The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

Aswad - Warriors
(Single, Bubblin', 1994, BUBB 4)



A Warriors (Beatmasters 7" Mix)
B Give Me A Reason

A second one today, because I'm moving tomorrow and will have no internet connection all day (except maybe very brifely in the morning). This thread may then take a break until my new connection is sorted.

Aswad formed around 1974, but didn't get their first bug hit until 1988's Don't Turn Around which stormed to number one. Aswad are a British band of Carribean descent, Aswad is the Arabic word for "black". They're a reggae band but with a strong soul influence, they wrote about their own experiences growing up as black kids in the UK. They have never split since their formation.

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

The B-52's - Rock Lobster
(Single, Island, 1979, WIP 6506)



A Rock Lobster
B Running Around

Three today, playing catch up!

Yes, the B-52's have really been around that long. Punctuation Nazis will be pleased to hear that they finally dropped that superfluous apostrophe in 2008 and are now The B-52s.

They actually formed in '76 and their trademark is back and forth ("Versus") vocals between the male and female members of the group. Musically, they're deeply rooted in rock 'n' roll and had a lot of rockabilly fans in their early days. Their name comes only indirectly from the aircraft, they named themselves after a hairstyle which is named after the 'plane.

The original version of this was their first single, released on a tiny independent in the States, it sold 2000 copies and became an underground hit. Warner (for the States and Canada) and Island (for the UK) signed them on the back of it and re-released it (in '79 in the UK and '80 in the States). This was, therefore, their first UK release. I love it, brilliant single.

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

The B-52's - Hot Pants Explosion
(Single, Island, 1993, WIP 0156)



A Hot Pants Explosion (Edit)
B Love Shack (LP Version)

Much later B-52's.

In 1985, tragedy hit the band, guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS. The band want into seclusion and refused to promote their 5th album, which had just been released. The band didn't officially split, but went into hiatus, unsire if they wanted to carry on without him. They didn't reform until 1988. In 1989, Love Shack was released and they became more successful than they had ever been in the past.

They've had an up and down career ever since, become known again on '84 for their role in supporting the Flinstones movie (as the BC-52's).

Hot Pants Explosion didn't sell well and is not one of their better tracks, most copies selling on the back of the B side.

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
(Single, RCA Victor, 1977, PB 5526)



A Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
B Cara Mia

Aaaah, a disco classic, there will be plenty of these in this thread, pity Murk isn't still here.

Baccara were a Spanish vocal duo, this was their first release and instantly propelled them to stardom. This was one of the best selling sinmgles in Europe of all time, and jumped to number one all over the continent. They were the first SPanish act to get to number one in the UK. Their follow up (Sorry, I'm A Lady) was also huge, but after that their fortunes faded.

They had split by 1981, but remain friends.

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
(Single, Mercury, 1974, 6167 025)



A You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
B Free Wheelin'

I wrote a bit about BTO in the other thread so I'm not going to go over all that again. Suffice to say they're Canadian, pure classic rock.

I like BTO, this is obviously their most famous track and the one ALWAYS played by Smashy and Nicey on the Harry Enfield show.

"I do a lot of work for charity, but I don't like to talk about it"

Were those beards ever fashionable?

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Hey You
(Single, Mercury, 1975, 6167 173)



A Hey You
B Flat Broke Love

This is a not quite a well known BTO track, un the UK, anyway. In the States and Canada, this was big, and still receives airplay nto this day. This was the best selling single from their Four Wheel Drive LP.

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Away From Home
(Single, Mercury, 1975, 6167 320)



A Away From Home
B Down To The Line

This isn't listed as a single on any BTO discography I can find, but it clearly exists! I have a copy, as do 3 other people on discogs. Three isn't many though, 51 on there have Hey You. I'[m guessing this was a UK only release, and I know it didn't chart so it's probably quite rare. BTO never did very well in the UK compared to Canada and the US so I'm not sure why they'd release a single just in the UK. It's from the "Head On" album.

The B side to this was released as a single in the States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as a non album track (it was added to the CD version of the album in 2003).

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

Back To The Planet - Daydream
(Single, Parallel, 1993, LLL 8)



A1 Edit
A2 Dub Mix
B Orbital Mix

Back To The Planet were a crusty naracho-punk band with ska and dub influences, most famous for their track Teenage Turtles (which appeared in the 12" thread). I saw them live in 1993 and they were pretty good.

They formed in a squat in 1989, and were most successful during the early 90s, well mainly 1993 to be honest, although they played Glastonbury four years running. They split in 95, but reformed for a one off reunion gig in 2007. Since then they have played occasional gigs (including this year), but AFAIK, haven't released any new material.

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games [With My Heart]
(Single, Jive, 1996, JIVE P 409, Picture disc)



A Quit Playing Games [With My Heart]
B Give Me Your Heart

OK, confession time, I will admit that Backstreet Boys did the odd good track.

Unfortunately, this is not one of them.

Sorry.

The Fork Me 7" vinyl collection thread

Bad Manners - Special Brew
(Single, Magnet, 1980, MAG 180)



A Special Brew
B Ivor The Engine

I'm gonna get through 3 today because I probably won;t have any Internet access over the weekend.

Bad Manners were the cartoon characters of the ska revival. A band that vwere about having fun, no politics, no deep meaning. Just lively no nonsense ska. Live, they are amazing.

I spoke about them quite a bit in the other thread, so here we'll stick to the singles.

Special Brew was their first top 10 hit (Lip Up Fatty had got to number 15 a couple of months previously). It was massive at the time, and dance floors still go mad at the fast bit in the middle. Lyrically it's a simple love song with a play on words referring to the famous beverage favoured by street drinkers! According to Buster himself, he started writing about a girl, but thought it was getting too soppy so turned it into a song about lager half way through writing it.

Bad Manners were famously barred from TOTP for Buster's outrageous antics (although ITV seemed to keep welcoming them to Tiswas!) so, here's a TOTP video from before the ban.