Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls: Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls 1980

 

The Invisible Girls were a British rock band formed in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1978 to provide a musical backdrop to the recorded output of Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke. The

band's nucleus was Joy Division and New Order producer Martin Hannett and keyboardist Steve Hopkins, with contributions from Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks and Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe, amongst others. The band played on the first solo album by Pauline Murray (lead singer of Penetration), the eponymous Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls and some singles, and later with Nico for her 1982 single "Procession".
                         

The Invisible Girls was a band formed in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1978, to provide backing music

for punk poet John Cooper Clarke. It initially featured Factory Records producer Martin Hannett on bass guitar, Steve Hopkins on keyboards, 10cc drummer Paul Burgess, and guitarist Lyn Oakey. This line-up played on Cooper Clarke's debut album Où est la maison de fromage?, before they named themselves the Invisible Girls.  

PAULINE MURRAY AND THE INVISIBLE GIRLS 1980

Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls is the debut album by post/punk icon Pauline Murray, co-produced by revered sonic architect Martin 'Zero' Hannett in 1980. Recorded at the famous

Strawberry Studios, the album offered 11 slices of modern electronic pop written by Pauline and partner Robert Blamire and marked a radical departure from their shared past in pioneering punk band Penetration. As well producer/arrangers Martin Hannett and Steve Hopkins (aka the Invisible Girls), the album features a stellar cast of guest musicians including John Maher (Buzzcocks) and Vini Reilly (Durutti Column). Indeed Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls presents almost as a Factory record, exquisitely sleeved by Peter Saville and Trevor Key.
                           

Stand-out tracks include singles Dream Sequence and Mr X, with the newly remastered album now

augmented by bonus material including non-album singles and a John Peel session from March 1980.
"It's a bit of a missing link album," says Pauline today. "Written and recorded after punk, but before Martin Rushent and the Human League made airy pop respectable again. We chose the other Martin in 1980 because we wanted the incredible sounds he achieved for Joy Division and Magazine. Thundertunes, basically."
                               

"Accustomed as we've become to instant availability, the notion of the 'lost classic' has long since tipped over the precipice. Odd then that this recording - bar a limited 90s re-press - has remained

doggedly unavailable. Taking stock of punk's dissipation and their own band's unravelling as the 1980s dawned, Penetration's Pauline Murray and Robert Blamire embarked on a musical tangent, with Martin Hannett and a distinguished cast on board to craft a one-off album of darkly sophisticated pop tunes. Transplanting Penetration's twin guitar assault with Vini Reilly's dextrous fretwork, the cascading keyboards of Steve Hopkins, and, no least, Hannett's textural flourishes, Murray and Blamire were uniquely enabled to make an astonishing quantum leap from their past. 
                             

Songs of emotional unease unfurl, striated with glimmers of fragile optimism, through the eerie opening

notes of Screaming in the Darkness, the otherworldly pop of Dream Sequence and Thundertunes, and the claustrophobic soundscape of closer Judgement Day. Slipping through the cracks, both in terms of commercial success and Sister Lovers-level retrospective cult adulation, I'd argue this album is richly deserving of both. A luminous wonder which, as Pauline herself points out in the liner notes, can never be repeated. 10 out of 10" (Vive le Rock, 2014)  
                          

Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls – Pauline Murray And The Invisible Girls
Label: Les Disques Du Crépuscule – TWI 016 CD
Format: 2 x CD, Album, Compilation, Reissue, Remastered Sep 2014
Country: UK
Released: 1980    
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Post-Punk, Pop
                                  

CD1. PAULINE MURRAY AND THE INVISIBLE GIRLS (September 1980)

                         

   
01. Screaming In The Darkness    3:36
02. Dream Sequence I   3:18
Drums – Trevor Spencer
Guitar – Alan Rawlings    
03. European Eyes    3:22
04. Shoot You Down    2:08
05. Sympathy    2:50
06. Time Slipping   4:03
Bass – Martin Hannett    
07. Drummer Boy    3:04
08. Thundertunes    3:22
09. When Will We Learn    3:39
10. Mr X   4:27
Guitar – Robert Blamire    
11. Judgement Day    4:26
12. Searching For Heaven   2:59
Guitar – Bernard Sumner    
13. The Visitor    3:44
14. Animal Crazy    3:17
15. Dream Sequence II    4:02
16. Two Shots    4:05
17. Shoot You Down    2:05
18. Sympathy     2:44
19. When Will We Learn    3:30
20. Dream Sequence    3:37

Flac Size: 455 MB

CD2. PAULINE MURRAY AND THE INVISIBLE GIRLS - LIVE

                     

