lightning and listening

After a-ha called it a day after the end of their farewell tour, it was always understood that Morten Harket and his cheekbones would release a solo album, his first since "Letter From Egypt" in 2008. Now, the fruits of his labor, "Out Of My Hands", will be released on April 13.

On March 9, the first single to be lifted from the longplayer will be "Lightning".

The single will only be released in Norway. Here's a short preview of the single.



The second single, "Scared Of Heights", will be released internationally. It will be available from all fine digital retailers from March 23.



Lastly, rumors have become fact. Pet Shop Boys have written a song especially for Morten entitled "Listening". Apparently, Mr. Harket approached Chris and Neil to write a song for his forthcoming longplayer and ver Boys whipped up a beautiful ballad for the project.

The full tracklisting for "Out Of My Hands" includes the following ten songs.

1. Scared Of Heights
2. Keep The Sun Away
3. Lightning
4. I'm The One
5. Quiet
6. Burn Money Burn
7. When I Reached The Moon
8. Listening
9. Just Believe it
10. Out Of My Hands

love is the dub

Following on from a series of hugely popular 12" remixes of Bryan Ferry tracks in 2011 comes an exclusive remix of "Love Is The Drug", an iconic slab of Roxy Music magic. It is exclusively available as a collectible, 180-gram heavweight, vinyl 12" single from The Vinyl Factory. If you're a digital aficionado, you can get your Google dirty fingers on the download from Beatport. Availability through other digital retailers should follow shortly.

Featuring an absolutely essential, epic remix by Todd Terje, his reswizzling of the 1975 classic gives it a contemporary club twist and is a must-have for anyone who snapped up his recent, gorgeous remix of Bryan Ferry's "Alphaville".

On the flipside is an equally essential version by dub disco diplomats Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, whose, hypnotic, Balearic-style reworking of "Avalon" has been bouncing around the interwebs for a couple of years.

And to top things off, Roxy Music HQ has just unleashed a video clip for Todd Terje's masterful, loved up dub. Voilà and viva!

nightlife in London

A little over a week since Saint Etienne premiered "Tonight", the first single from their forthcoming, eighth, studio longplayer, "Words And Music By Saint Etienne", the fearsome threesome from London town unleashed the stylish vid for their latest offering today.



Viva London! Numerous neon landmarks make their appearances in the clip which is an ode to the exhilaration of going out to see your favorite band.

"Tonight" will be released shortly on 7", 12" and digital download replete with requisite remixes and non-album b-sides. Hurrah!

And, if you're a lucky lad like me, you got yourself a ticket to see ver Et on their short jaunt across the UK in May. See you at the London Palladium on May 28!

love is a losing game

Pouty mouthed Will Young is about to unleash "Losing Myself" as the third single from his current longplayer, "Echoes". It's another gleaming, pop track which has been produced under the watchful eyes of Richard X.

The melancholy melody line and Will's mournful vocal delivery are beautifully wrapped in a lush package of shiny synths, rubbery basslines and snappy percussion. The song seems to hint ever so slightly at "Smalltown Boy" by Bronksi Beat which is not unfamiliar territory for Mr. Young. He covered similar ground as guest vocalist on "History", a track on Groove Armada's previous longplayer, "Black Light".

Let's take a peek at the video Will recently lensed for his new single.



He certainly is looking fit and suitably stylish. He's thrown in a few sexy dance moves for good measure. Never a bad thing.

I'm convinced Will Young has taken a more adult turn with his latest elpee in an effort to grow as an artist not unlike George Michael did when he made the transition from 80s pop tartlet to serious songwriter and performer by the time "Faith" was released in 1988. Time will tell if this trajectory works for Will beyond his current album. We wonder. We watch. We wait.

on fire

Erasure return with "Fill Us With Fire", the third single from their latest longplayer, "Tomorrow's World".

Reswizzled for radio consumption, it's a frothy slice of melancholy adorned with yet another of their anthemic melody lines for which they've become known over a magnificent career that stretches back more than 25 years. It's classic Erasure with contemporary touches which brings their sound bang up to date.

