Introducing a new series in which forum members can post any John Foxx events relative to the current date (give a take a week or two...)

Admittedly we might not have as many 'events' to report as, say, The Beatles, Depeche Mode or A Flock of Seagulls but it could be a fun way to catalogue JF history.

Sept 5-ish, 1983: YOUR DRESS single released:


Music press ad:


Smash Hits review:

Eek! Probably a typical po-faced leftist music jorno of the time who would have been genuflecting at the majesty of Your Dress if only the lyrics had been about things like unemployment and the 'sus' laws. Still, at least it reminds us that in its earlier days Smash Hits cared about music.

Good idea. Let's see what comes through.
And this is the best place for this to happen.

All this is in hand for an overhaul to the ARCHIVE here, and it is the material I use to update my Twitter Feed. I have a 'timeline' that covers every day of every year since the Dawn of Time and there are still gaps to fill...

Regarding the Virgin singles - most of these were slammed in the press most of the time, even to the point of rudeness.
John Foxx had a poor reception from most journos at the time and was frequently panned.

It's interesting how so much of that has changed. I haven't read a negative review of anything for a long time now

I have to admit "Your Dress" is one of my fave JF songs... until the caterwauling starts. Sometimes I can overlook it. Not always.

I always imagined this scenario: Late night in the studio, everyone's joking around. "It's a bit Roxy-esque, isn't it?" someone comments. Whereupon Foxx launches into "Avalon", doing a hilariously spot-on Ferry impression...then attempts the Yannick Etienne birdsong at the end. "Great falsetto, John," they say, "let's keep it!"

Indeed. For a long time I wondered who this mysterious woman was and what she was doing on a John Foxx record. It was only when I heard a live bootleg tape of the Golden Section tour that I realised it was John himself!

Still one of my favourite JF songs though. Possibly the purest pop song he ever released and in a parallel universe it would have been covered by Bryan Ferry and sold millions.

Good to hear your views on Your Dress ...

I was also intrigued by the 12" B side... "The Garden (Full length version)" .. was there ever any other version?

I have always liked 'Your Dress' and still rate it as one of my favourite Foxx singles.
I can remember playing it on endless repeat back in the day.

Eddi Reader (Fairground Attraction etc) provides the wailing. She was a session singer at Virgin.

It's a great concept too, the idea that clothing somehow defines us. Not only physically by creating an opaque, tangible outline (which I think is what Foxx alludes too) but also by presenting to the world some kind of impression about our character and place in the world.

I'm also fascinated that it draws parallels perhaps with the 'expectations' and perceptions we have of one another in those potential awkward physical moments perhaps for the first time in a relationship.
Naked, there is vulnerability, sexuality blah blah - by putting on clothes the couple in the song feel more comfortable and confident with one another.

The 'oldest ocean' that rolls and flows across the room - is that 'attraction' / 'fascination' perhaps? Like 'the old familiar glow'...?

Of course, being Foxx, he cleverly plays with the exact opposite as well. The 'ordinary' ness of the grey suit hides him in crowds and he can effectively disappear.

Beg to differ with you there, old boy. Eddi Reader did the wailing backing vocals on Enter The Angel and some of the other In Mysterious Ways tracks but on Your Dress it's very much John himself.

Funny thing is, I used to think Eddi Reader's backing vocals were OTT, but they've grown on me. They work as part of the generally exuberant feel of IMW. Foxx's own backing vocals on "Your Dress" don't work as well in context.

I have to agree Steve. I was somewhat taken back when I first heard the backing vocals on Enter The Angel. I thought John doesn't use female backing vocals. He's gone all pop!! Ha ha.It's not a song or an album I listen to very often. I guess it was very much of it's time.
As for Your Dress maybe it would have worked better with a female vocalist at the end rather than John reaching the high notes. Strangely when the single was reviewed at the time, in Smash Hits, Your Dress was described as John going all 'Bryan Ferry' and the reviewer thought that it was female vocals at the end!!

Moving swiftly along .... an FFWD some 20 years later ..

9th September 2003, DRIVE EP by John Foxx & Louis Gordon first became available at their live show at The Fleece and Firkin in Bristol on that date.

Subsequently available by mail order or at live concerts.



