Maybe I'm flying in the face of conventional wisdom but the early years of Happy Mondays' lengthy career have always been my favourite. I'm not one of those who obsess about a band having a limited underground following and selling just a handful of records until they become mainstream and then accuse them of selling out.

I genuinely believe there is something really special about the run of releases by Little Hulton's finest from 1985 to 1989 (up to the 'Madchester Rave On' EP) where you hear a band and their lyricist experimenting (not just with pharmaceuticals) whilst growing in confidence which set them apart from other indie bands at the time and still keeps them sounding fresh today.

This remastered, limited, coloured vinyl box set release featuring the 12" releases in their colourful Central Station sleeves from 1985's debut 'Forty Five' EP through to 1987's call to arms '24 Hour Party People' highlights this best.

In Shaun Ryder's 'Wrote For Luck' book containing selected lyrics he practically dismisses the first two of these, saying "some of our early recordings shouldn't have made it on to vinyl really, 'Kuff Dam' and 'Tart Tart' were the first tracks we managed to record in the studio that I felt truly captured the sense and potential of the Mondays".

I can understand his view to a point but I would make the case for 'Forty Five' and 'Freaky Dancin'.

The Mike Pickering (post Quango Quango, pre M People) produced 'Forty Five EP', featuring 'Delightful', 'This Feeling' and 'Oasis' was released in late 1985.

When you look at some of the 'C86' bands and the scene created by the NME which they were actively promoting with their 22-track cassette 6 months later, any of the songs on this EP could quite easily have held its own against them and honestly would have probably fit better... it's perhaps fortunate however that this didn't happen though as it could have stalled the group's career before it really began.

What you do hear is a band, with emerging talented musicians, with elements of label mates James and Shaun borrowing lines for the first time with Oasis liberating lines from Les Reed and Gordon Mills, previously made famous by Tom Jones.

Personally I have a soft spot for the 2nd single 'Freaky Dancin' after hearing it at DeVille’s in Manchester. It would have been early in 1987 and one of the first nights out I'd had in the City Centre. I'd have only been 17 at the time and for some reason we though the infamous indie club with the bucking bronco in the connected 'Lazy Lil's' would be a good place to hang out...

At the time I'd been listening to John Peel sporadically really getting into a lot of the aforementioned C86 scene such as The Bodines, Mighty Lemon Drops, Wedding Present and only been to a couple of gigs; The Primitives and the Soup Dragons both at Manchester International on Anson Road, Longsight. I suspect anyone reading this will be familiar with the legacy of the club so I won't go into detail, although I will tell you I bought a copy of Dave Haslam's 'Debris' fanzine on my second visit which had a flexi-disc attached featuring Inspiral Carpets.

Anyway, the Bernard Sumner-produced track really impressed me as there was a shambolic confidence to it which I don't think ever copied. Whilst it had elements of the jangly guitar bands of that era, there is something fresh about it too. It isn't a full-on aural attack like some tunes of the era, it has space in it and it breathes.

What's more, it made people dance. (Well, shuffle a little quicker).

Worth noting, and mentioning it's great that the B-side 'The Egg (Mix)' which has a wonderful swagger about it is being reassessed due to this release and the accompanying promo video/clip to promote it

The 3rd single, 'Tart Tart' sees the band move up another notch with production by the legendary John Cale (I'm not sure why I'm saying that as I'm confident most people reading will know that already).

Whilst musically the style hadn't changed but the vocals appeared higher in the mix and clearer.

The first two verses are apparently about Martin Hannett, this then leads on to verses about Paul Ryder, before closing with the songs title character, an amphetamine dealer from Chorlton who had befriended Shaun and Bez but sadly passed away suddenly.

This was followed by the debut album, 'Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)' a month later.

By the time the 4th single, 'Twenty Hour Party People' came out in late 1987, indie dance had become a thing and was crossing over from the pages of the NME to Smash Hits, with MARRS' 'Pump Up The Volume' spending a couple of weeks at No 1 in the Official UK Top 40. The Mondays themselves though were still quite underground but it’s clear something was about to happen.

