Uncut Crap Sampler Disc
Sampler disc that includes the This Is England b-side of Sex Mad Roar, a remix of Fingerpoppin' and an alternate dub version of This Is England. All three tracks date from 1985.
Track listing
- Sex Mad Roar
- Fingerpoppin' (AOR Mix)
- This Is England (Alternate Mix)
Review
Before the Cut The Crap album was released in November 1985, This Is England (probably the best song on the album) was released as a single in 7 and 12 inch formats in September. The b-side was Do It Now and the 12 inch came with a second b-side, Sex Mad Roar. Incidentally, Are You Ready For War and Sex Mad War were renamed because of the word "war" (according to the record company) being a bit too 'sensitive' at the time. Similarly All The Young Punks was stupidly renamed to 'That's No Way to Spend Your Youth' for Give 'Em Enough Rope's original North American release, because the record company thought the word "punk" might put radio stations off. Anyway, Do It Now and Sex Mad Roar are alright songs, even after being 'mauled in Munich' by Bernie. Do It Now is now on the CD remaster of Cut The Crap, but for some reason Sex Mad Roar isn't, so here it is, taken from the 12 inch.
Now for the two remix tracks. AOR Fingerpoppin', as you can read on its own page, is a promotion only remix done at that time and is unreleased. Very similar to the normal song, but most say it's better and a lot 'clearer' mix. The This Is England alternate mix is a lot different to the original song. It's a dub mix really, with just samples of the song played over and over, and it's very good. The story behind this one is quite interesting, and I will quote from a (now defunct) Clash message board:
"Here's the details as I remember them. Bernie or the record company or whoever did an alternate mix of This Is England. They pressed promo copies (and maybe offical copies that may have been a Dutch version?) and they were literally handing them out to people. I know one guy said his friend was in CBS in England and just saw a stack and picked some up. I don't recall if they were 7" or 12". I prefer this version. I do not have the vinyl but someone taped it for me. It's pretty good. Fingerpoppin' has an alt mix too but it's not as different from the original as This Is England ... Now I'm sure someone will remember the details better than I and fill in the gaps."
...and Adam Headland posted:
"If I remember correctly, the story was that the wrong master was provided for the Dutch release of the 7" single. The 'dub' version was never intended to be released, but it's pretty cool - the lead vocal track is different, with a much more relaxed delivery."
2010 Update
Now that Sex Mad Roar has been made available on the expanded 'Singles' collection, the version here has been rendered obsolete. The other two tracks, since they have never been available to the public, I am offering for download. The idea is you add these tracks (along with Sex Mad Roar) to your Cut The Crap album and thus make a new CD called 'Uncut Crap' and you can use the artwork above, or use Inder's second Uncut Crap sleeve design:
Inder's excellent Uncut Crap sleeve design.
Extra
The Fingerpoppin' (AOR Mix) track is a version without a one second fade in at the start, unlike the version on Radio Brixton.