Sarah Cracknell’s Lipslide, which has been out of print for 6 years, will be released as an expanded, re-mastered 2-disc edition. The 1st disc features the original album, while the 2nd disc includes demos and un-released material, including an amazing unreleased collaboration with Liverpool group Shack on Miles Apart.

Lipslide, originally released by Gut Records in 1997, was co-produced by Sarah Cracknell and a variety of renowned U.K. producers, including Ian Catt, Stephen Lioroni and Stephen Hague and co-written with Johnny Male, Guy Batson and Mark Waterfield. It was released during Saint Etienne’s ‘4 year hiatus’ between the albums Tiger Bay (1994) and Good Humor (1998).

This is what Sarah Cracknell has to say about this long awaited reissue:

"In 1996, I started to write and record the solo album I'd always dreamed of - Coastal Town was written way back in 1987! - and with the band on a '4 year hiatus' between Tiger Bay and Good Humor it was an ideal time.

It meant a lot to me making Lipslide. It gave me more confidence as a writer. I still get letters and emails from Saint Etienne fans who love the record - that means a lot. I changed the running order and cover on the US release of the album in 2000 which I guess signalled that I hadn't been completely happy with the original album that came out. Revisiting it now, I feel I can put the baby to bed.

I've dug through tons of old demo's and unreleased material to put together a bonus disc that I'm really pleased with. It includes an unreleased recording that I love, a collaboration with Shack on a song called Miles Apart. I hope you'll enjoy it!"

Listen to Lipslide (Deluxe Edition) on Spotify here.

SCRITTI POLITTI are to play their first German concerts for over thirty years in November when they will play shows in Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne MORE.
The band have also announced that they will tour with Saint Etienne in December, playing five shows around the UK in December in addition to playing some headline shows in October and November which are still to be announced. MORE

FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD will release a new compilation, 'Frankie Said (The Very Best Of)', on November 5th. The release features hits, remixes, key album tracks and unreleased mixes??? MORE

JAKI GRAHAM has released a brand new studio album entitled 'For Sentimental Reasons', a collection of new interpretations of jazz classics. The record is Graham's first new album for over a decade and tour dates to mark the release are expected to be announced soon. MORE

HOUSE OF LOVE have announced that they will release an expanded edition of their 1988 debut album 'House of Love' on December 10th. The release will come as a 3-CD set featuring the original album, a disc of singles, b-sides and rarities and a final disc of previously unreleased mixes and demos. The band are also set to release a new studio album in early 2013. MORE

THE BLOW MONKEYS will play a special one off concert at The Assembly Halls in Islington, London on January 24th to mark the release of special deluxe editions of their first two albums, 'Limping For A Generation' and 'Animal Magic'. The band will play both albums back to back and in the original running order. 'Limping For A Generation' and 'Animal Magic' will both be reissued in expanded 2-CD editions on November 26th. Both releases will feature the original album alongside bonus material in the form of demos, b-sides, live tracks and remixes. MORE

ANDREW POPPY will release a new album, 'Shiny Floor Shiny Ceiling', on November 27th. The album is mixed by OMD's PAUL HUMPHREYS and features a number of guest vocalists including CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN. Poppy will mark the album release with three shows at London's Jacksons Lane Theatre on November 8th, 9th and 10th. MORE

JESUS JONES, THE WONDERSTUFF and POP WILL EAT ITSELF have announced a joint tour of the UK that will see the three acts play four Christmas shows in December. The tour, the first time the three bands have played on the same bill, will visit London, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham. MORE

Former JOY DIVISION and NEW ORDER mainman PETER HOOK has announced new live shows that will see him perform the classic New Order albums 'Movement' and 'Power, Corruption & Lies' in their entirety alongside classic singles and tracks from the same period. So far two shows, in London and Manchester, have been announced with more expected to be announced shortly. MORE

