Josef K - Heaven Sent

Josef K
Heaven Sent (12" ep)
Supreme International Editions
Edition 87-7
1987

Bit of a rarity this one I suppose. I've no idea how many copies of this release were ever pressed or sold. Features one track 'Heaven Sent', from a John Peel Session recorded in 1981; a demo version of 'Radio Drill Time' as well as two tracks from Josef K's then unreleased 'Sorry For Laughing' album which should have been issued by Postcard way back in 1980. 

Supreme International Editions was a label which was run by former Josef K manager, Alan Cambell -who also handled Paul Haig's solo career for a couple of years in the 80s. The label also released the band's 'Young & Stupid' album. Frankly, I don't know much about this label or any of the other stuff released on it. A quick search on the web didn't bring up much information I'm afraid. It's also a bit sad that official sites like josef k.net haven't been updated in a long time. Anyhow, if you want to know what Paul Haig's up to nowadays you can check out his Twitter account.

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Orange Juice - Felicity ( flexidisc)

Felicity flexi, originally uploaded by oh my good gawd.

An excellent addition to the Sound of Young Scotland group at flickr and to this blog!
 

Oh my good gawd' s comment on this: "Unlistenable but fabulous". Says it all really.

Love the Louis Wain artwork on it from which Edwyn Collins found the Postcard Records' drumming cat logo.

Image: ©OhMyGoodGawd

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Paul Haig - Running Away

Paul Haig
Running Away / Time
Les Disques du Crépuscule
TWI 088
Vinyl, 12"
Belgium, 1982

Getting away from Postcard Records for a wee bit (I'll be back with more later), Sound of Young Scotland continues with one of the better but least known artists of the 1980s. Well, he may have been quite well known to some but I don't remember Paul Haig being a huge success. Saleswise, I mean. Anyhow, following the Josef K split and the departure from Postcard, Paul Haig found refuge at the Brussels-based, superhip-label: Les Disques du Crépuscule. Label where Josef K had already released two singles ( 'The Farewell Single' and 'Sorry For Laughing') and where Haig would go on to release a fair amount of singles, EPs and albums throughout the 80s and 90s. Although it's a cover of a Sly Stone song, 'Running Away' is my favourite release by the man on this label. I don't have the 7" single but I do have the 12" EP version. The disc was in fact issued with three different sleeves. You can check out the artwork for my 12" here and here. Other artwork for this release can be seen here.

image ©japanese forms

special thanks to wikipedia

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Aztec Camera - Mattress of Wire

Aztec Camera
A Mattress of Wire / Lost Outside the Tunnel
Postcard Records
Postcard 81-8 (1981)

Roddy Frame's second, and indeed last, release on Postcard before moving on to Rough Trade. This disc was also the last one issued on the label -if you go by the Cat. N°- during it's initial incarnation. In fact, I'm not too sure if this came out before or after Josef K's 'The Only Fun in Town' (Postcard 81-7) album. Releases tended to be a bit erratic with Postcard 81-6; Orange Juice's 'Wan Light' single never being released at all. The track eventually surfaced on the band's 'You Can't Hide Your Love Forever' album.

The 'A Mattress of Wire' single, like some the earlier limited-edition releases, also featured original artwork. A move away from the previous generic 'cowboy' and 'kilties' type sleeves. The 'drumming kitten' logo remains a permanent fixture appearing both on the back of the sleeve and on the yellow 'tartan' label.Front cover features what looks like a painting of some young Roman emperor with a yellowish (sort of pale ochre) background like the colouring used by the Greeks and Romans on the walls of their villas and other buildings way back then. As I bought this in Belgium, my copy still has the original price sticker of 95 Belgian francs on it. I don't want to remove it in case I damage the sleeve. Back sleeve has the Rough Trade distribution sticker in the bottom, right corner. There's no mention of who did the artwork for this release.
 
Attention Trainspotters !
A rare postcard version of 'A Mattress of Wire' also exists and was released on the Czecheslovakian label B+H Records. Rather strange item which has grooves on the front so you can play it on your turntable. Never actually seen one myself.
(source: killermontstreet.com)


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Aztec Camera - Just Like Gold

Aztec Camera
Just Like Gold / We Could Send Letters
Postcard Records : Postcard 81-3 (1981)

Roddy Frame's excellent debut on Postcard. I really liked both of the singles that he released on the label and later picked up the High Land, Hard Rain album that he released on Rough Trade in 1982. Album which brought him a good bit of critical and some commercial success. My interest in the band sort of waned but I did buy the excellent Love album when it was issued in 1987. An album which, if I remember well, was very successful. Haven't heard or bought anything by Aztec Camera ever since.
 
The 'Just Like Gold' single features the famous 'kilties' artwork which was used for only three of the label's releases. Also included in each of these discs was... A Postcard with the lyrics to the song on the A-side.

Image ©japanese forms

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A Trainspotter Writes...