Despite being a live favourite, I don't think the song every really reached the public conscious and received the acclaim it deserved until the release of the film of the same name 15 years later.

It's interesting to note that despite the hedonistic lifestyle attributed to the band since the early days, the releases on this box were all before ecstasy had hit Manchester with the tracks fuelled by heroin, weed and speed...

Not quite days of innocence, but a great snapshot of the birth of an era.

- review by Iain Key for Cerysmatic Factory

See also: Central Station Design, Happy Mondays

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Happy Mondays - The Early EPs (London, 2019)

FAC 129 - Forty Five EP 12" - Green Vinyl
FAC 142 - Freak Dancin' 12" - Orange Vinyl
FAC 176 - Tart Tart 12" - Blue Vinyl
FAC 192 - Twenty Four Hour Party People 12" - Yellow Vinyl

Labels: Central_Station_Design, Happy_Mondays, Iain_Key, review

Happy Mondays release the 'Early EPs' 4x12" Coloured Vinyl Boxset Collection on 25 October 2019. A companion digital download is also available and, if you order via the official Happy Mondays store, there's also a limited edition A4 print by Pete Fowler which is based on his new video for 'The Egg'.

'The Early EPs' compiles Happy Mondays' first four 12" singles/EPs in special transparent coloured vinyl as follows: the 'Forty Five EP' (Fac 129, 1985, transparent green vinyl), 'Freaky Dancin/The Egg EP' (Fac 142, 1986, transparent orange vinyl), 'Tart Tart EP' (Fac 176, 1987, transparent blue vinyl), and '24 Hour Party People' (Fac 192, 1987, transparent yellow vinyl).

The recordings have been remastered from the original archived master tapes. The artwork has been redrawn and digitised by original designers Central Station Design with the boxset cover itself being a new 24 Hour Party People Bez-themed affair.

Tracklisting

Forty Five EP

A1: Delightful
B1: This Feeling
B2: Oasis

Freaky Dancin/The Egg EP

A1: Freaky Dancin' (Live)
B1: The Egg (Mix)
B2: Freaky Dancin'

Tart Tart EP

A1: Tart Tart
B1: Little Matchstick Owen

24 Hour Party People EP

A: 24 Hour Party People
B1: Yahoo
B2: Wah Wah (Think Tank)

The 'Early EPs' is available to pre-order now via happymondays.ffm.to/EarlyEPs.

Labels: Central_Station_Design, EP, Happy_Mondays, vinyl

Ex-Factory worker, Tracey Donnelly's Hunky Dory Promotions has some rather splendid t-shirts out which were designed by Central Station's Matt Carroll. They're available to buy now via hunkydoryclothing.bigcartel.com.

Labels: Central_Station_Design, Hunky_Dory, Matt_Carroll, T-Shirt

Factory was highly noted for the quality of its graphic design which featured on everything from badges to posters to the records themselves. Once you got past the outer sleeve of a record it didn't stop there though as these 12" and LP labels prove. Central Station's loud and brash design for Happy Mondays is in complete contrast with the Factory Classical branding developed by Peter Saville, Brett Wickens and others.



Central Station showed another side to their talents with the bright and bold FAC 228 for Karl Denver.



Meanwhile, the FAC 257 Getting Away With It label by Peter Saville Associates for Electronic retains only the typography from the sleeve artwork in a minimalist approach.

Labels: Central_Station_Design, Electronic, Factory_Classical, graphic_design, Happy_Mondays, Karl_Denver, Peter Saville, Rolf_Hind

madchester.com is the new venture by those Donnelly Brothers, Anthony and Christopher. Just launched, it promises to deliver "... all the iconic music, fashion and moments from then through to now ... curated by you, the fans".

It's early days yet but a full site is promised soon and there is a mailing list to sign up to for updates.

Labels: Central_Station_Design, Donnelly_Brothers, fashion, Madchester, music, style

Original Central Station Design poster for Happy Mondays for the FACD 320 Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches album.

Thanks again to Mark @ The Record Peddler for imagery (Cerysmatic's copy is in deep storage!).

