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Post Info TOPIC: Fire Records
Ian


Quantum Theorist

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Fire Records
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I was just thinking, what have Fire done that is so bad for the band (and fans) to hate them so much? I mean, they don't seem that bad to me, they signed the band in the first place when no-one else would. Ok, so they stopped them putting "Maureen" and "Mark of the Devil" out as singles but I think the latter was a wise move and they delayed the release of "Separations" for ages but at the end of the day, it doesn't seem half as bad as Island slapping those crappy remixes on the b-side to "Party Hard" etc.

At the end of the day, they released "Masters of the Universe" and re-released "It", "Freaks" and "Separations" on CD in the mid 1990's which I think is fair. Pulp were becoming more well known and fans may have wanted to check out their earlier work. I bet that the original 12"s were very hard to track down in, say, 1994 before everyone had the internet.

Also, I remember someone saying that Pulp had signed a 6 album deal with Fire, meaning that they got royalties out of everything up to and including "We Love Life". I think that's fair enough, the band knew what they were signing for. It would be interesting to hear what peoples' thoughts are on this.



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Eamonn


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RE: Fire Records
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Ah, this age old topic.

Obviously the group and the label had their differences of opinion for a lot of the 80's (I can't remember them individually offhand but I think you've covered most of them).
I thought Separations being delayed for so long was probably the main gripe though I seem to remember from Truth And Beauty that had quite a lot to do with Fire's distribution arm (Rough Trade) going all but bust in '90/'91.

Crappy remixes put on multi-format singles by major labels was par for the course in the '90s, not sure if it's comparable with all the delays/differences in opinion over single and EP choices/lack of money for studio time Pulp suffered on Fire.
But then an Indie record company's lot is a tough one. There's usually a lot of love for the music by the people that work there who put it out, often on meagre resources. I bet Clive Soloman ''got'' Pulp a lot more than most Island execs did.

It's the cash-in compilations being licensed to other weird labels/reissues with little thought put into them that annoys me.

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Sleeve


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RE: Fire Records
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I've long suspected that Fire have received some unfair treatment derived from the band's frustration and Jarvis' petulance but really, I can't think of another label who would've signed them and the people there spoke fondly of them and gave them free reign in terms of sleeve design (also paying third parties to produce decent covers for them) as well as at least bothering to give some cash for videos- something an indie with a limited budget really didn't have to do. They weren't commercially viable in the 1980s with their persistent coverage of grotesque topics delivered with that claustrophobic intensity!
As Eamonn said, the Rough Trade debacle was the root of the problem with Separations and that wasn't Fire's fault, it also nearly ruined them. If they'd got it out on time it would have redeemed them and perhaps they wouldn't have been slagged off so readily.


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yankeehotelfoxtrot


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RE: Fire Records
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Fire Records did a pretty poor job with Spacemen 3, also.

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Sturdy


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The other thing to remember about the delay in releasing Separations is that it was partly down to the band. According to Nick, they delayed signing the contract because they were hoping to sell the album to another label - it was only when they failed to do this that they decided to stick with Fire.

Pulp's resentment of the label seems to boil down to the fact they didn't sell many records in the '80s (bit unfair, as Sleeve points out) and the acrimony of the final split (and again, they did sign a 7 album deal and try to walk away after one, so Fire kinda had a point).

I dunno, Fire may or may not have been a rubbish label, but I don't think they were the evil villains they're sometimes painted as. There does seem to be something about Clive Solomon that rubs people up the wrong way (see also Luke Haines, Blue Aeroplanes) but in terms of how they handled Pulp while they were on the label, unsatisfactory as the whole experience may have been, I can't see much evidence of actual wrongdoing.

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Ian


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RE: Fire Records
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Eamonn wrote:

It's the cash-in compilations being licensed to other weird labels/reissues with little thought put into them that annoys me.

I thought that such compilations came about when other labels approached Fire and offered them money to licence the tracks off them. I know "Goes to the Disco" is probably the most pointless Pulp release besides "Party Hard" CD2 but doesn't stuff like this happen all the time? I mean, I've bought Joy Division and Roxy Music compilations before now, mostly because the selection is good and I can't be arsed making a CDR up to listen to in my car but the whole compilation thing seems like common practice to me.



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Mike


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Fire Records
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Poking around Fire's website, I realize the track listings to the upcoming reissues have been revised.

