Prefab Sprout: Classic Or Dud

paddy has looked recently-descended-from-a-mountain for like... over a decade now?

Has he ever "explained" his appearance recently? So hard to reconcile the voice on the early records with this Gandalf looking figure

How do you explain sth like that?

Think his 'look' is at least partly related to the terrible eyesight problems he's had over the last ten years or more.

yeah "i trawl the megahertz" was like 2003 and he looked the same... who really cares though?

yeah, wow, ask Paddy what gives--I'd love to hear that response

Yeah, Paddy's looked like this for a long time now... I'm surprised that people are surprised about this now?

people should explain themselves when they grow beards

LOL Tom Scharpling used to do a segment where he adjudicated whether bearded callers had "earned their beard"

don't know if this has already been posted, but

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/88/da/a9/88daa9e7f3be063d3b7f6b3bf333575b.jpg

lol

My guess is it's the public expression of a self perceived sea change of identity.

Or a way to not be recognized in public by his fans who I'd guess to be somewhat obsessive

Or a plea for attention but that doesn't seem to be his style.

thanks, Soref--perfect

goddamn his voice sounds great in that new video

"I told myself, 'one a year'. But if I did one thing a year, I'd be 60 by the time I cleared eight of them. And I have a lot more than eight." Clear-eyed, twinkle-eared, coulda-gone-deaf-and-blind Paddy McAloon, the sanest maverick and most engaged recluse in music, chuckles. At himself, at his situation, at the world.

This from a 2009 interview. Funny how one a year is spoken of as not making a dent in his projects, yet 9 years on, nothing new released. Haven't even heard any good rumors. The most recent mentioned a reissue of _I Trawl the Megahertz_ in the works, but nothing on that front sadly. If there's an album worth of additional tracks for that, I'd weep.

The Independent interview, which is probably somewhere upthread.

New Paddy interview with discussion of the I Trawl the Megahertz reissue under the Prefab Sprout moniker, and a snippet of a new song from Femmes Mythologiques, a projected late 2019 release.

omg

Np https://youtu.be/fZO40Yc_EwE

wow never heard that one before it's fantastic

aw i love "wigs"

New Megahertz is somehow different to the old I’m reading? Anyone heard it yet? It’s on Spotify I notice...

Can’t say I noticed any significant difference. I have the original cd, but some time since I played it. Think I’ll need to investigate

I've only just discovered this group for myself via an '80s compilation CD collection I purchased the last time I was in London (i.e. December 2017). So far the two Prefab Sprout songs on said album ("The King of Rock and Roll" and "When Love Breaks Down") are really, really fucking amazing. Next up: actually listening to one of their full albums. BTW, I have a very dear friend of mine who's a native of Albuquerque and now I can't help but associate her with the former song, even though we met via a shared fandom of a completely different musical artist.

https://t.co/c2MIu6mrln #prefabsprout

— @needlemythology (@needlemythology) February 20, 2019

Looks like that’s been removed; shame.

Looks like that's back; hooray!

Your daddy loves you very much. He just doesn't want to live with us anymore.

vinyl reissues in september:

Prefab Sprout have announced vinyl reissues of three studio albums and one compilation. New pressings of their 1984 debut Swoon, 1988’s commercial breakthrough From Langley Park to Memphis, 1990’s double album Jordan: The Comeback, and 1992’s Life of Surprises: The Best of Prefab Sprout are all out September 27. A press statement notes that the packaging and remasters were overseen by band members Paddy and Martin McAloon. Pre-orders are available at their website.

Earlier this year, Paddy McAloon’s 2003 solo album I Trawl the Megahertz was reissued as a Prefab Sprout LP.

... i think i'm gonna need to buy jordan

Interesting that they didn’t include Steve McQueen. I hope these stick around long enough for me to confirm the pressings are better than my originals.

hope they fixed the glitch on life of surprises

What glitch?

sorry, i must be insane. i remember there being some weird glitch on a PS song, thought it was LoS, thought it was discussed on ilm as an error during mastering but re-listening i don't hear anything. apologies for derail

no, wait, it's there, around 3:38-41 on the word 'not' !

I've noticed that glitch too. Pretty weird oversight on their part, unless it was the only possible way for them to stitch it together. I hope that's even fixable at this point!

any news on femmes mythologiques?

nothing beyond the planned release in September mentioned at the start of the year

media is precious and fragile ... but despite the glitch LOS is still perfect

Trying to figure out why Steve McQueen (my fave of them, by far) was excluded, I found out there was a RSD release of 'Steve McQueen Acoustic'. Anyone heard it?

yeah, steve mcqueen is my favourite album of theirs :/

The Steve McQueen acoustic was all bonus tracks on the 2006 reissue iir

Ah, thanks. The lack of fanfare everywhere made me think already it wasn't something new.

love those acoustic versions.

yes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6uTKJiD7iQ

is there a rights issue with the label that put out Steve McQueen / Two Wheels Good?

I got to know Steve McQueen via the 2006 reissue so those acoustic versions are as canonical as the originals for me. I think I actually like them better

the Steve McQueen Acoustic disc appears to be on spotify, along with 5 different issues of Steve McQueen (including one of Two Wheels Good), each with a different poorly scanned version of the album art

acoustic version was also issued as a stand alone lp.
https://www.discogs.com/Prefab-Sprout-Steve-McQueen-Acoustic/release/13288548