Blancmange: The Blanc Tapes 2017 (9CD Box)

 

Blancmange are an English synth-pop band formed in Harrow, London, in 1979. The band were a duo

for much of their career, composed of Neil Arthur (vocals) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards). They came to prominence in the early 1980s, releasing four UK top-20 singles: "Living on the Ceiling", "Waves", "Blind Vision" and "Don't Tell Me". They released three albums during that decade: Happy Families (1982), Mange Tout (1984) and Believe You Me (1985).
                                               

The duo amicably parted in 1986 but reformed in the late 2000s, and in 2011 released their fourth

album, Blanc Burn. Luscombe left following the release due to ill health, and since then Arthur alone has continued to perform under the Blancmange name, releasing nine new studio albums along with a re-recording of the band's debut album, titled Happy Families Too.... He has also been involved in a further three collaborative albums as Fader (with Benge) and Near Future (with Jez Bernholz).
                         

[Taking their name from a type of cooked pudding, the electronic duo Blancmange interlaced the arty, exotic dance rhythms of Talking Heads with the quirky melodrama of early-'80s British synth pop.

Consisting of Neil Arthur (vocals, guitar) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards), Blancmange formed in London, England in the late '70s. Drummer Laurence Stevens was a member of the band for a short while, but they eventually replaced him with a drum machine. The duo were a fixture of U.K. and other European charts from 1982 until their split in 1986. After choosing to reunite in 2011, Luscombe retired due to ill health, before Arthur prolifically released music under the Blancmange name for the remainder of the decade and beyond.
                   

Originally called L360, Blancmange received immediate recognition when they sent the song "Sad Day" to DJ Stevo, who added it to a compilation LP of then-unsigned new wave groups, including

future alternative icons like Depeche Mode and Soft Cell. Signed to London Records, Blancmange released their first two singles, "God's Kitchen" and "Feel Me," in 1982. Both records were moderate hits in the U.K., the latter barely missing the Top 40 charts. Later that year, Blancmange's debut album, Happy Families, sold well on the strength of their first Top Ten hit, "Living on the Ceiling," which peaked at number seven in Britain. "Living on the Ceiling" captured Blancmange's unique take on synth pop, throwing heavy Middle Eastern flavors into their very European style of club music.
                     

"Living on the Ceiling" was the beginning of a string of U.K. smashes; "Blind Vision" and "Don't Tell

Me" both reached the Top Ten in England. Their cover of ABBA's "The Day Before You Came" was actually even more successful than the original, peaking at number 22. Blancmange's 1984 LP, Mange Tout, further established the group as one of Britain's most popular electronic artists; however, unlike many of their peers, Blancmange weren't afraid of experimenting with real instruments, incorporating sitars, strings, woodwinds, and horns into their synthesized sound.
                

But Blancmange's third album, 1985's Believe You Me, was a flop. The group broke up a year later. Arthur went solo while Luscombe formed the West India Company. They reunited in 2011 and released

the album Blanc Burn on the Proper label. A 2013 tour of the U.K. found them performing their debut album in its entirety. These updated versions were released in 2014 as Happy Families Too..., an album that featured bonus remixes from Erasure's Vince Clark plus the synth group Komputer. Luscombe departed from the group after he suffered an abdominal aneurysm, leaving Arthur as the sole member for the dark 2015 album Semi Detached.
                                 

An instrumental album titled Nil by Mouth was released through Blancmange's website shortly after.

This was followed by 2016's Commuter 23 and 2017's Unfurnished Rooms, both of which featured a mixture of proper songs and instrumentals. The latter release was the first in series of albums produced by Benge and recorded at his MemeTune Studios. The John Foxx collaborator also worked with Arthur on 2018's Wanderlust and 2020's Mindset.
By Michael Sutton]
                                                         

Blancmange – The Blanc Tapes
Label: Edsel Records – BLANCBOX01
Format:    Box Set, Compilation 3 x CD, Album, Compilation,
Country: UK
Released: Aug 4, 2017
Genre: Rock
Style: Synth-pop, Electronic, New Wave

HAPPY FAMILIES    1982

   
     

DISC 1.

                                                     

  
01. I Can't Explain    4:00
02. Feel Me    5:05
03. I've Seen The Word    3:00
04. Wasted    4:17
05. Living On The Ceiling    4:10
06. Waves    4:06
07. Kind    3:55
08. Sad Day    4:04
09. Cruel    4:52
10. God's Kitchen    2:54

Bonus Tracks
    
11. Living On The Ceiling (Extended Version)    5:37
12. God's Kitchen (12" Mix)    4:27
13. Feel Me (12" Instrumental)    5:06
14. Waves (Original Version - No Strings)    4:22

Flac  Size: 380 MB

DISC 2.    BONUS TRACKS

                                                     

  
01. Sad Day (Original Version)    3:08
02. Feel Me (Extended 12" Version)    6:57
03. Business Steps    4:26
04. Black Bell (Demo)    4:20
05. Melodic Piece (Demo)    2:28
06. Your Hills (Rehearsal)    2:44
07. I Can't Explain (Demo)    3:17
08. Waves (Demo)    4:43
09. I've Seen The Word (1979 Demo)    3:03
10. Holland (Demo)    2:45
11. I've Seen The Word (Demo)    2:23
12. Feel Me (Mike Howlett Dub Version)    6:47

