minny pops
ltm catalogue

LTM present remastered CD issues by cult Dutch electro pioneers Minny Pops, who released four albums and a string of singles on Factory Records and Plurex between 1979 and 1985.

Formed by mainman Wally van Middendorp in 1978, the band released several singles and an album on Dutch label Plurex before joining Factory Records in 1980. After acclaimed singles such as Dolphin's Spurt, Secret Story and Time, and becoming the first Dutch group to record a Peel Session, the group released the superb album Sparks in a Dark Room in 1982. Two further albums followed before the band split for good in 1985. To read band biography click here. To purchase CDs click here.


SPARKS IN A DARK ROOM PLUS (LTMCD 2351) £10
Produced by the band in late 1981, SIADR was originally released by Factory Benelux the following year and saw the band at the zenith of their powers as creators of driving modern electronic dance music, redolent of DAF, Simple Minds and Moroder-era Sparks. Outstanding tracks include the motorik rhythms of Dream, Tracking, Trance and A Feeling, and eerie, twilit essays such as Black Eye and Vital. All feature Wally's literary, darkly humourous lyrics and ironic 'gregorian' vocal style. In addition to the album, this extended CD includes all tracks from the Time and Een Kus singles, the spin-off Smalts ep from 1982, exclusive compilation album tracks and previously unheard demos such as Kogel and Body Language. The tracks were digitally remastered by the band in 2002 and the the booklet includes a detailed history of the band and rare photographs. Full tracklist: Mountain, A Feeling, Tracking, Crack, Vital, Blue Roses, Black Eye, Wong, Experience, Dream, Night Visit, Trance, Time, Lights, Een Kus, Son, Secret Story (demo), Schitterende Ogen (demo), Time (demo), Werktitel #7, Werktitel #5, Werktitel #1, Werktitel #8.

Reviews: "The Interpol of their day, and it's aged surprisingly well" (Q Magazine, 4/03); "The cold menace of the album sounds remarkably fresh 20 years on, bearing favourable comparisons with contemporaries such as Simple Minds and Tubeway Army as well as the current crop of analogue pretenders" (Uncut, 5/03); "Fascinating. If you can keep a straight face while listening to Interpol, you'll love it" (Muzik, 5/03); "A real lost electropop classic from a time when minimal synth-pop crossovers were rightly lauded as being pioneering. Minny Pops esatblished a firm identity as purveyors of fine, hypnotic Euro trance pop, and SIADR is a lost classic of a kind" (whisperin' and hollerin', 2/03); "This places Minny Pops squarely within the realm of an early 80s interface that pitched accessible pop conveniences and electronic experimentation in the same arena" (Careless Talk, 5/03); "Pristine bleakness. Take this opportunity to hear the misery missed" (Other Music, 3/03); "Paints a vivid picture of this lost Dutch band" (gullbuy.com, 2/03); "There's an implacable note of self-awareness and humour which separates the album from those by other practitioners of the style. I like that." (Brainwashed, 5/03)


SECRET STORIES (LTMCD 2353) £10
Secret Stories collects together material by several incarnations of the band, and is lead by the four tracks released on their two Factory singles, Dolphin's Spurt and Secret Story. The CD also features four tracks from an unreleased demo in 1980, rare compilation album tracks such as Possessed by the Stars and She Said Go-Go-Go, and four tracks each from the Poste Restante and 4th Floor albums. Full tracklist: Dolphin's Spurt, Goddess, Secret Story, Island, Mono, Ice Cube Wall, Jets, Goddess, Time (12" mix), Kogel (demo), Body Language (demo), Final Drink in the Hilton Lounge, Possessed by the Stars, Left Behind, Cool, Wandering, Vreemde Dagen Vreemde Nachten, Palm Beach, Fighting Man, Back Home, West Desert Shore, She Said Go Go Go.

Reviews: "Post-punk electro pioneers" (Uncut, 5/03); "The two Factory singles are excellent" (Muzik, 5/03); "They still sound challenging, occasionaly wayward and often bafflingly brilliant" (Tangents, 3/03); "Like Suicide or the Human League with a PhD" (Glasgow Herald, 3/03); "The two Factory singles are among their finest achievements, with Dolphin's Spurt spurred on by some nicely bleached Keith Levene-ish guitar" (Whisperin' and Hollerin', 3/03); "All four Factory single sides are amazing" (gullbuy.com, 2/03); "The first seven tracks show the band at their best, a balance of bizarre electro-funk and edgy industrial disco" (Brainwashed, 5/03); "Minny Pops were a Dutch experimental band that soldered fizzy, crackling electronics to stern, robotic post-punk; despite the precious name, they were harsh and confrontational, relentlessly and unapologetically cold. A striking and volatile anomaly" (eMusic, 09/06)


