Odds and Ends
Guest Appearances
Strawberry Switchblade did backing vocals on two records by other people:
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The Pastels - I Wonder Why
Rough Trade records [RT137] |
I Wonder Why also appeared on a 33rpm flexidisc [Lyntone LYN12903] given away with early copies of the first single on Creation Records, '73 in '83 by The Legend! [April 1983, CRE001].
It is most readily available on the 1988 compilation album Suck On The Pastels : Retrogressive 1983-1985 [Creation CRELP031/CRECD031].
Download MP3 - 1.99 MB
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David Bedford and Ursula Le Guin - Rigel 9
Charisma [RIGEL9], 1985. |
This is a really strange one. It's an Ursula Le Guin short story about astronauts on an alien planet, set to 80s proggy synth music by David Bedford. Strawberry Switchblade, backed by Barnet Schools Choir, do the voices for the alien funeral procession.
In an interview in 1989 for Airborne magazine, Bedford was asked about Rose and Jill's involvement.
DW - Why did you use Strawberry Switchblade on your LP Rigel 9?
DB - Because I did string arrangements for them on their album, because the producer had heard string arrangements of mine for Madness and Elvis Costello. I liked their voices very much because they didn't wobble around like opera singers. When I did the project for Charisma Records I wanted a strange alien sound and asked them if they would do it.
full interview online here
bedford biog online here
Download full scene that includes funeral procession MP3 - 9.25 MB
Download funeral procession MP3 - 3.66 MB
Available from Amazon.co.uk
Compilation Albums
Trees And Flowers appeared on:
Radio Twelve (Tokuma Records [25RTL3], Japan, 1983)
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Clear Cut Final (Rough Trade/Tokuma [32JC-206], Japan, 1986) |
Deep Water appeared on:
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Raging Spool
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Go Away appeared on:
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Debut issue 8/9, (Debut Records [LPMAG8/9], 1984)
Debut was a short lived UK music mag with a companion vinyl LP of music from the bands in the mag |
Since Yesterday appeared on these compilation albums:
The Hits Album 2
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The Greatest Hits of 1985
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A Kick Up The 80's Vol. 5 : Since Yesterday
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Girlism: Colours of Female Music
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Living in Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits, Vol. 4
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Just Can't Get Enough : New Wave Hits of The 80s Vol 15
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This Is the 80's
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We Are The 80s volume 4
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The 80s
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New Wave Underground : New Wave On The Deep End
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Solitude: No More Tears
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80s Night: The Ultimate Collection volume 14 |
New Wave Essentials
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Rock Over London
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Since Yesterday (Extended Version) appeared on:
Good, Old Fashioned 80's 12 Inch Single Collection
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Reissued as 80s 12 inch Singles Collection
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Let Her Go appeared on:
Sounds Great To Me!
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Disc 42 of Dancer From The Dance : The Definitive A - Z History of HI-NRG Dance Music
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Being Cold appeared on:
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Parallel Side of Soundtrack
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Jolene appeared on:
Metro Waves
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Under The Covers - Other People Sing Other People's Songs
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Jolene and Ecstasy (Apple Of My Eye) appeared on:
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WEA Top Hits 1985-1986 Vol.29
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Let Her Go (Extended Version) appeared on:
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Lost & Found 12 Inchers: The Best of New Wave Extended Versions
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Cover Versions
Since Yesterday has been covered by numerous artists
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Minipops was a deeply unsettling mid-80s British TV show where kids would dress up as pop stars and sing songs. Bizarrely, the Minipops kids were allowed to release a flabbergasting total of seven albums, one of which, Wanna Have Fun (K-Tel [KLP210], 1985], featured Since Yesterday.
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Current 93, who Rose worked with, covered Since Yesterday on their 1986 album Swastikas for Noddy. After legal action by the copyright owners of Noddy, the album was reissued as Swastikas for Goddy. This version of Since Yesterday was again reissued in 1991 on the Current 93/Death In June album 1888. |
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Fey indie boys Revolver covered Since Yesterday as the extra track on the CD single of Venice (Hut records [HUTCD14], 1992). It was reissued on the Revolver compilation Baby's Angry (Caroline records [CAROL1722-2], 1992).
download MP3 - 3.74 MB
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Japanese ska-punk band Potshot did a brilliant version of Since Yesterday on their album Pots And Shots (released in the USA on great Californian independent label Asian Man Records, CD & LP [AM018], 1998, and in Japan on CR Japan, 1997) Available from the superb Asian Man Records on LP and CD download MP3 - 1.63 MB |
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Scudelia Electro released a fine acoustic guitar and accordion-led version cover of Since Yesterday as the hidden track at the end of the Wine, Chicken & Music album, (Polystar, [PSCR-5683] Japan, 1998) available from amazon.co.jp download MP3 - 4.42 MB |
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Japanese model turned J-pop singer Hinano Yoshikawa covered Since Yesterday with Japanese lyrics as an extra track (two if you count the instrumental version) on the One More Kiss CD single (Pony Canyon, [PCDA-1048] Japan, 1998)
available from amazon.co.jp
The vocal version is also on I Am Pink album (Pony Canyon [PCCA-01200], Japan only, 1998)
available from amazon.co.jp
download MP3 - 3.66 MB
or go karaoke crazy and download instrumental version MP3 - 3.65 MB
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Wussom*pow! have covered Since Yesterday on a various artists CD called Little Darla Has A Treat For You volume 11 (Darla records [DRL080], 1999, USA only?). They are from San Francisco and feature ex-members of Fighter D, Poastal, and J-Church. |
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MariMari rhythmkiller machinegun had a gorgeous spacey cover of Since Yesterday with Japanese lyrics as one of the tracks on their double A side single (if such a term can be used for a one-sided format) TTAGGG / Since Yesterday (Polydor [POCH-1963], Japan, 2000) available from amazon.co.jp download MP3 - 5.38 MB |
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Tommy February6, the lightweight plastic pop alterego of The Brilliant Green's singer Kawase Tomoko, covered Since Yesterday on her CD single Everyday at the Bus Stop (Sony/DefSTAR [DFCZ1037-8], Japan only, 2001). Kawase talks about it in this interview |
Melodic Blackburn indie band Tompaulin recorded Since Yesterday for a Radio 1 John Peel session recorded 2 September 2001, broadcast 20 November 2001 (more info here). Not officially released.
