the bristol boys were playing at home

I paid a short visit to Bristol at the weekend. I'd never been to this part of the UK before and I didn't really know what to expect. It's produced quite a few famous musicians in recent years including Portishead, Tricky, Massive Attack and Roni Size. Bristol has also churned out the likes of The Wurzels and two-thirds of Bananarama. Like a lot of other British cities it's showing signs of urban decay and this obviously has effected the music of most of the bands mentioned above. The Wurzels work seems to perfectly encapsulate the essence of the city's decline.

I'll write more about the reason for the trip to Bristol tomorrow. The reason it's come up now is that I managed to pop into Rubber Soul Records for a couple of minutes over the weekend. It's your average dusty vinyl store with the compulsory ill-kempt custodian and it was stocked full of 7"s. With only a couple of minutes on my hands I picked up this diverse collection:

'Feel like makin' love' by Roberta Flack. ‘Feel Like Makin' Love' was written by Eugene McDaniels who released a solo album in 1970 called ‘Outlaw'. Mc Daniels also composed for artists such as George Benson and Bo Diddley and produced the Supremes.

'I want you' by Marvin Gaye. This is on the Tamla label and is taken from the 1976 album of the same name. It was given a right old going over by Robert Palmer in 1991 and again by Madonna and Massive Attack in 1995. The tune is a real Marvin classic and features an instrumental of the tune on the flip side.

'Prodigal Son' by Steel Pulse was the second 7" release from their superb 1978 album 'Handsworth Revolution'. The album was produced by Karl Pitterson who has also produced the work of numerous reggae greats including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Augustus Pablo and Toots & The Maytals. You can see a performance of 'Prodigal Son' here

'How soon is now' and 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' by The Smiths. I've a truckload of 7"'s by these lads but these two have been conspicuous by their absence so I thought that I may as well buy them. I'm a big fan of The Smiths. Enough said.

'She sells sanctuary' by The Cult. This tune is better known for its use in selling an energy sports drink on a tv advertising campaign from a few years ago. I have a soft spot for this since it was released on Beggars Banquet Records in 1985.

On the way back home I picked up a copy of NME. The last time I bought this magazine was around the time She sells sanctuary was released. The reason I purchased it was because there was a red vinyl 7" by The White Stripes stuck to the front cover. It's a tune called 'Rag and Bone' but I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. Maybe tomorrow.