DRASTIC MEASURES, DRASTIC MOVEMENT (LTMCD 2384) £10
Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement first appeared on Dutch label Plurex in September 1979. An uncompromising genre classic, the 13 track set mixes hard-edged electronica with modernist noise, and shares much in common with contemporaries Cabaret Voltaire, The Normal, Suicide and early Human League. As well as an early version of the classic Factory label single Dolphin's Spurt, the album also includes the junk-food satire MD Mania and a cover of R.U.21 by US punk band Novak. The nine bonus tracks include all three cuts from their debut ep Kojak, also released in 1979, and the 2003 remix of Dolphin's Spurt by Zip and DJ Smacker. There are also 12 superb minutes of vintage audio-visual clips featuring five live tracks recorded at the Amsterdam Filmacademie in 1979, playable on your PC in QuickTime format. Full tracklist: Springtime I, Minny Pops, Hologram, Total Confusion, Dolphin's Spurt, Motor City, Springtime II, Monica, Flash Goes the Eye, MD Mania, RU 21, Mono, New Muzak, Kojak, Footsteps, Nervous, Dolphin's Spurt (Remix), New Muzak (live), Total Confusion (live), Mono (live), MD Mania (live), Dolphin's Spurt (live).

Reviews: "One of those enjoyable albums that is at once of its time and just slightly out of it. Minny Pops here slot into more of an early Human League / Cabaret Voltaire approach of minimal melodies and murky, crumbling noises shot through with murmering keyboards" (All Music Guide, 10/04); "Amsterdam's forgotten art-punk era terrorists (think Residents, Flying Lizards, Cabaret Voltaire) had no shortage of interesting and provocative musical and lyrical ideas. There's also a surprising warm pop sensibility to the fractured synth-pop and funky mechanics which makes this reissue that much more in time with what's happening today. Check out the booty-moving clank of Mono for an indication that these four dudes were swept under new wave's rug and deserve far more attention and recognition" (Exclaim!, 10/04)


UMBRELLAS IN THE SUN LTMDVD 2400 £12
Minny Pops perform Dolphin Spurt on this definitive two hour compilation DVD, which also features rare archive clips from Antena, A Certain Ratio, Josef K, Cabaret Voltaire, Marine, Section 25, The Names, Durutti Column, New Order, Crispy Ambulance, Minny Pops, Malaria!, Berntholer, Tuxedomoon, Thick Pigeon, Paul Haig, Kalima, Stockholm Monsters, Quando Quango and Swamp Children. For more details of this DVD click here.


SHADOWPLAYERS LTMDVD 2391 £12
Wally Van Middendorp of Minny Pops is interviewed in this feature length (two hour) documentary DVD, which traces the early history of iconic Manchester record label Factory Records between 1978 and 1981. Shadowplayers features new, candid interviews with Anthony H. Wilson (Factory founder), Peter Saville (designer), Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order), Martin Moscrop (A Certain Ratio), Vini Reilly (Durutti Column), Simon Topping (A Certain Ratio), Howard Devoto (Buzzcocks/Magazine), Vin and Larry Cassidy (Section 25), Lindsay Reade, Richard Boon, Chris Watson (Cabaret Voltaire), Alan Hempsall (Crispy Ambulance), Wally Van Middendorp (Minny Pops), The Names, Annik Honore (Factory Benelux), Richard Jobson, Killing Joke, Graham Massey (Biting Tongues/808 State), Ann Quigley (Swamp Children) and Stanton Miranda (Thick Pigeon), For further details click here. To purchase DVD click here.


SOME OF THE INTERESTING THINGS... LTMCD 2467 £10
Wally Van Middendorp contributes raving lunatic (parts 1-4) to this souvenir CD recorded on the Crepuscule package tour Dialogue North-South in February 1982. Album originally released on Les Disques du Crepuscule (TWI 082) as Some Of The Interesting Things You'll See On A Long Distance Flight. All tracks are exclusive to this 76 minute compilation, which also features a deluxe booklet with many rare images and detailed liner notes. To read liner notes click here. To purchase CD click here. Full tracklist: Wally Van Middendorp - raving lunatic *1; Richard Jobson - Etiquette, Pavillion Pole, India Song; Durutti Column - Danny, Madness, For Belgian Friends; Wally Van Middendorp - raving lunatic *2; Paul Haig - Chance, Glory, Stories, Justice; Antena - The Boy From Ipanema, Silly Things; Wally Van Middendorp - raving lunatic *3; The Names - Close To You, In Other Rooms, A Few Hundreds, Anything (With Passion), Spectators of Life; Wally Van Middendorp - raving lunatic *4.

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