周璇, available here) and 鄧麗君 (Teresa Teng), an '80s live version is available here) who remembered about this being the very first song her mother taught her to sing as a child.

15."銀花飛" (Silver Flower) is another old Chinese classic popularized by Zhou Xuan (周璇), the original version is available here.

16. During 1969/70 "夢的祈禱" (A Prayer For You) was also performed by 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su Rong, available here) and 林竹君 (Lena Lim, here).

17. "戀愛的季節" (The Season of Love) is the Mandarin version of another famous late '60s Japanese song. Among others, it was performed by 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su Rong, available here), 鄧麗君 (Teresa Teng, here) and 謝雷 (Xie Lei). Once again, Pancy Lau's version benefits of a supergroovy arrangement on her own version!

18. "寂靜的夜" (The Silence of the Night) is a Mandarin version of the Japanese classic "ウナ・セラ・ディ東京 - Una sera di Tokyo" (One Night in Tokyo), which was initially performed in 1963 by vocal duo ザ・ピーナッツ (The Peanuts) with the title "東京たそがれ」" (Tokyo Twilight). When touring Japan in1964, famous Italian singer Milva recorded her own version adding the 'Una sera di Tokyo' line to the refrain. The song became successfull and The Peanuts re-recorded it with the new title and lyrics.

... and this is probably her fourth album "難忘負情的你", FHLP 635, also released in 1970.

19. "淚的衣裳" (Dress of Tears) is another Mandarin version of a Japanese song originally recorded by 翁倩玉 (Judy Ongg, available here) in 1969. This was also part of the repertoire of the usual suspects: 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su Rong, available here), 謝雷 (Xie Lei, here), 林竹君 (Lena Lim, here) and many more...

20. "磁性的迷惑" (Magnetic Seduction) was previously performed by 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su Rong, available here) in a 1969 movie whose title eludes me...

21. "讓我慢慢告訴你" (I Will Tell You) was included on Pancy Lau's third album for Fung Hang Records (...FHLP 635...). This song was also performed by 鄧麗君 (Teresa Teng), available here), 龙飘飘 (Long Piau Piau, here) and 尤雅 (Yu Ya).

22. I don't have any information about "你幾時回家" (When Will You Come Home?); I was only able to discover that this song was covered by 周玲寶 (Chow Ling Po) and 太陽神樂隊 (The Apollo)... By the way, did I mention that The Apollo is the backing band on many of the tracks featured on this collection?

23. "討厭的電話鈴" (An Annoying Telephone Call) is an original composition that appears as the closing number on Pancy's debut album. Yes, that telephone bell is really irritating!

24. The sweet "月光小夜曲" (Moonlight Serenade) derives from a Japanese song originally recorded by 渡辺はま子 (Hamako Watanabe) in 1941. The Mandarin version was popularized in the early '60s by 紫薇 (Zu Wei, available here); it was also performed by 陳芬蘭 (Chen Fen Lan, here) and many others..

Pancy Lau, circa 2008

The following videoclips are taken from episode #19 of TVB show 友緣相聚 (Where Are They Now?), enjoy!

More information about Pancy Lau is available here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Hong_Kong

http://home.ied.edu.hk/~hkpop/music/hkpophistory.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dk_gilbert/sets/72157608139056712/

http://www.goldenage.hk/b5/ga/ga_article.php?article_id=1079

http://paper.wenweipo.com/2007/04/21/EN0704210024.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUIeOiDudhg&feature=related

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/vinyl-history/article?mid=42&l=f&fid=12

http://www.funghang.com/200610/asp/disc_list.asp?class1=6&singer=%E5%8A%89%E9%B3%B3%E5%B1%8F

http://blog.roodo.com/muzikland/archives/2578425.html

http://baike.baidu.com/view/5637119.htm

http://www.vinylparadise.com/4pop_can/1/066LFP0A.htm

http://www.inkui.com/a1/A/A4A8B8CB7ABE6FF6C1CF_a.html

http://robokon.orgfree.com/5080/5080_LauFungPing.htm

http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/chrishui/post/1276979467

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/%E5%8A%89%E9%B3%B3%E5%B1%8F

http://www.whatsinmag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1004%3A2012-04-02-19-44-12&catid=75%3A2012-03-30-21-17-42&lang=tw

I'm currently trying to compile a Pancy Lau exhaustive discography, my work-in-progress is available here.

