Thanks Dr. C for starting this thread.

Got one of their early singles, but don't remember liking it much - 'Pindrop' and all the subsequent work, though, I found absolutely stunning. I always envied DW's ability to somehow find a working balance between Critical Sharpness & Cynicism and Interested Wonder - he used to crop up on BBC2 in 'The Oxford Road Show' at some point, I remember him doing a 'rap performance' to review a fanzine called 'VoodooVoodoo', playing some percussion over a drum machine! And it's true, the music itself is a very odd mix of elements and complexities, almost impossible to describe/imagine (but that's a good crack at it earlier). I think they don't sound dated because they were quite unlike anything else around at the time - and I've never heard anything like them since, either (though somebody please tell me if there is). I loved the fact that Witts was able to re-work the same bass line across different songs, like some baroque composer exploring the same 'theme' in a series of pieces.... I don't think I've ever heard work anywhere else that is oozing with such a potent mixture of threatening darkness, thin-lipped vitriol, angular intelligence, sparkling wit, textural complexity & variety, tightly controlled nervous energy, and archly-self-aware downright cleverness & humour... (you can tell I like them, right?)

Great lyrics too, really encapsulating and impressionistic - 'I don't need love - I don't need sex - I'll walk the floor when nothing's left...'

PLEASE SOMEBODY CD re-issue the albums, and add the singles on as extra tracks! (And DON'T change the cover designs - even they were brilliant, with the constant use of Black/White/Red theme throughout.)

My copy of 'Pindrop' is also on fading tape (aaarrrgghh), 'For All And None' & 'Degenerates' on vinyl, Enflame on pre-rec cassette (with 'Degenerates' minus one track on the other side), and also a few singles on vinyl (Devil's & Angels, Wave 12", Taboos 12"). A flexi-disc with a version of 'Born Every Minute' on one side (and Blancmange's 'Living on the Ceiling' on the other!) was actually given away with some pop music paper in 81/82(?) as well...'Record Mirror' ?

I thought that 'Seedy' comp was lacking in some of their best tracks (it would be though, wouldn't it) - but at least it had 'Sharp Tongue' & 'Carnal' on it.

I DO have that J.Peel session they did (in '80/'81?) with the female singer on cassette somewhere - think I missed a bit of one of the songs though, fuckit. As far as I can recall they did 'Devils & Angels' + 'Shave Your Head' + AnotherTrackFromAll&NoneWhoseNameICan'tRecall + .....aaarghh i can't remember. So I'm sure I've got it (or most of it) - what now?

'Dark Times' + 'Devils & Angels' + 'Shave Your Head' + 'Watching You Dance' and it was this last one that I missed the first 1/3 of grrrrrrr

Apparently Cherry Red doesn't have the rights to For All and None so don't expect a re-release from them. In fact Seedy is all we're likely to get on CD.

Whilst the *sound* of The Passage is pretty unique (question : was Witts ever a prog-rocker pre-Passage?)his modus operandi reminds me of Roy Wood and Paddy MacAloon. The combination of dense layers of ideas bashing into each other, unexpected melodic twists and (most importantly) a sense of a *big picture* is something these three share. In Wood's case the bubbling layers are pop hooks, in MacAloon's a mix of pop icons/imagary and stylised romance, whilst Witts fires volleys of *information* from the dark side of sex/love/politics. Just a thought.

(More proof of the power of ILM when it comes down to hunting down Lucan-esque members of yr favourite band. Especially if they're from Manchester - Mike Finney has been in touch after I posted about The Distractions).

PASSAGE, THE BBC Sessions cd $13.50
LTM (UK)
COMING 3/3/03
One of the most undervalued of the post-punk bands to emerge from Manchester, The Passage were active between 1978 and 1983, producing four cult albums and a slew of singles. BBC Sessions traces the convoluted history of The Passage through their several radio broadcasts. The first John Peel Session, from November 1980, features short-stay vocalist Lizzy Johnson, and catches the band in transition. The second and third Peel sets, from October 1981 and May 1982 respectively, feature two otherwise unrecorded tracks in Rod of Iron and Form and Void. The collection also includes the very last studio recordings made by The Passage, in the shape of a Janice Long session recorded in February 1983 with their aid of a brass section and harp player. Included is another unrecorded song, Sing the Praise. The Passage recorded a total of four albums: Pindrop (1980), For All and None (1981), Degenerates (1982) and Enflame (1983), as well as the several BBC Sessions. All will be reissued on CD format for the first time by LTM over the next few months. The discs have been digitally remastered with extra tracks and the sleevenotes feature a detailed history of the band.

