Tag Archives: A side

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #35

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For the first time of 2025, let’s indulge in another Singles Night. A night of spinning records, having a few drinks and enjoying the vibes.

The “singles” in the event title refers to vinyl singles: the 7 inch, 45 rpm discs that were once the pocket money swallowing masters of the weekly music chart. Now I have a massive stack of said singles, and on some nights I dig a load of ’em out, and play ’em. Both sides – A then B – and onto the next.

There are many wonders to be found amongst the hefty pile of 7″ records. And a few oddities. But the randomness and variety always an entertaining night.

Grab a drink and settle in with my latest playlist:

  1. Generation X – “King Rocker” / “Gimme Some Truth”
  2. David Bowie – “Modern Love” / “Modern Love (Live Version)”
  3. Motorhead/Girlschool – “Please Don’t Touch” / “Bomber” / “Emergency”
  4. The Alarm – “Presence of Love (Laugharne)” / “Knife Edge”
  5. Depeche Mode – “See You” / “Now, This Is Fun”
  6. Dana – “All Kinds of Everything” / “Channel Breeze”
  7. The Steve Gibbons Band – “Eddy Vortex” / “Little Suzie”
  8. Shirley Bassey – “So In Love” / “As Long As He Needs Me”
  9. Darts – “Don’t Let It Fade Away” / “Early In The Morning”
  10. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Oliver’s Army” / “My Funny Valentine”
  11. David Bowie – “Blue Jean” / “Dancing With The Big Boys”
  12. AC/DC – “Guns For Hire” / “Landslide”
  13. ABC – “The Look of Love” / “The Look of Love (Part 2)”
  14. The Jam – “Start” / “Liza Radley”
  15. Jimmy Cliff – “Reggae Night” / “Love Heights”
  16. The Sweet – “Little Willy” / “Man From Mecca”
  17. Propaganda – “Duel” / “Jewel”
  18. Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman – “Kinky Boots” / “Let’s Keep It Friendly”
  19. A-Ha – “Hunting High and Low (Remix)” / “The Blue Sky (Demo Version)”
  20. The Creatures – “Miss The Girl” / “Hot Springs in The Snow”
  21. Queen – “Somebody To Love” / “White Man”
  22. Ike & Tina Turner – “Nutbush City Limits” / “Help Him”

Twenty two records this week, and a few strange ones are still creeping in – some are the remains of a bundle of singles I bought at a car boot sale for a fiver. I kept Dana in the collection due to the Eurovision connection, but Shirley is a superstar.

Punk and New Wave genres are nicely represented in this selection, with great songs from Generation X, The Jam and Elvis Costello. A-Ha, Depeche Mode and ABC bring in some pop classics, while good old rock’n’roll is delivered by AC/DC, Motorhead and Girlschool.

Two great 1980s Bowie discs made the playlist and there’s a favourite from Queen (though it’s one of my least favourite songs of theirs). Adding to the 70s vintage is a cheeky number from Sweet, which never fails to raise a smile!

Another successful night spinning vinyl. More to come soon.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #31

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Gather ye round, Hot Tubbers! Tis time once again to dip our toes into the warm waters and enjoy another Singles Night.

What am I babbling about? Regular readers will know that Platinum Al likes to spend an evening playing through my collection of 7″ singles, both sides, one after the other. I have a large unplayed pile of 45 rpm records that need spinning, so sometimes I like to blitz through ’em, accompanied with a few drinks (or several).

Why? Because it makes a fun evening! You never know what’s crept in to the “play me” pile: old or new, good or bad. And when the night is over, these discs can be safely added to my collection.

Let’s check out what I played this time:

  1. Boney M. – “I’m Born Again” / “Bahama Mama”
  2. Sounds EP: The Perfect Disaster – “55 Miles” / “Mega City Four – “What We’ve Got” / Cerebral Fix – “Eternal Winter” / Killdozer – “New Pants & Shirt” / Pussy Galore – “SM57”
  3. Men Without Hats – “The Safety Dance” / “Security”
  4. Third World – “Now That We’ve Found Love” / “Night Heat”
  5. Bomb the Bass – “Beat Dis” / “Beat Dis (Dub)”
  6. Phil Collins – “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” / Mike Rutherford – “Making a Big Mistake”
  7. Hale & Pace and the Stonkers – “The Stonk” / Victoria Wood – “The Smile Song”
  8. Bob Geldof – “Love or Something” / “Out of Order”
  9. The Whispers – “And the Beat Goes On” / “Can You Do The Boogie”
  10. Queen – “It’s a Hard Life” / “Is This the World We Created…?”
  11. Bob Marley & The Wailers – “Jamming” / “Punky Reggae Party”
  12. Sweet – “The Six Teens” / “Burn On The Flame”
  13. Belinda Carlisle – “La Luna” / “Whatever It Takes”
  14. Baccara – “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” / “Cara Mia”
  15. The Stranglers – “Bear Cage” / “Sha Sha a Go Go”
  16. Bucks Fizz – “One of Those Nights” / “Always Thinking of You”
  17. Rod Stewart – “How Long” / “Jealous”
  18. Ghost – “Kiss the Go-Goat” / “Mary On a Cross”
  19. The Beach Boys – “Darlin'” / “Here Today”
  20. ZZ Top – “Gimme All Your Lovin'” / “If I could Only Flag Her Down”

