Nothing Like a Good Old Compilation

Don't we all love a good compilation album????? I know I do. But the trouble with compilations is that there always seemed to be filler tracks. You know the ones I am on about………the tracks that are out of place on the album, the tracks by bands that you have never heard of, or that are conveniently signed to the record label that released the compilation in the first place. When a young teen in the late 70s early 80s I had a number of compilations, some good, some pretty poor.

I have decided to introduce to you (some of you will not need any introduction to these I am sure) five of the Punk/Post Punk/New Wave comps that graced my Fidelity UA10

1st up is the mighty 20 of Another Kind. As comps go this was not that bad. It had The Skids, The Cure, The Adverts, Stranglers. The Jam, Heartbreakers, Patrick Fitzgerald and Otway and Barrett. A lot of Polydor artists on here, but then it was a Polydor release.
Not bad for parties at all. Sadly my copy did disappear at a party and was never seen again. I did not lose any sleep over this loss.

Next up has to be New Wave. This again is not a bad collection, which does feature a lot of American Punk/New Wave. Released on Vertigo records and featuring the likes of The Damned, New York Dolls, Runaways, Richard Hell, Talking Heads, Dead Boys, Patti Smith and even The Boomtown Rats. You could be fooled into thinking this is a full to the brim compilation, sadly its not. There are a few odd fillers on this like The Skyhooks?????(Australian Theatrical Rock) and Little Bob Story???????? and for good measure The Flamin Groovies (not bad but def filler) I do still have a copy of this one. In Julian Cope's book Head-on Mr Cope points out that his one time manager Cally helped to put this one together.
"Cally infiltrated Vertigo as a temporary 'punk' consultant and set about suggesting a bunch of terrible groups who had nothing to do with punk. The lowest that he sunk was to include a bunch of Australian painted art-funk no-marks called The Skyhooks. Then he had grown a moustache especially for the LP sleeve and had a mate gob into the camera lens for the ultra Sun/Mirror clichéd Rentapunk"

(From Julian Cope Head-on)

 
Punk Collection (RCA Records) was another quite decent album which contained some interesting tracks (Heartbreakers - Born to Lose, Iggy Pop - Funtime even the 1st Police single Fall Out. Yet again we find Flamin Groovies Shake Some Action and Somebody called Richard Moore??? with a track Called Roll it Up????????? Patti Smith's Piss Factory gets licensed again and appears on this one.

Time for the Ronco 1980 Birthday/Xmas present from your parents or Grand parents…..its the as seen on TV…….20 New Wave Hits Album Street Level. To be honest by the time this cash in album came along I would have thought most people would have had all of these tracks on single or other compilation albums, or given up on it completly. Some odd and interesting tracks on here: Sex Pistols Pretty Vacant, Stranglers Peaches, Magazine Sweetheart Contract, Skids Circus Games, Ian Dury Reasons to be Cheerful, John Foxx Underpass, Gary Numan We are Glass, Plasmatics Butcher Baby and loads more which I can't be bothered to list. The throw away chucked in out of place track has to be  A Walk in the Park by The Nick Straker Band. Have no idea of the logic or thought process that managed to get this on there.
As Compilations go the best from these late 70s albums has to be
Cherry Red's mighty Business Unusual The Other Record Collection.
Side One of this album is pretty much straight forward Punk/New Wave, but Its Side Two of this album that makes it so damn good. The Tights - China's Eternal, Thomas Leer - Private Plane, Robert Rental ACC, Throbbing Gristle - United and Caberet Voltaire - Mussolini Headkick. I do still have this album and play it quite a lot. I remember turning up at a party with this and a copy of The Human Leagues Dignity of Labour.....It was decided by certain factions at the party that I really should not play side two of this album or The Human League. I did not agree, but was out voted.