All my posts dedicated to Pancy Lau on this blog are available here.

In the next months I will post more Hong Kong/Taiwan/Singapore/etc. Pop/Instrumental records released in the late-60s / mid-70s. As usual, I would like to provide information about these releases and their authors.

Unfortunately the Internet doesn't offer much information - written in English - about these artists and this is the reason why I need help: if you can translate from Chinese to English please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!

It's been difficult to obtain these vinyls, some are not in the best conditions and I'm currently working hard to properly master them. It seems that these artists and their music are poorly known in the West, of course it's a real pity because they made stunning releases: I'd like to share them with you with a proper presentation, hope that someone will be able to help.

DICK JENSEN "REAL GOOD WOMAN / BIRD YOU MUST FLY" (1970)

Mornings I'm grumpy when you let me sleep too late
I howl about the bacon and the eggs that are broken upon my plate
the toast is cold, the house is warm, the radio is too high
someone's at the back door and the baby decides to cry

But my woman smiles and says "I tried"
there was a time I know she cried
and as I put my love and arms around her
and look into her eyes

And I'm thinking
oh damn, you're a real good woman, no matter what else I say
I didn't get much sleep last night, I'm gonna have a miserable day
you know I'm happy and I'm proud that you're my wife

Cheer up baby, you'll see, I'll see
that we'll have a real good life

The birthday dress I bought you was several sizes large
you go down to the shopping center and pick up whatever you wanna charge
it's saturday night and all goes right, I'll take you on the town
it's about time I woke up and show my girl around

'cause I'm thinking
oh damn, you're a real good woman, no matter what else I say
I didn't get much sleep last night, I'm gonna have a miserable day
you know I'm happy and I'm proud that you're my wife

Cheer up baby, you'll see, I'll see
that we'll have a real good life

[From the lyrics of "Real Good Woman"]



"White Hot Soul", Dick Jensen's debut album was still fresh in early 1970. In those days he was enjoying his engagement with Don Costa Productions and had already performed in the most exclusive clubs all over the U.S. and abroad, such as the Century Plaza and the Copacabana in New York, the Diplomat in Hollywood and the Caribe Hilton hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

During this period Jensen was also regularly featured on many important network variety shows, such as the Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, David Frost shows and other talkathons including the Tonight show.

Once again produced and arranged by Don Costa, "Real Good Woman / Bird You Must Fly" was released in May 1970 by Probe Records - a subsidiary of ABC Records - in a black and white picture cover.

The single you see on this page is a promotional item, regular copies of the single exist but are seldom seen on the market... Just like it seems to have happened for the earlier Jensen's singles on Loma Records, promo copies for this item are more widely available that the proper release.

Showcasing a nice arrangement by Don Costa - and production by Costa and Bob Morgan, "Real Good Woman" is a song written by Tony Romeo who, in his career as a songwriter, has worked - among others - for The Seekers, The Everly Brothers, Richard Harris and David Cassidy. The song was later performed by New York pop group The Changing Scene and Irish singer Joe Dolan.

"Bird You Must Fly" is a cover - with different lyrics - of "Din tid är förbi" a song recorded in 1969 by Swedish singer Tommy Körberg. The original was written by Henrik Salander and Jan Bråthe, with English lyrics by Roger Wallis. Well, a rather obscure choice...





Here's the track list for this 7" single:

01. Real Good Woman (2:47)
02. Bird You Must Fly (2:52)

Both tracks were remastered from vinyl in October 2012 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files, both formats include scans of the original item in PDF format. Please have a look at the comments for the download links.

More information about Dick Jensen is available here:

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/06/22/news/story02.html

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jun/22/il/FP606220304.html

http://www.oahuislandnews.com/May05/Home.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Jensen

I'm currently compiling a Dick Jensen biography, the first part of this work-in-progress covers the period 1942-1972 and is available here.

I'm also trying to compile a Dick Jensen exhaustive discography, my work-in-progress is available here.