A mixed bag, as always – with a few left overs from my “100 singles for a fiver” car boot sale purchase. But this is what Singles Night is all about – you take the rough with the smooth, learn to appreciate stuff that you might’ve previously written off.

There are a couple of stinkers in that list, but surprisingly the Comic Relief single ” The Stonk” isn’t one of them. Daft it may be, but it features Brian May, Tony Iommi, Dave Gilmour, Cozy Powell and Roger Taylor in a Quo-esque rock boogie that I quite enjoyed.

I love the Boney M. single, as the B-side reminds me of being on holiday in Greece. “Safety Dance” is brilliant, Bomb The Bass is class, and I even enjoyed the Phil Collins song!

Obvious highlights in this set came from Queen, Bob Marley, Sweet, The Stranglers, Beach Boys and ZZ Top. Always wanted to hear that Bob Marley B-side, as he name checks several punk bands such as The Damned, The Jam and The Clash.

I was a surprisingly cool dad, thanks to the Ghost single (coloured vinyl, nice). Apparently the B-side is a social media craze, so my daughter was impressed!

Great tunes, fun times exploring music – that’s Singles Night. More soon!

Eddie & The Hot Rods – Album Review

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Eddie And The Hot Rods – The Singles 1976 – 1985

Cherry Red Records

Release date: 14/10/2022

Running time: 2 hrs 13 mins approx.

Review by: Alun Jones

9/10

Yes it’s me again, sneaking in some more punk rock alongside your regular dose of Ever Metal.  Because variety is the spice of life, right?  Although tbh, some trainspotter’s gonna testify that Eddie and the Hot Rods aren’t punk, they’re “pub rock” or “new wave”.  Like I care. 

This compilation from Cherry Red includes 40 tracks over two CDs, full to the top of the pint glass with pub/punk/new wave from Eddie and the Hot Rods.  All the single A and B sides from 1976 to 1985 are squeezed in – in chronological order – leaving no stone unturned, to create a definitive journey through the bands career. 

Starting with the first 45, ‘Writing on the Wall’, and including numerous energetic cover versions like ‘Woolly Bully’, ’96 Tears’ and ‘Satisfaction’, it’s easy to imagine being in a packed pub rocking out to the Hot Rods.  These early tracks illustrate nicely how the band were really a revved up R’n’B band in the style of the Stones and early Who – just faster and even more gung-ho.  There’s a direct line here from the rebellious rock’n’roll of the MC5 – as evidenced by two collaborations with Rob Tyner at the end of disc one.

The punk association really blossoms with the superb ‘Teenage Depression’; it’s like Mick, Keith and the other three time travelling ten years into their future and being inspired by the Ramones.

The obsessive nature of this collection means we get three versions of all-time classic (and new wave comp standard) ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do’ (including the US single edit and live version from a B side).  It’s a good job it’s such a great song.

There’s a clue with that repetition where this compilation will find its audience.  For the die-hard fan or seasoned collector, it’s a handy collection covering all bases.  The booklet is perfect: details about every single and repro art of each record.  It’s far more than a “greatest hits” set, though, so may be too much for the casual listener. 

The last couple of tracks on the second disc suffer from heavy handed mid 80s production, but it’s quality stuff all the same.  Some will prefer to write the band off as coat tail riders, based on the boozy covers, but the sheer exuberance of the performances is addictive.  “The Singles 1976 – 1985” shows Eddie and the Hot Rods at their very best; the final product is so chock full of detail it’s a treasure.

Check out Eddie and the Hot Rods online, on Facebook and on Spotify.

This review originally appeared on Ever Metal and is now presented here too.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #28

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Well it’s been a while, but here we are back at Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub enjoying some 45 rpm tunes. I can promise you another night of varied music spanning the musical genres – some well known, some obscure, some classic, some not so classic.

How does it work? It’s simple: I play my way through my (sometimes bizarre) collection of 7″ vinyl singles – both sides, one after the other. The result is a playlist of tunes and an evening captured in time. Drinking the booze often helps.