1 Drive (Single Edit)
2 Broken Furniture (Radio Edit)
3 Underwater Dreamsex
4 Making Movies
5 Your Shadow
6 Broken Furniture (Album Version)
7 Drive (Album Version)

Thoughts on this EP, 10 years on?

It contains two of my all time Foxx Top Five...!

I seem to remember one was Underwater Dream sex.

Cant remember the other.

Brian

Broken Furniture

Some of his greatest lyrics, and it tells the Story of My Life.

So if you have five seconds to spare...

I think it was Andreas who managed to get me a signed copy of the Drive EP, so that's something special already. Not a huge fan of Underwater Dreamsex, but overall another solid outing from Foxx and Gordon.

50, clumsy and shy... (following up on Birdsong's reference, with a little updating).

Martin - do you have a list of the live gigs it was distributed at? Was it the same time they were supporting The Human League?

Not exactly...

I can tell you when it was first available, but there's no guarantee what gigs it was on sale at, or not.
Merchandise varies enormously and it depends on stock, delivery, staff etc

But in general, one thing I DON'T have info on is what merch was available at which gig.
Might be interesting, so if anyone does know, please advise me directly here or via martinsmith@metamatic.com

All this stuff is coming to a website near you [quite] soon...

Full discography and selected archive pages are in capable hands

Can't wait.

But yes, I read it was first available at the Bristol gig on said date.

It was certainly there that night, as was I to buy it. I seem to remember Bristol was the first gig of that tour so you might be right.

The EP was sold at the Scala in London on Wed.17th September too. But I bought my copy (and Steve's and Motoshi's - a kind guy who run a japanese fan site) before the gig at Sister Ray( the old shop). I got a poster of the Crash & Burn tour there,too.

It is a great EP and it is a special one for me 'cause I managed to got it signed by John and Louis for me and the other both guys. The pre concert meeting was great . Louis came to that meeting too and had a pint with us - I got Louis autograph at the bar. John's autograph I got next day at Sister Ray 'cause he made a signing session there. It was the first time I met John in person. The first ever pre concert meeting and the first meeting with John and Louis - I think you can imagine it was a really great time for me. Many meetings followed since that time but this one is the outstanding one for me.

It was a great idea to release that EP with the 3 extra tracks and a nice bonus to the album. All 3 tracks are re-released on Crash and Burn deluxe - but this EP is a wonderful collectors item.

Cheers for the extra info and your stories guys.

Yes, a valuable artifact indeed.

The single edits of Drive and Furniture didn't re-surface again until Metatronic.

I found my copy of the Drive EP in a branch of Virgin.

Before the gig at the Que Club, Birmingham, in 98, I went for a pint with my mate at The Crown, just up the road. To our great surprise who should come in and sit at the table next to us but John and Louis! We had a good little chat.

Busy day tomorrow, so lest I forget....

I have it on good authority that John Foxx's second solo LP The Garden was released on 25th September, 1981.

A new, radical departure from Metamatic, it was a disappointment for some and a welcome return to a more organic sound for others.

Smash Hits writer and reviewer Ian Cranna had this to say:



The Garden spent six weeks in the UK Top 40 album chart peaking at no. 24.

What are your memories, pals?



Note: interestingly, subsequent solo albums The Golden Section and In Mysterious Ways were also released during the month of September but I don't have exact dates.
Anyone?

Yes, maybe it's because it's his birthday month ...

I can't be sure -- discogs isn't much help -- but I think The Garden came out a bit later in Canada. Our version had a different cover, track sequence, and "This Jungle" instead of "Fusion/Fission." 1981/82 was my first year at university and September '81 was when I finally found Ultravox!, Systems of Romance, and the Canadian John Foxx compilation LP we got in place of Metamatic. As I recall, it was a month or two later that I got Rage in Eden and another couple of months at least before I got The Garden.

Though I liked the Metamatic era songs I'd heard, I wasn't disappointed that The Garden was like a more lush and romantic follow-up to Ultravox's Systems of Romance. The only song I never warmed to was "Pater Noster," which to my ears still sounds kind of silly. But overall, though I liked Midge Ure's Ultravox, I liked The Garden a lot more than Rage in Eden. I still think of it as one of the highlights of John's discography.

John & Louis' Live From A Room (As Big As A City) was given general release early October 2006, after being on sale during the tour in July.


Ditto for The Hidden Man.


Time for another interview disc?