L Voag - " Move E.P." (no Label / Move 1) 1979

More ultimate DIY dubbed up abstract pop from Whelton and crew. This is the debut ep from the L Voag alter-ego. Much tunage submerged in effects and squat ambience from the halcyon daze of London's unwashed; recorded whilst the neighbouring hippies across the road were deep into another 'Primal Scream Therapy' session. I am informed that This Heat were also non-tenants in the same building!......this just don't 'appen nowadays.London's gone the same way as New York, nowhere for artists to live and work without hassle from the man.
And another wonderful handmade sleeve to boot.

Track Listing:

A1		Beauty Spreads
A2		Aural Terrorism
B1		We Dress Up Our Ideas To Make Them Seem Greater Than They Really Are
B2		According To Freud

DOWNLOAD Move HERE!

L Voag - " The Way Out " (no label no.9) 1979 (re-up)

Despite what a disgruntled Nurse With Wound fan said(see comments in Gus Coma post), L Voag was a direct influence on the NWW sound, and he WAS around in 1979, before "Chance Meeeting On a Dissecting Table" was recorded. Take note of the listing of L Voag on the nerd-worthy NWW list of influential artistes included with said LP.
Much more tape collage madness from Jim Whelton and cronies,following the true punk rock course of moving 90 degrees to the mainstream, challenging the accepted norm of what music is........its this LP in fact.
Very similar in places to the Gus Coma and Milk From Cheltenham records from around the same time; they were mostly released two or three years after they were recorded, so take no notice of the release year on the labels,they all began life in or before 1979....."Seminal", as they say in music journo skool.........all together now...."SEMINAL!"


Track Listing:

		House
X1		Front Door
X2		Hall
X3		Kitchen
X4		Toilet
X5		Living Room
X6		Bedroom
X7		The Way Out
		Chat
Y1		The Lengthy Pause
Y2		Franco's Prayer
Y3		The Raw End (Of The Tits, Bum & Challenge Deal)
Y4		Boxing and Sparring (With The Third Dimension)
Y5		The Goalkeepers Fear Of The Piss-Up
Y6		Planning - Budgeting - Shopping
Y7		Helping The Police With Their Enquiries
Y8		Your Own Hair - Your Own Chance
Y9		El Cada Dia Del Genté Comun
Y10		The Tuned Knife And Fork Toned Down To A Light Lunch
Y11		The Monumental

DOWNLOAD The Way Out HERE!

or BUY IT HERE forr seven quid!

Sir Alick and the Phraser - " In Search Of The Perfect Baby " - ( Black Noise Records 7No5) 1980

After the entire 'It's War Boys' back catalogue,(see previous post s.v.p?), it only natural to listen to some Black Noise; the sister label to Jim Whelton's insane imprint.
Black Noise was more of a Bruno Wizard influenced label,for The Homosexuals and stuff like Sir Alick and the Phraser.
The "In Search of a Perfect Baby"single is a masterpiece of unsynchopated abstract pop; a cubist portrait of a hit.It sort of makes sense, like a jigsaw with several pieces forced into the wrong slots. It's wrongness is only rivalled in my world by Beefheart's "Frownland" from Trout Mask....high praise indeed.

Track Listing:

A		In Search Of The Perfect Baby
B		Nursery Chymes

DOWNLOAD this Perfect baby HERE!

Gus Coma - " Color Him Coma " (It's War Boys, £17) 1983

Our Last 'It's War Boys' release,is a recording of turntable manipulation and plunderphonia from Jim Whelton, a member of Homosexuals related outfit Milk From Cheltenham (the band whose name inspired Stephen Stapleton of Nurse With Wound to name his label United Dairies by the way,and whose recorded output gave him the inspiration behind the NWW sound), but really they had us at turntable manipulation and plunderphonia, and that's just what this is, split into a bunch of short tracks, this plays as a single sprawling dizzying epic, which apparently was born of multiple mixes of a song built from a ROOM SIZED 24 track loop, and it's a slightly unhinged listening experience.Sample voices, snippets of orchestras, pounding percussion, woozy strings, the sounds warped and warbly, distorted and a little crackly, booming reverbed pianos, creepy snippets of soundtracks, bleating horns, excerpts from some old language lesson tape, skittery jazz, constantly shifting pitches, lots of warble, the sounds themselves strange, but their condition, and their treatment, including what sounds like manual finger on the record manipulation, is what really makes this so psychedelic and tweaked sounding. Many of the sounds here were unused and remixed excerpts of recordings which would eventually become the title track of the Milk From Cheltenham 'Triptych of Poisoners'lp, which according to the label was "a tape collage of the live mixdown of 17 cassette recordings of locked record grooves, simultaneously, with stray radio and an infernal matchbox."

