Swallowed By The Cracks

For your chance to win a R250 voucher from Yesteryear, read our latest take on the world of records and answer the simple question in the comments below. Entries closed midnight Tues Oct 4.

Swallowed By The Cracks

Well, this was kind of a sad and happy accident all rolled into one …

We went looking for an old copy of Talking Heads ‘Little Creatures’ in our trusty little record collection on the weekend, only to realise we didn’t have one 😳 Shame on us!

So then, a search through the CD’s where we managed to find a well-used original copy from 1985 🤓

Big thanks to older sister Mary for the birthday gift all those years ago. It helped get us through Matric and there were at least 9 compelling reasons for that … here’s 3 for starters…

The trippy, hippie-ness of 'And She Was' (long before we knew what an acid-trip was); the gentle alt-country sway of 'Creatures Of Love' (well before alternative country was even a thing) and after 35 minutes of quirky, new wave magic, we found ourselves on a 'Road To Nowhere' … pure escapism for a green-behind-the-ears 17 year old 🤓

Why are we telling you this?

Well, this slice of 80’s pop heaven is one of those albums that was swallowed by the musical cracks, never before getting a re-issue on vinyl.

Until now…

On October 6, Little Creatures is scheduled to drop on the black wax for the first time since 1985. Don't know about you guys but we'll take that ride :-)

Whilst we were busy hunting though boxes of discs, we came across a bunch of long forgotten CD's that got us thinking about all the albums that have, for one reason or another, never been re-issued on vinyl, or if they have been, sadly long out-of-print.

That got us reminiscing about far too many nights in sweaty Australian beer barns, drowning in a sea of spilt lager, paisley and jangly guitars. Hazy but fond memories of bands that have fallen by the way-side - The Stems, Huxton Creepers and the Painters & Dockers. And one or two that are still going strong. Spy v Spy and the mighty Hoodoo Gurus who continue to plead far and wide that Mars Needs Guitars, and we think so too ;-)

It wasn't long before we were making a list and checking it twice, in the hope that Santa might be able to pull a few strings at Record Label Grand Central this Xmas. We even imagined what that conversation might look like ...

Santa : "Yeah, its the big guy in the suit here. Listen, we got this Aussie lad in South Africa that's kind of desperate for a few out-of-print records - mainly Australian pub-rock from the 80's - can you help us?"

Record Label Head Honcho : "Maybe, maybe not. Tell me Santa, how old's this lad?"

Santa : "I'd say mid 50's at a guess - looks kind of rough around the edges"

Record Label Head Honcho : "Hmmm ... sounds like a mid-life crisis to me. Can't afford a Harley hey? Anyhow, what's on his list - top 3 and we'll see what we can do"

Santa : "He says bloody hard to call on Top 3, but if he had to, it'd be Hunters & Collectors 'Human Frailty', You Am I 'Hi Fi Way' and The Cruel Sea 'The Honeymoon Is Over". Never heard of them, but can I leave it with ya? Need to fly - got a Welsh lady in distress looking for Tom Jones re-presses"

We're not quite sure how Santa got on, but we'll cross our fingers and hold thumbs, knowing only too well how fickle Record Label Grand Central can be.

But as they say, you never know your luck...

Circling back to Talking Heads, Yesteryear is now taking orders on the upcoming vinyl reissue of not only Little Creatures (1985) but also True Stories (1986), both set to drop on Oct 6. ETA at Yesteryear Oct 25, all going well.

Click on either link to order Little Creatures and/or True Stories.

And for your chance to win a R250 voucher from Yesteryear, name 3 long out-of-print albums that you wish were reissued on brand new wax by Xmas - sky's the limit, we'll see what Santa can do :-)

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Cheers from Yesteryear