This One's On-U

 

A friend of mine who had been MIA for a couple years recently contacted me. It was great to hear from him again. He, like myself, is a big fan of all things On-U Sound.

 

In the past I have posted a good amount of Singers & Players, but like my friend, Vacuum Pumping has been missing in action here. Jonder asked if I would rectify that short-coming & I am only too glad to oblige.

Singers & Players – Vacuum Pumping, On-U Sound On-U LP39, 1988.
all decryption codes in comments

Side A –

Run Them Away

Lighthouse / Dreamworld

Holy Scripture

To Be Fee

Side B –

I Don’t Want AIDS

Boof Um Baff Um

Pneumatic

These Eyes

While I’m at this thing, here are a few other On-U treats for you to enjoy.

In 1982 Adrian & Co. issued the Discoplate series of 10" singles, DP1 – DP6. There are actually only five 10" releases. I don’t know why, but DP5 is a 12" EP of three tunes from Mark Stewart & Maffia. Here we go…

Prince Far I / Singers & Players - DP1.

Side A –

Prince Far I / Singers & Players – Virgin

Side AA –

Singers & Players – Danger

Bim Sherman / Singers & Players - DP2.

Side A –

Revolution

Side AA –

Too Much Work Load

Creation Rebel – DP3.

Side A –

Independent Man

Side AA –

Creation Rebel

London Underground – DP4.

Side A –

Strange Things / Conspiracy

Side AA –

Why Do Fat Men Have Such Skinny Thoughts?

Mark Stewart & Maffia – Jerusalem EP DP5.

Side A –

Jerusalem

High Ideals & Crazy Dreams

Side B –

Welcome to Liberty City

Noah House of Dread – DP6.

Side A –

Murder

Side AA –

Stand Firm

Next I thought I’d offer my friends, visitors, lurkers, & leechers Andy Fairley’s only credited 'solo' album, System Vertigo from 1992. 

 

The late Andy Fairley had probably the most distinctive vocal style of any artist to record for Adrian Sherwood. In the early 1980s, art school dropouts Howard Purse & Doug White landed in Bristol, UK. There they masterminded the creation of the band Fish Food. Joined by local drummer Dan Swan, ex-Cortinas, & poet Andy Fairley, the group began cooking up their fractured slices of surreal beat. Always on the fringe of the Bristol scene, the four rehearsed in their squat, a haunt for the likes of The Pop Group, Pig Bag, & Scream & Dance.

Andy Fairley was a modern-day poet; a shrewd observer of the injustices & insanities of the modern world. His lyrics tackled issues such as the state of politics, privatization, & the plight of the under-classes. His raw vocal delivery perfectly & powerfully complimented the issues he addressed.

During the 1989-1993 period his voice was a familiar feature of Sherwood productions: Gary Clail; Dub Syndicate; & Keith LeBlanc among others. When not reciting his own verse in full, he was often sampled for use in-the-mix, often regaling the sonic qualities of the recording or giving a MC-like shout to the artist, On-U Sound, or Sherwood personally.

Here are a few that anyone familiar with the On-U catalogue have probably heard:

"This sound system comes to you with fuel injection!"
"Your head will become a crazy bulbous punch bag of sound!"
"Targeting your brain with sonic thrust!"
"This is the precinct of system. This is the precinct of sound!"

System Vertigo is a collection of his writings set to solid rhythms built by Adrian Sherwood & the Little Axe alums Skip McDonald & Doug Wimbish with a cast of others.

Fairley left On-U in the mid 1990s & vanished back into the Bristolian aether from which he had emerged. Sadly little else was heard from or about him until news of his death in 1999.

Andy Fairley – System Vertigo, On-U Sound ON-U LP61, 1992.

Side 1 –

I Stopped the Clock

System Vertigo

Ghost

The Election Pt. 1

Side 2 –

You Look at Life

Audio Visual Attack

The Election Pt. 2

A Nation Responds

Fun & Games

The Song of the Phoenix

False Start

Finally, a compilation of various On-U Sound celebrities on On-U Sound Celebration.

Various – On-U Sound Celebration, Trance Records TCCD 9 00662 O, 1988.

Tracklist –

The Deal (intro)

Stopping & Starting – Voice of Authority

Quante Jubila – Prince Far I & Creation Rebel

Dreams are Better – London Underground

Silent Mover – Playgroup

Last Sane Dream – Creation Rebel / New Age Steppers

Make a Joyful Noise – Singers & Players

AllaLa Dreadlocks Soldier – Singers & Players

Love I Can Feel – Creation Rebel

Creative Involvements – Creation Rebel

Deep & Mintyful - Playgroup

The Dice – Judy Nylon

Woodpecker Sound – Jah Woosh

Final Frontier – Creation Rebel / New Age Steppers

Independent Man pts. 1 & 2 – Creation Rebel

Epic Sound Battles – Playgroup

Feeling Wild – Voice of Authority

Knock the House Down – Voice of Authority

Thanks, Jonder, for the nudge,

NØ