Track Listing:

Pro Walkabout Side:

.....Intro....A Word from dear Gus

A1		Gut Morning
A2		Very Smart (it was)
A3		Are You Swede?
A4		Tourist
A5		Meet Our Employees
A6		The Cup Is Clean
A7		Televisions
A8		New Broom
A9		The Infiltrators
A10		Sonar Too Good
A11		The Boss's Terrible Handwritting
A12		Avril Shower
A13		Topic Of Cancer
A14		It's 09754
A15		Say Aaah
A16		Advice To The Elderly
A17		Bak Seat Driver

Anti Walkman Side:

...intro/ Gus Coma Expands......

B1		No More Shoes
B2		Shopping List
B3		Mr. West Today
B4		Stay At Home Housewife
B5		On 99 o o oh
B6		His Own 2 Feet
B7		Bethlehem
B8		Inteligent
B9		Directions
B10		Lemonade 'N' Beer
B11		His Master's Vox
B12		The Wrong Guy
B13		G'Bye For Now

As explained on the insert:"Gus Coma is 6 or 7 years old but with a brain and stomach ulcers of a 34yr old xcekutiv. Fanx to every one."

DOWNLOAD a Coma HERE!

You can also check out a radio special podcast on the 'It's War Boys!' record label, by clicking HERE!

The Fear Merchants - " Mental " (It's War Boys, £18

Amos and Sara by any other name; The Fear Merchants is,again, Amos backed up by various unamed individuals, plus the mysterious Sara on Vocals. Amos plays the role of a, probably ,ex-nazi extermination camp doctor, come psychiatrist; hamming it up ,like Larry Olivier in the Marathon Man on nitrous-oxide, between tracks on various themes of mental illness....hence the title of the album:"Mental". If you played this to your mum she would probably think you or the band were indeed, Mental!
There is no track insert with this C-30 cassette, so dunno what the tracks are called, but from what i can make out, "U-Boat Kapitan" and "Schizoid Personality" are the stand out numbers.(trk 7 & 12).
It seems to have enough logic for this to be a soundtrck to a very off-west end musical production about mental health........i'd go and see it anyway!

(nb. There are two cassettes between £13 and £17 that weren't released, (£15) "Skim Nomrod and the Corolettes -"Copydex Wonderland", and the excelently titled,Ron Dealo - "The Punishing Strings of Ron Dealo"(£16). Does anyone out there have access to any of these?)

DOWNLOAD "Mental" HERE!

Narky Brillans - " Goes Into Orbo " (It's War Boys! Cassette, £13) 1981 ,Re-Up.

More looney tunes from the Homosexuals collective, this time by Narky Brillans, who created this unhinged sound collage back in 1981,again on cassette(£13 is the catalogue number not the price by the way). Brillans was a central member of that collective and this cracked 1981 side is the perfect distillation of the UK DIY aesthetic, with a series of songs, instrumentals and sound works that combine the subterranean rock style of Swell Maps with home-recorded rants, punk-pop instants, outer space drones and doomy synth. Don't know what the personnel was on this recording,but i can sense the presence of Jim Whelton, L Voag ,lurking somewhere in the background of this murky DIY concréte classic. Its very L.Voag in places, and has certain echos of the Gus Coma cassette(soon to be posted on this site). These are the sound experiments that Stephen Stapleton allegedly heard to inspire his Nurse With Wound project.

Track Listing:

A1		Worship Worship U.S.A.
A2		On This Side Of The Tracks
A3		Fashist Tea Party
B1		Atom Making Bomb
B2		Falling Hole Into
B3		We Got U.S. Dollars

DOWNLOAD THIS RARITY HERE!