PASSAGE, THE Pindrop cd $13.50
LTM (UK)
COMING 3/3/03
One of the most undervalued of the post-punk bands to emerge from Manchester, The Passage were active between 1978 and 1983, producing four cult albums and a slew of singles. Pindrop, their dense first album, originally appeared in 1980 on the Object label and has been unavailable for two decades. Here, Passage mainman Richard ‘Dick’ Witts performs most of the material. Stand-out tracks include Watching You Dance, Troops Out and the powerful 16 Hours. Although Pindrop was recorded in less than a week in an 8 track studio, its rough edges and tense, claustrophobic atmosphere all underpin the central lyrical theme, which is fear. The eight bonus tracks include all material from their first two ultra-rare eps, featuring ex-Fall bassist Tony Friel. The Passage went on to record another three albums, namely For All and None (1981), Degenerates (1982) and Enflame (1983), as well as several BBC Sessions. All will be reissued on CD format by LTM over the next few months. Pindrop has been digitally remastered with extra tracks and the sleevenotes feature a detailed history of the band. Reviews: “With Pindrop, The Passage can be accepted as major. It’s a work of disciplined, intellectual aggression, frantic emotions and powerfully idiomatic musicality. It’s as shocking a beautiful nightmare, as stormy and aware a debut as Unknown Pleasures. It’s the shock of the new – new shades, textures, noises, pulses, atmospheres and energies” (Paul Morley, NME, 1980)

PASSAGE, THE Degenerates cd $13.50
LTM (UK)
COMING 5/12/03
One of the most undervalued of the post-punk bands to emerge from Manchester, The Passage were active between 1978 and 1983, producing four cult albums and a slew of singles. Degenerates, their third album, originally appeared in 1982 on Cherry Red. Here, Passage mainman Richard ‘Dick’ Witts is joined by guitarist Andrew Wilson and short-stay drummer Paul Mahoney. Stand-out tracks include the well-known single XoYo (almost a chart hit!), Born Every Minute and Love Is As. The seven bonus tracks include the non-album singles Wave and Taboos, as well as rare b-side tracks such as Angleland and Animal In Me. Reviews: “Degenerates is the most complete pop record I’ve heard for three years. Dick Witts is the investigative ferret you hope will never turn up if you’ve got something to hide” (Melody Maker, 5.82); “Degenerates isn’t standard pop, but intelligent and radical music” (The Leveller, 5/82); “Witts is in danger of becoming the Chic of the avant-garde, and that’s intended as a compliment” (Time Out, 5/82); “The sophisticated subversion is mostly fabulous, fascinating stuff” (Smash Hits, 5/82) The Passage recorded a total of four albums: Pindrop (1980), For All and None (1981), Degenerates (1982) and Enflame (1983), as well as several BBC Sessions. All will be reissued on CD format for the first time by LTM over the next few months. The discs have been digitally remastered with extra tracks and the sleevenotes feature a detailed history of the band.


PASSAGE, THE Enflame cd $13.50
LTM (UK)
COMING 5/12/03
One of the most undervalued of the post-punk bands to emerge from Manchester, The Passage were active between 1978 and 1983, producing four cult albums and a slew of singles. Enflame, their fourth and final album, originally appeared in 1983 on Cherry Red. Here, Passage mainman Richard ‘Dick’ Witts is joined by guitarist Andrew Wilson and drummer Joe McKechnie. Stand-out tracks include Sharp Tongue (also a single), Horseplay and the powerful Sunburn. The song Drugface was later heavily sampled by Moby for his 1991 single Drug Fits the Face. The six bonus live tracks are taken from a powerful in-concert set recorded for BBC Radio One at the Ritz in Manchester in October 1982 Reviews: “This album exists to provoke questions, and the Passage are capable of composing a melody or two, and catchy ones at that” (NME); “Quite superb – a rumbling drum swing collides with spikey pop electronics. Undoubtedly the most successful fusion of avant-garde and dance styles” (Time Out); “Brilliant and uncompromising” (Masterbag) The Passage recorded a total of four albums: Pindrop (1980), For All and None (1981), Degenerates (1982) and Enflame (1983), as well as several BBC Sessions. All will be reissued on CD format for the first time by LTM over the next few months. The discs have been digitally remastered with extra tracks and the sleevenotes feature a detailed history of the band.