Last but not least, I'm also trying to build a collection of Dick Jensen pictures and memorabilia, my work-in-progress is available here.

All my posts dedicated to Dick Jensen on this blog are available here.

I will post more Dick Jensen stuff in the next weeks, if you have any other useful information about him and his releases or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

THE NOSEBLEEDS - LIVE (AUDIENCE TAPE, UNKNOWN LOCATION, 1977)

The Nosebleeds formed in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England in 1976 under the name of Wild Ram. They changed their name to Ed Banger and The Nosebleeds in early 1977 with the following line-up: Edmund "Ed Banger" Garrity (vocals), Vincent "Vini" Reilly (guitar), Phillip "Toby" Tomanov (drums) and Pete Crooks (bass).

On July 25, 1977, the band released their one and only single: "Ain't Bin To No Music School / Fascist Pigs". The record was released by Rabid Records and was available both with silver and blue labels; it is reported that 10.000 copies were pressed and sold in total. Both songs on the single were written by Banger/Reilly:

Sadly The Nosebleeds didn't release any album: when Banger and Reilly left, Morrissey (...yes, him!) and Billy Duffy replaced them, but the band survived just for a limited time and no releases came out of that later lineup.

Before dissolving in late May of 1978, The Nosebleeds performed two concerts, one at the Ritz (supporting Magazine) and one at the Manchester Polytechnic for a Rabid Records benefit.

After the group split up Banger released a few solo singles and joined Slaughter and the Dogs during their period as Slaughter, Morrissey went on to form The Smiths, Toby appeared with Ludus, Blue Orchids and Primal Scream, and Pete Crooks joined up with Vini Reilly in the first incarnation of The Durutti Column under the "guide" of Tony Wilson.

The Nosebleeds performing live in 1977

Well, at last I was able to lay my hands on this rare live recording of The Nosebleeds. Location and exact date of recording are unknown but since Ed Banger is on vocals and unmistakable Vini Reilly is on the guitar I guess that this is 1977.

Technically speaking, the recording in my possession is not in the best shape and there are a few cuts here and there. I tried to make my best to enhance the quality, but miracles are beyond me.

Oddly enough, the two tracks published on the "Ain't Bin To No Music School / Fascist Pigs" single are performed at the beginning of the concert... Seeing that usually bands don't play their strongest material as opening numbers, I speculate that maybe the tracklist has been changed and that the original running order may well have been different.

Two songs are specially worthy of being mentioned because they offer succulent curiosities: the guitar solo at the beginning of "Don't Know" is very similar to the one featured on the earlier versions of Joy Division's "Interzone", while "Middle Class Suburban Creep" offers the same riff that Vini Reilly will use a few years later on "Jazz", a track included on his debut album "The Return of the Durutti Column".

Ed Banger performing live with The Nosebleeds in 1977, picture by John Crumpton

Here's the complete tracklist of this precious live document:

01. Ain't Bin To No Music School (2:21)
02. Fascist Pigs (2:24)
03. Uptight (2:07)
04. Rich Kid (2:35)
05. Don't Know (1:00)
06. Middle Class Suburban Creep (1:20)
07. Blackpool Rock (2:18)
08. Another Ounce of Rock (1:31)

All tracks were remastered in October 2012, they are available as a single FLAC lossless format file or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 file. Both formats include complete printable artwork as PDF files.

Before you burn this album on CD-R using the provided CUE file you will need to convert the original files to WAV format using an appropriate software. Here's an option for FLAC to WAV conversion and one for MP3 to WAV conversion.

As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download links.

The following video offers a rare chance to watch the band performing live on TV in 1977. Some sources mention this as being part of the "So It Goes" series hosted by Tony Wilson but I'm inclined to think that the programme was "Granada Report". Anyway, Tony appears several times in the video and we can see him receiving the warm attentions of Ed Banger... Horrible quality, but what a find!