It
1. My Lighthouse
2. Wishful Thinking
3. Joking Aside
4. Boats and Trains
5. Blue Girls
6. Love Love
7. In Many Ways
8. Looking for Life
9. My Lighthouse (Single Version)
10. Please Don't Worry
11. Blue Girls (Alternate Mix)
12. Sink Or Swim

Separations
1. Love Is Blind
2. Don't You Want Me Anymore?
3. She's Dead
4. Separations
5. Down By The River
6. Countdown
7. My Legendary Girlfriend
8. Death II
9. This House Is Condemned
10. Death Goes To The Disco (BONUS)
11. In This House? (BONUS)
12. Countdown (BONUS extended version)

I don't think Freaks has changed, but I'm not sure.
1. Fairground
2. I Want You
3. Being Followed Home
4. Master Of The Universe
5. Life Must Be So Wonderful
6. There's No Emotion
7. Anoerexic Beauty
8. The Never Ending Story
9. Don't You Know
10. They Suffocate At Night
11. Little Girl (With Blue Eyes) (BONUS)
12. Simultaneous (BONUS)
13. Blue Glow (BONUS)
14. The Will To Power (BONUS)
15. Dogs Are Everywhere (BONUS)
16. The Mark Of The Devil (BONUS)
17. 97 Lovers (BONUS)
18. Aborigine (BONUS)
19. Goodnight (BONUS)
20. Tunnel (BONUS)
21. Manon (BONUS)



-- Edited by Mike on Wednesday 24th of August 2011 08:13:25 PM

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fredthe3rd


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Hmm... Might have to buy me a second copy of It... got the extra tracks on the other two albums on cd or vinyl. Everybody's Problem and There Was so will end up with two copies of an album I don't like that much - fool that I am.

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fredthe3rd


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I have the version of the album with those two track on I meant to say.

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LeoVK


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Mike wrote:

Poking around Fire's website, I realize the track listings to the upcoming reissues have been revised.

It
1. My Lighthouse
2. Wishful Thinking
3. Joking Aside
4. Boats and Trains
5. Blue Girls
6. Love Love
7. In Many Ways
8. Looking for Life
9. My Lighthouse (Single Version)
10. Please Don't Worry
11. Blue Girls (Alternate Mix)
12. Sink Or Swim

WOW! Now those additions have pushed this reissue right up to the top of the "must have" list.  Am guessing that Please Don't Worry will be different to the Peel Session...?

Think this is the most effort that Fire have made in years with Pulp.



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Eamonn


The Only Way is Down

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Sink or Swim?! YESSSS!

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Disco Bible


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wow! Please Don't Worry on "It"?? never thought we'd hear the studio version :D

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Disco Bible


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pretty annoyed that the regular Single version of Countdown STILL isn't on Separations though!

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LeoVK


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Just a head's up that I emailed Fire to ask about the vinyl editions, and they said that the tracklistings for the vinyls still aren't confirmed...so they may or may not contain the bonus tracks! Worth bearing in mind when placing your pre-orders.

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weed


Quantum Theorist

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Well my copy of IT has disappeared so it looks like I'll be purchasing that. I think Pulp signed a silly contract with fire and they ended up with a rough deal. Island messed them about a bit in the latter years too so it's not suprising they aren't that keen to make another record.

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Eamonn


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Leo do you have a contact name/mail for Fire?

<pseudo-mod/

The last few posts should probably be on the general Fire reissue thread rather than here which Ian's opening post began with discussing Fire's merits.

 



-- Edited by Eamonn on Friday 26th of August 2011 02:24:37 AM

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Jazza


Someone Like The Moon

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Does anyone else have the problem that they can only see It in the discography? can't find Freaks or Separations anywhere

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Eamonn


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Same here. Hopefully they're being updated with more rare nuggets.

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LeoVK


Street Operator

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RE: Fire Records
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Eamonn wrote:

Leo do you have a contact name/mail for Fire?

<pseudo-mod/

The last few posts should probably be on the general Fire reissue thread rather than here which Ian's opening post began with discussing Fire's merits.

 



-- Edited by Eamonn on Friday 26th of August 2011 02:24:37 AM

i just used the contact form on the Fire website. And yes, you are probably right about this not being the correct thread.

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Mike


Quiet Revolutionary

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That's my fault. I couldn't find the right thread. I was sorta in a hurry.

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