    
01. Screaming In The Darkness    3:28
02. Searching For Heaven    2:51
03. Time Slipping    3:35
04. Dream Sequence    3:09
05. Two Shots    3:21
06. When Will We Learn    3:26
07. Mr X     3:52
08. Animal Crazy    2:52
09. European Eyes    2:57
10. Thundertunes    3:04
11. Animal Crazy    3:01
12. Time Slipping    3:32
13. Dream Sequence    3:31
14. Two Shots    3:44
15. Sympathy    2:44
16. Dream Sequence    3:18
17. Time Slipping    3:27
18. Drummer Boy    3:30
19. European Eyes    3:02
20. Thundertunes    3:15
21. Shoot You Down    2:04
22. Judgement Day    4:13
23. When Will We Learn    3:16 

Flac Size: 480 MB

LINE - UP

                      

Vocals, Instruments – Pauline Murray
Guitar – Alan Rawlings (tracks: 1-17 to 1-20), Dave Rowbotham (tracks: 1-1 to 1-11), Vini Reilly (tracks: 1-1 to 1-11, 2-15 to 2-23), Wayne Hussey (tracks: 1-12 to 1-14, 2-1 to 2-14)
Keyboards – Peter Barratt (tracks: 2-15 to 2-23), Steve Hopkins (tracks: 1-1 to 1-14, 2-15 to 2-23)
Drums – John Maher (tracks: 1-1 to 1-11, 2-1 to 2-14), Paul Burgess (tracks: 2-15 to 2-23), Peter Howells (tracks: 1-17 to 1-20)
Bass – Robert Blamire
Written-By – Martin Hannett (tracks: 1-6), Pauline Murray (tracks: 1-1 to 1-20, 2-1 to 2-23), Robert Blamire (tracks: 1-1, 1-3 to 1-4, 1-6, 1-8 to 1-13, 1-15 to 1-20, 2-1 to 2-23), Steve Hopkins (tracks: 1-6), Wayne Hussey (tracks: 1-12)

NOTES

                            

Disc 1:
Tracks 1 to 11 originally released in October 1980 as the album Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls (Illusive 2394 277).
Recorded in July 1980 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport.
Tracks 12 to 14 originally released in April 1981 as a single (7" and 10" on Illusive).
Track 15 originally released in July 1980 as the b-side to Dream Sequence I (7" and 10" on Illusive).
Track 16 originally released in October 1980 as the b-side to Mr X (7" on Illusive).
Tracks 17 to 20 are a John Peel radio session recorded 19 March 1980. Recorded at Maida Vale 4. First transmitted on 31 March 1980.

Disc 2:
Tracks 1 to 8 recorded live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, on 5 March[sic] 1981.
Tracks 9 to 14 recorded live at the Paard van Troje, Den Haag, 3 April 1981.
Tracks 15 to 23 recorded live on tour in 1980 at various UK venues.

Penetration: Moving Targets 1978 + Coming Up For Air 1979

 

Penetration is a punk rock band from County Durham, England formed in 1976. They re-formed in 2001 with several new members. Their debut single, "Don't Dictate", is now acknowledged as a classic punk rock single and their debut album, Moving Targets (1978), is still widely admired. The

band's lineup was lead singer Pauline Murray, Robert Blamire (bass), Gary Smallman (drums) and Gary Chaplin (guitar). Chaplin left in March 1978 being replaced with Neale Floyd, with second guitarist Fred Purser (later of NWOBHM act Tygers of Pan Tang) joining in July. The band dissolved in late 1979. They reformed in 2001 with original members Murray, Blamire and Smallman, and Steve Wallace and Paul Harvey drafted in as new guitarists. Pauline Murray was a force to be reckoned with. Easily one of the best singers to come out of English punk rock.
                                   

After the release of their second single, Penetration recorded the first of two sessions for John Peel

at BBC Radio 1 in July 1978. Later that year, the band released their debut album. Moving Targets was number 6 in the Sounds Critics' albums of the year; and it made number 13 in the NME critics' chart. In 1979, they toured Europe, the US and Britain but the grueling schedule began to take its toll.  The second album, was the final nail in the coffin of the original band. After the band split in October an official bootleg album called Race Against Time was released, which was a collection of early demos and live tracks. 
                                  

In 1980, Pauline Murray collaborated with The Invisible Girls, which also included Robert Blamire,

as well as other Manchester musicians such as Vini Reilly, guitarist in The Durutti Column, and Steve Hopkins. John Maher from Buzzcocks drummed for the band. In 2015, Penetration announced the release of a new album called Resolution in October. The current line-up of the band is Pauline Murray, Robert Blamire, John Maher (ex-Buzzcocks), Paul Harvey and Steve Wallace.
                        

PENETRATION - MOVING TARGETS 1978

                       

It took me a while to establish that this LP DOES glow in the dark - around 40 years to be exact! The

instructions, included in the Notes are: "This record, after a 3 second exposure to a bright light, will glow for an hour in the dark”. I tried holding over a warm lamp. And you know what? It works!
                          