Here we go with this playlist:

  1. The Stranglers – “Walk on by” / “Old Codger” / “Tank”
  2. Anti Nowhere League – “Streets of London” / “So What”
  3. Public Image Limited – “Rise” / “Rise (Instrumental)”
  4. Fat Boys – “Wipeout” / “Crushin'”
  5. Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Up Around the Bend” / “Run Through the Jungle”
  6. Nazareth – “Shanghai’d in Shanghai” / “Love, Now You’re Gone”
  7. Nazareth – “This Flight Tonight” / “Called Her Name”
  8. Tiffany – “Could’ve Been” / “The Heart of Love”
  9. The Beach Boys – “Do It Again” / “Wake the World”
  10. The Hollies – “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” / “‘Cos You Like to Love Me”
  11. Madonna – “Hanky Panky” / “More”
  12. The Beatmasters ft. The Cookie Crew – “”Rok Da House (Remix)” / “Rok Da House”
  13. Fuzzbox – “International Rescue” / “Raining Champagne”
  14. Thin Lizzy – “Rosalie (Cowgirl’s Song)” / “Me and the Boys”
  15. Thin Lizzy – “Whisky in the Jar” / “Black Boys on the Corner”
  16. Diana Ross – “Touch me in the Morning” / “Baby it’s Love”
  17. Diana Ross – “All of My Life” / “A Simple Thing Like Cry”
  18. Dian Ross & Marvin Gaye – “You Are Everything” / “Include Me in Your Life”
  19. Stevie Wonder – “Saturn” / “Ebony Eyes” / “All Day Sucker” / Easy Goin’ Evening (My Mama’s Call)”
  20. Stevie Nicks – “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” / “Kind of Woman”

A few notes on the records listed above: firstly, the Fat Boys A side is listed as “featuring The Beach Boys”, so that group have ended up with two mentions in this list, technically.

The Stevie Wonder single is the 7″ EP that originally came with the “Songs in the Key of Life” album. I already owned the album, but not the single, so that’s a great addition to my collection.

Also, the Stevie Nicks single features Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

A fine evening’s entertainment with that playlist. From the most obscene song in my entire record collection (ANL’s “So What”), covering some punk/new wave classics, hard rock and pop gems – it was a ton of fun. More soon.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot tub #27

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I promised we’d revisit Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub for another Singles Night, so here we go! Another evening of playing 7 inch singles and having a few cocktails (or beers, or whatever you thirst for). There’s a massive pile of these 45 rpm records to get through, so prepare yourself!

As a quick recap for the uninitiated, I have a stack (or several) of singles that I haven’t played yet. Some have been gifts, some have been picked up – usually very cheaply – from record shops, record fairs, charity shops and carboot sales. The idea is to play through the stack of vinyl one at a time, A side the B side, and enjoy the tunes.

Now I present to you my latest playlist:

  1. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Taste the Pain” / “Show Me Your Soul”
  2. The Stranglers – “European Female” / “Savage Breast”
  3. The Wee Papa Girl Rappers – “We Rule” / “Rebel Rap”
  4. Salt-n-Pepa – “Shake Your Thang” / “Spinderella’s Not a Fella”
  5. Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby” / “It’s a Party”
  6. Motley Crue – “Girls, Girls, Girls” / “Sumthin’ for Nothin'”
  7. Neil Pepper (Elvis) – “Stairway to Heaven” / “The Beatnix – “Stairway to Heaven”
  8. Sham 69 – “Hurry Up, Harry” / “No Entry”
  9. Kenny Everett – “Snot Rap” / “Snot Rap (Part 2)”
  10. The Turtles – “Happy Together” / “Like the Seasons”
  11. Aerosmith – “Janie’s Got a Gun” / “Voodoo Medicine Man”
  12. Don Fardon – “Indian Reservation” / “Hudson Bay”
  13. Cerrone – “Je Suis Music” / “Rocket in the Pocket”
  14. Marty Wilde – “It’s Been Nice” / “Bad Boy”
  15. Taja Seville – “Love is Contagious” / “Mama”
  16. B.A. Robertson & Maggie Bell – “Hold Me” / “Spring Greens”
  17. Fiddler’s Dram – “Daytrip to Bangor” / “The Flash Lad”
  18. Bob Geldof – “The Great Song of Indifference” / “Hotel 75”
  19. Gary Shearston – “I Get a Kick Out of You” / “Witnessing”
  20. Mr. Mister – “Kyrie” / “Kyrie (Extended)”

A note on disc number 7 above: Neil Pepper is an Elvis impersonator, and The Beatnix are a Beatles tribute band. On this record, both have covered the Led Zeppelin classic in the style of their inspirations.

