Japan, ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’, (Virgin Records)
Synth master Richard Barbieri remembers the heady days of 1980 and gives us the full skinny on Japan’s first single for Virgin Records
OMD ‘Enola Gay’
Looking back through the mists of time to 1980, Andy Mccluskey talks us through the making of OMD’s smash hit single. Synths out of a catalogue, a scandal with ‘Swap Shop’, Airfix models – it’s a tale that’s got it all
British Electric Foundation ‘Groove Thang’
You might know ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’ as a Heaven 17 song, but it started life as ‘Groove Thang’, an instrumental on BEF’s cassette-only debut, ‘Music For Stowaways’. Martyn Ware explains how the track liberated him from The Human League’s synth-only policy and helped him uncover a very rare talent
A Guy Called Gerald ‘Voodoo Ray’
Gerald Simpson casts his mind back to 1988 to give us the inside story on the making of the seminal UK acid house track
Renegade Soundwave ‘Biting My Nails’
Gary Asquith winds back to 1989 and recounts a tale about cocaine, cursed death masks and a somewhat informal business meeting with Robert Plant
The Futurama Festival, 1979-1983
We’re heading back to the post-punk daze of the Futurama Festival, with promoter John Keenan telling tales of flooded venues and vomiting singers
Cabaret Voltaire ‘Nag Nag Nag’
Where to start when picking a classic Cabs’ track? Founding member Stephen Mallinder gamely takes on our suggestion of the band’s 1979 single – and it’s quite a tale
Mark Moore ‘Theme From S’express’
Mark Moore takes us on a trip – and it is a trip – through the making of the S’express 1987 Number One smash hit. Uno, dos, tres, cuatro…
Michael Rother ‘Hallogallo’
Michael Rother explains how the 10-minute NEU! landmark track and krautrock blueprint ‘Hallogallo’ came together in the studio