Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Rough Trade Singles: On Beyond RT150!

 

Haa-Lacka Binttii, 1981
Decided to keep going with the Rough Trade Singles comps. We return to 1984, and Vol. 19 features protest music.  RT 151 was the "Support The Miners" single by The Enemy Within, a duo produced by Adrian Sherwood and featuring drummer Keith LeBlanc.  I must thank thingsandtimechange.blogspot.com for this rarity.

We Hate You South African Bastards was a mini-LP (RTM 156) of Microdisney singles, with a great sleeve drawn by Jon Langford. The title was perhaps a poke at the earnestness of the Sun City album. Microdisney also targeted the Catholic church and other forms of oppression of the Irish. As Morrissey would soon point out, barbarism begins at home. There's two classic singles by Jonathan Richman (earnestness incarnate), and "Animal Rhapsody" by The Raincoats gets a Dennis Bovell remix on RT 153.

Vol. 20 is diverse: two Fats Comet singles, a Virginia Astley EP, two singles from Princess Tinymeat (a group fronted by Haa-Lacka Binttii from the Virgin Prunes), Camper Van Beethoven, Horace Andy, and Easterhouse. Thanks to Nathan Nothin for the Fats Comet, and theadmans (at ESWA) for Ms. Astley. FYI for any On-U heads, the "Rhythm Queen" on the Horace Andy b-side is Caroline Williams of Akabu.

Vol. 21 includes the first three Woodentops' series of Rough Trade singles, each issued in 7" and 12" formats (with a third song on each 12").  Shelleyan Orphan make their Rough Trade debut with RT 170, the rare Cavalry Of Cloud EP. Horace Andy and The Smiths appear again.  The aforementioned "Barbarism Begins At Home" (RT 171) was a one-sided single.

Vol. 21 includes another protest single by Robert Wyatt (Namibia b/w The Winds Of Change, featuring the South West African People's Organisation, and produced by Jerry Dammers). SWAPO was dedicated to ending South Africa's three decade occupation of Namibia. 

For me, the goth/industrial music of Princess Tinymeat is the revelation in this batch.  Daniel Figgis (the artist fka Haa-Lacka Binttii) is now a respected composer of modern experimental music.

First photo taken by Michael X.  Second and third images (from RT 157) by Coneyl Jay, who photographed many On-U Sound artists between 1991 and 1994.
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10 comments:

  1. jonderNovember 17, 2020 at 3:41 PM

    ROUGH TRADE DISCOGRAPHY: http://www.highdive.de/info/rt/

    Our story so far:

    Rough Trade "BC" - https://tinyurl.com/y4mv9ema

    V1 (RT 001-011) https://tinyurl.com/y3bj7hk3

    V2 (RT 012-022): https://tinyurl.com/y2rfm8u8

    V3 (RT 023-033): https://tinyurl.com/y3j2szuc

    V4 (RT 034, 35, 36, 38): https://tinyurl.com/yxj64xns

    V5 (RT 037 and 39-46): https://tinyurl.com/yygn54he

    V6 (RT 047-056): https://tinyurl.com/y4j6hoxa

    V7 (RT 057-066): https://tinyurl.com/y64o8v43

    V8 (RT 067-075): https://tinyurl.com/y3qzn5ar

    V9 (RT 076-086): https://tinyurl.com/y3eako9w

    V10 (RR 087-092): https://tinyurl.com/y4cbknbv

    V11 (RT 093-099): https://tinyurl.com/y4g6nquv

    V12 (RT 100-105): https://tinyurl.com/y4nlgedd

    V13 (RT 106-113): https://tinyurl.com/y2s4rvyb

    V14 (RT 114-120): https://tinyurl.com/y2ce2fha

    V15 (RT 121-126): https://tinyurl.com/y6882v5c

    V16 (RT 127-135): https://tinyurl.com/y4h4lvqy

    V17 (RT 136-142): https://tinyurl.com/y4vjj3hb

    V18 (RT 143-150): https://tinyurl.com/yylusm7r

    V19 (RT 151-156): https://tinyurl.com/yy5zxkko

    V20 RT 157-171): https://tinyurl.com/y6p7kfc3

    V21 (RT 165-172): https://tinyurl.com/y5pga6tt

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paolo MeccanoNovember 18, 2020 at 7:48 AM

    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderNovember 18, 2020 at 8:39 AM

      Thanks for sticking with this series! I have just about everything through RT 249, and will keep posting them if people are interested in hearing them.

      Delete
    2. PerntNovember 18, 2020 at 10:59 AM

      Yes! Please! More RT Archives! I missed out on the Rough Trade "revolution" back in the day, so I'm loving this history lesson you're providing. Keep up the good work!

      Delete
  3. ejhNovember 18, 2020 at 6:31 PM

    This is fascinating, love to hear more! Thanks for all the work putting this together.

    ReplyDelete
  4. tsi&hrjsNovember 19, 2020 at 12:01 AM

    Thanks again for these! Very interested in more.

    tsi&hrjs

    ReplyDelete
  5. jassywestwindsNovember 21, 2020 at 6:18 AM

    this is a public service as admirable as the wholesale provision of free ice cream on a hot day. you are re-acquainting me with my youth, for which i am extremely grateful. god, RT were good weren't they ? Still are actually: a loud huzzah for RT East in whitechapel, east of london

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jonderNovember 21, 2020 at 4:57 PM

      Best comment yet! Glad to be of service to a nostalgic indie music fan of likely the same age as myself. There ain't half been some clever bastards in the music trade, and let's hope that there's lots more to come.

      Delete
    2. mztoinenNovember 22, 2020 at 12:05 PM

      Thanks. Cheers! MZ

      Delete
  6. jonderDecember 12, 2020 at 9:56 PM

    Very kind and well put, Nick. Ethos is a good word for what Rough Trade and the DIY era represented. As you say, "indie" as a descriptor has devolved into shorthand for a subgenre of rock music, rather than the former significance that Independence once had in concept and practice. I have used "indie" as the genre tag for most of the Rough Trade mp3's, but I don't mean to suggest that all the music sounds similar.

    There was never a "Rough Trade sound" in the way that you could say "this is an AmRep band" and convey an impression of what the band might sound like. But there was certainly a Rough Trade spirit that attracted artists to the label, and as a fan it was always a safe bet that anything you bought on the RT label would be worth hearing!

    ReplyDelete

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