"Fill Us With Fire" will hit the "shops" on March 12. It will be made available as a CD single for those into old school physical configurations, and a digital download if you're into file formats. Both configurations will feature eight tracks including "Shot To The Heart", a previously released track which was only made available to certain digital retailers.

The requisite mixes of main track have been loving crafted by a variety of producers including Liam Keegan, JRMX and longtime collaborator, Gareth Jones. Wayne G and Andy Allder turn in a reswizzled version of album highlight, "A Whole Lotta Love Run Riot", which will replace "Fill Us With Fire" as the third single in Germany. An additional mix of both "AWLLRR" and previous single, "Be With You", round out the package.

The tracklisting for the single includes the following.

1. Fill Us With Fire (Single Mix)
2. Shot To The Heart
3. Fill Us With Fire (Gareth Jones Extended "Fired Up" Remix)
4. A Whole Lotta Love Run Riot (Wayne G & Andy Allder Atlantis Anthem)
5. Fill Us With Fire (JRMX Remix)
6. A Whole Lotta Love Run Riot (XOQ Remix)
7. Fill Us With Fire (Liam Keegan Remix)
8. Be With You (Yiannis Unruly Remix)

As you can see from the image above, the single sleeve, once again, is designed by Tom Hingston using another of Kate McDowell's extraordinary sculptures.

And a video for the single has just surfaced which features the new mix of the track.

beside the a-side

Pet Shop Boys pandemonium (Did you see what I did there?) continues as tomorrow marks the release of "Format", their second b-side retrospective. It follows the alternate history of PSB singles from the flipside of 1996 single, "Before", through "Did You See Me Coming?" which was issued in 2009.

Lavish packaging? Check. Interesting commentary? Check. An amazing cavalcade of pop history? Check. Neil and Chris rarely disappoint.

Ever wondered how the b-sides are written and chosen? Check out an intimate chinwag with PSB and take a peek behind their velvet curtain.



The interview was conducted while ver Boys (Hello, "Smash Hits" readers!) took a breather from recording their new longplayer in Los Angeles.

"Format" follows on from their first b-side collection, "Alternative", which was released in 1995.

tonight, tonight, tonight

Has it really been seven years since the might Saint Etienne have released a studio album? Well, Bob, Pete and Sarah are about to return from the wilderness and have treated their loyal following to the release of "Tonight", their brand new single, or "impact track" as an increasingly cold and loveless industry likes to call it these days.



"Tonight" was produced by Tim Powell who twiddled the knobs for "Together" by Pet Shop Boys and worked deep inside the Xenomania compound for years. It also benefits from being mixed by Richard X who lovingly sprinkles some electronic fairy dust across the track. It's a jaunty, little number that sounds like the perfect follow up to "Method Of Modern Love", the single plucked from "London Conversations: The Best Of Saint Etienne", their most recent career retrospective released way back in 2009.

Bob Stanley describes "Tonight" as being about "the anticipation of going to see your favourite group. For some reason, I imagine this show is at the Forum in Kentish Town. The whole album is about the power of pop, how it affects and shapes your life." And their you have it!

The song has all the hallmarks of a great Saint Etienne single. There's a sense of uplifting melancholy which beautifully compliments the descriptive lyrics and thumping, rhythmic undercarriage. It's all topped off with the Cracknell coo. Truly special!

"I've Got Your Music" will the first official single from "Words And Music By Saint Etienne", only their eighth studio album in a two decade career. It will be available shortly before the new longplayer hits the "shops" in May. Huzzah!

wired for sound

Hue And Cry, the brotherly duo of Pat and Greg Kane, have always been one of my favorites. They returned to the pop fray in 2008 with "Open Soul".

Now, they follow up that longplayer with "Hot Wire", their 13th studio album on March 19. A week earlier, they will issue "Duty To The Debtor", the first funky single from the elpee. And they've just lensed a video for the track.



Full on Crescent City soul with a splash of Stevie Wonder and a dash of Sly And The Family Stone. I swear I can hear Allen Toussaint weaving his magic inside the grooves. The boys have even managed to slide in an old school New Orleans style brass band toward the end. Just my cup of java!