PASSAGE, THE For All and None cd $13.50
LTM (UK)
COMING 5/12/03
One of the most undervalued of the post-punk bands to emerge from Manchester, The Passage were active between 1978 and 1983, producing four cult albums and a slew of singles. For All and None, their rare second album, originally appeared in 1981 on their own Night and Day label. Here, Passage mainman Richard ‘Dick’ Witts is joined by guitarist Andrew Wilson and drummer Joe McKechnie. Stand-out tracks include Dark Times, Hip Rebels and Lon Don. The four bonus tracks comprise all tracks from the two ultra rare Night and Day singles Troops Out and the superb Devils and Angels, the latter featuring short-stay vocalist Lizzy Johnson. Reviews: “Dense and irregular” (NME); “Easily among the front runners for album of the year – a varied collection of melodic songs with both tension and depth plus lyrics that successfully avoid the twin pitfalls of either preaching or propaganda” (The Face); The Passage recorded a total of four albums: Pindrop (1980), For All and None (1981), Degenerates (1982) and Enflame (1983), as well as several BBC Sessions. All will be reissued on CD format for the first time by LTM over the next few months. The discs have been digitally remastered with extra tracks and the sleevenotes feature a detailed history of the band.

:)

http://www.demon.co.uk/momus/momuswitts.jpeg

*stares out the window*

The BBC sessions one looks good, and I'll prolly get Pindrop as don't have it any more. I see LTM are also releasing Crawling Chaos's magnificently stupid 'The Gas Chair'. This was one review :

In the NME Adam Sweeting wrote: “They played so badly for so long that a phone call to McWhirter and his Book of Records would surely have been received favourably. Ineffectual doodlings on guitar and keyboards became ends in themselves. A guest singer stood at the microphone and coughed for several minutes. Nobody danced or even twitched a leg. The bloke at the mixing desk read the Evening Standard and someone next to me asked the time before falling asleep. Anyone who needs this garbage is probably already dead.”

They were great!

'FUCK THE NME!!!!'

(if they still exist).

Sorry I've not done much with the Yammer site for a while. Lots of irons in the fire etc. Still got a pile of press cuttings from James Nice to scan for the site (I gave up transcribing them).

Was supposed to get something from Momus for the site, but it never happened. I think I upset him when I mentioned that I heard his single on the Steve Wright Show in the late 80s. I bought one of his albums though, so I can't have been taking the piss.

Been getting live stuff to put on the web site, but I have to be careful not to exceed my bandwidth or the site will rapidly disappear. Otherwise no new news to add - although I see something about Wild Swans and Benny Profance, which certainly seems noteworthy.

BTW I saw Benny Profane in some Liverpool pub in the 80s (can't remember the name but it did regular lock-ins, only I couldn't stay late because my friend was being sick). Used to see the singer (Dave?) around a lot - must have lived near me. Joe started the set off on drums and then played guitar for the rest of it IIRC - not quite what I expected.

Nice to see Lizzy here too. She contacted me and kindly sent me some scans for the site.

Actually, I'm hoping you good folks have something to add to the site. Maybe you have more detail to add to the biography or discography. Maybe you have press cuttings or photographs. Maybe you've got a naughty live bootleg you'd like to share. Please get in touch, I'm ready to do more site stuff :-)

www.yammer.co.uk/passage

I'm listening to Pindrop for the 1st time right now, it took a few songs for me to get into it, but I'm really liking this now. Is there a recommended order for me to check out their other albums?

Read upthread, my friend -- everything's been rereleased on CD. :-)

joe

Because they're on Facebook don't you know

just picked up old vinyl copies of Enflame and Degenerates, and my first impression was: marc almond without any songs.
lots of enthusiasm on circa-2001 ILM, so i'll give them another shot.

i've set up a passage page on myspace.
www.myspace.com/thepassageuk

huh, this still exists.