The Associates released ‘Club Country‘ on April 26th 1982, which appeared on their third album, Sulk. The B side was a non-LP track. The 12 inch version added “Ulcragyceptemol” (added as a bonus to Sulk when it was re-released) and a remixed version of “Club Country”. The single reached the #10 spot on the U.K. singles chart. AND I HADN’T HEARD OF THIS BAND UNTIL LIKE 2 MONTHS AGO. It’s pretty shocking, actually, especially considering how much they resemble early Cure and Factory artists like A Certain Ratio or Happy Mondays. In fact, Michael Dempsey of the Cure is listed as a former member of The Associates (as well as John Murphy of SPK and Death In June, Anne Dudley of Art of Noise, and Steve Goulding of the Mekons. WTF, right????) Anyway, they broke up for a few years in 1990 but regrouped, ending only with the death (by suicide) of Billy MacKenzie in 1997.
I feel a little cheated for being so late on this one, but thank you once again, audioscrobbler, for being spot on with your recommendations.
The Associates – Club Country – Early Version:
The Associates – Club Country – On Top Of the Pops:
The Associates – Club Country – Best version, in my opinion, but it gets cut off at the end:
via @guardian.co.uk
Björk says …
The Associates went there. They didn’t edit their nature out of it. They had pagan qualities. I read a book about Billy MacKenzie, and it said that all the lyrics were composed in the moment, not written down, like a stream of consciousness. For Medulla, I thought about using Billy MacKenzie’s voice, and his father sent me old multitracks, the original tapes, and I wanted to work on it, celebrating voices, maybe do a duet with him. But when it came to it, I was too sacred.
