New Wave Outpost Forum

Hey everyone,

I've got something really exciting to share. I've been on the hunt for the unreleased album from Here's Johnny for quite a while. The search led me to band members Colin McKay and David Knowles (who incidentally are working together again, writing and making music with John Wilkinson. Their new band is called The Swan Chorus. You can check them out here. https://soundcloud.com/john-mama/my-dar ... r-jw-vocal.) Colin and David finally relented and gave over their unreleased album. They also told me I was free to share it here. Let me start off by saying, I LOVE THIS ALBUM. Every song is great. All four Here's Johnny singles were to be included. Can you imagine RCA released four singles from an album, and then only weeks before it's release, pulled the album? So frustrating, especially considering the quality of their songs. For the uninitiated, here are some of my favorite Here's Johnny tracks.

Love You To Death (1986)


Hellzapoppin' (1986)


I Fall Apart (1985)


They also did a video for the single Idlewild, which is a great great song, but very uncharacteristic of the band's new wave synthpop sound.

Idlewild (1985)


The album would've been released about thirty years ago to the day in mid 1986. It really is a shame it's taken until now to see the light of day. The album came so close to release, it even had a catalog number. (LP RCA April 1986 PL 71016, CASS RCA April 1986 PK 71016) I'll warn you right now, the audio is not exactly FLAC quality, but it still sounds great. I've uploaded my very favorite track on the album to Youtube, so you can see what I mean.

Your Room (1986)


I've decided to cobble everything I have on Here's Johnny to make this expanded edition. You get all the remixes, 7" versions (Hellzapoppin' and I Fall Apart have unique album versions) and b-sides. As a bonus I've added the super rare Here's Johnny Peel Sessions from late 1983 where they do Hellzapoppin' and Your Room as well as two great songs that didn't make the album. I hope this all helps bring some well deserved attention to an unfairly forgotten band. Tracklist and links below.

Here's Johnny - Merry Hell (Expanded Edition) (1986)
1. Hellzapoppin'
2. Absence Of Malice
3. Torture Garden
4. Your Room
5. Love You To Death
6. Idlewild
7. Open Minded
8. Reckless
9. How Do You Sleep
10. I Fall Apart
-bonus tracks-
11. Belief (b-side)
12. All You Ever Talk About (b-side)
13. Turn On The Charm (b-side)
14. I Fall Apart (Extended Version)
15. Love You To Death (Extended Version)
16. Hellzapoppin' (Extended Version)
17. I Fall Apart (7" Version)
18. Hellzapoppin' (7" Version)
19. Hellzapoppin' (John Peel Session, 12/21/83)
20. World In Action (John Peel Session, 12/21/83)
21. Your Room (John Peel Session, 12/21/83)
22. Every Mirror I See (John Peel Session, 12/21/83)

Mediafire: https://www.mediafire.com/?2fdm42nk34nbu2y
4Shared: http://www.4shared.com/zip/NUeFzOOIce/H ... __Exp.html
Depositfiles: http://depositfiles.com/files/bfchu8z2d

Just listened to Your Room. If the other songs are nearly as good then you've made a significant find, Dom. Even if they aren't you deserve much credit for your work and perseverance.

Awesome Dom! Many thanks!

I find it interesting that Here's Johnny was one of those bands that incorporated swing jazz into some of their music, similar to Roman Holliday.

Thanks! This is a great find. I'm enjoying all the tracks.

Awesome!! Thanks Dom!!

I gotta be the voice of minority here (apparently), but I just cant get into their music.

Other than "Idlewild", the rest of the material simply just does not work for me for some reason, which is very strange and unexpected, I guess.....

I found an exciting Here's Johnny artifact on Youtube I just had to share with you guys. A phenomenal Peel Session with Here's Johnny from December 1983. This includes two wonderful songs that were never finished for their album! Enjoy!



And also make sure you check out Colin McKay and David Knowles new band The Swan Chorus which has John Wilkinson on vocal duties.
https://soundcloud.com/john-mama



Dominik

Such an amazing album. They sound like a cross between ABC and Endgames. Is there any info on this band somewhere? Why wasn't the album released?

Thanks Dom for the share.

Excellent album, and significant props to Dominik for unearthing it! I gotta ask, is there a copy of 'Reckless' without the audio distortion at the start where the volume spikes off the charts? Its a shame it hurts what I regard as one of the best tracks on this collection.