Deaf School

9-21-09 Deaf School

Remember Deaf School, the Liverpool band? Not quite ‘pub rock’, not quite ‘punk rock’ – and a little early to be true “new wave”?

DON'T STOP THE WORLD WARNER CAN WS-4764

LP 1977 10 TRKS

DON'T STOP THE WORLD STRANGE DAYS JPN WAS-1084

CD 1977 15 TRKS ('06 issue) kami sleeve (5 x bonus tracks)

DON'T STOP THE WORLD / SECOND HONEYMOON WARNER US 2LS 3011

LPx2 1977 22 TRKS 1st x 2 LP's

ENGLISH BOYS - WORKING GIRLS WARNER US BSK 3169

LP 1978 12 TRKS

ENGLISH BOYS - WORKING GIRLS STRANGE DAYS JPN WAS-1085

CD 1978 16 TRKS ('06 issue) kami sleeve (4 x bonus tracks)

SECOND HONEYMOON WARNER UK K 56280

LP 1976 12 TRKS

SECOND HONEYMOON STRANGE DAYS JPN WAS-1083

CD 1976 16 TRKS ('06 issue) kami sleeve (4 x bonus tracks)

WHAT A WAY TO END IT ALL WARNER US PRO 675

7" x 2 1977 4 TRK EP; with pic sleeve, promo-only

I see that all of their albums have been recently re-issued in England on Cherry Red Records, so never fear. And original US copies still seem to turn up – the first two combined onto an ambitious double album, and the lone “English Boys” as a single LP, a year later. But you never seem to see UK copies at all, around here, anyway.

This group reminded me of Roxy Music a bit (when Roxy Music were “fun”). It should be noted that they were from Liverpool, home of The Beatles. So, a sense of humor.

And the law of diminishing returns, I like the first one best, followed by the next and the final one. “What A Way To End It All”, “Hi Jo Hi”, “Where’s The Weekend” all actually got some KROQ airplay, way back when.

More recently, I got all three albums as little paper album cover CD’s from Strange Days Records in Japan. They did a stellar job, with reproducing the outer and inner sleeves, and each have several BBC & B-Side bonus tracks. And they sound great, too.

This is the band that producer Clive Langer came from, I might add. I forget his pseudonym in Deaf School, but he certainly had one. I think I also have a 45 by bv bass player Steve Lindsey. And (her name escapes me and I’m too lazy tio go get them and look) – wasn’t the female vocalist here roped into joining Gruppo Sportivo, at some point (after the first girls left)?

These albums sound like a lot of work, and I bet the live show was a fun one – but they were a tad too early for the 10cc crowd, who had yet to go “new wave” (if they ever went new wave, as it were).