Legendary Edinburgh band the Fire Engines 2CD/LP set released by Cherry Red Records
Scotland has long had a tradition of producing special bands, both genre defining and genre defying. Think Jesus & Mary Chain, Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Cocteau Twins, Belle & Sebastian and Mogwai. This latest 2CD/2LP release by the good people at Cherry Red Records, features one of the latter category. Much loved by John Peel, both sessions for his show are included. The discordant sound of debut single “Get Up And Use Me”, with its single note guitar refrain, hooked me from the first listen, in much the same way that And The Native Hipsters song There Goes Concorde Again burrowed into my brain around the same time. Note: Early live shows the band never played chords or used cymbals or hi-hats, it was strident music at its best.
Further singles followed and a largely instrumental album, Lubricate Your Living Room (subtitled ‘Background Music for Action People!’), in 1981, released on Fast subsidiary Pop:Aural. The band recorded two sessions for John Peel’s BBC Radio 1 show, the first in February 1981 featuring a cover version of Heaven 17’s “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”, and a second in November that year.
It was their second, and most successful single “Candyskin“, with a melody evoking memories of the Trumpton theme (70s kids TV programme), that really brought them to more peoples attention. Released in 1981 it was a permanent fixture in the Indie Singles chart, but after the follow-up, “Big Gold Dream” failed to repeat its success, the band split up on 31 December 1981.
Now Cherry Red Records have gathered up all the available recordings and packaged it as double LP, available both as CD and 12″ vinyl, click the links to order direct.
| DISC 1 1 Get Up And Use Me 2  Everything’s Roses 3  Plastic Gift 4  Get Up And Use Me 5  Sympathetic Anaesthetic 6  Discord 7  New Thing In Cartons 8  Hungry Beat 9  Lubricate Your Living Room Pt. 1 10  Lubricate Your Living Room Pt 2 11  Plastic Gift (Version) 12  Candyskin 13  Meat Whiplash John Peel Session Feb 1981 14  Candyskin 15  (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang 16  Untitled 17  Discord 18  Sympathetic Anaesthetic 19  New Thing In Cartons 20  Big Gold Dream (Intro) (Previously Unreleased) 21  Big Gold Dream John Peel Session Nov 1981 22  The Big Wrong Time 23  Qualitamatic 24  Young Tongues Need Taste 25  Produced To Seduce To | DISC TWO Live@ Leith Community Centre 16/03/1980 1  The Untitled One 2  Insert Yourself 3  Discord Wilf Smarties Live Session 02/08/1980 4  Sympathetic Anaesthetic 5  Get Up And Use Me 6  Hungry Beat 7  Everything’s Roses 8  The Untitled One Edinburgh Fringe Aug-Sept 1980 9  Get Up And Use Me 10  Discord 11  Hungry Beat 12  Everything’s Roses 13  Get Up And Use Me (Reprise) Live Edinburgh Valentino’s Club 09/08/1980 14  Produce To Seduce To 15  Get Up And Use Me 16  Hungry Beat 17  Plastic Gift 18  Discord 19  New Thing In Cartons 20  Coca Cola Cowboy 21  Meat Whiplash 22  Candyskin 23  Clip (Excerpt from CC Somerville Show 12/01/1980 24  Jacqueline  (Single 2004 – Cover of Franz Ferdinand Song) |
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