Labels: art, Central_Station_Design, design, graphic_design, Happy_Mondays

England's Irie [1]


England's Irie [2]


Fat Neck


Get Higher


It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah!


Kelly's Heroes


Marbles [1]


Marbles [2]


Reverend Black Grape


Stupid Stupid Stupid

Labels: art, Black_Grape, Central_Station_Design, design, graphic_design

Central Station Design launched their new exhibition, Central Station Paint Coronation Street Part 1, with a star-studded party at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester.

Joining the Central Station team to celebrate were Anna Kirkbridge ("Deirdre Barlow"), William Roache ("Ken Barlow"), Michael Le Vell ("Kevin Webster"), Tom Bloxham, Sam Allardyce, Matt Greenhalgh, Ron Wood, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Neville Neville, Kevin Cummins, Kieran Roberts (Coronation St Executive Producer) and many others.

Check out the video and photo gallery.

Central Station Paint Coronation Street Part 1 continues at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester until Saturday 15 January.

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Richard Goodall Gallery
103 High Street
Manchester M4 1HQ

Tel: +44 (0) 161 834 3330

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Related content:

Hello Playmates
FAC OFF

Labels: art, Central_Station_Design

Central Station Design present an official collaboration with ITV for the ongoing 50th Anniversary celebrations of the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. The Central Station team comprising Matt and Pat Carroll and Karen Jackson have produced a series of technicolour portraits of the soap's most famous stars.

The prints will be exhibited in an exhibition entitled Central Station Paint Coronation Street Part 1 at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester from Friday 3 December until Saturday 15 January.

Central Station Design said "We are all massive Corrie fans, the long list of colourful characters that have lived on the street over the past 50 years, not only relate to us as people, but have come along at times that reflect the social and cultural dynamics of the world around us. Inspired by the hand-painted film posters from the golden age of Hollywood and Bollywood, we wanted to create a series of portraits that capture the unique and timeless personalities of such memorable and infamous characters. We wanted to bring this sense of nostalgic, technicolor glamour back, but at the same time update it with a Mancunian Central Station twist. It has been brilliant to put our stamp on the national treasure that is Corrie and be a part of celebrating what Tony Warren started 50 years ago."

Central Station Paint Coronation Street Part 1 is at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester from Thursday 2 December to 15 January 2011.

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Richard Goodall Gallery
103 High Street
Manchester M4 1HQ

Tel: +44 (0) 161 834 3330

--

Related content:

Hello Playmates
FAC OFF

Labels: art, Central_Station_Design, Coronation_Street, poster

Thoughtful is creating a 'rough guide to the creative industries' for 14-19-year-olds interested in a creative career in the North West. As part of the project they've interviewed Pat Carroll of Central Station Design and both the transcript and the video are now available on the Thoughtful blog.

Labels: Central_Station_Design

Further to a recent thread on the Cerysmatic Factory Message Board, Cerysmatic has had official confirmation that the 'I Heart Manchester' (which as Steve Ald so aptly says is "inspired" by the classic Central Station Happy Mondays logo) on sale at Urbis has nothing to do with Central Station Design.

Labels: Central_Station_Design, Happy_Mondays

The new Ku-ling Brothers' album 'Here Come The Astronauts' is out now on Pública Records and features guest vocals by Shaun Ryder (and others) and new artwork by Central Station Technicolour.

Here's the full details:

Tracklisting

1. Shape Shifter (feat. Shaun Ryder)
2. The Calm Before (feat. Will Scarlett and Day One)
3. Seems Everyday (feat. Milly James)
4. Ice Cream (feat. Shaun Ryder)
5. Fall Again (feat. Milly James)
6. Big Mouth
7. Shake
9. Move On
10. Boom Chuck
11. Slide, shouting into a bucket blues

Written and arranged by Shane Norton
Co-written and arranged by Stephen Mallinder and Kiriakos Lucas
Produced/Engineered by Shane Norton at 'Spin'
Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, New York
Art Design - Central Station Technicolor
Pública Records England Limited 2008

Review

With thanks to Walter on the NagNagNag (Cabaret Voltaire) list.

