The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find ’80s Albums (General Public’s “Hand To Mouth”)

“The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find ’80s Albums” gives you exactly what the title implies: a rare or out-of-print album from the ’80s in its entirety. Some will be from CD, but most will have been lovingly transferred from pristine vinyl culled directly from the Analog Kid’s vast collection. Whatever album I choose, it will be one that you can’t easily find a physical copy for sale on Amazon or in your local record store (if you even have one anymore). Death…by stereo!

Supergroups sound like a great idea on paper, but rarely do they work out on stage. A “normal” band is hard enough to maintain in the first place, and it gets even tougher when you add a room full of already-successful egos together and then magically expect them to play nice. Let’s look at an ’80s supergroup scorecard, shall we?

Asia: two records with original lineup.

Traveling Wilburys: one record with original lineup.

H.S.A.S.: one record.

The Firm: two records.

Cinema: zero records or gigs (but I suppose you can count 90125 and Big Generator as a direct result if you want to get technical about it!)

XYZ: zero records or gigs. (If you don’t know who this, do a little googling. It would have been EPIC!)

Like many of their ’80s supergroup counterparts, General Public didn’t last very long. Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger (from The English Beat) teamed up with Mickey Billingham (Dexys Midnight Runners), Mick Jones (The Clash), Roger Charlery (also from The Beat), Horace Panter (The Specials), and Stoker (Dexys as well) to form General Public in 1984. The band’s debut album All The Rage included the classic single “Tenderness,” but Jones had already left the group prior to the record’s release. More defections followed during the recording of Hand To Mouth in 1986, and the band broke up for good after the album’s release (a brief 1994 reunion did result in a hit cover of The Staples Singers’ “I’ll Take You There”).

Hand To Mouth has been out of print on CD for years now, but I recently found a nice used copy at a local store and thought that I’d share it with you. My vinyl copy of Hand To Mouth was sitting near the top of my ripping stack, so the the timing of this find couldn’t have been much better!

Speaking of supergroups (and Asia), I saw on Twitter this week that John Wetton is currently undergoing more chemotherapy in his battle against cancer. Best wishes to you on a speedy recovery, John! And I’ll let you in on a little secret: out of all the supergroups, Asia is still my favorite…

General Public: Hand To Mouth

I.R.S. Records, 1986

1. “Come Again” (Dave Wakeling/Mickey Billingham)

Come Again

2. “Faults And All” (Dave Wakeling/Horace Panter/Roger Charlery)

Faults And All

3. “Forward As One” (Dave Wakeling)

Forward As One

4. “Murder” (Dave Wakeling/Mickey Billingham)

Murder

5. “Cheque In The Post” (Mickey Billingham/Roger Charlery)

Cheque In The Post

6. “Too Much Or Nothing” (Dave Wakeling)

Too Much Or Nothing

7. “Love Without The Fun” (Dave Wakeling/Mickey Billingham)

Love Without The Fun

8. “In Conversation” (Mickey Billingham/Roger Charlery)

In Conversation

9. “Never All There” (Dave Wakeling/Mickey Billingham/Roger Charlery)

Never All There

10. “Cry On Your Own Shoulder” (Dave Wakeling/Roger Charlery)

Cry On Your Own Shoulder

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Bonus Tracks!

The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.

General Public: “Tenderness” [Longer Version] (Dave Wakeling/Mickey Billingham/Roger Charlery)

From the U.K. 12″ single Tenderness

I.R.S. Records, 1984

Tenderness [Longer Version]

Asia: “Time Again” (John Wetton/Geoff Downes/Steve Howe/Carl Palmer)

From the album Asia

Geffen Records, 1982

Time Again

H.S.A.S.: “Top Of The Rock” (Sammy Hagar/Neal Schon)

From the album Through The Fire

Geffen Records, 1984

Top Of The Rock

The Firm: “Satisfaction Guaranteed” (Jimmy Page/Paul Rodgers)

From the album The Firm

Atlantic Records, 1985

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Traveling Wilburys: “Last Night” (Traveling Wilburys)

From the album Vol. 1

Wilbury/Warner Bros. Records, 1988

Last Night

Cinema: “Make It Easy” (Trevor Rabin)

From the box set Yesyears

Atco Records, 1991

Make It Easy

Yes: “Changes” (Trevor Rabin/Alan White/Jon Anderson)

From the album 90125

Atco Records, 1983

Changes

Yes: “Shoot High Aim Low” (Alan White/Tony Kaye/Jon Anderson/Trevor Rabin/Chris Squire)

From the album Big Generator

Atco Records, 1987

Shoot High Aim Low

The English Beat: “Rotating Head” (English Beat)

From the album Special Beat Service

I.R.S. Records, 1982

Rotating Head

Dexys Midnight Runners: “Geno” (Kevin Rowland/Kevin Archer)

From the album Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

EMI Records, 1980

Geno

The Clash: “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” (The Clash)

From the album Combat Rock

Epic Records, 1982

Should I Stay Or Should I Go

The Specials: “A Message To You Rudy” (Dandy Livingstone)

From the album The Specials

2 Tone Records, 1979

A Message to You Rudy

The Staple Singers: “I’ll Take You There” (Alvertis Isbell)

From the album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself

Stax Records, 1972

I’ll Take You There

General Public: “I’ll Take You There” (Alvertis Isbell)

From the soundtrack Threesome

Epic Soundtrax, 1994

I’ll Take You There