Teardrop Explodes - Demos & Outtakes

First album photo shoot, Brian Griffin photo

'The Curate's Egg'
Demos & Studio Outtakes 

various recording dates & sources

c. 1978 - 1982

sound quality range: VG- to VG

Due to the condition of the source tapes, there's some distortion, hiss, etc. But I tidied them up a bit using light noise reduction, channel re-balancing, and modest eq'ing. 
Not pristine by any means, but listenable.

01 Count to Ten (demo)

02 The Challenger (demo)

03 Not My Only Friend (demo)

04 Serious Danger (demo - instrm.)

05 Pussyface (demo - instrm.)

06 The Great Dominions (demo)

07 The Culture Bunker (demo)

08 Flipped Out On LSD (demo - shorter, instrum.)

09 Flipped Out On LSD (demo - long version)

10 The Butcher's Tale (outtake - shorter - instrum.)

11 The Butcher's Tale (outtake - long version - instrum.)  

12 Blaze Star (outtake - brief instrum.)

13 Tiny Children (outtake)

14 Suffocate (outtake)

15 Log Cabin (outtake)
  

TT: 60 mins.

ROB SEZ: Above are selected tracks from the “Screaming Secrets” vinyl boot + “Demos & Curios” set. To the best of my knowledge, none has ever been officially released. Some sound like demos, others sound like studio outtakes from album sessions. I have reason to believe the last 3 or 4 tracks are from early recording sessions for the projected (but later aborted) third Teardrop Explodes album. 

A “curate's egg”:

noun - something that has both good and bad parts
Derived from a cartoon in Punch (November, 1895) in which a meek curate, who has been served a bad egg while breakfasting with his bishop, replies, “Oh no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!”

ROB SEZ (AGAIN): for my money, the better parts of this egg are found starting with track 6, in which David Balfe's over-done keyboard parts are balanced out by Cope's voice and other instruments. Have fun being your own curate / curator...

MP3@320

Learn more about the music of TTE 
at Wikipedia and AllMusic

Teardrop Explodes - Two BBC Shows, 1981

Guildford Civic Hall

Guildford, Surrey

June 18, 1981

FM broadcast for the BBC 
(sound quality VG+)

01 Read It In Books

02 Thief of Baghdad

03 Sleeping Gas

04 Passionate Friend

05 Like Leila Khaled Said 

06 Suffocate

07 Poppies In the Field

08 The Culture Bunker

09 Reward

10 Went Crazy
11 Screaming Secrets
12 When I Dream
13 The Great Dominions
14 Treason

Flip Martian, my source for this share, writes: "A show from the UK tour at the height of their popularity — with their debut album released the previous year and two hit singles in 1981. Including tracks from that album and their second, due to be released a few months later, including “Passionate Friend”, which would be their next hit single. This was an FM radio broadcast and has responded well to remastering — plenty of punch to this show."

BIG THANKS to Flip for prepping & sharing this one. Check out his Live & Loud blog for more cool radio shows. (I probably also need to thank Thull for posting this years ago; not sure who exactly originated it.)

The Apollo

Manchester, England

June 11, 1981

FM broadcast for the BBC 
(sound quality VG+)

01 Read It In Books

02 Thief of Baghdad

03 Sleeping Gas

04 Passionate Friend

05 Like Leila Khaled Said 

06 Suffocate

07 Poppies In the Field

08 The Culture Bunker

09 Reward

10 Went Crazy
11 Screaming Secrets
12 When I Dream
13 The Great Dominions
14 Treason

Rumor says this one was slated for official release, 

but subsequently scrapped.

MP3@320 (Manchester set = VBR@high quality)

ROB SEZ: Not technically an ASH share, since these shows came from elsewhere. But in honor of my compadres at the late, great ASH blog, I'm still calling this one...

ASH Tuesday post #34.