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PRICE:
$15.50
$13.18
$13.18
IN STOCK
ARTIST
BRITISH ELECTRIC FOUNDATION (B.E.F.)
TITLE
Music for Stowaways
FORMAT
CD
LABEL
COLD SPRING RECORDS
CATALOG #
CSR 310CD
CSR 310CD
GENRE
ELECTRONIC
RELEASE DATE
6/23/2023
Reissue, originally released as a cassette in 1981. The first reissue of seminal early 1980s electronic recordings from the
British Electric Foundation
(
B.E.F.
), aka
Heaven 17
/ex-
The Human League
's
Martyn Ware
and
Ian Craig Marsh
, with
Adi Newton
(
Clock DVA
/
The Future
), and
John Wilson
(Heaven 17), originally a cassette-only release (1981). Following two groundbreaking albums (
Reproduction
and
Travelogue
), the original line-up of Sheffield-based The Human League split in half in late 1980. The two primary musicians in the group, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, formed a new production company -- the British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.) -- and signed a deal with Virgin Records to write and produce up to six albums a year. The artists they were to produce would include Heaven 17, their own new band formed with vocalist
Glenn Gregory
. B.E.F. would also release their own material, commencing with the music on this collection, which was issued in various permutations in 1981-82. Its initial release in March 1981 was a limited edition numbered eight song cassette entitled
Music for Stowaways
, with "Stowaways" being a reference to the original name for the then-new Sony portable cassette player -- later renamed the Walkman -- of which B.E.F. were great fans.
Music for Stowaways
was intended to be listened to on such a device. The cassette was followed by a seven song LP,
Music for Listening to
, which had a slightly different track listing, while other B.E.F. music was utilized for B-sides of early singles by Heaven 17. This music was among the first recorded by Martyn and Ian directly after their departure from The Human League. Some tracks had evolved from other recordings they were working on at the time, such as "Groove Thang" -- an instrumental version of the debut single by Heaven 17 -- and "The Old At Rest", which derived from a version of "Wichita Lineman" by
Jimmy Webb
, their very first recording with Glenn that would subsequently appear on B.E.F.'s
Music of Quality and Distinction, Volume One
covers album in 1982. The innovative sounds heard on
Music for Stowaways
were an inspiration to many aspiring electronic artists. In 2015, Uncut magazine included it in a list of the "50 Greatest Lost Albums of All Time".
Other releases on COLD SPRING RECORDS
Other releases by BRITISH ELECTRIC FOUNDATION (B.E.F.)