LEVEL 42 marked the 25th anniversary of the release of their classic 'Running In The Family' album with the release of three new editions of the record to coincide with the band's 'Running In The Family' UK tour. The reissue appears across three different packages; a 4-disc box set, a 2-CD Deluxe Edition and a remastered 1-CD or download of the original album. MORE

ABC will mark the thirtieth anniversary since the release of their classic album 'The Lexicon of Love' in fine style with a special show at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane on December 18th. Accompanied by the Southbank Sinfonia and conducted by Anne Dudley the show will see the band perform the album in its entirety alongside a selection of other material from across their career. MORE

HEAVEN 17 will continue their series of expanded reissues on October 22nd with the release of a three-disc (2CD and DVD) edition of their second album, 1983's 'The Luxury Gap'. The original album will feature on one CD alongside a second CD of remixes and a DVD of promo videos and live performances. MORE

SWING OUT SISTER have expanded their 2010 self-released album 'Private View' with an extra two tracks for a full release which is out now. MORE

DURAN DURAN are the subject of a new 2CD compilation entitled 'The Biggest and the Best'. The compilation covers Duran Duran's output from 1981 to 1990 and combines key album tracks with some of the band's biggest hits. MORE

LAIBACH have released 'Reproduction Prohibited - An Introduction To??? Laibach', the latest in Mute's current series of compilations introducing key artists from the label. The fifteen-track release features a number of cover versions including EUROPE's 'The Final Countdown', OPUS' 'Live is Life', THE NORMAL's 'Warm Leatherette' and QUEEN's 'One Vision' as well as covers of songs by The Beatles and Bob Dylan and two reinterpretations of national anthems??? MORE

HAPPY MONDAYS and 808 STATE will play two double-headline shows at London's Roundhouse on December 19th and 20th... MORE

GARY NUMAN will be playing 7 shows in December as the 'Dead Moon Falling' tour. These concerts will feature some brand new songs from the forthcoming new studio album 'Splinter' (due for release in 2013), plus new versions of tracks from 2011's 'Dead Son Rising' album. MORE

ELVIS COSTELLO will embark on a full sixteen-date UK tour in May and June next year. The show will feature a huge wheel which the band will ask members of the audience to spin to choose the songs performed, and idea Costello first used during a three-show residency at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1986. MORE

RODDY FRAME has announced a one-off UK show to take place at London's Cadogan Hall on December 11th. The special one-man show will be his only UK theatre date this year. MORE

Special thanks to: This Is Not Retro - 80s Music. All Grown Up.

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Three new digital EPs are released in the UK today (and also in France, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Denmark, Greece, New Zealand and Mexico): "Leaving", "Leaving Remixed" and "Leaving Again". They include bonus tracks, demos, and no less than three remixes by Pet Shop Boys which are digital-only exclusives.

The Blue Nile formed in Glasgow in the early 1980’s and consist of guitarist Paul Buchanan, bassist Robert Bell, and keyboardist Paul Joseph Moore. They made a no. of critically acclaimed albums and EMI Records is pleased to announce the release of the first 2 albums ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ and ‘Hats’ as expanded 2CD ‘Collector’s Editions’. Both albums come with a bonus disc of rare and previously unreleased material chosen by Paul Buchanan and Robert Bell, who also oversaw the remastering of the original albums with their long time Blue Nile engineer Calum Malcolm.

The debut album ‘A Walk Across the Rooftops’ was originally released in 1984 on Linn Records – a label set up specifically to release the album. Linn Electronics of Glasgow wanted a recording to demonstrate “the fidelity and versatility” of a recording console they had developed. Having heard a demo of "Tinseltown In The Rain" while visiting Castlesound Studios, they approached the band to fund the recording of a full album, and formed a record label to release it. The rest as they say is history – a critically acclaimed album which led to high expectations for their second album.

This came in 1989 with ‘Hats’, five long years in the making, it was well worth the wait. It’s been described as “an immensely warm and human album”. Paul Buchanan's vocals and songs are thoughtful, heartfelt and moving, every musical element measured and considered to serve the emotion and location of the song. ‘Hats’ is often described as a cinematic experience".

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