Amos and Crew - " True Tears " - (It's War Boys, £11) 1982

As it says on the insert:'Recorded in Tokyo, Japan, (by Amos whilst on tour with The Work), on Mr Shiotas old four track cassette in Mr Kitamuras kitchen in sporadic three day binge.'
More stream of consciousness improv non-pop from the prolific Amos (Jim Whelton), laying down plenty ramshackle syncopated beats to contorted melodies, and dream logic lyrics.
It takes rock super stars three or four years to come up with some absolute crimes against art, but only three days for Amos and Crew to churn out this tape of near-genius.Perfection is, in itself imperfection kids. Listen and learn says self-appointed patronising pater figure.

Track Listing:(this is the track list from the insert,but there are 5 unknown tracks also included for your entertainment.

A1		Tokyo Golden Night
A2		Rex Humbard World Out-Reach Ministry
A3		No.1 Beast In Japan
A4		How Much 'American'?
A5		Urban Masterpieces
A6		Closed Off
A7		Key Role Fragments
B1		Miraculous..
B2		Nippon Slave Mentality
B3		Training The Pets..
B4		The Voice Of God
B5		Hero Of 'Western'
B6		Armed Truth Foreigners
B7		True Tears Epitaph

DOWNLOAD These 'True Tears' HERE!

Amos and Sara - " Invite To Endless Latino " (It's War Boys, £10) 1983

This is Fantastic!...Why has this never been released on CD?......i'm glad it hasn't ,'cus the hideous silver disc is quite possibly the worse invention/scam for music storage ever. Hail the humble cassette, the perfect vehicle for the mighty Amos and Sara.
Easy Listening was never like this,(although i am a huge fan of Easy) with its 'on medication' Latin vibe, Bossa Nova for day centre disco's, and Samba's for schizophrenic's in remission.
Quite superbly anti-commercial, in a 'no sell out' kind of way; definately something one cannot accuse any Homosexual (the Band) of, and remember most of them played the Roxy in '77! (as the Rejects). This is Good.

Track listing:

A1		Mr. Sinista
A2		Bossa Kings Of Rhumba
A3		Horrible Echo In Space
A4		Urge To Cha-Cha
A5		That's Him All Over
B1		Pain Mambo
B2		The Snake
B3		Private World Of A Private Eye
B4		The Westerners
B5		Insomnia Samba

B6    Unknown Track
B7    Unknown Track

DOWNLOAD This Endless Latino HERE!

Amos and Sara - " Go Home Soldier " (Its War Boys, £9) 1983

£7 don't exist to my knowledge, and £8 was an unreleased recording called "Dull Thud Beet" by the Klak Klak Moguls.(I bet thats a great album!)
But,£9 was a12inch single by Amos and Sara with a thinly disguised anti-war theme. I'd completely forgotten that I had bought this when it was released; 'cus as I didn't like it,it was erased from my memory,until rediscovering it for these 'Its War Boys' posts.
God knows why I didn't take to this disjointed indie disco number,with a hint of 'Return of the Giant Slits' era Slits. I can only think that it sounded too 'Hip' for me, a bit 'pinko disko', y'know ,like Pig Bag and Maximum Joy, annoyingly right on sounding,and worse still, eminantly skankable for any white rasta's hanging at the alternative discotheque. This vomit worthy image is further engraved on my anterior lobe by the annoying Dub version that follows it on side one; and side two, well, just don't go there.
Although i sorta like it now, its probably the shittest thing any Homosexual has done; but thats still better than ANYTHING anyone from U2 has done....ever....or will!



Amos and Sara is Sara Fancy - Amos De'ath - Christopher Greyt. Guest artists Jan Hill accordian, Martin Fredericks baritone and percussian. Recordsed at Surrey Sounds, mixed at Berry Street. Produced by Martin, horns added on tape by Lepke. Cover designed by Sara.

Track Listing:

A1		Go Home Soldier
A2		Enough Is Enough
B1		Surveillance O.H.M.S.

DOWNLOAD Go Home Soldier HERE!

