NIGHTSHIFT - Dance in the Moonlight b/w/ Don't Rush The Good Things

harvest -1981

DANCE IN THE MOONLIGHT

DON'T RUSH THE GOOD THINGS ( Long Version)

This is the last of five singles by the Edinburg band Nightshift. An earlier version of Dance in the Moonlight was culled from the 20 track Castle Sound recordings and appeared 2 years earlier on the B.B.C. D.J. Charlie Gillets Honky Tonk Demos LP. This re recorded version has some post 1980 studio "production" absent in the earlier version but thankfully it doesn't affect the song too much. The B side " Don't Rush the Good Things" Is also an alternate version of a song released a year earlier. All of the bands 45's and the Honky Tonk Demos LP are really common but it seems Harvest didn't have much faith in these guys because this particular single is pretty tough to find and didn't get a picture sleeve. Looks like Vinyl Tap recently unearthed a few copies though..

CHARTERED HURRICANE - CATHY COME HOME b/w ALL SMASHED UP

CATHY COME HOME ( you silly cow)

ALL SMASHED UP

Chartered Hurricane was a NWOBHM duo consisting of Phil and Mark Jones that gigged consistently and built up a large following in the Newport Gwent area of Wales in the early 80's. The band formed in 1981 and released this one very scarce single (originally housed in a stamped sleeve) in 1983. The A side "Cathy Come Home" is a totally great one part pop song While the B side "All Smashed Up" is more appealing to NWOBHM collector types. The band eventually grew from a duo to a five piece adding Mike Ward on bass, Terry (TNT) Thomas on drums and Robert Millar on guitar. After several failed attempts to break it big in London they split in 1984.

ROSE WHIPPERR & MARC STOWE - Heathen Girls

Stark Naked Records, SNR 451. 1979.

A. Dark Vs. Light

B. Heathen Girls


I just got back from a trip to my home town of Atlanta, GA and while I was there I dug up this local release from 1979. Atlanta isn't really known for being a punk/powerpop town during the late 70's so I was pretty happy to stumble on this great track. The B-side is the real gem; it's pretty catchy powerpop with a few glam touches and a fun chorus. I haven't been able to find much info on the band except that it seems they changed their name to Heathen Girls after this sole release and then went on to release an EP in a more new wave/post-punk vein in '82.

And...here's some photos of the Heathen Girls hanging out with Bon Scott of ACDC (thanks to B.C. Miller):

THE TUNES - EP

Tune’s Tunes, 1982

ELEVATOR

CROWDED HEART

TOO PROUD

SHE'S MAD

Thanks to Collin for this post!

As most punks went down to the basement or into the pit and as new wave pop styled its hair and steeled its heart toward visions of a more inorganic, fretless future, Topeka, KS foursome, the Tunes, waved one last, desperate flag for the style of updated 60s pop the region had been noted (but not famous) for producing since the original Titan! Record ripples of the late 1970s. Despite the band’s location, the Tunes’ approach was much slicker than any of the Titan! groups or even the Regular Guys, recalling the glossy style of J.D. Buhl or Buddy Love, albeit with much classier songwriting and much less annoying vocals. That said, it’s hard not to hear echoes of the Regular Guys on the more Mersey-derived tracks on the record‘s flipside. All too predictably, the Tunes’ self-released EP proved to be the group’s lone release, rendering fine service - along with the EP by Artists! - as both a document of a talented band and the last-gasp of the prairie pop style.