Penetration – Moving Targets
Label: Virgin – CDV 2109
Format: CD, Album, Reissue  1990
Country: UK
Released: 1978    
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Punk

TRAXS

                           

01. Future Daze    2:58
02. Life's A Gamble    2:59
03. Lover Of Outrage    3:55
04. Vision    3:24
05. Silent Community    3:29
06. Stone Heroes    3:14
07. Movement    3:22
08. Too Many Friends    3:13
09. Reunion    3:58
10. Nostalgia (Written-By – Shelley)   3:45
11. Freemoney (Written-By – Kaye, Smith)   4:48
12. Don't Dictate    2:54
13. Money Talks    1:42
14. V.I.P.    2:35
15. Firing Squad    3:02
16. Never    2:16

NOTES

1-11 are from the original LP V 2109
12 & 13 are from the single VS 192
14 is the b-side of single VS 226
15 & 16 are from the single VS 213

Flac Size: 349 MB

PENETRATION - COMING UP FOR AIR 1979

                        

Back in the heady and incredible days of the late seventies we were literally saturated with some truly

great bands, it was a golden age of new-wave, and 1979 was the best year of the era. At the time I would have posted Penetration as 'best of the rest'. And I am very pleased to say that this album has more than survived the test of time. 'Coming Up For Air' is yet another a great album from 1979. 
                               

Penetration – Coming Up For Air
Label: Captain Oi! – AHOY CD 174
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 2001
Country: UK
Released: 1979    
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Post-Punk, Alternative Rock

TRAXS

                             

01. Shout Above The Noise    4:04
02. She Is The Slave    3:08
03. Last Saving Grace    2:55
04. Killed In The Rush    1:48
05. Challenge    3:58
06. Come Into The Open    2:50
07. What's Going On    3:06
08. Party's Over    2:49
09. On Reflection    2:09
10. Lifeline    2:52
11. New Recruit    3:01

BONUS TRAXS        

    
12. Danger Signs    2:27
13. Stone Heroes (Live)    3:17
14. Vision (Live)    3:26

Flac Size: 289 MB

Ofege: Try And Love 1973 + The Last Of The Origins 1975 + Higher Plane Breeze 1977

 

Ofege was a Nigerian band formed in the early 1970s by a group of teenage hippies at St. Gregory's College in Lagos. Influenced by guitar legends like Carlos Santana and Jimmy Page, as well as African bands like Osibisa, Ofege created a unique blend of psychedelic rock and Afrobeat. Formed

by guitarist Melvin Ukachi and bassist Paul Alade while young students at St Gregory’s school in Lagos, Ofege first found their feet borrowing instruments and supporting school band The Groove Makers. Discovering drummer Mike Meme by chance at a school dance and adding Dapo Olumide on keys and Felix Inneh on rhythm guitar, they met EMI’s resident producer / A&R man, Odion Iruoje who promptly auditioned them. Sneaking them out of school to record their first sessions (Ofege literally means “breaking bounds”),
                    

Their debut album "Try And Love" was recorded while they were still in high school and became a national sensation. Although their career was short-lived, with only four albums released until 1978,

Ofege's music would be rediscovered in the 21st century. Their third album, Nobody Fails, showcased their post-60s harmony vocals and wild guitar solos. The fusion of complex African rhythms with fuzzy psychedelic effects made for an exhilarating listening experience. On their fourth album, The Last Of The Origins, Ofege delved into funk-rock with a psychedelic twist. With catchy rhythms and mind-bending instrumentals, this record solidified their reputation as one of Nigeria's most legendary groups.
                  

Despite limited recognition outside Nigeria during their time, Ofege's music continues to captivate

audiences today.  At the turn of the century (and because of tracks appearing on various psychedelic music compilations) Ofege would receive international acknowledgment for being the first of their kind and the ultimate West-African psychedelic funk band!
                                

LINE - UP

Melvin Noks: Lead Vocals/Rhythm.
Paul Alade: Bass Guitar.
Mike Meme: Drums.
Soga Benson: Lead/Solo Guitar.
Felix Ijeh: Rhythm/Tenor Guitar.
Dapo Olumide: Keyboards.
Felix Inneh: Percussionist. 

01.  OFEGE - TRY AND LOVE 1973

                          

Ofege's debut album Try and Love is the most famous LP by this psych rock band from Nigeria. They're one of the most famous African psych rock groups and it's easy to see why. They were teenagers when they recorded this debut LP of theirs and the result is a strong record in every point of view. Their style is

kinda raw and simple but I really enjoy their fuzz guitar and organ driven sound. The album is an extremely balanced package of high quality psychedelic rock and I could choose any of these songs as a highlight example. Groovy psychedelic soul with moments of jaw-dropping ramshackle brilliance, like on "It's Not Easy" and "Lead Me On." Indeed, life may not be very easy, but Ofege sure makes it seem that way. Dazzlingly good Nigerian rock music from the 1970s from Ofege, whose hybrid psych-funk sound sounds like it hasn't aged a day on this wonderful re-mastering job.
                      