While packing some things the other day -I'm relocating soon- I came across an old notebook in which I used to write lists and references of discs that I wanted to acquire. Inside this, I found some cuttings from long-binned copies of the NME.-I've no idea when this one was printed but I imagine it was in the early late 80s or early 90s or thereabouts. The cuttings were mostly lists that the magazine published of the ten most sought after / best releases by various bands or labels. There were Sonic Youth and Suicide lists among others and, amazingly, the one above featuring Postcard Records. Back then, I had marked the discs that I had in the list -correcting an error for the 'Simply Thrilled Honey' catalogue number- and, in my atrocius handwriting, added below the cat. N°, the title, and band name for Josef K's 'It's Kinda Funny' single that wasn't included in the list. In all, just a bit of paper but a nice little addition to the blog.



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Orange Juice : Ostrich Churchyard

Orange Juice : Ostrich Churchyard
Postcard Records - Postcard DUBH 922 (1992) 
Sleeve designed by Alan Horne & Edwyn Collins

Tracks 1-11 Recorded 17th of May 1981, at the Hellfire Club, Glasgow
Tracks 12-15 Recorded 23rd of October 1980, at the BBC Maida Vale, London
for a John Peel Session

Yet more from Orange Juice. 'Ostrich Churchyard' -CD release of the previously unreleased debut album for Postcard Records , includes a Peel Session, and, on the Japanese issue, a bonus BBC Radio 1 session track, "Wan Light". Issued in 1992 during Postcard's all too brief revival the album comes in a superb triple-fold-out digipak sleeve and features the 'drumming kitten' logo and some rather neat artwork on the disc itself. There's a picture of someone wearing a 'drumming kitten' t-shirt in the booklet included with this. Mmmmm! Pure class. Wish I had one of those tees.

Postcard Records of Scotland
"Europe's Only Avant Garde Recording Company."

Ostrich Churchyard (back)

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Love Sick / Blue Boy - CD version

Orange Juice
Love Sick / Blue Boy
Postcard DUBH 934 CD
Postcard Records (1993)

Image ©japanese forms

During Postcard Records' brief revival in the early 90s the label managed to reissue, on CD, the Love Sick / Blue Boy single by Orange Juice . Like the vinyl version issued at the same time it has the same original, coloured, Sharon Acker atwork. Would have been nice if they had done this with all the original Postcard singles. Maybe one day they'll issue a nice box-set, huh?

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Josef K - It's Kinda Funny / Final Request

josef k
it's kinda funny / final request
postcard 80-5
postcard records (1980)

Second Josef K single released on Postcard in May 1980. Comes in one of the brownish 'cowboy' sleeves that were used for some of the label's releases. This was the band that I really preferred on Postcard and was a bit sad when they called it a day after such a short career. In my opinion, this release far outclasses anything Orange Juice put out on the label but I suppose that anyone who is a fan of the label has their own particular favourite.




A coloured Josef K paper insert was included with this release but my copy had none. I don't know why but as I lived and bought these abroad I imagine that somewhere along the line; from pressing plant to shop, someone decided to steal this highly desirable item.

For more info on Josef K check out this link or this link for a full rundown on the band's history.

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Orange Juice : The Heather's On Fire

orange juice - the heather's on fire
postcard records - dubh 932 cd (1993)
Despite the huge critical aclaim heaped upon when the Postcard label first started releasing material -particularly for Josef K and Orange Juice- the initial label was short-lived and it folded in the second half of 1981 - less than two after its inception. In 1992, Postcard reappeared - once again under the auspices of Alan Horne -who had spent some time in the interim period squandering money given to him by a major label- with a compilation album of Orange Juice's Postcard singles which appeared on the superbly packaged "The Heather's on Fire." I remember the joy of picking up a copy of this at the indie-store where I worked. I had been keeping my precious vinyl copies of the discs under wraps. I'd copied them to cassette years before so that the vinyl and the sleeves would remain in pristine condition. Don't forget, this was way before home-computers, internet, and mp3s. At that time CDs still had a reputation of being indestructible (they're not) and of producing a better sound than vinyl (they don't). Anyhow, this is a great collection and well worth owning if you're a fan of Postcard, or Orange Juice, and a must-have if you're a fan of both group and label.

Tracklist:
Falling And Laughing
Moscow
Moscow Olympics
Blue Boy
Lovesick
Simply Thrilled Honey
Breakfast Time
Poor Old Soul
Poor Old Soul Pt. 2
Felicity (Radio One Session Jan 81)
Upwards And Onwards (Radio One Session Jan 81)
Dying Day (Peel Session Aug 81)
Holiday Hymn (Peel Session Aug 81)
 

Hidden track:
Who Are the Mystery Girls? - The Nu-Sonics (Feb 77)
A bonus track: 
Three Cheers For Our Side (Peel Session Aug 81)
Appears on the Japanese issue of this CD in place of 'Who Are the Mystery Girls?' - The Nu-Sonics track.
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Special thanks to Wikipedia and TweeNet

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