BMX Bandits

The Rise and Fall of BMX Bandits is a deluxe collection in a damned elegant digipack courtesy of that excellent Madrid imprint, Elefant. This retrospective was compiled by Duglas himself to represent the journey from 1986 until, well right now. It includes a lot of stuff that’s been unavailable for some considerable time and other gear that’s been unearthed for the first time. Kicking off with “E102” from their 53rd & 3rd debut 45, that cut in particular has aged well. I wasn’t convinced at all back then and thought it was a bit “mock rock” like Bob Harris considered the Dolls. Still, I realised that I was wrong and a finer distillation of pop music through the times very probably doesn’t exist.

Could “Your Class” really have sounded this ethereal in 1989? It really shimmers here, the mastering is beautiful. Surely it would have been all over the Top 10? And that version of “Baby Loves Lovin’”, that one’s worthy of Springfield, Mo’s finest. So no downloads folks, this is a tactile bijou package that includes the great, long gone Emma’s House “Whirlpool” and even their Northern Soul stomper take on Tom Waits “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” that The Ramones kicked into touch some time before old T became the big deal he’s become. The version of Galaxie 500's “Tugboat” with Angel Corpus Christi is on here too.

Folks around Glasgow are urged to make a note in their diaries that the band will be playing the best-looking venue in town, The Classic Grand on September 12th.