Birmingham 81

Looking forward to this next week...

Rough Trade 20 (1978-1987)

Today's listening - 20 favourite tunes from the first 10 years of Rough Trade Records, starring The Fall, Subway Sect, Delta 5, Augustus Pablo, Scritti Politti, James Blood Ulmer, The Go-Betweens, Arthur Russell, Cabaret Voltaire, Johnathan Richman, The Raincoats...
open.spotify.com/playlist/2cY...

Remembering Mark E. Smith on his birthday. Here are The Fall performing Big New Prinz live on Tony Wilson's The Other Side of Midnight in 1988

YouTube video by Raquel רָחֵל Junkyard Band: "19th and M", the early days (1985)

When Washington DC gave us good things. This is joyous
youtu.be/MSnj-kY5Mcs

Rough Trade Singles 1978-1983

Here's a new playlist of Rough Trade singles from 1978-1983. Features Subway Sect, Scritti Politti, The Smiths, Raincoats, Kleenex, Cabaret Voltaire, Swell Maps, Essential Logic, Delta 5, The Slits, The Pop Group, The Fall, Wire, Robert Wyatt, Young Marble Giants etc
open.spotify.com/playlist/2l0...

YouTube video by Raquel רָחֵל Junkyard Band: "19th and M", the early days (1985)

When Washington DC gave us good things. This is joyous
youtu.be/MSnj-kY5Mcs

Little Richard soul party

Thanks! The soulful side of Little Richard deserves greater recognition. I put together this playlist when he died six years ago
open.spotify.com/playlist/4oU...

the modernist x BDP London present - The BDP Talk Series. 1.1 - Bruce Peter : Modernist Scotland - 10/3/26 Tuesday 10th March 2026 6.15PM FOR A 6.30PM START  BDP London  16 Brewhouse YardClerkenwellLondon EC1V 4LJ Please note that thanks to the generosity of BDP there will be drinks and a buffet laid on so...

Manchester's Modernist Society is doing a bunch of events in London this year, starting next week with Bruce Peter, design history prof at Glasgow School of Art.

Lots of Cumbernauld mega-structures and everyone's favourite pub typology.

the-modernist.org/collections/...

YouTube video by chambers of hourrors Half Pint, Sly & Robbie with the Taxi Gang - Greetings (Live)

Greetings. Half Pint with Sly & Robbie on The Tube 40 years ago
youtu.be/07wjODFDMm4

Ha! Coincidentally, today would have been his 84th birthday

I fancy a career as a Velvet Underground Researcher. Where do I send my CV?

It's great isn't it? Billy chats about the song in this interview with @tedkessler.bsky.social, promoting the highly recommended To Ease My Troubled Mind
👀 thenewcue.substack.com/p/the-new-cu...

YouTube video by Damgoodrecords Wild Billy Childish And The Buff Medways 'Medway Wheelers'

Medway Wheelers by The Buff Medways. Picked up the CD single yesterday and it contains this lovely video starring Billy Childish's mum, who is the subject of the song
youtu.be/zOo7DepCd9w

That's great to see and hear. Thanks for sharing

Land Surveyor at the Glad Cafe last night, what a joy to see Paul Haig and Malcolm Ross back on stage together, sounding wonderful.

@paulhaigmusic.bsky.social @scotspostpunk.bsky.social
@birmingham81.bsky.social

We at The New Cue have started a publishing imprint, TNC Books. First up is the new story collection by PJ Smith aka ROY, Boomerang Process. Extract, interview and link to order in today’s edition.

open.substack.com/pub/thenewcu...

Marc Chagall's beautiful painted windows at All Saints' Church in Tudeley, Kent, installed between 1967 and 1985. The sad story behind their creation is here www.tudeley.org/Groups/36384...

Today’s other bargain find for 50p - an overlooked but classy slice of disco soul by Howard Kenney from 1978.
A) Save Some For The Children produced by Johnny Pate (Impressions etc)
▶️ youtu.be/JZMfcABL0qc
B) Can't Wait To Make You Mine produced by Larry Blackmon (Cameo etc)
▶️ youtu.be/fuGZgatEbLI

And at the start of the month, I found this single in a shop just round the corner from where I discovered today’s LP. Probably not a coincidence? (THREAD)
bsky.app/profile/birm...

Ha! Good point

On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to stumble across this beauty (THREAD)
bsky.app/profile/birm...

It’s been a fab four weeks for finding cool and collectible covers of songs by The Beatles. Today’s treasure is this 1967 LP by The London Jazz Four, picked up for just 50p. Includes a great version of Things We Said Today (THREAD)
▶️ youtu.be/NQxs5tU0Z68

Ha! I’d learned that lesson by the following year

It’s a bit stretched TBH, but I’m happy having four versions of Love Cascade and four mixes of Cashflow!

Love Cascade is great. Have you seen/got the Leisure Process double CD retrospective on Cherry Red? Worth checking out. I’ve added the connection to the thread

All these singles appear in one form or another on Gary Crowley’s brilliant Lost 80s Vol 2 box set. Its accompanying booklet features my pics of Clare Grogan, Nick Heyward, Sade and Blancmange, along with these other bits and pieces from my archive
www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/re...

#WeekendSingles 12 inch gems by Leisure Process, Heaven 17, Blancmange, Win, Thompson Twins, Funkapolitan, TreacherousThree, Monochrome Set, Kid Creole, Working Week, World Famous Supreme Team, Klaxon 5, Kane Gang, Human League, and Valentine Brothers. There’s a connection…

YouTube video by TopPop B 52's - Give Me Back My Man • TopPop

Happy birthday to Cindy Wilson
youtu.be/swBDlOk0V6Y

Always a joy to hear this

MIKE PICKERING - MANCHESTER MUST DANCE [In conversation + book signing ] From Manchester’s backstreets to global dancefloors – the untold story of The Hacienda & a musical pioneer.

27 April
London
Tickets www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1982687851...