The latter half of this playlist started to wander in to some strange, unknown territory – along with featuring some decidedly dodgy songs. A while back, I purchased a box of about 100 singles at a carboot sale for a fiver, quite a lot of which was quality music. Here though, some of the dregs have started to float to the surface.

It’s not all bad though, and there’s a fair spread of awesome tracks scattered through out the list to make it a fun listen. Plus a lot of variety too, from The Crue’s dumb party metal, to classic 60’s pop from the Turtles, 80’s pop with Mr. Mister and some great old school hip hop.

I’m favouring Sham 69 and The Stranglers as particularly fine songs. And of course the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which I bought because although the A side I have on an album, I wanted the B side to add to my collection.

Singles Nights are always a cool way to spend an evening. I’ll update you with another killer playlist soon.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub

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Regular readers will be aware of my love for vinyl records: beautiful, spinning discs revealing a world of aural pleasure.  Most of my attention is devoted to albums, though I’ve also amassed a fair collection of 7 inch singles over time.

Back in my younger days, I would pick up singles to embellish my album collection with b-side tracks excluded from the main release.  I’d also pick up some interesting, groovy records that were within my budget and offered something different to my music library.

Over the last couple of years, I originally ignored the 45 rpm singles, but gradually I’ve started picking a few up.  One of the main influences for this was my friend Greeny’s jukebox, installed in his home, which I though was really cool.  It inspired me to pick up a few classics, in order to compile a wider range of musical genres on 7″.

You never, know, I may just get my own jukebox one day.

And so I’ve bought singles from record fairs, charity shops and car boot sales to complete gaps in my collection.  This has left me with a stack of 45s that I haven’t got round to playing yet.

So I had the idea for Singles Night:  I would play the records, both sides (A then B) from the top of the pile down, oldest to newest.  Regardless of genre, or what ever mood I was in.  Almost like the random playlists I’ve posted here before, but analogue.

The reader will notice that there are some cheesy, if not disgusting, purchases included amongst the gems in this list.  Everyone has some guilty pleasures; in the land of the 7″ single, my love of the truly awful can be fully exposed.

Here’s the list of what I played.  May the gods of music forgive me…

  1. Dave Edmunds – “Queen of Hearts” / “Creature from the Black Lagoon”
  2. Lipps, Inc – “Funkytown” / “All Night Dancing”
  3. Depeche Mode – “New Life” / “Shout”
  4. Carrie – “The Birds” / “Sugar Fan (Demo Version)”
  5. Deborah Harry – “I Want That Man” / “Bike Boy”
  6. Lovebug Starski – “Amityville (The House on the Hill)” / “Amityville (The House on the Hill) (Dub Mix)”
  7. Sinitta – “So Macho!” / “Cruising”
  8. Sinitta – “GTO (Radiomix)” / “GTO (Instrumental)”
  9. The Firm – “Star Trekkin'” / “Dub Trek”
  10. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – “Mame” / “Our Day Will Come”
  11. Dannii Minogue – “Show You the Way to Go” / “Show You the Way to Go (Dub)”
  12. Partners in Kryme – “Turtle Power” / “Splinter’s Tale 1” + “Splinter’s Tale 2”
  13. MC Hammer – “U Can’t Touch This (LP Version)” / “U Can’t Touch This (Instrumental)”
  14. Selena – “Shotgun” / “Shotgun (Instrumental Version)”
  15. Roxy Music – “Jealous Guy” / “To Turn You On”
  16. Senseless Things – “Hold It Down” / “Crucial Juvenalia”
  17. The Silent Underdog – “Papa’s Got a Brand New Pig Bag” / Pigbag – “Papa’s Got a Brand New Pig Bag”
  18. The Beach Boys – “Breakaway” / “Celebrate the News”
  19. Black Box – “Ride On Time Massive Mix (Remix)” / “Ride On Time Epsom Mix (Remix)”
  20. Genesis – “Invisible Touch” / “The Last Domino”
  21. Quincy Jones – “Razzamatazz (Edit)” / “Velas”
  22. Hawkwind – “Silver Machine” / “Silver Machine (Full Version)” + “Psychedelic Warlords”
  23. David Bowie – “Sorrow” / “Amsterdam”

I could write notes about pretty much every one of those songs to elaborate on why they’re in my collection.  Some are classics – Bowie, Hawkwind, Beach Boys etc. and need no introduction.

But as a means of explanation for some of the really ripe songs, let me say this: Sinitta and Dannii are in my collection ‘cos they’re well fit.

Oh, and “Turtle Power” is an awesome song and needs to be heard again!

I hope you enjoyed that playlist, reader.  I certainly did, and there will be more of this in the future.