Among the very first actual Armageddon releases were The Soft Boys' masterpiece Underwater Moonlight and the monumental Half Japanese box set 1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts.
An astonishing assortment of 7", 10" and 12" records was issued by Armageddon between 1980 and 1982, including Thomas Dolby's debut single, Blurt's phenomenal live album In Berlin, and solo recordings by Robyn Hitchcock and Kimberley Rew (plus the debut of Rew's band Katrina And The Waves.) Not to mention one of rock's first guitar/drum duos, The Method Actors (who emerged from Athens GA around the same time that The Furors appeared in New Haven).
A few interesting bits of trivia: Adrian Sherwood produced The Last Words, an Australian punk band that briefly relocated to London. Thomas Dolby's single was co-produced by Andy Partridge. Knox played on Alex Chilton's Live In London album, and Alex returned the favor by guesting on Knox's version of "Alligator Man".
Some copies of the Robyn Hitchcock single included a flexidisc with two more songs. If the blog Albums That Should Exist didn't exist, I couldn't share those songs with you. (Thank you, Paul, for your incredible work!)
Herein please find Armageddon AEP 001 and singles AS 002 through 009. Stay tuned for the next volume of the Instant Armageddon Singles Collection!
Armageddon Singles vol. 1: https://tinyurl.com/ARMGDNv1
ReplyDeleteMost of the mp3's are sourced from CD, with the exception of a youtube rip of The Last Words' b-side (which is longer than the LP version) and my own rip of "Bleeding" by The Method Actors, which suffers from a small skip around 0:56. I highly recommend the Acute Records retrospective "This Is Still It", which includes the Method Actors' LP version of "Bleeding".
Just got myself a copy of your latest jonder, good idea compiling this labels singles.
DeleteLots are new to me, got through the cover songs & so far so good. Thanks!
- Timebender
Another is on the way: Blurt, Kevin Dunn, more Kimberley Rew, more Method Actors...
DeleteBig thanks for this. Back in the day I had a fascination with this label, after picking up Underwater Moonlight, by sheer chance. But I only bought LPs, not singles, so this is great. Came across your blog by the same serendipity, too. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt truly was a fascinating and adventurous label. Some of the LP sleeves are beautiful, too: Underwater Moonlight, Little Figures by the Method Actors, and the Blurt album in particular.
DeletePS - forgot to say THANKS for your comment! Glad you found the blog, and here's to serendipity!
DeleteCheers in advance of listenin' J. My ex-bro in law got me into RH. I got him into Syd! "Not appreciated" RH, saw him 2 or 3 times in early 90's - one gig there was about 25 people there. He didn't seem to give a toss. Half Japanese..... vague mems there mate. Big thanx. J in the Pool
ReplyDeleteThanks for tuning in, J! I love the Soft Boys' version of "Vegetable Man", especially when Robyn's voice gets deep. Knox does a good job of turning "Gigolo Aunt" into a cheery tune that you could imagine hearing on the radio. Half Japanese's version of "Spy" is something else entirely. It seems that Armageddon provided a home for artists who were sympathetic to psychedelic old farts like Syd and the Doors.
DeleteSo great Jonder! Great post that was much needed. Love those Soft Boys I first heard with 'Can of Bees' I believe it is called. Way way over the top just like I like stuff. Cheers! Vidacommie
ReplyDeleteCan Of Bees, yeah! Listening to these singles again reminds me that Kimberley Rew is a killer guitarist, especially when he gets loud and reckless on songs like "Old Pervert".
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