''Some Bizzare Album'' is the first album issued by

Some Bizzare Records Some Bizzare Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of ''Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, the The, Neu Elect ...

. It was released in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

as a sampler of the label's musical ethos. The acts were not signed exclusively to the label at the time.

Information

The album consisted of tracks by unsigned

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

groups, including future alternative icons

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their plat ...

The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

and

Blancmange Blancmange (, from french: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured with ...

's contribution was their first recording to be released. ''Some Bizzare Album'' was the vision of

Stevo Pearce Stephen John Pearce, commonly known as Stevo (born 26 December 1962), is a British record producer and music industry executive, best known as the owner of indie record label Some Bizzare Records. Biography He was born in Dagenham, Essex, Engla ...

, who believed in the album's music as opposed to fashion or style aspects.Page 100, Marc Almond, Tainted Life, Sidgwick & Jackson ''Some Bizzare Album'' was re-released on CD format in 1992 for a limited time. It was re-released in 2008 with extra bonus tracks.

Soft Cell – "The Girl with the Patent Leather Face"

After meeting with Pearce,

decided to include a track on the album. They recorded ''The Girl with the Patent Leather Face'' at a studio owned by John Darling. Almond describes the song as a "tinny-sounding, trashy synthesizer song" that owed much to "

Warm Leatherette "Warm Leatherette" is a song by Daniel Miller's project the Normal, released in 1978. The Normal original Overview The lyrics of "Warm Leatherette" reference J. G. Ballard's controversial 1973 novel ''Crash'', which had heavily influenced Dani ...

", a track by

the Normal The Normal is the recording artist name used by English music producer Daniel Miller, a film editor at the time, who is best known as the founder of the record label Mute Records. Background In 1977, Miller had split up with his girlfriend. A ...

Depeche Mode – "Photographic"

Formed in 1980,

were cautious when first approached by Pearce, as they were indecisive about being included on a 'futurist' compilation album. They first brought their demo tape to other record companies but were rejected. In late 1980, Depeche Mode recorded "Photographic" in an East London studio. Daniel Miller of Mute Records, who acted as an informal producer during the recording, wanted to place a good track on the compilation album, but not the band's best.Page 18, Steve Malins, Depeche Mode Biography The track was recorded and mixed in one day.Page 21, Steve Malins, Depeche Mode Biography The song, which differs from the version later found on '' Speak & Spell'', was later included in the 1998 reissue of ''

The Singles 81→85 ''The Singles 81→85'' is a greatest hits album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 14 October 1985 by Mute Records. The compilation was not originally released in North America, where it was replaced by its counterpar ...

'' as a bonus track.

Neu Electrikk – "Lust of Berlin"

London-based Neu Electrikk comprised singer songwriter Derek Morris, guitarist and electronics Steve Parry, bass player Nicholas Chamberlain Hunt, sax/flute/treatments Steve Sherlock and Barry Deller on drums/percussion. Neu Electrikk released two single/EPs on the Synethesia label: "Lust of Berlin"/"Distractions" (1979) and "Cover Girl"/"Practically Isolate"/"Hand"/"Converse of Tapes" (1980). Pearce discovered the band in an advert in ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' magazine and contacted them through their distributor,

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

. Pearce convinced Parry to contribute to the album by claiming that Pearce managed The The. The version of "Lust of Berlin" on the ''Some Bizzare Album'' was recorded at ARK Studios,

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

The The – "Untitled"

The The's contribution was recorded at SGS Recording Studio in South London and was originally titled "Strawberry Sunset." Steve Parry suggested the studio to Matt Johnson after having previously recorded there with Neu Electrikk. The recording was complicated by an uncooperative studio engineer who did not appreciate the music. The master tape was given to Parry and remained in his possession until Pearce asked The The to contribute a track to the ''Some Bizzare Album''.

Illustration – "Tidal Flow"

Illustration
was formed in 1979 by Tony Harrison (vocals) and Timm Johnson (guitar). They were joined by Paul Lancaster (Bass) George Terry AKA

Morgan King Morgan King (born 28 March 1961) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and photographer. Musical career Born in Spitalfields, London, King's musical career began in 1979 as drummer for Manchester band Illustration, who were subs ...

(drums) and Andy Prasher (keyboards) who was soon replaced by

Julia Adamson Julia Adamson (also known as Julia Nagle from 1988 to 2006) (born September 30, 1960 in Peterborough, Ontario) is a Canadian composer, musician and current label manager of Invisiblegirl Records.Simpson, Dave (2009) ''The Fallen'', Canongate Book ...

. Together they made various demos for record companies and agreed to release one of these songs, ''Tidal Flow'' onto the ''Some Bizzare Album'' which was engineered, mixed and produced by Phil Ault at Revolution Studios, Stockport. Though Illustration toured to promote the album with the other bands and made a follow up record "Dancable" with the legendary producer

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...

Strawberry Studios Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport, England. Founded in 1968, it operated until the early 1990s. Formation The facility was originally called Inter-City Studios and located above a music store in the town centre. In early ...

, Stockport, it was never officially released as they broke up in 1981.

Reception

Track listing

Fish side
Illustration
- "Tidal Flow" #

– "Photographic" #

– "Untitled" #

B-Movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

– "Moles" #Jell – "I Dare Say It Will Hurt a Little" #Blah Blah Blah – "Central Park" Eye Lamp side #

– "Sad Day" #

– "The Girl with the Patent Leather Face" # Neu Electrikk – "Lust of Berlin" #

Naked Lunch ''Naked Lunch'' (sometimes ''The Naked Lunch'') is a 1959 novel by American writer William S. Burroughs. The book is structured as a series of loosely connected vignettes, intended by Burroughs to be read in any order. The reader follows the narr ...

– "La Femme" #The Fast Set – "King of the Rumbling Spires" #The Loved One – "Observations" The 1981 cassette edition positioned the "Eye Lamp" side of the album as Side 1, with the "Fish" side as Side 2, but the 1992 CD edition features "Fish" on Side 1 and "Eye Lamp" on Side 2. 2008 CD reissue bonus tracks #

The Normal The Normal is the recording artist name used by English music producer Daniel Miller, a film editor at the time, who is best known as the founder of the record label Mute Records. Background In 1977, Miller had split up with his girlfriend. A ...

– "Warm Leatherette" #

Fad Gadget Francis John Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both new wave and early industrial music, fusing pop-structured ...

– "Back to Nature" #The Residents – "The Act of Being Polite"

Personnel

– Compiler * Steve Bush – Designer

References

External links

Page about Illustration and the track "Tidal Flow"
{{Authority control Record label compilation albums 1981 compilation albums New wave compilation albums Alternative rock compilation albums Some Bizzare Records compilation albums