Working Week - Working Nights (1985)

From The Lost Record Covers Club I've talked about many soulful artists from the 70s on these pages but here's one band from the 80's who carried the torch in their own way through the decade.  Their blend of jazz, soul, RnB (the old kind) blew me away.  A german colleague from Sonopress recommended this to me and I have been a fan ever since. WW featured the vocal talents of Julie Roberts - great voice. In my book not many people can cover a "What's Going On" track but their jazzy versioon of "Inner City Blues" is a great interpretation. Also features "Sweet Nothings" - a good single. Virgin - German issue 206 950 

Supercharge - Local Lads Make Good (1976)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

Music and laughter - couldn't be better.  These guys must have had a ball.  They had a number of releases on Virgin (This was their first).  Whilst some of the tracks here seemed at the time to parody the extremes of what was going on in rock and RnB, the passing of time means that it just now seems very real(!) I first heard them on the lead single "Lonely And In Love" a very pop/soul track.  Someone then pointed out the joke song "She Moved The Dishes First" surely the only song ever written about pissing in the sink.  That (not very funny) track aside there is lots to attract you to this.  Produced by "Mutt" Lange the musicianship is great and the full-on arrangements deliver. 


Virgin - V2053

Japan - Ghosts (1981)

From The Lost Record Covers Club

I missed out on Japan as they happened, really liking this but it was late in their career.  A guy at Bertlesmann gave me a copy of this and told me that i had to get into them - that I had missed something (I think I'd told him that they were a poor man's Duran Duran and I wasn't keen on them!)  He was right and "Assemblage" the collection issued by Ariola soon afterwards covering their earlier stuff proved that they were a force in their own right.  I loved this single and remember the "stop and listen moment" of them being on TOTPs.  I don't think they survived for much longer as a band after this.

Virgin - VS 472 (7" Single)