Hit The North (Bop Cassettes, 1990)

Review
Hit The North provides a hazy snapshot of Manchester 1990 and is appropriately divided into indie and dance sides. At the time of release, vinyl and / or cassette copies were the preferred format for purchasers with the CD proving quite difficult to source. Again KG Discs came to my rescue, this time I located it from their short-lived George’s Mall outlet.

Kicking off the indie sequence are New Fast Automatic Daffodils and the early spiky sound of Lions. Jagged and fragmented but bearing some of the motorik ethos that would define Big. It’s followed by the mysterious Jerks – no they’re not from the Philippines – with their winsome Didn’t Quite Make It. A pretty apt title with plenty of charm; like a cross between Bradford and James produced by Troy Tate. Nice few false endings too and they eventually changed their name to Rubber Orange. More information about them here. Next come The Australians’ cautionary The Girl Who Loved Her Man Enough To Kill Him and the very moody Rig with B.R.O. sounding like a Happy Mondays covers band. I’d have loved to walk into Eastern Bloc Records and say “have you got Dig by Rig?”

On Playtime came The Rainkings. Their Sunlight Fades now sounds like it’s beamed from another time; a distinct and clear memory from my late teenage years all distilled into a breathless three minutes. Riding the baggy waves are the Paris Angels and Don’t Fake Mine, recorded for Piccadilly Radio in March 1990. The sound of a band finding its feet under a groove. Also put together for the same station was the circular Madly In Love With 25 People by The Bedflowers. Janice White and Danny Moran who still required a bass player that June. Their Songs: Summer 1990 cassette which was also released by Bop has a dedication to a friend: “Goodbye Nin – we loved you truly.” which always makes me sad. Bringing the first half to a close are The Man From Delmonte with the sweet My Love Is Like A Gift You Can’t Return which I wrote about in my review of Indie Top 20 Volume 7.

Let’s dance: Lavinia and Soul Kaos drop the competent Soul MC, nifty piano and a very youthful vocal. Upping the stakes are the Ruthless Rap Assassins (Dangerous Hinds, MC Kermit Le Freak & Dangerous C) and the crucial Here Today… Here Tomorrow. There’s some fascinating background detail on Hulme, The Crescents and them here. Next comes Rowetta and the defiant No More War. “Protect our daughters and think about your sons.” Moving on with Krispy 3 and the bass pounding Destroy All The Stereotypes. Meanwhile the eponymous All Of My Life is a real treat; jazzy flourishes, dramatic beats and a haunting backing voice courtesy of Jane with Edward Barton and Gerald Simpson in tow. We finish with some Revenge and Jesus, I Love You – the atmospheric yet disorderly B-Side of 7 Reasons. The last minute even sounds like New Order. Rave on.

Favourite tracks
All Of My Life – All Of My Life

The Rainkings – Sunlight Fades

Lest we forget
The Jerks – Didn’t Quite Make It

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Found on the MDM Archive.