Flac  Size: 260 MB

DISC 3.    AT THE BBC RADIO 1 SESSION (JOHN PEEL, 13.2.82)        

                                         

01. I Would    4:04
02. Living On The Ceiling    3:11
03. Waves    3:59
04. Running Thin    2:18

RADIO 1 SESSION (DAVID JENSEN, 5.6.82)   
    
05. God's Kitchen    2:53
06. Feel Me    5:17
07. Kind    3:47
08. Cruel    3:47
    
IN CONCERT, PARIS THEATRE (13.11.82)

09. God's Kitchen    3:32
10. Living On The Ceiling    4:32
11. I've Seen The Word    3:35
12. I Can't Explain    4:22
13. Waves    4:37
14. Feel Me    5:39

Flac  Size: 359 MB

MANGE TOUT (Dancing Around Our Handbags)  1984

 

              

DISC 1.

                                                     

  
01. Don't Tell Me    3:30
02. Game Above My Head    3:57
03. Blind Vision    3:54
04. Time Became The Tide    4:49
05. That's Love, That It Is    4:22
06. Murder    5:57
07. See The Train    2:04
08. All Things Are Nice    5:00
09. My Baby    3:58
10. The Day Before You Came    5:49

Bonus Tracks    

11. Game Above My Head (Long Version)    7:09
12. Blind Vision (Long Version)    9:37
13. Don't Tell Me (Extended)    6:22
14. Vishnu (Short Version)    4:44
15. Blind Vision (Martyn Ware Demo)    2:21

Flac  Size: 489 MB

DISC 2.    Bonus Tracks

                                              

  
01. How Time Became The Tide (Demo)    6:43
02. If You Want To Be Hip (Demo)    3:45
03. It Never Rains (Demo)    3:14
04. Murder (Demo)    4:52
05. Heaven Knows Where Heaven Is    3:23
06. On Our Way To?    5:35
07. That's Love, That It Is (Extended)    6:33
08. Vishnu (Full Length)    5:19
09. Get Out Of That    4:24
10. All Things Are Nice (Version)    4:09
11. The Day Before You Came (Extended)    7:57
12. Don't Tell Me (Remix)    6:50
13. That's Love, That It Is (Remix)    7:29
14. Blind Vision (Instrumental/Dub Version)    6:41

Flac  Size: 493 MB

DISC 3.    AT THE BBC RADIO 1 SESSION (DAVID JENSEN, 17.3.83)        

                                                       

01. Time Became The Tide    3:49
02. Murder    3:17
03. Blind Vision    4:15
04. Vishnu    4:44

IN CONCERT, HAMMERSMITH PALAIS (24.5.84)        
    
05. Living On The Ceiling    4:46
06. Game Above My Head    4:01
07. I Can't Explain    4:09
08. My Baby    4:17
09. Blind Vision    4:25
10. Don't Tell Me    4:07
11. God's Kitchen    3:05
12. Murder    5:31
13. The Day Before You Came    6:18
14. That's Love, That It Is    4:44
15. Kind    4:24
16. Feel Me    5:59

Flac  Size: 480 MB

BELIEVE YOU ME  1985

      

DISC 1.

                                               

01. Lose Your Love    4:06
02. What's Your Problem?    4:09
03. Paradise Is    3:48
04. Why Don't They Leave Things Alone?    4:34
05. 22339    5:18
06. Don't You Love It All    4:34
07. Believe    3:47
08. Lorraine's My Nurse    2:31
09. Other Animals    4:32
10. No Wonder They Never Made It Back!    4:34
11. John    4:24

Bonus Tracks
    
12. Lose Your Love (7" Single Version)    4:03
13. I Can See It (Extended)    7:54
14. Lose Your Love (This Club Mix)    6:45
15. Mixing On The Ceiling (Megamix)    10:37

Flac  Size: 492 MB

DISC 2.    BONUS TRACKS

                                                                         

  
01. Side Two    7:31
02. A Remedial Course (Demo)    7:03
03. Believe (Demo)    3:42
04. Scream Down The House    4:07
05. Gentle On My Mind (Demo)    4:31
06. M Diver (Alternate Dream) (Demo)    4:07
07. River Of Life (Demo)    3:12
08. Lose Your Love (Extended)    10:18
09. What's Your Problem? (Extended)    6:59
10. Don't You Love It All (Demo)    3:14
11. Lose Your Love With Helen (Demo)    2:48
12. Reaching Out (Demo)    5:03
13. I Can See It (7" Single Version)    4:05
14. Lose Your Love In London (Unreleased Mix)    3:47

Flac  Size: 440 MB

DISC 3.    AT THE BBC RADIO 1 SESSION (JANICE LONG, 29.9.85)

                                                           

  
01. Believe    3:25
02. Don't You Love It All    3:40
03. Lose Your Love    4:03
04. Paradise Is    3:53

IN CONCERT, HAMMERSMITH ODEON (8.2.86)        
    
05. Don't Tell Me    4:27
06. What's Your Problem?    5:01
07. That's Love That It Is    4:37
08. Don't You Love It All    4:00
09. Why Don't They Leave Things Alone?    4:12
10. God's Kitchen    3:13
11. Lose Your Love    3:53
12. Paradise Is         4:13
13. Other Animals    3:56
14. Game Above My Head    4:06
15. Living On The Ceiling    4:38
16. I've Seen The Word    3:18
17. Kind    4:35
18. Blind Vision    5:32

Flac  Size: 546 MB