Vic Serf and the Villans - " Rock Y Roll " (Its War Boys, £6 ) 1980

The next classic from Its War Boys! is the hilariously strange, Vic Serf and the Villans cassette only release from 1980 (£6).
What happens when you put classic rock'n'roll into a blender, and strain the pure juice through a tea strainer, and flush the liquid down the bog, leaving only the crappy cruddy parts of rock N roll:
Elvis's pub singer vocals, laughable do-woppy harmonies, sub-moronic lyrics that are an insult to meaninglessness, twangy guitars, and skiffle-lite drumming......that'll give you most of the ingredients for Rock Y Roll, plus a barrell load of unhinged experimentalism.
But the most important ingredient is Jim 'Amos' Whelton and his nonband of squatters, to make this one of the best rock'n'roll parody/study's this side of the Residents 'Third Reich'n'Roll', or Zappa's 'Ruben and the Jets'.
You can just imagine Vic serf singing these tunes on Vic Reeves' Big Night Out in th 1990's.
A sense of humour is required,so if you don't have one then don't listen to it.

Track Listing:

A1		The Greks Bring Gifts
A2		Bone City
A3		Crumbo Crumbo Land
A4		The Environmental Secretary
A5		Another Cold Heaven
A6		Baby, I'm Turning Blue
A7		Export Figures For '97
A8		Terse Reply From Jodrell
A9		The New Faeces
A10		Onward To The Market, Lo
A11		Black Costumes
B1		What To Do Wiv' Burglars
B2		I'm No Pushover
B3		I'd Appreciate That That
B4		The Ranch Boys
B5		Shakey Space
B6		The Double Vision Of El Meas
B7		Yet More Tales Of The F.B.I.
B8		I.Q. Theory
B9		Yes, Psychoanalysis
B10		The Greks Sign Off

DOWNLOAD some Rock Y Roll HERE!

The Just Measurers - " Flagellation " (Its War Boys, £5) 1983, re-up.

Its those damn Homosexuals again! This is Jim Whelton, Lepke (Milk from Cheltenham), and Chris Grey (amos and sara). My favourite Homosexuals related release, its got that falling apart feeling that one loves so dearly, an almost endearing aimlessness. The very best in Avant punk strangness you can find. Released on jim's Its War Boys Label in 1983.

Track Listing:

		This Side
A1		The Perfect Life
A2		See You In Hell, Darling
A3		Dinner Party
A4		Infiltration
A5		The Best Thing I Did Was Give Up Smoking
A6		Immigrants
A7		Petit Guirlades
A8		Nioo Yiirk (The Big Time)
		Flip Side
B1		Go West (E.T.A.)
B2		Spies World
B3		Bank Owner Living On Borrowed Time
B4		Be Good To Your Leaders
B5		It's War Boys
B6		Issolation Booth
B7		Rooting Them Out
B8		Calling All Teenagers

DOWNLOAD some Flagellation HERE!

Amos and Sara - " Sara Goes Pop " (It's War Boys, £4) 1982 (re-up)

Its War Boys! £4;and Jim Whelton, L. Voag , or Amos of the Homosexuals, teamed up with Sara in 1981, to make his most acessable music yet with this aptly named double seven inch release ,Sara goes Pop. Think the Raincoats, but good, and you get the idea of what it sounds like.
"Sexy Terrorist" is a bona fide alt-pop classic.

Music by: Sara - singing, drumming, bassing, horning, Ron Dealo - guitar, Spoonface Leroy - trapset, Amos - bass. Special Guests: Stephanie - singing, Saadi Ottoman - ideas, Paul - enthusiast, King Kobra - dynamic producing.
Disc 1 is orange vinyl, and disc 2 is yellow vinyl.

Side 1
1- Arab O Habab of Arabia
2- My Pal The Crook
3- Lulu on the Rock
4- In Walked Lance
Side 2
1- Fleeced
2- Muslim Computer
3- Sexy Terrorist
4- I'm an Actress.

DOWNLOAD These Sexy Terrorists HERE!