More information about The Nosebleeds, Ed Banger and the Manchester Punk scene is available here:

http://www.dorsetmusicguide.com/toby-toman-interview/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Banger_and_the_Nosebleeds

http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/nosebleeds.htm

http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/nosebleeds2.htm

http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/nosebleedsinterview.htm

http://punkygibbon.co.uk/bands/n/nosebleeds.html

http://www.johncrumpton.co.uk/page15.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGsU2s7Yj1w

http://www.edbanger.net/

http://punkrocker.org.uk/punkscene/manchester77.html

http://punkrocker.org.uk/punkscene/manchester77b.html

If you have any other useful information concerning this post - or if you spot any dead links - please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

THE SHEEP RECORDS STORY #7: THE MEN FROM S.P.E.C.T.R.E. "REVENGE OF THE BLIND MAN" (1998)

Sheep Records was a Swiss underground label specialized in Garage-Rock, Surf, Lounge and other Rock'n'Roll oddities. Run by Christian Müller from Zürich, along with friends Andi Frick and Andreas Egi, it was active from 1996 to 2004 and published about 30 releases, mostly on 7" vinyl singles.



In october 2006, after about two years of hiatus, all the contents of the now defunct Sheep Records website were deleted from the Internet, and replaced with a blank page announcing that "Der Kebab ist gegessen" ("The kebab is eaten"), a last goodbye and a reference to the label's cataloguing system that included the prefix "kebab" for vinyl releases and "gigot" for CD releases.



The seventh Sheep Records release was the debut EP by The Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E. This 7" contains four tracks and is limited to 700 copies on green vinyl; it was released in April 1998.

On offer here on most tracks are an adrenalinic fuzz guitar and a persistent organ backed with a solid bass/drum rhythm section. "From Las Vegas With Love" is stuffed with an unsettling radio message, while the quieter "Le Vaccum" alternates lounge moments and acid riffs; in my opinion these are the best cuts.





Here's the track list and the personnel/credits list for this 7" single as they appear on the back cover:

01. Revenge of the Blind Man (2:30)
02. From Las Vegas With Love (2:22)
03. Le Vacuum (3:23)
04. Miniskirt (3:17)

Guitar: Gerry Germann
Bass: Rolf Keller
Organ: Mario Janser
Drums: Stefan Saurer

All songs written by The Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

Cover by Rolf Keller

Recorded in 1998 at Spooky Sound

04.09.2015 Update: sorry guys, I recently received a DMCA complaint concerning another post I dedicated to The Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E., download links are not available anymore...

The Men from S.P.E.C.T.R.E. have released three albums, the rest of their output on Sheep Records will be the subject of further posts in the future. Here's the group official biography as it appears on their own website:

The Men from S.P.E.C.T.R.E. (Winterthur, Switzerland) rush out of the speakers, straight through your living room, into your ears and move your pulse. The sound is fit for street races with perfectly tuned cars and at home in NASA promotional films. The rough edges and instrumental action sound echoes the space-rock-bands and soundtracks of the 70s. The catchy beat of Drums, Congas and Bass join the wild Hammond organ and fuzzy Guitar to mash-up the scenes.

"The Living Eye" is the third record of the S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s and released on American label Hammondbeat Records. "The Living Eye" is more indulgent, more psychedelic, and hits the beat harder than the previous records. The songs "Purple Pill People" and "Black Tank", along with earlier productions, have been released on internationally revered labels like Acid Jazz Records (UK).

The Men from S.P.E.C.T.R.E. have toured Italy, Spain, UK, Germany, Belgium, France, and Switzerland. The Swiss quintet will be on stage with "The Living Eye" ...heading for lots of trouble.

The Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E. in their former four-members lineup, circa 1999-2000.

More information about Sheep Records and The Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is available here:

http://www.surfnroll.de/interviews/sheep/sheep.html

http://www.men-from-spectre.org

http://menfromspectre.bandcamp.com/

http://www.myspace.com/menfromspectre

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22men+from+s.p.e.c.t.r.e.%22

The Sheep Records story will continue in the next months. All your inputs are more than welcome, if you want to get in touch please write to stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

TRICATEL 25CM CLUB #2: LADYTRON "COMMODORE ROCK" (2000)

Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world? Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you dancing when you could be alone? Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world? Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, choking on cigarettes won't get you along, hey, playgirl

Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown

Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world? Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you dancing when you could be alone? Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world? Hey, playgirl
Playgirl, choking on cigarettes won't get you along, hey, playgirl

Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown

Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Hey playgirl, hey playgirl

Foreign coin on a telephone box
A question mark on a calendar
An empty seat on the alpha line
A sorting code, an account number

Hey playgirl, hey playgirl
Northern lights catch you coming down
Sleep your way out of your hometown

[From the lyrics of "Playgirl"]



Borrowing its name from Jacques Tricatel, a character portrayed by Louis de Funès in the 1976 movie "L'aile ou la cuisse" (The Wing and the Thigh) - this, in turn, ispired by Jacques Borel, father of the "Restoroute" restaurant chain - French label Tricatel was founded in 1996 by musician and producer Bertrand Burgalat.

Since its creation, the label has been focused on releasing music of a futuristic lounge, refined pop, downtempo easy-listening and retro-chic nature. Proudly independent, Tricatel payed homage to labels like The Compact Organisation and él Records, that have been a source of inspiration for Burgalat.

During the years the label has released music by April March, Eggstone, Count Indigo, The High Llamas, Etienne Charry and many other artists, including veteran composer André Popp, actress Valérie Lemercier, writers Michel Houellebecq and Jonathan Coe, and - of course - its founder and gran maestro Betrand Burgalat.

The label had an high profile in France and many of its releases received huge critical acclaims both there and abroad, sadly this was not matched by commercial success and sales. Coupled with distribution problems, Tricatel was forced to slow down its release schedule after a few years of frenetic activity.

Tricatel has turned fifteen in April 2011, the following is an excerpt taken from a feature/interview by David McKenna taken from The Quietus website, the complete version is available here.

Bertrand Burgalat in the late 90s / early 00s

What does it mean to have kept Tricatel going for 15 years?

"Not much really - I am not good with numbers. I'm starting to realize that I may spend the rest of my life doing the same things: struggling to finance projects and to release them, getting discouraged then trying again."

How have you responded to changes in the music industry over the past 15 years?

"The situation for Tricatel is much better now than 15 years ago. The crisis in music industry has been an excellent thing for people in the margins like us. Now that record sales are disappointing for everyone and not only for us it's more useless than ever to be calculating. You have to do the music you'd like to listen to - even if your music is super opportunistic it may fail too. A lot of people are not used to making records with low budgets while paying musicians and technicians decently, whereas it has always been our main concern.

In fact, the only thing that I don't like here in France is that most records that sell are not catchy, they are more fake quality for bobos [bohemians], and I have always preferred a good song from Britney Spears to a boring album from Björk."

Modelled more on él Records (which in the 80s was a home to Momus, regular Burgalat collaborator Louis Philippe, Shock Headed Peters and Marden Hill amongst others) than Factory, Tricatel was set up, in Burgalat's own words, as a "fantasy" label with its cast of backroom boys, muses (American singer April March, French comedy actress Valérie Lemercier) and even a proper house band in the shape of AS Dragon. Undoubtedly a post-modern project, it seemed as though it was trying to establish an alternative variété: an idea of what modern mainstream French pop could be if it was Boris Vian, Yé-Yé, Pierre Henry, Gainsbourg, Michel Polnareff, cool 60s film music, uncool 70s MOR, Marc Cerrone, the soundtrack to La Boum and French Touch all mixed up.

Daniel Hunt

In 1999 Tricatel launched a succulent initiative in the form a vinyl-only series aptly named "Tricatel 25cm Club". Initially, these 10" releases were only available by post and had to be ordered directly from the label, but sometimes later they also received a wider distribution through independent music stores.

Most of these records were pressed on clear vinyl; probably published in a limited edition, it is unclear how many copies of each release exist... The second issue in this series was "Commodore Rock" by Ladytron.

Liverpool-based producers and DJs Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu met in the late 90s; mixing Synth-Pop, Shoegaze, and Indie-Pop into a sound all their own, they formed Ladytron taking their name from the famous Roxy Music song. Using this moniker, Hunt and Wu recorded their debut single "He Took Her To a Movie" with guest vocalist Lisa Eriksson.

