01. Man Insane 02. Jobs For The Boys 03. It's So Strange 04. Always 05. Ambition 06. Twilight Zone 07. Last Train 08. Picture Of You 09. Oppression 10. Whisky And wine
01. Purple Hearts - Let's Get A Burger Man 02. The Risk - I Know A Girl 03. Beat Direction - Ska Au Go Go 04. 5:30 - Catcher In The Rye 05. XL - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 06. Manual Scan - Jungle Beat 07. The Blades - A Chance To Stop (Demo) 08. The Dansette - This Is Your Life 09. The Risk - Nice People 10. Solid State - Train To London Town 11. Squire - Debbie Jones (Demo) 12. Ministers Of The Groove - Getting Out Of Your Life 13. The Blades - Last Man In Europe (Demo) 14. The Dansette - I Will Be Strong
I got this a few years after it was released at a time when my interest in the mod scene was waning, so my memories of it are quite mixed. At the time, it was considered one of the better compilation of 80s mod bands, though there was quite a range in quality and production. Of interest were the two Blades tracks which were alternate versions of those which appeared on their Last Man In Europe album. It also featured the first 5:30 (aka Five Thirty) single, who would go on to earn some praise in the UK music weeklies in the early 90s. The Squire track Debbie Jones was also an alternative version to that which appeared on the September Gurls EP, utilising what sounds like an early drum machine and some odd dual mono panning in the mix. I think this version may have popped up on their fanclub album Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed. One of the better things about the album was the artwork, credited to P. Hallam and Terry Rawlings, author of the book MOD: A Very British Phenomenon.
I'm not sure how many of these 4 track EPs were released by Mark Johnson's Unicorn Records which I guess were a way to introduce people to their acts. I've got two others which I'll post at some stage. I posted this as it's the only one I could find an image for. Phase III is a reference to third stage of mod culture, the 60s and the '79 revival being phases I and II respectively.
Confessions of an 80s mod. All entries are vinyl rips (unless stated otherwise) which were recorded in 24 bit audio then encoded to 192kbps mp3.
Many of these artists are still working musicians so follow the links and pay them a visit.
If you want a link removed, just leave a comment and it is done.
