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An item of interest regarding the TOTP performance of Europe After The Rain can be seen here.

It's the official BBC disc of the TOTP episode showing that JF actually opened the show.

Oddly the actual broadcast date isn't shown although I'm guessing 03.09.81 as it gives a release date of '8th September' ie. a few days after.
Maybe this info is given on the Metadelic DVD?

Also strange is that the number one single at the time, Soft Cell's Tainted Love, is nowhere to be seen.

Martin...any ideas?

The item you referred to is more usually known as a BBC Transcription Disc, and these weren't intended for the general public. Instead, they were produced in very small numbers (usually around a hundred copies each) by the BBC as a way of licencing their programmes to overseas broadcasters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Transcription_Services

The discs were never intended to be a literal reproduction of the 'corresponding' television show. Instead, it's more likely that a disc would've principally included material which set it apart from its predecessors. So that could explain why (in this instance) Tainted Love was omitted - especially if that track had been included on a previous Transcription Disc.

I'll check to see if the accompanying documentation is an accurate representation of the track-listing.

Rob

What could have been even better than John Foxx performing on TOTPs? John Foxx performing on TOTPs backed by Legs and Co 'dancing like a gun'.

Looking forward to this one. Great stuff Martin, looking forward to reading your words.

I am either having a memory hole or I was never aware there was a June radio session! Great, looking forward to hearing a new version of "Stars on Fire". Pleased also to see the 12 inch mixes - is the Sparkle mix a new one or was it made back in the day?

Nice cover too, good to see that photo gracing a front cover.

The Sparkle Mix of Endlessly was recorded 'back in the day' and has been unreleased until now.

Rob

The artwork for this release is stunning!

The photo on the cover gives nothing away. The booklet inside is really something else.

Cheers Rob (sorry, I'm not getting e-mail notifications of forum replies, don't know why..)
I'd imagined theses discs were something like that.

I also vaguely (but very vaguely) remember OMD being on the same show with 'Souvenir'...

Rob, many thanks for the response. I didn’t realize just how many factors you need to take into account when planning a release such as this! And I must stress also that my posts are borne out of a combination of curiosity and mild frustration rather than “having a dig”, as I know you and others on here have put a great deal of effort into this and many other releases from John’s ever-burgeoning back catalogue.

Nonetheless, the growth of the internet, streaming audio and file sharing means that “previously unreleased on CD” material isn’t quite as alluring as it once might have been. CD1 could probably be replicated as a Spotify playlist in a matter of minutes by the average web user, the 1980s videos are freely available on Youtube and the Radio 1 sessions were doing the rounds of users of this very forum back in 2007 on this ‘ere thread.

http://www.metamatic.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/22418/1

I will of course be buying Metadelic, but I can’t help feeling that throwing in a handful of not just unreleased but previously unavailable anywhere else tracks might have tipped the balance and made this an essential purchase not just for me but for everyone else with an interest in John’s more psychedelic output.

Ah, memories!

http://www.metamatic.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/30853/Why_wasn_t_Europe_After_The_Ra

I think you make some really good and considered points there, Herbert.

The interweb has changed the 'availability' of all kinds of things and nothing is as 'rare and unreleased' as it was back in the day.
The whole dynamic of things is changing, recording contracts etc and all manner of Things AIn't What They Used To Be.

The same applies to the forum itself. In the current of social networking and the like, this place has struggled to keep up and meet the challenge of being up to date with news, chat etc. People (on the whole) go to Twitter and Facebook for news and exchange, and extracts of new material seep out through Soundcloud, youtube etc.

It is very difficult to keep up with all that. The points you made strike that particular nail resonantly and I'm sure all that is / will be taken into account when planning the context of future releases etc.

There is still a (very strong case) for tangible product though, and many many people (especially the hardcore of fans) want high-quality 'versions' of material in a CD collection. That's just what we like. Take the 12" singles form the 80s, for example. People have been baying for those on CD for years, and Metadelic is the perfect opportunity to fulfill that particular demand. And yet, I'm sure most people as you say, will already have recordings of them via bootlegs etc which are not hard to get among members of the forum.

An interesting conundrum.

All of which affects pricing too - this is an exceptionally good value release with some lovely artwork and images you won't have seen before.