Ofege – Try And Love
Label: Tidal Waves Music – TWM20
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Club Edition, Limited Edition, Bronze
Country: US
Released: Nov 2018
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Funk

TRACKS

                            

01. Nobody Fails   4:24
Written By – Melvin Ukachi
02. Whizzy Ilabo   3:32
Written By – Melvin Ukachi    
03. Gbe Mi Lo   4:15
Written By – Melvin Ukachi    
04. Try And Love   4:19
Written By – Melvin Ukachi
05. It's Not Easy   4:25
Written-By – Alade
06. Ofege   4:00
Written By – Melvin Ukachi
07. You Say No   4:09
Written By – Melvin Ukachi
08. Lead Me On   3:23
Written By – Melvin Ukachi

LINE - UP

Bass – Paul Alade
Drums – M-Ike Meme
Keyboards – Dapo Olumide
Lead Guitar – Berkley Jones
Lead Vocals – Melvin Ukachi
Lyrics By – Melvin
Rhythm Guitar – Felix Inneh
Vocals – Felix Inneh, M-Ike Meme, Paul Alade

Flac Size: 214 MB
    
02,  OFEGE - THE LAST OF THE ORIGINS 1975

                               

"The Last Of The Origins" is a great funk-rock record with a rather psychedelic approach. The rhythm

section is attractive and complex and has African inspirations. The lyrics aren’t particlulary inspired, but the drive is incredible, and they draw attention to instrumental parts wherever they can. The psychedelic organ takes care of the mind-losing groove, while fuzz guitars soar and improvise. The 60s influenced vocals can be reminiscent of the Stones, or just leave themselves flooding with the psychedelic drive. 
                               

Ofege – The Last Of The Origins
Label: Tidal Waves Music – TWM24
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Record Store Day, Limited Edition, Reissue
Country: US
Released: Nov 23, 2018
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Psychedelic, Funk, Afro

TRACKS

                        

01, Mandy   5:08
Written-By – Olumide, Melvin
02, Amayo   5:15
Written-By – Meme    
03, Evil Child   4:09
Written-By – Melvin    
04, Tomorrow   4:48
Written-By – Melvin    
05, Got A Lot To Give   4:49
Written-By – Meme, Alade    
06, Sorrow   6:03
Written-By – Alade    
07, Ofege In Concert   2:24
Written-By – Meme    
08, Everybody Feels The Same   4:08
Written-By – Meme, Alade    
09, Adio   4:17
Written-By – Meme    
10, Devils Work   5:27
Written-By – Inneh, Meme

LINE - UP

Vocals, Gong – Filix Inneh
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Paul Alade
Congas – Philly Foxxy
Drums, Vocals, Percussion – M-Ike Meme
Guitar [1st] – Berkly Jones
Guitar [2nd] – Olushoga Benson
Keyboards – Dapo Olumide
Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals, Percussion – Melvin Noks
Strings, Synthesizer [Violin Effect] – Francis Monkman
Synthesizer [Moog] – Johnny Wood

NOTES

Originally released on EMI (Nigeria) in 1976.
First vinyl reissue since 1976.
    

Flac Size: 303 MB

03.  OFEGE - HIGHER PLANE BREEZE  1977

                         

Given the accomplished musicianship and gravity of emotions on display here, it’s hard to believe that

Ofege’s members were all between 15 and 17 during the recording of Try and Love. These Lagos students come off as rock-infatuated youths expressing feelings of love for the first time, and it’s absolutely charming. More strikingly, the songs sound as if they could’ve been the handiwork of London art-school proggers, Arthur Lee’s post-Forever Changes Love, or the filthy funkateers rescued for posterity by 2003’s Chains and Black Exhaust comp.
                       

Ofege – Higher Plane Breeze
Label: Tidal Waves Music – TWM36
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Clear
Country: US
Released: Jul 31, 2019
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Funk, Afrobeat, Boogie

TRACKS

                      

01. Bazooka Bash    3:57
02. To Be Wise    4:04
03. Contraband    4:05
04. Come Right Back    4:48
05. H.P.B.    4:35
06. Our People    5:02
07. Magic Music    3:39
08. It's All Over    3:34

LINE - UP

Bass – Paul Alade
Drums – Mike Meme
Guitar [Lead] – Olushoga Benson
Keyboards – Robert Bailey
Keyboards [Uncredited] – Dapo Olumide
Keyboards, Synthesizer – Kiki Gyan (tracks: A3)
Lead Vocals – Melvin Noks
Percussion, Congas – M-Ike Meme
Strings – Miranda (English Rose) (tracks: A4)

Flac Size: 188 MB