The official tracklisting for "Hot Wire" includes the following ten tracks.

1. Duty To The Debtor
2. Little Man
3. Hand And Heart
4. Fail You Better
5. If You Want Changes
6. Summer Head/Daze
7. Carlos Takes The Fall
8. I Can Have It All
9. Irreversible Situation
10. Darkness Falls

If you're a obsessive fan like I am, then you will wanna splash some cash on the deluxe edition collector's box set which comes with loadsastuff! Limited to 1,000 copies, this unique collection includes "Hot Wire" on a gold coated CD and heavyweight vinyl in addition to two bonus tracks including "Tell Me" and "The Thing Is...". Plus, a CD single of "Duty To The Debtor", with an edited and remixed version of the track, will feature among all the bonus goodies.

Pat and Greg have even managed to put together a DVD featuring a video documentary which gives a unique insight into the process of producing an album including the writing, recording and mixing of the music as well as the creation of the artwork for the packaging.

As if that wasn't enough to tempt fans into purchasing the deluxified edition of "Hot Wire", H&C have included the official promotional video for the "Duty To The Debtor" with a special 5.1 remix of the track. In addition, there is a fly on the wall feature of the song being recorded featuring an interactive multi angle experience where the viewer can choose what to watch. The DVD ties up nicely with a personal video message from the band. These guys know how to please their fans!

Rounding out the ultimate collector's set are a booklet of song lyrics, lithographic print, keyring, bumper sticker, badge and a certificate of authenticity hand signed by the boys. They've putted out all the stops! Get yours now before they're gone!

a little more love

Every once in a while, an inspired remix brings life back into a classic or a forgotten gem. This year, I'm putting cash money on a reworking of a long, lost single by one of the UK's finest blue eyed soul singers of the female variety. Step up Lulu! She's back, back, back!

After nearly 50 years since her first single, "Shout", Lulu is about to storm the dancefloors and, hopefully, the charts. Production team, The Knievels, have reswizzled "Love Loves To Love Love", her single from 1967 which only limped to a paltry #32 on the UK chart.

Here's the blazing original.



Not sure why it wasn't a bigger hit first time around. And now, here's the newly remixed version by The Knievels.



Magic! Reminds me a bit of treatment Junkie XL did on "A Little Less Conversation" which became a hit for Elvis Presley in 2002 after it barely scrapped into the US singles chart at #69 in 1968. Amazing what a little dance loop, some perfectly placed synths and a little fairy dust can do for record.

As a young marketing manager at EMI in the 90s, I had the opportunity to work with Lulu when she released "Independence" in 1993 which just missed the top 10 of the UK singles chart when it peaked at #11.



One of my favorite singles from Lulu's 90s repertoire was released the following year after she hit the top spot with Take That on their rendition of "Relight My Fire". "Goodbye Baby And Amen" only peaked at #51 in the UK singles chart, but I loved it and did my best to issue it in the US without luck.

the next step

Promotion for Emeli Sandé's debut longplayer, "Our Version Of Events", is in full swing. "Next To Me", the third single lifted from the elpee, has just dropped. And to mark its release, Emeli has lensed a video for it.

This time around, it's a more subdued affair. No gritty street scenes in London or Los Angeles. The video was shot in an empty warehouse and Emeli's bleached quiff gets full attention.



Another magnificent single. It kinda falls in Cee-Lo Green territory, which is not a bad thing. After all, who doesn't like a sprinkling of retro R&B in their day? My only complaint about "Next To Me" is something most people won't be bothered by. I think her vocal is swimming in too much reverb. I think a drier, more organic treatment would've suited her voice and the track much better. Splitting hairs, I suppose.

There is a lot of promise for Emeli. I'm really looking forward to hearing the entire album. Word on the street is that it leans heavily on ballads which would be a shame considering the way her first three singles have positioned her.

Turns out Emile's first name is Adele. What are the chances? Can you imagine the discussions about that at the label? The execs must have been falling all over each other in a panic. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at those meetings.