pulse wrote:
You caught me. I have been sponsored by The Society That Believes Erasure Have Stormed EMI Towers And Hijacked The Corporate Helm Only To Release A Greatest Hits Package Around Brit Time To Foil And Spoil PSB's Big Day.
The clue to the bone of contention is in the word, to quote one of the superior pop duo's lesser works, 'release'.
JSDOUVRES wrote:
All Speculation but little fact, tell me if Erasure were going to relase an album in November would they have only announced it in september? Not that anybody knows if PSB were even considered for the award at that stage! And wasn't Simon Cowel tipped for the award at the beginning anyway? No way could you have any proof whatsoever that so called negotiations happened so why try to use this as some kind of fact.
Never in a million years are they releasingthe album because of the Brit
As I was saying, let's clear up the definition of word 'release'. I've already stated that Erasure had tentative plans to, er, release their compilation in October/November this year. So if I've already conceded that fact then how can I claim in all seriousness that the album has only been put together to piss on PSB's parade?
Er, I haven't.
I haven't questioned the right of Erasure or Mute to release whatever compilations they see fit. They could release an album of Andy Bell farting from within a selection of multi-coloured rubber leotards in time with the music of Blondie and Gloria Gaynor every week of the year and I wouldn't begrudge them their right to do so. After all, they don't need to worry about the loss of their 'hetero' audience - that happened so long ago with the ABBA-esque EP that it was probably written off as tax deductible.
My beef was always with the timing, or rather the rescheduling of the said album, now to be released just a week after their
nemeses bag the highest honour in the music business calendar. Not only that, but there's now an additional remix album slotted in the week
before The Brits. Its clear that at least the singles compilation was due to be released anyway. What I've always maintained is suspect is the rescheduled date(s) and the official announcement of them just five days after The Brits revealed PSB's honour.
Negotiations between the recipients of said award, their label and the Brits board take place over a matter of months. I was working with David Bowie around the time of his honour, which was for the 1996 awards and featured PSB. In fact, this is not exactly common knowledge, but Neil Tennant inadvertently had a hand in Bowie receiving the award.
The Brits had made overtures to the Bowie camp in early September 1995 and although the artist was less than keen, especially about performing at the event, he didn't completely rule out the honour. Trouble is, he'd just made an incredibly uncommercial, leftfield album with Eno that was about to be released, and had undergone countless revisions before being deemed releasable in certain territories, and on top of that, he insisted that the singles were the less obvious tracks when there were far more accessible album tracks.
The second single was due to be Hallo Spaceboy, but in its original form of an industrial slab of NIN-esque brash thrash he was advised it would be a radio and sales disaster, especially as he was undergoing the gradual transformation from a Radio 1 airplay act into Radio 2 fodder. The single was eventually replaced with Strangers When We Meet, an old track which Bowie had only agreed, under some duress, to revisit as a last-minute inclusion on the album because he didn't want to upset his new US label too much, but when Neil met Bowie in the Silvermint bar of the fourth and final Wembley Arena 'Outside' concert that November he told Bowie he was mad not to release Hallo Spaceboy as a single, and I could see Bowie's internal machinery working overtime behind those famously mismatched eyes. Quick as a flash, he turned to his PA, Coco and media plugger Neil Ferris and told them, "See what Neil's said? He thinks it should have been the single as well!" The turned back to Neil and asked, "Maybe you can guys can remix it for me?"
Anyway to cut a long story much shorter than I'd like, once NT had agreed a week later by telephone that PSB would work on the track, to "make it into a more conventional pop single" so Neil told me shortly after, negotiations between the Bowie camp and the Brits resumed and after more to-ing and fro-ing, all concerned seemed chuffed that the PSB remix would give Bowie a much needed atypically accessible hit that could be used to coincide with the awards, and it was only once Neil and Chris were on board that he agreed to turn up and perform.
The original idea for Bowie's Brits set was a series of duets, but when Morrissey pulled out from the 'Outside' tour, Oasis publicly rejected Bowie (with a drunken Liam eventually throwing a punch at David backstage at Later with Jools Holland) and then DB fell out with PJ Harvey over the arrangement for The Man Who Sold The World the idea was, understandably, nixed, and the remaining songs were performed solo with his touring band.
Bowie's Brits honour was officially announced on January 8, 1996, by which time the new version of Spaceboy was completed, and his tour schedule had been rejigged. All in all it had taken five months, though, famously Bowie went off the revamp and vetoed the PSB 12" version being used commercially as well, as well as refusing the inclusion of the 7" as a bonus track on the UK pressings of the Outside album (crucially, this was just after the award was announced and I'm sure the Brits bosses were absolutely livid because they pulled the plug on a series of filmed tributes from other celebrities to Bowie).
So, I've gone off at a tangent a bit, but it does show you the kind of backstage shenanigans that go on, as well as how long these negotiations can go on for...
) and Germany etc etc...
Their albums only sell 6,000 copies now, not the 6,005 they use to sell.