RFI: alternate Modern Life is Rubbish/XTC query

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I recently read an interview with XTC in a back issue of The Big Takeover and there was something in it about Blur's Modern Life is Rubbish originally being produced by one or more XTCians and then thrown out (by Blur, for sounding too much like XTC?!)? Does anyone know if these recordings exist? It sounds like it could be my ultimate dream album of the universe.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Saturday, 6 November 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago)

Searched ILM, found nowt, notoriously dumb with the search function though. Sorry about that.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Saturday, 6 November 2004 14:21 (twenty years ago)

There was something about this in that issue of Select, where they ran a feature doing a track-by-track thing on Blur's back catalog. It was a long time ago, and I can't remember much about it to be honest, but it was Andy Partridge, possibly some of the recordings wound up on "modern life is rubbish" or b-sides from the singles from then. I'll try and find the issue, but don't hold yr breath, I'm not sure if I still have it!

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 6 November 2004 14:32 (twenty years ago)

The version I heard seemed to imply that they recorded an entire album and trashed all of it when they hired Stephen Street. God, I'd love to read the article you're talking about though. Any idea when it was in Select?

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Saturday, 6 November 2004 14:34 (twenty years ago)

Just after "the great escape" IIRC. I'll look for it!

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 6 November 2004 14:41 (twenty years ago)

Yeah I remember reading that Select too (I don't have it anymore). It was probably in Big Takeover where Partridge said he got fired for making them sound too much like XTC.

Dunno if the tapes ever leaked though. I'd imagine all involved made sure they didn't.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Saturday, 6 November 2004 14:58 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, it was in Big Takeover. If recordings of this exist on our planet, they will be mine.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Saturday, 6 November 2004 15:26 (twenty years ago)

There were several tracks recorded with just Andy Partridge, IIRC at David Balfe's insistence. AP is a very full-on producer and I'd heard that his ideas were a little bit chintzy for the fledgling Blur folks. No tracks have surfaced, but I'm sure a couple of the recordings (not productions) were used on MLIR.

― mzui (mzui), Saturday, 6 November 2004 15:27 (twenty years ago)

Just found this..

Andy Partridge, the lead singer and songwriter of XTC, was hired to produce the Blur album that became Modern Life Is Rubbish. He was sacked after completing three tracks. "The man from the record company, Dave Balfe, really wasn't happy," he admits. "I remember they got him stoned one night and he heard some rough mixes and of course he was floating around going, (hippy whine) 'Urr, you're George Martin and they're the Beatles! It's fantastic, man!' And then two days later when he heard the finished mixes he was like, (public school drawl) 'Well, this is really shit, Andy. The rhythm track just isn't sexy.' I said, 'Well, look, Dave's not sexy. He's a big lump of ginge who just hits his drums.' Blur were also having a lot of internal problems. Graham was drinking far too much, Damon was ... practising at being Damon. He'd come in a couple of hours late. (Yobbish Cockney) 'Uh, sorry lads, I've been shaggin'. Justine just wouldn't let me out of bed.' They were kind of confused at the time."

― mzui (mzui), Saturday, 6 November 2004 15:29 (twenty years ago)

"Damon was ... practising at being Damon. He'd come in a couple of hours late. (Yobbish Cockney) 'Uh, sorry lads, I've been shaggin'. Justine just wouldn't let me out of bed.' They were kind of confused at the time."

Haha.

And when Blur finally finished the album with Stephen Street, their label wanted them to rerecord the whole thing with Butch Vig!

― Sansai, Saturday, 6 November 2004 16:25 (twenty years ago)

I think I remember that "Sunday Sunday" was one of the tracks produced by Andy Partridge, but I could be wrong, it was a long time ago.

― Keith Watson (kmw), Saturday, 6 November 2004 18:21 (twenty years ago)

it seems like people are constantly replacing partridge?

that james and the giant peach thing?

― cutty (mcutt), Saturday, 6 November 2004 18:25 (twenty years ago)

Then there's the bizarro Andy Partridge produces the Mission thing from 1990, which I still find amusing.

"Hands across the ocean...reaching out to YEEEEEWWWW!"

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 6 November 2004 18:57 (twenty years ago)

Damon Albarn probably wrapped his ears around the Andy Partridge-produced Mission single, "Hands Across the Ocean" and thought: "YIPES!"

Dammit, Ned beat me to this comment. Fuckity.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 6 November 2004 19:01 (twenty years ago)

The Partridge demos are pretty awful, inbetween Leisure and MLIR they tossed off mountains of spastic art-punk crap. I shudder to think of the hours I spent finding songs like "Hanging Over", "Dizzy", and "Beachcoma".