"He Took Her To a Movie" was released on Invicta Hi-Fi in 1999 and was quickly picked up by British national radio, MTV2, and championed by the NME and other English magazines like Select, Melody Maker, and Sleaze Nation calling Ladytron "the most exciting new English band in years, by a long way".

Reuben Wu

Later that year Hunt and Wu met Scottish Helen Marnie through various DJ gigs, and Bulgarian Mira Aroyo through Helen. Marnie and Aroyo joined the band as vocalists and keyboard players.

Ignoring London to play their debut show in a Paris bowling alley, strange European dates followed in temporary spaces in east Berlin and to frenzied electrokids in Barcelona, slowly building a reputation as one of the most interesting new acts around, for lovers of the sounds and the songs alike. This skewed approach to crafting pop music has rewarded the group with overwhelming critical acclaim.

Previously, Daniel Hunt founded the record label Invicta Hi-Fi and a nightclub. Reuben Wu trained in Industrial Design at Sheffield Hallam University, before becoming a successful designer in a consultancy until finally going full time with the band. Helen Marnie studied music at the University of Liverpool where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Pop Music. Mira Aroyo was a postgraduate research geneticist in the Oxford University's Biochemistry Department.

Helen Marnie

In late 1999, Japanese label Bambini released the long EP "Miss Black and Her Friends", soon followed in 2000 by the "Mu-Tron EP" published by Invicta Hi-Fi. Most of the songs included on these EPs were later included on their first full-length album entitled "604" in 2001.

The singles "Commodore Rock" and "Playgirl" were released in 2000, pre-empting the nascent Electroclash movement, and drawing acclaim from the likes of Felix Da Housecat, who declared that Ladytron were a major influence on his hugely popular "Kittenz and Thee Glitz" album.

Ladytron soon enjoyed international success, thanks also to their extensive live tours, and their discography is an ever-growing galaxy of  electronic gems that incorporate pop instinct and melodic inspiration sometimes reminding of Blondie, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, Young Marble Giants and early Massive Attack.

According to Brian Eno, Ladytron are "the best of English pop music".

Mira Aroyo

The following text is excerpted from an interview conducted in November 2000 by Alexander Laurence with Daniel Hunt for The Portable Infinite online music and arts magazine. This is one of the earliest Ladytron interviews, the full-lenght version is available here.

[...]

AL: How did you meet the other members of the band? Are they all from Liverpool?

Daniel: Reuben has always been from Liverpool. I've known him for a long time. Mira is Bulgarian and she lives in Oxford. Helena is Scottish and didn't live in Liverpool till very recently. Helena introduced Mira to the band. It was all quite organic. We didn't put up any adverts. We just met people. We fell over each other at a bar. I was working on stuff with Reuben anyway, so it sort of became a band about two years ago. We started working as a band.

AL: Did you write all the songs on this album?

Daniel: I wrote most of this album because I was working on it first and I had built up quite a lot of material. So that everyone has equal input we will make the next album more evenly. It strikes me now why people's second albums are so difficult. The first album has been long since finished. Now there's a bunch of stuff we have to do, and there's a barrier for us before we can record again. We have stuff ready and I want to get on with it. The live shows are not that important to the band.

[...]

AL: Ladytron got the attention of the NME right away. How did that happen?

Daniel: It was the single of the week. It had actually been around for six months. It had been sent out and it didn't get reviewed or anything. It was sitting on the shelves for six months and it was re-promoted. Then it landed on the right person's desk, and it became single of the week. That got a lot of attention and we had a load of major labels chasing us. At first we were tempted because it would be an easy thing to explain to my mum and dad. They understand signing to a big label, but wouldn't know what an indie label is. So we resisted that temptation and hooked up with Emperor Norton. I think that if we went with a major label and a worldwide deal, they wouldn't have done as good a job.

AL: Are you more interested in the DJ scene or in being a pop group?

Daniel: Ladytron is supposed to be a pop group. I'm into the idea of subverting things from within. We want to make pop records and not records for pure collectors. The music were into will never come out straight. I think that you can make pop music out of anything. Any instruments. As long as it has a good melody and is regular, then it's pop music.

[...]

