Quotation (From 'The Flick Was Boss' album) Lyrically an amalgam of quotes from poems by Ezra Pound, hence the title. During the US tour we played at the Mudd, Spit and Dirt clubs. Maybe someone was trying to tell us something.

This is from the Dirt Club in East Orange, NJ. known as such because the entire place was hung with plastic bags of soil sent, according to its owner - the appropriately named Johnny Dirt - from 'all around the world'. DEATH WEARS YELLOW GARTERS  (Previously unreleased live track) Title from an article by Raymond Chandler ('How to Write a Crime Novel', I think). Basically a jolly bit of hokum. Also from the Dirt Club. After the gig Johnny Dirt confided that he didn't have enough money to pay us, but offered 10 bottles of Jack Daniels by way of recompense, which we accepted (and drank) with alacrity. PLEASURE DOME  (From 'The Flick Was Boss' album) Once described by a reviewer as "Sounding like Marillion". This alone would have justified a furious chain-whipping at the hands of deranged, drug-crazed sociopaths. Still, if it's that bad, then it is. A performance of some brio, nevertheless, with the cynical head in full effect. Recorded at our last ever gig, Peppermint Lounge, NYC. THE WESTERN BLUES  (From 'The Flick Was Boss' album) From our first ever recording session. I don't think we ever did better than this, song-wise, and it was jolly difficult to play. I don't think many of today's young bands could do it, to be honest. And why should they? MAU MAU  (Previously unreleased) We used to play Black Sabbath songs in rehearsal as a kind of warm-up, hence this not-so-subtle recasting of their 'NIB'. Sorry Ozzy. Also recorded by the Blue Aeroplanes. ABZ OF LOVE  (From 'The Flick was Boss' album) Title taken from some trashy US sixties sex manual. Included because of Danny's guitar outburst - one of his finest. I think he managed to break ALL the strings on this one. Quite right, too. THE DEATH OF THE COOL  (From 'The Flick Was Boss' album) An overblown manifesto-style lyric guaranteed to make the strongest mortal cringe. Notice also how The Parsnip makes another appearance. John Langley on drums (on a busman's holiday from the Art Objects). Included because apparently it's one of Wojtek Dmochowski's favourite guitar solos. ESPIONAGE  (From 'The Flick Was Boss' album) Not much to say about this one, really, except that it's jolly sill, but it exists although I'm not sure whether it should. WHY DID YOU CALL MY NAME?  (From 'The Flick was Boss' album) I spent hours farting around in the aforementioned Pere Lachaise looking for Gertrude Stein's grave, but couldn't find it anywhere. Somehow - given the object of the search - this seemed rather appropriate. A good example of Mike Fewings playing backwards guitar forwards, if you get my drift. KICKING THE SUN AROUND  (Previously unreleased) A last gasp return to the sixth form, with a top piece of cod poetry and Martin Kiernan slapping the drums like wet fish on a beer tray. Recorded at the Brixton Bunker, rock 'n' roll's equivalent of Hitler's last resting place (and good riddance, too). CENOTAPH  (Previously unreleased) Crikey, even MORE Poetic Vales of Melancholy. Tootles along nicely enough, though. Mike Fewings now keeps his sax in the loft, which is a shame. CHRONICLE  (Previously unreleased live version) We were supporting Altered Images at Bristol's infamous Granary ("Call that rock 'n' roll, son ?"). They'd just come off a tour with Souxsie and the Banshees and the audience seemed to be full of kohl-encrusted 12-year olds. Boy, did they hate us. We chatted to Altered Images in the dressing room: "We've just recorded a song called 'Happy Birthday' and it's going to be a smash", they said. We all smiled politely and sniggered behind our hands not with a silly title like that, we thought. Oh, fuck. That's all folks.