― Sansai, Saturday, 6 November 2004 19:28 (twenty years ago)

Wait, so they are around? Mountains of spastic art-punk crap sounds like something I'd like to leap into naked.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Saturday, 6 November 2004 21:52 (twenty years ago)

There were several tracks recorded with just Andy Partridge, IIRC at David Balfe's insistence

Balfe was head of Food Records along with Andy Ross, correct? And is he also the Balfe that was in Teardrop Explodes (I assume he is)? And he also produced something for Echo and the BM, I think.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Saturday, 6 November 2004 22:11 (twenty years ago)

And is he also the Balfe that was in Teardrop Explodes (I assume he is)?

Yes he is. Hence the track "Coping" on Modern Life.. (an allusion to Balfe's old bandmate, Julian Cope).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 6 November 2004 22:28 (twenty years ago)

Mountains of spastic art-punk crap sounds like something I'd like to leap into naked.
Get some early Black Dice.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Saturday, 6 November 2004 22:59 (twenty years ago)

really!

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Sunday, 7 November 2004 19:35 (twenty years ago)

Yep, pre-"Beaches and Canyons" Black Dice was more or less what you described ... mixed with a bit of hardcore too.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Sunday, 7 November 2004 20:02 (twenty years ago)

Or Cardiacs, whom Blur based their early 'Seymour' career on. They hardly come more spastic.

― mzui (mzui), Sunday, 7 November 2004 20:03 (twenty years ago)

Oh, that 'really' was for Alex, but thanks for the info nonetheless.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Sunday, 7 November 2004 20:20 (twenty years ago)

I have the CD single (I think it's "sunday sunday" w/the seymour tracks on it. They are terrible! (and I like the cardiacs) "beachcoma", otoh, is great. sub-barrett/floyd psych w/a nice tune.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Sunday, 7 November 2004 21:10 (twenty years ago)

IIRC, most of it turned up as B-sides. (Sorry if someone has already posted that). I managed to collect most of them on tape somewhere, before I was luckily given the Box Set. To be perfectly honest, I actually think the stuff is brilliant, acid-fried and pretty and melancholy. Not commercial at all, so I can understand why they ditched it. Peach, Hole, Beachcoma, that sort of stuff. Their producer used to threaten them with Threadneedle Street whenever they got too "weird" on later albums (well, how do you explain The Great Escape then?) but I actually find all that stuff charming.

― Masonic Laundry Boom (kate), Monday, 8 November 2004 12:03 (twenty years ago)

I mean... Badgeman Brown! It's like music hall on acid!

Every now and then, some English band "rediscovers" that tradition, and get either crucified or acclaimed for it. Too much association with nationalism or something.

― Masonic Laundry Boom (kate), Monday, 8 November 2004 12:05 (twenty years ago)

It's like music hall on acid!

OTM, and I'm glad someone came out to defend their "awful" early stuff. I like them very much when they sound off the rails, they're great at it.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 15:47 (twenty years ago)

That was the Blur stuff that I first heard that convinced me that they were anything other than a disposable post-Baggy NME flavah of the week band. There really was just something so... other ... to it that it was obvious there had to be more to the band than "Bang!" (even though I love that song.)

― Masonic Laundry Boom (kate), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 15:51 (twenty years ago)

It's like music hall on acid!

A bit like "You're a Good Man, Albert Brown" perhaps? You know, the Dukes of Stratosphear track, written by Andy Partridge?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 15:54 (twenty years ago)

...which is brilliant, by the fucking way.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 15:55 (twenty years ago)

I know, I was blasting it out the other day

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 15:58 (twenty years ago)

And the cover versions of "Daisy Daisy" and "Let's all go down the Strand" which are literally like music hall on acid!

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 16:02 (twenty years ago)

four years pass...

Ever find that Select article, Pash?

And when Blur finally finished the album with Stephen Street, their label wanted them to rerecord the whole thing with Butch Vig!

So glad this didn't happen.

― rox qua rox (roxymuzak), Friday, 19 December 2008 11:30 (sixteen years ago)

the select article was two parts in summer 1995 -- july and august probably.

but most of it ended up in stuart maconie's book iirc.

he co-wrote it with someone.

― special guest stars mark bronson, Friday, 19 December 2008 11:34 (sixteen years ago)

oh here it is:

http://www.vblurpage.com/articles/print/stories/select_95.htm

― special guest stars mark bronson, Friday, 19 December 2008 11:35 (sixteen years ago)

Well!

― rox qua rox (roxymuzak), Friday, 19 December 2008 11:40 (sixteen years ago)

Triffic! A format I can print off and stick into my Blur Singles zippy bag set.

― Mark G, Friday, 19 December 2008 12:04 (sixteen years ago)

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