ALAN VEGA TURNS 70-YEARS OLD | SUICIDE BOX SET AND SINGLE SERIES SET FOR RELEASE | MAJOR ARTISTS PAY TRIBUTE TO SUICIDE/VEGA IN YEAR-LONG, MONTHLY SERIES OF LIMITED EDITION OF 10″ VINYL EP’S AND DOWNLOADS
ARTISTS PAYING TRIBUTE INCLUDE: Bruce Springsteen, Primal Scream, Peaches, Grinderman (feat. Nick Cave), Spiritualzed, The Horrors, Sunn 0))+Pansonic, Julian Cope, Lydia Lunch, Vincent Gallo, LIARS and More
LIMITED EDITION SUICIDE 6-CD BOX “Live 1977/78″ SET FOR RELEASE THIS SUMMER. ONLY 3000 BOX SETS TO BE PRODUCED
To mark the occasion of Alan Vega’s 70th birthday, UK-based label blastfirstpetite is releasing a year long, monthly, series of Limited Edition 10” Vinyl E.P’s. and downloads.
The label also releases this month “Suicide 1977-1978” a 6-CD box that features thirteen complete live Suicide sets from the early New York performances and their legendary first European tour supporting both The Clash & Elvis Costello. Hear so called “Punks” out-punked
The groundbreaking singles-series will feature an established recording artist paying tribute to Alan by covering one of his songs, plus a previously unreleased Suicide/Vega rarity from the archives and, showing that Vega’s work continues to inspire, a cover version by a young and upcoming band.
Major artists included are:
Bruce Springsteen, Primal Scream, Peaches, Grinderman (feat. Nick Cave), Spiritualised, The Horrors, Sunn 0))+Pansonic, Julian Cope, Lydia Lunch, Vincent Gallo, LIARS, & The Klaxons.
Upcoming bands are:
Beat The Devil/Shilpa Ray, No Bra, HTRK, X-Vectors, Nik Void (ex Kaito) , Effi Briest, S.C.U.M, Stephen Burroughs (ex Head Of David).
Vega is best known as the vocalist half of the duo SUICIDE who last year received MOJO magazine’s ‘Sound Innovators” Award and whose first album frequently shows up in Rolling Stone or SPIN magazine anniversary overviews of the best punk albums.
Massively influential Suicide are often credited as inventing the basic (non guitar) blueprint to much of the 80’s synth pop of Depeche Mode, Soft Cell , Human League and are frequently name checked by anyone from the likes of Henry Rollins,, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore to James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.
The first of the three singles is outlined here.
28TH JULY
PTYT 017
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – DREAM BABY DREAM 6:55
SUICIDE – MIDNIGHT SPECIAL LIVE 3:51
BEAT THE DEVIL / SHILPA RAY – MR RAY 5:30
COVER IMAGE : EDWARD MAPPLETHORPE
TWO EDITIONS OF 4000 EACH BLACK & CLEAR VINYL
25TH AUG
PTYT 018
THE HORRORS – SHADAZZ 4:18
SUICIDE – RADIATION 5:06
NIK VOID – ROCKET USA 3:58
COVER IMAGE : ALEX ROSE
EDITION OF 3000
29TH SEPT
PTYT 019
PEACHES -JONNY 2:01
SUICIDE – JONNY LIVE 1978 3:07
S.C.U.M. – WILD IN BLUE 5:23
COVER IMAGE : CARY KWOK
EDITION OF 2000
blastfirstpetite also release a six cd 3000 limited edition box set called “Live 1977/78” Culled from the archives of Howard Thompson, the man who originally signed Suicide to Bronze/EMI outside of the USA.
This box set features thirteen complete live Suicide sets from the early New York
For full tracklising go to blastfirstpetite.com
Edited from the sleeve notes:
This set of recordings are not the faint hearted, nor is it the ideal place to start to those first time listeners seeking an easy entry into the dark and decidedly queasy world of Alan Vega & Marty Rev’s proto-futuristic, low tech sci-fi musical that they launched on a mostly uncaring world as music group Suicide.
Howard Thompson’s archive was originally made purely for his personal reference based on a joyess recognition that he was right there seeing history in the making.
His archive consists of cassette recordings made by himself and
others (see credits for details) who kindly gave him their tapes so he could keep up with Suicide latest live adventures.
They offer to the listener an unmediated “audio-verite” of Suicide performing live in the clubs and halls of the time.
Loud sounds are punchily compressed, quiet sounds teasingly enhanced, tapes run out, the clunks clicks, chatter and blatter are all here for sure BUT and here’s the big kicker, WE WANT YOU TO HAVE IT THAT WAY, …..with the Moment,…. the Passion,…. the Dirt, the LIFE, captured fully intact.
If you want homogenized, satinised, tweaked and combed, P.C’d “punk” put this baby back on ebay and sell it for profit to one who maybe really wants the use of these leather black skrying mirrors.
Paul Smith
Blastfirstpetite (2008)