A deluxe six-CD box, boasting the entire recorded output of Biff Bang Pow! with the bonus of everything issued by The Laughing Apple.
Curated with the full support of Alan McGee and other band members, the clamshell set also adds a raft of previously unissued demos and live material.
Plus tracks from an abandoned album, ‘Sixteen Velvet Fridays’ and a handful of previously undocumented songs.
And a Laughing Apple CD also adds some hitherto unheard demos by Alan with the band Newspeak (pre-Laughing Apple).
With sleevenotes including quotes from those involved, this is the ultimate tribute to one of the unsung talents of the C86 generation of indie bands.
Biff Bang Pow! were formed by Alan McGee around the same time he founded Creation Records in 1983. Having evolved out of post-punk band The Laughing Apple, which he’d started in 1980 with friend Andrew Innes, Biff Bang Pow! made seven albums and a handful of singles – many of which were indie hits – before they finally dissolved in 1992.
To many fans of Creation Records, Biff Bang Pow! were the label’s best-kept secret, fusing ‘60s psychedelia and power pop with beautiful, haunting melodies. Their early sound seemed to reinvent The Jam circa 1980, with a pop art approach reminiscent of the ‘60s band from whom their took their name, The Creation (who recorded the song ‘Biff Bang Pow!’).
Albums two and three, ‘The Girl Who Runs The Beat Hotel’ and ‘Oblivion’, captured Biff Bang Pow! at their peak, from the former’s tranquil, ‘60s pop tunes (often with Christine Wanless singing) to the latter’s power pop swagger. Later records adopted an increasingly acoustic bent, essentially solo outlets for McGee, after his discovery of ecstasy, when he was listening to Neil Young and Nick Drake.
Track Listing:
DISC ONE:
PASS THE PAINTBRUSH, HONEY
THERE MUST BE A BETTER LIFE
LOST YOUR DREAMS
LOVE AND HATE
THE CHOCOLATE ELEPHANT MAN
WATERBOMB!
COLIN DOBBINS
WOULDN'T YOU?
A DAY OUT WITH JEREMY CHESTER
Bonus Tracks
FIFTY YEARS OF FUN
10 THEN WHEN I SCREAM
11 THE CHOCOLATE ELEPHANT MAN (Alternative Mix - Extra Intro)
12 IN THE AFTERNOON (Early Version) (by Revolving Paint Dream)
13 THEN WHEN I SCREAM (Different Longer Version) ***
14 LOST YOUR DREAMS (Demo)
15 I'M OKAY ME (Demo)
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
DISC TWO:
THE GIRL WHO RUNS THE BEAT HOTEL
SOMEONE STOLE MY WHEELS
LOVE'S GOING OUT OF FASHION
SHE NEVER UNDERSTOOD
HE DON'T NEED THAT GIRL
SHE SHIVERS INSIDE
THE BEAT HOTEL
THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD
IF I DIE
FIVE MINUTES IN THE LIFE OF GREENWOOD GOULDING
THE WHOLE WORLD IS TURNING BROUCHARD!
SIXTEEN VELVET FRIDAYS
IT MAKES YOU SCARED
SUNNY DAYS
HE DON’T NEED THAT GIRL (Early Version) ***
BACK TO THE START
I NEED OPTIMISM ***
SHE’S GONE AWAY ***
Bonus Tracks
INSIDE THE MUSHROOM
IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME (Alan Vocal)
IN THE AFTERNOON
THE DEATH OF ENGLAND
THE BEAT HOTEL (Alan Vocal – Different Mix) ***
IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME (Demo – Christine Vocal) ***
SHE WENT AWAY TO THE LOVE (Demo) ***
THE BEAT HOTEL (Demo – Christine Vocal) ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
DISC THREE:
OBLIVION
IN A MOURNING TOWN
THERE YOU GO AGAIN
7 SECONDS
A GIRL CALLED DESTRUCTION
SHE'S GOT DIAMONDS IN HER HAIR
THE ONLY COLOUR IN THIS WORLD IS LOVE
BABY SISTER
THEN WHEN I SCREAM
I SEE THE SUN
I'M STILL WAITING FOR MY TIME
Bonus Tracks
SHE'S GOT DIAMONDS IN HER HAIR (Demo Version)
SHE NEVER UNDERSTOOD (Alternate Version)
FIFTY YEARS OF FUN (Almost Live Version)
DORTMUND, GERMANY, FEBRUARY 1987
THE CHOCOLATE ELEPHANT MAN ***
IN A MOURNING TOWN ***
SHE'S GOT DIAMONDS IN HER HAIR ***
7 SECONDS ***
LOVE'S GOING OUT OF FASHION ***
LOVE AND HATE ***
THERE MUST BE A BETTER LIFE ***
FIFTY YEARS OF FUN ***
A GIRL CALLED DESTRUCTION ***
COLIN DOBBINS ***
WATERBOMB! ***
SHE NEVER UNDERSTOOD ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
DISC FOUR:
LOVE IS FOREVER
MISS CALIFORNIA
TOOTHPASTE 1972
SHE HAUNTS
SEARCHING FOR THE PAVEMENT
SHE PAINTS
CLOSE
ICE CREAM MACHINE
ELECTRIC SUGAR CHILD
DARK IN MIND
STARTRIPPER
SHE WENT AWAY TO THE LOVE
Bonus Tracks
THE BEAT HOTEL (12” Version - Christine Vocal)
IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME (12” Version - Christine Vocal)
SONGS FOR THE SAD EYED GIRL
SHE KILLS ME
THE GIRL FROM WELL LANE
BABY, YOU JUST DON'T CARE
IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME NOW YOU NEVER EVER WILL
SOMEONE TO SHARE MY LIFE WITH
RELIGIOUS
HUG ME HONEY
Bonus Track
VICTORIA APPLETREE LOVES CHRISTOPHER JONES (alias She Haunts – Take 1) ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
DISC FIVE:
"ME"
MY FIRST FRIEND
MISS YOU
I'M BURNED
SONG FOR A NAIL
SHE SAVED ME
YOU JUST CAN'T BUY SATISFACTION
SAD EYES IN VELVET
GUILT RIDDEN
LOVERS
BABY YOU JUST MAKE ME STRONG
Bonus Tracks
SLEEP
LONG LIVE NEIL YOUNG AND ALL WHO SAIL IN HIM
IN BED WITH PAUL WELLER
EVERYBODY WANTS TO DIVORCE HER
JEAN MICHEL POW
I HOPE YOU BURN ***
YOU JUST CAN'T BUY SATISFACTION (Demo) ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
DISC SIX:
THE LAUGHING APPLE
SOMETIMES I WISH
CHIPS FOR TEA
UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS
I'M OKAY
PARTICIPATE!
WOULDN'T YOU?
PRECIOUS FEELING
CELEBRATION
DEMOS
INSTINCT ***
MY JUDGEMENT DAY ***
WHERE I TAKE MY PLEASURE ***
NEWSPEAK DEMOS
WEEKEND WORLD ***
WOULDN'T YOU? ***
SHE’S BOXED IN ***
ALAN MCGEE & JOWE HEAD DEMOS:
FIFTY YEARS OF FUN ***
I STILL LOOK FOR HER (alias Then When I Scream) ***
ALL I WANT ***
YOU STILL LOST YOUR
DREAM (alias Lost Your Dreams) ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