Labels: Cabaret_Voltaire, Central_Station_Design

Richard Goodall Gallery is offering a Central Station Design Faç Off Mini Set of 12 Prints for 50.00 GBP (or 5.00 GBP if bought individually).

The set features 12 silk screen prints, each approximatley 10.5 by 15cm (A6). The set is the 6 prints that are in the signed and numbered edition, and their inverses. The mini prints are also limited edition. The fluorescent colours really shine, and the silvers, golds and blues are metallic. Includes the black and yellow, and yellow and black Haçienda colours.

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* Rehaçhed, repackaged and indeed resized. (That's enough alReady! Ed.)

Labels: Central_Station_Design

Today, Saturday 21 June, is the last official day of the Central Station exhibition at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester. And as a bonus incentive, CSD will be signing prints in person from about 2:30pm until 4:00pm.

Word has it that although this is the official closing of the show, the work may stay up in the gallery for another week.

The prints will stay be available via the Richard Goodall Gallery online.

Labels: Central_Station_Design

Sam Carroll (the son of Pat Carroll and Karen Jackson) and Ian Green are Some Other Guy.

Shaun Ryder contributes vocals on two tracks which can be heard at myspace.com/someotherguymusic.

The tracks are on a limited edition 7" single "someotherguy vol.1". The artwork has been designed by Central Station which is out soon.

Labels: Central_Station_Design

A few photos from Thursday's Central Station Design launch party are now available. Highlights include a jovial Shaun Ryder and a nearly-but-not-quite reunion of The Stone Roses.

Labels: Central_Station_Design

A fortuitous warehouse find means that 5 copies of last year's third edition of Scream City are now on sale on eBay priced 2.00 GBP + p&p (PayPal only).

Scream City 3 contents:

* Bernard Sumner by David Nolan
* A Field Trip to the Factory Archives by Andrew James
* Electronic: Message Received by Matthew Robertson
* Ghosts of the Haçienda by Michael Eastwood
* Unknown Pleasures: What's in the Factory Collection at MoSI by Jan Hargreaves
* A Kick Up The Nipsie (Alan Hempsall of Crispy Ambulance interview) by David Nolan
* A Cock and Balls Story by John Cooper

Plus the cover is an original illustration by Matt Carroll of Central Station Design.

More copies of Scream City 4 (the latest issue) will go on sale on Monday.

Labels: Central_Station_Design, Crispy_Ambulance, Electronic

Manchester's finest turned out for the party to celebrate the launch of the long-awaited Central Station Design Retrospective 'Faç Off' at Richard Goodall's new gallery space at the top end of High Street in the Northern Quarter last night.

Those coming out to play included Shaun Ryder, Paul Ryder, Bez, Mani, John Squire, Cressa, Terry Hall, Bruce Mitchell, Trevor Johnson, Dave Haslam and John Thomson. Central Station's Karen Jackson and Pat & Matt Carroll must have been very proud to see their work on display in such fine surroundings and in such good company.

When the drinks ran out we decamped to Matt & Phred's on Tib Street to continue the party with top notch sounds courtesy of Sam Carroll and his mate.

Big Cerysmatic shouts out to moist, Slim, Russ, Colin, Bruce, Alison, Dom Morrison, Nat, Stephen @ Salford Star, Adam, Sam, Karen, Pat and Matt.

Faç Off: A Central Station Design Retrospective continues until 21 June. Limited edition fine art prints are available to buy from Richard Goodall Gallery.

Labels: Central_Station_Design, Dave_Haslam

A full range of Central Station Design Limited Edition Prints is now available and not just the Carlos and Bummed.

Visit the Central Station Design online store at richardgoodallgallery.com.

Labels: Central_Station_Design

Limited edition fine art silkscreen prints of the Carlos and Bummed art works of Central Station Design are now available buy online.

Faç Off: A Central Station Design Retrospective starts on Friday 16 May and runs until 21 June at the to Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester (where the prints will also be on sale).

Labels: Central_Station_Design

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