download MP3 - 3.25 MB
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Not exactly a cover version, Strawberry Rush by Love Rock is a bouncy house track that prominently samples the intro fanfare from Since Yesterday. (Pump Records, no catalogue number, 12inch only, 2001ish) |
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Once-Leeds, now-Arizonan purveyors of guitar indie pop with a good dose of heavy dirty noise, Boyracer covered Since Yesterday on Girlracer, a collection of six covers of girlgroup songs. This limited CD-only EP was only available on their spring 2003 US tour or via mailorder. (555 Recordings [555CD57], 2003). |
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lab. covered Since Yesterday on their album Piper (Misshitsu Neurose records, [DAKMSNA-46], Japan, 2004) available from amazon.co.jp or cdjapan download MP3 - 3.16 MB |
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Automat did a lo-fi acoustic cover of Since Yesterday on their album Just Imagine Drive (Ravenna records, USA, 2004) available from Indie Pages download MP3 - 2.35 MB |
New York duo The Metric Mile recorded a version of Trees and Flowers ('We copied their song because we couldn't copy their look') as an out-take during sessions for their 2004 album How To Beat The SAT. Not officially released.
download MP3 - 3.52 MB
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Rose McDowall and Current 93 released a version of Since Yesterday on the Cats Drunk On Copper album ([DURTRO 056CD], 2001). It was recorded live on 3 May 97 in London. Rose has performed the song live several other times - see the downloads page. |
Red Herrings
things are not what they seem
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One source credits a 1984 reissue of Trees & Flowers on Korova [SAM240]. This was not a full re-issue nor was it in 1984. It was a free single given away with initial copies of the album Strawberry Switchblade in 1985. The same source says the reissue had a limited 500 copies with picture sleeve, but I can't find anyone, even the band, who've ever seen a copy.
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One source credits several picture discs that don't exist:
- Strawberry Switchblade LP picture disc
- Let Her Go 12 inch picture disc KOW39PT
- Jolene 12 inch picture disc KOW42PT (some copies of the strawberry shaped 7" picture disc were issued in their uncut format as 12 inch discs, but they only have a 7" playing surface and have the same catalogue number KOW42P)
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Several sources mention a UK or European release of the Strawberry Switchblade album on CD. The album was only issued on LP and cassette in Europe. The only Strawberry Switchblade CDs are the eponymous album and its 1997 reissue in Japan, the Canadian reissue of The 12" Album, and The Platinum Collection
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Affairs Of The Heart - Waterloo Sunset (version) / Waterloo Sunset (Scrub Mix) (UK 7", 1983) said to feature Rose McDowall vocals, but given it's 1983 I doubt it. Two websites credit the record without her, and Jill says Rose isn't on it.
A Peel Sessions album is mentioned by several sources, but it doesn't exist. Jill confirms that there was talk of releasing some or all of the BBC sessions around 1988, but it didn't happen.
Tibet, a song from Rose's post-Strawberry Switchblade demos, was released on the various artists album Final Solstice II (Piski Disk [PIX004CD], CD only, 1999). Several sources mistakenly say this track is 'unreleased Strawberry Switchblade recordings'.
Rose has now released Sunflower Demos under the name Cut With The Cake Knife in a limited edition of 500 individually numbered and autographed CDs, available via her website.
Videos
Several compilation videos featured Strawberry Switchblade's promo videos
Video Music 4
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The Hits Video
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The Hits Video Take 2
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Eighties Video Stars 5: 1985
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The 80's Hits DVD
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As well as Since Yesterday and Jolene, promo videos were also made for Let Her Go and Who Knows What Love Is, but these two were not released in any commercially available format.
Afterwards
Jill Bryson
Jill recorded demos of ten songs and did several gigs immediately after Strawberry Switchblade and later worked with a band called Drop, but never released anything.
She has only two credited performances since Strawberry Switchblade.
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She did vocals on Sunset Red, a single by Lucinda Sieger (Em Records, CD [EM1026CDS] and 12" [EM1026EP], 1987, Japan only?), reissued on the album Heart In The Sky (Lucinda Sieger Productions [LS001CD] CD only, 2001). |
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Her husband KR Frost, formerly of Farmers Boys, played bass in Julian Cope's band of the early-mid 1990s. This connection led to her doing vocals on Ain't No Gettin' Round Gettin' Round on Cope's album Autogeddon (Echo Records, CD [ECHCD1], LP [ECHLP1] and cassette [ECHCS1], 1994). Available from Amazon.co.uk She also featured on the cover of 20 Mothers, Cope's subsequent album. |
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She makes an uncredited appearance on Paranormal In The West Country (Avebury) on Julian Cope's Paranormal In The West Country EP (Echo Records, CD only, [ECSCD4], 1994). |
Rose McDowall
Conversely, Rose has been phenomenally prolific, performing on dozens of records. Whilst her main projects have been Spell and Sorrow, she has worked extensively with Coil, Current 93 and many other World Serpent type bands. Trying to do a complete Rose discography is a Herculean task. It's hoped that her new website, www.rosemcdowall.com, will have a good try.