1980s 443 Items

Blue labels.

Rush Hour’s RSS series excels in unearthing buried treasure, offering a second chance for artists and releases that have long been overlooked. That’s certainly the case with ‘Witches’, the superb sole single by British 1980s wave trio Zenana.

Originally released on seven-inch by the tiny PRM label in 1986, ‘Witches’ was the product of a sister-brother songwriting team whose music was mostly recorded in the front room of a terraced house in Nanpean, a small industrial village in Cornwall, England’s most south-westerly county. While the single was infectious, impeccably produced and dancefloor-ready, it sold in limited quantities at the time.

Zenana’s story can be traced back to the early 1980s, when singer-songwriter Anita Tedder founded the all-female trio as a vehicle for her musical ambitions. To bring her songs to life, she joined voices with her brother Mike, an early adopter of electronic music who had built a studio – nicknamed MFR, short for ‘Mike’s Front Room’ – in his Cornish home.

Countless Zenana tracks were recorded at ‘mfr’ between 1984 and ’86, with the resultant demo cassette securing the band a management contract, a slew of live bookings, a video shoot and even a television appearance. Buoyed by this underground success, they headed to the remote Sawmills Studio in Cornwall – famously only accessible by boat – to re-record ‘Witches’, a song inspired by local folk tales of witches gathering near Mike’s home.

While this version of ‘Witches’ failed to make an impact at the time, it has become something of a cult classic following its’ rediscovery by crate digger Kiernan Abbott – and subsequent championing by other dusty-fingered DJs including Antal, Skyrager, Trevor Jackson and Luke Una – in early 2023. The buzz inspired Zenana to perform live again for the first time in decades, with the story of their surprise comeback being covered by British media outlets including the BBC and (more surprisingly) the Daily Mail.

Now presented in re-mastered form, ‘Witches’ is a genuinely slept-on gem. Propelled forwards by punchy drum machine beats, a killer synth bassline and fizzing keyboard sounds, the song benefits greatly from strong vocals and an extra-percussive middle eight layered with vocalisations, cosmic spoken word sections and swirling noises.

It comes backed by a brand-new extended ‘spell of love’ courtesy of Bristol duo Bedmo Disco, AKA music journalist Matt Anniss (author of Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music) and DJ/production partner Gareth Morgan. Anniss is a long-time friend of Mike and Anita Tedder who has fond memories of visiting Mike’s home studio with his family around the time that ‘Witches’ was recorded.

Working from Zenana’s original MFR eight-track recording (tapes of the single version were lost years ago), Anniss and Morgan have turned in the extended ‘dance mix’ the track never had first time around. More atmospheric, clandestine and dancefloor-focused, it offers authentic nods to New York proto-house, mid-80s Shep Pettibone dubs, and the pioneering synth-pop productions and dub mixes of Factory Records regular Martin Rushent.

Wild & Moody is the artist's sixth and last studio solo album on the YEN Label. In contrast to his previous album Tomorrow’s Just Another Day, which mostly consisted of mellow tunes, where half had Japanese lyrics, this album explores digital funk sounds and features all English lyrics setting the stage to pursue a global audience. Iva Davies of the Australian band Icehouse appears on Tracks 2, 7, and 8; lyrics for track 2 were written by Steve Jansen from the band Japan, who considers Takahashi his mentor and Track 4 is a cover of the Neil Young classic taken from the 1970 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Deja Vu. Yoshinori Sunahara is credited for the remastering and vinyl-master cutting was done by Bernie Grundman. The Japan-only CD reissue and digital versions include a bonus track.

" Pressed on 7"" black vinyl
Two incredible hits from 1980s Japan!
NOTE: artwork to be announced Two major duets by Yoshinori Monta and Junko Ohashi are released simultaneously on analog 7inch single vinyl! In April 1983, ""Natsu Onna Sonia"" became a big hit under the name ""Yoshinori Monta with Junko Ohashi,"" and the following June 1984, ""Koi wa Magic"" was released simultaneously, this time under the name ""Junko Ohashi with Yoshinori Monta! The couplings include Yoshinori Monta's solo song ""Harbor Light"" and Junko Ohashi's solo song ""A LOVE AFFAIR,"" respectively."

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series)

Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!

One of the finest albums of the classic rock era!

Hybrid Stereo SACD

After half a century of crafting an astonishing array of chart-topping albums and embarking on triumphant global tours, Yes's The Yes Album marks the origin of their meteoric rise, through the recording sessions for this 1971 masterpiece.

With an ever interesting line-up of world class musicianship, this highly regarded chapter of Yes consisted of Jon Anderson (vocals), Chris Squire (bass/vocals), Bill Bruford (drums), Tony Kaye (keyboards) and the introduction of Steve Howe (guitars/vocals), The Yes Album was the band's breakthrough album, ultimately remaining on the sales charts for 34 weeks, selling more than 1 million copies.

This important piece of music consists of six amazing Yes workouts such as the definitive album opener "Yours Is No Disgrace," the hard rocking "Starship Trooper" and the brilliant "I've Seen All Good People" plus the massive hit single "Your Move." From this moment on, there was no looking back for this superstar quintet.

Yes enthusiasts were superlatively rewarded with even more progressive rock favorites as the brilliant acoustic driven guitar work of Steve Howe's "Clap," Chris Squire and Jon Anderson's superb "Perpetual Change" and the jazz-rock fusion of "A Venture" truly made this album a standout.

The album was a critical success and a major commercial breakthrough for Yes, who had been at risk of being dropped by Atlantic due to the commercial failures of their first two albums. It reached No. 4 in the United Kingdom and No. 40 in the United States, and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for surpassing 1 million copies.

Sticker on cover and label. Taped seams.

Slight foxing on cover.