Intense Records

Hidden Treasures (CD ALBUM)

Wanderlust
WLCD001
Indie, Punk, Rock
CD

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£10.83 (£12.99 incl. VAT)

In May 1981 B-Movie and Soft Cell went into Advision Studios in London with the same producer, Mike Thorne (Wire, Bronski Beat, China Crisis, The Communards) to record singles for the label they were both signed to. Phonogram had really wanted to sign B-Movie but had also committed to Soft Cell, having been coerced into it by Stev0, who managed both artists and wouldnt let them have one without the other. B-Movie commenced recording the dark moody anti-fame anthem Marilyn Dreams, whilst Soft Cell got underway on a cover of an obscure Northern Soul classic. When both songs were released in July 1981, Tainted Love became a worldwide hit and shot Soft Cell to international fame, making them the biggest stars of 1981. B-Movie had formed in 1979, in Mansfield, a typical northern town in the middle of the Nottinghamshire coalfield. Originally a three piece featuring, vocal / bass, guitar and drums, they expanded by adding a keyboard player to broaden their initial post punk sound. Local Lincoln independent record label, Dead Good Records, firstly put them on the compilation LP East, followed by 7" inch EP and then a mini-album releases, which led to an appearance on the legendary Some Bizarre label (alongside the likes of Blancmange, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and The The)Major label interest followed, from which came the deal with Phonogram, B-Movie initially re-recording the track Remembrance Day, which reached No61 in the UK chart in early 1981 and, more importantly, was played by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and appearing in his Festive 50 for that year. All of the recordings the band made during their Phonogram period have been consigned to the Universal Music vault for several decades, with the band finally managing to have these returned in 2024. The various tapes have been digitised and restored, resulting in the creation of what would have been their 1982 debut LP that never was. Ten tracks including the three singles plus seven previously unreleased recordings. The CD version contains a further seven recordings including the 12 versions, single B-sides and the track Moles from the Some Bizarre compilation.So Hidden Treasures from B-Movie, is only four decades late but still able to sit seamlessly alongside contemporaries like The Chameleons and The Sound. The LP is a darker, more brooding and psychedelic affair, more akin to the gothic elements of the Bunnymen or Joy Division, than the pop sensations Phonogram wanted them to become. By both opening and closing this chapter of B-Movie, it puts them firmly in the same bracket as their new wave and post-punk contemporaries, which is the least they deserve, as one of the great lost bands of the early 1980s."Its nice to hear B-Movie are finally getting a chance to release their forgotten gems Matt Johnson (The The)CD1/Citizen Kane2/Remembrance Day3/Polar Opposites4/Marilyn Dreams5/Ice6/La Lune Lunatique7/All Fall Down8/Nowhere Girl9/Crowds10/Beginning To FadeExtra tracks CD only11/Remembrance Day (Long version)12/Institution Walls (Remix)13/Marilyn Dreams (Long version)14/Film Music Part 115/Nowhere Girl (Long Version)16/Scare Some Life Into Me (single B-side version)17/Moles#BMOVIE B MOVIE