Milk From Cheltenham - " Triptych Of Poisoners " (Its War Boys ,£3) 1983

Te next Its War Boys release (£3),is a re-up,from Lepke Buchwater's Milk From Cheltenham;every inch a classic.Sounds very similar to any L.Voag releases.Something akin to a kind of a musical equivalent to channel hopping, lurching,chopping and changing, stream of consciousness editing, heavy use of the oblique strategies cards; all in the glorious lo-fidelity of 1979-81 cassette technology.The musique concréte of squatland.
There were three different editions of this release. Red, blue and black vinyl were pressed. Various inserts were also enclosed, although it was pot luck what ones you got. Each sleeve is unique, with a silk screened front cover and a back cover which comprises of a cut and paste design, again, each copy is different. The later pressing on black vinyl has a silk screened back cover and the pressing is far superior to the blue or red versions. There was a delay of 2 years in getting the LP out as the sleeves took so long to produce!
Give the sample track (08) a listen, then download this classic of the genre below:

01 The Man Who Cried 2:20
02 Where Is The Money To Come From? 0:56
03 Mr. Fridge 1:38
04 International Questionnaire 0:42
05 What About Air War 2:15
06 Do The Ready Can 2:07
07 Decisions 0:57
08 Snappy Fingers 2:44
09 The Plan Must Rule 1:12
10 El Toro Saldrà Cuando Suena El Clarin 6:40
11 Our Dictator 1:08
12 Invitation To Action 2:56
13 Das Elefantenkalb 4:01
14 Air - Sound - Light 1:36
15 Passport To Happiness! 1:56
16 Triptych Of Poisoners 2:18
17 Krazy Golf 2:10
18 Can A Vacuum Cleaner Really Work Quietly? 0:50
19 The Geek 3:39

Download this Triptych of Poisoners HERE!

Amos and Sara - " Sing the private world of Amos " (It's War Boys, £2 ) 1982

Next up is Its 'War Boys'catalogue number £2, and the cassette only release,"Amos and Sara ...sing the private world of Amos".
Amos aka L Voag, Aka Jim Whelton, and the mysterious Sara, made some of the best dreamlogic pop music in the whole of squatland during the early eighties.
With a predeliction for defracting lounge music through a sound prism, splitting jazz rythms into its constituent parts and reflecting them in a fairground mirror. The result is something genuinely unhinged but strangely addictive. Amos and Sara are comfortably my favourite Homosexuals offshoot.
With a backroom cast of such luminaries with names like Lepke Buchwater (milk from Cheltenham, Die trip Computer Die), Andrew Camelot, and Seamus Luttman-Luttman-Luttman, how can you fail?
Alternative dimension hits include: "In a Hell Bed","It Kinky" and the magnificent "Syphillis Party".One suspects that the recently discovered glitch in the background microwave radiation of this universe,'Dark Flow', is probably all these great tunes leaving this dimension to be hits in our very lucky neighbouring universe.....I wanna go there toooo!

Track Listing:

A1		Cruel Cocktails
A2		A Ballad Of Amos
A3		In A Hell-Bed
A4		"Just What Is Your Gripe."
A5		You'll Never Guess
A6		Totem Of 1,000 Dolls
A7		Green Is A Bad Colour
A8		The Tame One
B1		It Kinky
B2		Hi-Finance
B3		Syphillis Party
B4		The Harry & Flo Scene
B5		Say It With Strings
B6		Mudchuker Man
B7		Visiting Beast
B8		The Genderizer

DOWNLOAD The Private World Of Amos HERE!

Nancy Sesay and the Melodaires - " C'est Fab " (It's War Boys £1) 1982

Bonjour mes aimless aimies, one assumes this must be the "It's War Boys" record label month on Die or DIY? And what more natural place to start than the first release (£1) on said imprint, none other than Nancy sesay and the Melodaires.
I get confused about the shady history behind this label and the artists/artist that appear there.
Basically its the vehicle for Jim Whelton/Amos/L Voag of the Homosexuals/Milk From Cheltenham ,and various buddies to let their creative juices run riot.
The first fruits of which is this outing, a non-metronomic sub-jazz , falling down funk syncopated art damaged masterpiece,that conforms for no-one.
Featuring the Treacle Singers,and executively produced by The Dandy Horses, I think you know what you've let yourselves in for.