The "Commodore Rock" vinyl EP contains the following tracks:

01. Playgirl (3:51)
02. Commodore Rock (4:46)
03. He Took Her To a Movie (Bertrand Mix) (3:44)
04. Olivetti Jerk (3:24)

All tracks were remastered from the original 10" vinyl and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the original item.

Please have a look at the comments for the download links.





Side A offers "Playgirl" and "Commodore Rock" which are better described in a review written by Mark Richard-San for Pitchwork in 2000:

"Ladytron are working the retro angle. They're two guys and two girls in love with the early 80s, a time when several flavors of pop music discovered electricity all over again and began to channel the machine pulse of Kraftwerk. And who can blame Ladytron for this love affair? We came of age in the 80s, after all, so we can expect the sounds from this era to cycle through our lives continuously until we all bite the dust. The 1980s were our 1950s, a statement that makes a lot more sense if you grew up watching "Happy Days" with your pre-Baby Boomer parents. So we may as well get used to it.

Fortunately, there's more to Ladytron than a moonwalk down memory lane. They slavishly ape ancient production techniques on Commodore Rock, but also apply them in the service of catchy pop songs. So while "Play Girl" cops the instrumental signifiers of early New Order (cheap drum machine, sweeping faux-string synth washes, prominent, bouncing bass), it also measures up in melody, and that's saying something. Helen Marnie's voice is perfect for the song; inviting and warm, yet just bored enough for new wave.

The slightly more original title track features the appropriately Rhinelandish speaking voice of Bulgarian Mira Aroyo. Somewhere behind a fuzzy 303 bassline and choppy electrified drums, Aroyo wields her commanding tongue in a way that will remind Krautrock aficionados of Kluster's 1970 debut, Klopfzeichen. But the oddest moment of this compelling track comes at the three-minute mark, when beautiful, ghostly sheets of feedback drift in and overtake the song completely, transforming it into epic drone music with cheap beats. I don't remember hearing that fusion on the early days of MTV. Bravo."

Side B opens with a superb remix of "He Took Her To a Movie" created by Tricatel genius Bertrand Burgalat, which is notable for the massive electric bass line and dreamy synths installed on the original. The instrumental and repetitive "Olivetti Jerk" is the last track on the EP, oddly enough it seems to be a mono recording...

The "Commodore Rock" EP was also released in the U.S. - both as CD and vinyl - by Emperor Norton replacing "He Took Her To a Movie (Bertrand Mix)" and "Olivetti Jerk" with the tracks "Miss Black" and "Paco", which had already appeared on the Japanese EP "Miss Black and Her Friends".

Another version of the EP, retitled "Playgirl / Commodore Rock", was released in the U.K. by Invicta Hi-Fi, also offering "He Took Her To a Movie (Bertrand Mix)" but omitting "Olivetti Jerk".

Ladytron, circa 2000, from left to right: Mira Aroyo, Helen Marnie, Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu

The following credits appear on the back cover of the "Commodore Rock" EP:

Produced by Lance Thomas and Ladytron.
Recorded at Olivetti. Mix and additional production at the Motor Museum, Liverpool.

All instruments on B1 by Bertrand Burgalat, guitar by Peter Von Poehl.
Recorded and mixed at Tricatel Dome, Paris.

Artwork: Manel

Mastering: Alex Gopher (Translab)

Two videoclips of "Playgirl" are available here below, courtesy of YouTube, along with a live version of "He Took Her To a Movie" performed in August 2001 during La route du Rock festival in Saint-Malo, France.

More information about Tricatel and Ladytron is available here:

http://www.tricatel.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Burgalat

http://thequietus.com/articles/06299-rockfort-tricatel-interview

http://www.ukulele.fr/dc/index.php/2011/10/07/1005-bertand-burgalat-et-les-anti-ukulele

http://www.ladytron.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladytron

http://ladytronsite.blogspot.com/

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/4632-commodore-rock-ep/

http://portable-infinite.blogspot.com/2005/05/blast-from-past-3-ladytron.html

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD7D94C46EB32BE50

If you have any other useful information about Tricatel and Ladytron - especially corrections and improvements to this post - or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!