foreign press
ltm catalogue

Manchester group Foreign Press were active between 1979 and 1989. After early gigs at legendary clubs including Rafters, Devilles and the Factory/Russell, the group recruited Rob Gretton to produce their first single, Downpour, in 1979. After a second single, Climbing, in 1981, Foreign Press elected to pursue a more commercial direction. The result was anthemic electro single The Great Divide, produced by Bernard Sumner (New Order) and Donald Johnson (A Certain Ratio), in 1983. Despite management from the team behind Wham!, the group failed to crack the charts and finally split in 1989. To read full Foreign Press biography click here. To purchase CD click here.


THE WHOLE STORY (LTMCD 2529) £12.00 (2xCD)
Digitally remastered, this 32 track 140 minute double disc set features all tracks from all four Foreign Press singles, as well as previously unreleased demo and session tracks, including later album demos produced by Donald Johnson. The booklet includes archive images and liner notes by singer Ralph Bowe. Full tracklist: disc one: Downpour, Crossfire, Behind the Glass, The TV Flickers, Is This For Real?, Heart of Hearts, Climbing, Remember You, Open Secret, Every Day's the Same, Another Lifetime, Can You Hear Me?, The Great Divide (12"), Love In a Strange Place, The Great Divide (Dance Mix), Your Last Chance, The Spell, More Than a Gift; disc two: The Whole Story, Don't Make Me Stop, Love in Motion, It's a Miracle, The Summer of Love, Pray Little Girl, Hurt Street, Rhythm of Your Heartbeat, Further Away From God, Break Down These Walls, If I Stop Loving You, For You, International, If Everything You Say Is True.

Reviews: 'Foreign Press are Manchester's brightest brand new loved ones. Their music is choppy, spiralling, edgy and well rinsed with guitars; they're like a well-cushioned Joy Division. Joy Division's flamboyant manager Rob Gretton in fact shares production chores with the group. Although Foreign Press stop short of achieving the channelled psychotic blitzkreig thrust of the very great Division, they manage a fluctuating, fortified sort of '79 psychedelia that makes them A Group To Look Out For. Foreign Press make good patterns' (Paul Morley, NME, 06/1979); 'Light guitar like the psychedelic shadows, penetrating over the top, subverting my brain. It's great' (City Fun, 06/1979

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