Track listing:

A		C'Est Fab
B1		The Ballad OF Hong Kong
B2		National Honk

DOWNLOAD C'est Fab! HERE!

Attrition - " Onslaught " (Third Mind Records TMT06) 1983

The first release,a C-30 Cassette, from Coventry's Attrition(as seen on the Last Supper compilation from Adventures in Reality).
An excercise in electronic industrial minimalism, with a couple of synth's and a well-used echo machine. There's even an industrial disco track,'Shrinkwrap', which was a popular direction for many formerly industrial groups; and generally one to be avoided. If you close your eyes you can just imagine a sparce gathering of Goths dancing jerkily to this on a dark dancefloor in some awful club called the spiderweb ,or something just as naff, back in '83.
But the rest of the tape is most acceptable,if a tad over reliant on echo's for weirdness.

Many thanks goes to Alan Rider of Adventures in Reality for this tape.

Line up:
Martin Bowes - vocals, lyrics, rythms, Julia Niblock - vocals, Ashley Niblock - Synths.

Track Listing:

A1		Vigil
A2		Onslaught
A3		Shrinkwrap
B1		Tones In Black
B2		First Onslaught

DOWNLOAD Onslaught HERE!

The Cardiacs - " The Seaside " (C-60 Cassette) (The Alphabet Business Concern ALPH 0001) 1983

As Jim of Mutant Sounds has been leaving kind comments of late, I feel it is my duty to post a Cardiacs cassette, 'cus I know he likes them.
This is the 1983 cassette version of "The Seaside", which contains tracks not on the subsequent CD release: "Nurses Whispering Verses", "Is This The Life", "A Little Man & A House", and "Dinner Time"; and was originally only given away at gigs.
"But surely"......., they say, "......aren't the Cardiacs as annoyingly clever as the Legendary Pink dots, and Irritatingly musicianly to boot?" and, "....Why aren't you moaning about these proggy johnny come latelys?"
Not a good point at all, mr John Q. Public. Firstly, they are only 'prog' in a progressive post punk kind of a way.......which is progressive as in forward looking, and rock as in Van Der Graaf not Yes.Secondly, they can write a killer tune, see " Is This The Life?", and ask why this wasn't in the charts alongside Echo and the Bunneymen? And thirdly, they sound like themselves,and not Like a Syd Barrett fan going electronic....ok,okaaaayyyy.....i'll get off the Pink Dots case; but remember i've been provoked.
Basically this is a great record, by an ignored and much maligned group.

You can get The Cardiacs earlier tape "Toy World"(1980) here!

TRACK LISTING:

A1 Jibber and Twitch
A2 Gina Lollobrigida
A3 Hello Mr. Sparrow
A4 It's A Lovely Day
A5 A Wooden Fish On Wheels
A6 Nurses Whispering Verses
B1 Is This The Life?
B2 A Little Man And A House
B3 Hope Day
B4 Dinner Time
B5 Ice A Spot And A Dot On The Dog
B6 R.E.S.
B7 To Go Off And Things

DOWNLOAD The Seaside HERE!

The Legendary Pink Dots - " The Chemical Playschool 1 & 2 " (Mirrordot 02/03) 1981

After being labelled a Nazi by some irrate Legendary Pink Dots fan, I shouldn't post anymore of their early cassettes. But, I will, despite my better judgement!
The "Isn't everything nice Brain Police" will not alter my raison d'etre. When will the 90%er's of this planet realise that there is room for criticism,and that it isn't mandatory for you to agree with it????
No, I don't like The Legendary Pink Dots, their Syd Barret meets the Casiotone cleverness gets on my tits.....but, they fit the brief for this blog,as they were very active DIY'ers, and therfore gain my respect as human beings; so here is their second self-released cassette,which came as two c-60's full of tunes too numerous to list below(apparently the track listing changed with every individual cassette too),and i can't be arsed to type all the tracks......they will appear in the download anyway.
If that's musical fascism then you can Fuck yourself!

DOWNLOAD Tape One Side A Here!
DOWNLOAD Tape One Side B Here!
DOWNLOAD Tape Two Side A Here!
DOWNLOAD Tape Two Side B Here!