C81

'''C81''' was a cassette that was obtained through the British magazine ''New Musical Express'' in 1981 (hence (C)assette 81) and released in conjunction with the record label Rough Trade. Intended to mark the first 5 years of the independent label movement in the UK record industry and Rough Trade itself, it was the first in a series of many cassette releases from the paper. Probably the best known (and derided) was the ''C86'' compliation. Publishing a tape was also an acknowledgment of the flourishing self published cassette culture of the time that the ''NME'' had been supporting in its short lived Garageland column.
''C81'' was compiled by NME journalist Roy Carr, and Christopher Rose, who worked in public relations for Rough Trade. To get a copy, NME readers had to collect two coupons from the newspaper and send off £1.50. The 15,000 orders were sold out within a month.^[1]
The tape contained a set of 24 diverse tracks ranging from jazz (James Blood Ulmer), poetry (John Cooper Clarke), ska (The Beat), and the folksy 'Canterbury Scene' (Robert Wyatt).^[2] British music writer Simon Reynolds called it "post punk's swan song", noting the appearance of three acts from Scottish independent label Postcard Records, and the emerging new pop tendency of bands such as Linx and Scritti Politti.

Contents

Track listing

Side one

Side two

See also

References

External links

Track listing

Side one

# "The "Sweetest Girl"" – Scritti Politti (6:09)
# "Twist and Crawl Dub" – The Beat (4:58)
# "Misery Goats" – Pere Ubu (2:26)
# "7,000 Names of Wah!" – Wah! Heat (3:57)
# "Blue Boy" – Orange Juice (2:52)
# "Raising the Count" – Cabaret Voltaire (3:32)
# "Kebab Traume (Live)" – D.A.F (3:50)
# "Bare Pork" – Furious Pig (1:28)
# "Raquel" – The Specials (1:56)
# "I Look Alone" – Buzzcocks (3:00)
# "Fanfare in the Garden" – Essential Logic (3:00)
# "Born Again Cretin" – Robert Wyatt (3:07)

Side two

# "Shouting Out Loud" – The Raincoats (3:19)
# "Endless Soul" – Josef K (2:27)
# "Low Profile" – The Blue Orchids (3:47)
# "Red Nettle" – Virgin Prunes (2:13)
# "We Could Send Letters" – Aztec Camera (4:57)
# "Milkmaid" – Red Crayola (2:01)
# "Don't Get in My Way" – Linx (5:15)
# "The Day My Pad Went Mad" – The Massed Carnaby St John Cooper Clarkes (1:46)
# "Jazz Is the Teacher, Funk Is the Preacher" – James Blood Ulmer (4:03)
# "Close to Home" – Ian Dury (4:13)
# "Greener Grass" – Gist (2:32)
# "Parallel Lines" – Subway Sect (2:38)
# "81 Minutes" – John Cooper Clarke (0:13)

See also

★ DIY punk ethic

★ Fanzine

★ Punk rock

★ Post-punk

References

1. NME C81 Ryan Foley
2. Rip it up and start again: post-punk 1978-84, , Simon, Reynolds, Faber and Faber, 2005, ISBN 0-571-21569-6

External links

★ Rip It Up and Start Again — Post Punk 1978–84 Simon Reynolds