Electrogenesis 1978-1980 is a brilliant and comprehensive survey of Sheffield’s proto-ABC group, Vice Versa. They formed in late 1977 / early 1978 by Stephen Singleton, Mark White and David Sydenham as members and can be considered as one of the “Big Four” late 70’s minimalistic electronic/synth-based bands from Sheffield. Together with the other three big Sheffield-Protagonists of electronic music; Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA and The Future / Human League they heavily influenced and changed the guitar-dominated British Pop Music Culture in the late 70’s to early 80’s, especially when in late 1980 Vice Versa decided to change their name to ABC and to take a more modern and commercial pop orientated path to receive worldwide success and fame.
Comprising demo versions, live recordings, both of their 7″s, and the ‘8 Aspects Of’ cassette pressed to vinyl for the first time, it sums up a “bizarre trio who show occasional flashes of promise, but whose pretentiousness becomes quite tiresome”, according to an NME journo commenting on their support slot for The Human League in Sheffield, 1978. With hindsight, that pretentiousness is really what set them apart, what with track titles such as ‘Democratic Dancebeat’ and ‘Genetic Warfare’ backed up by searing machine rhythms, futuristic synthesiser sounds and dead stoic vocals.
V-O-D and Trevor Jackson have both rightly invoked Vice Versa in recent years with compilations that focussed on their peers – Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA etc – and and it’s only right that VV’s caterpillar stage receives the same sort of documentation, circa their transformation from austere, machine-driven dance music into world taking pop musicians.
LP 1: The Vice-Pop – Studio Electrophonique Sessions 1978-1979
recorded april 16th 1979
1-1 new girls neutrons 2:06
1-2 science – fact 2:46
1-3 riot squad 1:37
1-4 camille 3:08
1-5 genetic warfare from 1980 : The first fifteen minutes ep ..nt 003 3:40
1-6 trapped in celluloid studio electrophonique version . 3:43
1-7 chainsaw pop 1 studio electrophonique version . 3:16
1-8 The Texas Chainsaw Moves into Tokyo chainsaw pop 2 ext. version 3:47
1-9 idol demo version (KP Studio) 2:57
1-10 genetic warfare demo version 3:58
1-11 newgirls neutrons ext. version 2:56
1-12 camille extended version 5:48
LP 2: The Anti-Pop Bowood road sessions 1978 – 1980
side one the adi sessions
2-1 chainsaw pop Adi 3:33
2-2 riot squad Adi 2:56
2-3 science fact Adi 3:11
2-4 genetic warfare uncut ADI MEGAMIX 7:08
2-5 polanski’s macbeth 6:15 1978 bowood road
2-6 science fact DEMO 5:20 .4 jan 1979 bowood road sheffield
2-7 stilyagi 4:12
2-8 eyes of christ 3:02 dutch 7″ ..1980 18th august . recorded backsteet studio rotterdam
2-9 chainsaw pop Pylon King remixed version .7:04 Pylon King at Quarter Heads studio
LP 3 – 8 aspects of Vice Versa April 1980
3-1 democratic dancebeat 3:11
3-2 stilyagi 4:10
3-3 eyes of christ 2:35
3-4 jazz drugs 3:15
3-5 body scupture 3:55
3-6 trapped in celluloid 3:36
3-7 artists at war 2:26
3-8 idol 3:27
in order of orginal cassette rec. april 11 12 1980 Bowood Road mail order only cassette
LP 4: Live in Concert 1979 -1980 in order of concert running order & date
4-1riot squad 2:53
4-2 genetic Warfare 4:22 york de grey rooms 14th december 1979 .
4-3 trapped in Celluloid 3:39
4-4 new girls neutrons 1:59
4-5 eyes of christ 2:59
4-6 jazz drugs 3:25
all psalter lane college of art sheffield 16th march 1980
4-7 artists at war 4:37
blitz club George the 4th Sheffield april 1st 1980
4-8 stilyagi
psalter lane college of art may 22 1980
4–9 Idol 3:48
4-10 democratic dancebeat 3:17
4-11 stilyagi 4:30
4-12 eyes of christ 3:06
4-13 trapped in celluloid 3:38
4-14 modern as in mary quant 4:20
4-15 jazz drugs ..3:53
Neukustgruppe present Sheffield City Hall Ballroom 25th june 1980 as per running order of concert
BONUS 7“:
A1 genetic warfare (Adi Short Version) 3:50
B1 Warfare 4:40