THE WANDERERS (STIV BATORS) "THE ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE" 1981 UK NM/VG++ OOP LP

$

25

TWO YEARS AGO I LOST ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS TO CANCER, HE WAS A COOL MUSICIAN A DRUMMER BY TRADE, ORIGINALLY FROM SEATTLE, BUT RELOCATED TO L.A. IN 1985, HE AMASSED A VERY LARGE MUSIC COLLECTION, AND HAD KILLER TASTE FOR ROCK & ROLL, SADLY I AM SELLING OFF A LOT OF HIS COLLECTION ON BEHALF OF HIS WIDOW TO HELP PAY OFF DEBTS INCLUDING HOSPITAL BILLS, TAXES AND STORAGE UNIT FEES. I AM NOT TAKING ANYTHING FOR THIS SERVICE, DOING IT FOR MY FRIEND (MISS YOU DAVE!). THIS ITEM IS FROM HIS COLLECTION.

THE PHOTO'S MAY BE A LITTLE BLURRY, HAVE A LITTLE GLARE, SOME REFLECTIONS OR IN SOME CASES YOU MAY SEE SPECKS OF DUST. BUT THE PHOTO'S ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM YOU ARE BIDDING ON. I DO COMBINE SHIPPING.

THESE ARE VISUALLY & PLAY GRADED.

ARTISTS: THE WANDERERS

TITLE: “THE ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE”

TRACK LISTING: SEE BELOW

A1 Fanfare For 1984 Written-By – Simmonds*, Goldstein* A2 No Dreams Written-By – Parsons*, Bators* A3 Dr. Beter Written-By – Treganna*, Goldstein* A4 A Little Bit Frightening Written-By – Parsons*, Bators* A5 Take Them And Break Them Written-By – Parsons*, Bators* A6 It's All The Same Written-By – Parsons*, Bators* A7 The Times They Are A-Changin' Written-By – Bob Dylan B1 Ready To Snap Written-By – Parsons*, Bators* B2 Can't Take You Anymore Written-By – Parsons*, Bators* B3 Sold Your Soul For Fame Written-By – Treganna*, Goldstein* B4 Circles Of Time Written-By – Parsons*, Bators* B5 There'll Be No Tomorrow Written-By – Parsons*, Bators*

Companies, etc.

• Recorded At – Trident Studios
• Mixed At – Trident Studios
• Mastered At – Trident Studios
• Lacquer Cut At – Trident Studios
• Pressed By – PRS Ltd.

Credits

• Artwork [Art Direction / Design] – Rob O'Connor
• Artwork [Art Direction / Design], Photography By – Michael Beal
• Artwork [Calligraphy] – Alan Dempsey
• Bass, Vocals – David Treganna*
• Drums – Rick Rock*
• Engineer [Assistant] – Craig Milner*
• Flugelhorn – Dave Pullen
• Guitar, Vocals – Dave Parsons
• Keyboards – Mike Simmonds (2)
• Lacquer Cut By – Rays*
• Lead Vocals – Stiv Bators
• Other [Props] – Tony Standcombe
• Producer, Engineer – Mick Glossop

Notes

A3 is titled "Peter Beter" on the back cover & "Dr. Beter" on the label.

LABEL: POLYDOR RECORDS UK

CAT.#: POLS 1028

YEAR: 1981

RECORD CONDITION: THE RECORD (VISUALLY & PLAY GRADED). IS IN EX/NM CONDITION (UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED). NO LINES, SCRATCHES, SMEARS, SMUDGES ETC. THE VINYL HAS A NICE SHINEY BLACK LUSTER. BOTH LABELS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. THE SONGS PLAY SUPER CLEAN.

SLEEVE CONDITION: IS IN VG++ CONDITION. NICE CLEAN STRAIGHT EDGES. NO RIPS, TEARS, WRITING, SEAM SPLITS ETC. THERE IS LIGHT EDGE WEAR AND VERY VERY LIGHT RING WEAR (ON THE BACK) OF THE JACKET.(SEE PHOTOS)

OTHER INFO: THIS RECORD IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT. ORIGINAL 1st PRESSING,UK IMPORT. FEATURES STIV BATORS OF THE DEAD BOYS.

ARTIST INFO:

THE WANDERERS (briefly called the Allies) were born when Stiv Bators, front man for Cleveland's the Dead Boys essentially replaced Jimmy Pursey as the front man and lead singer in Sham 69, which broke up in the summer of 1980.  Besides Stiv Bators, the other bandmembers were from Sham 69:  Dave Tregunna (bassist), Dave Parsons (guitarist), and Mark Goldstein (drums).  Unlike many of the other first-wave punk bands in Britain, Sham 69 had genuine proletariat roots and eventually attracted very rowdy crowds.  Despite considerable success, the Dead Boys and Sham 69 had both been somewhat under-appreciated in their home countries.

 

The Wanderers' sole album, Only Lovers Left Alive was recorded in November 1980 but didn't come out until 1981.  As might be imagined from the title of the opening song "Fanfare for 1984" (which features sirens that might have come from a concentration camp), the album concerns a young man who becomes obsessed with the impending doom of civilization through his fascination (described in the track "A Little Bit Frightening") and later disillusion ("Can't Take You Anymore") with the pronouncements of a conspiracy theorist.  The two singles released from the album were the potent "Ready to Snap" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "the Times They Are A-Changing".  As Allmusic put it:  "This album remains one of the most foreboding records ever released and plunges the listener into a world of Bolshevik plots, duplicate Popes, and a third World War that is so close you can smell it."

 

Many rock critics were not ready for a "concept album" from a punk rock band, and the Wanderers were often dismissed as "the Sham Boys" or "Stiv 69", though they did get some favorable notices (from Trouser Press, among others).  Their label Polydor Records had expected more than a cult following and made only minimal efforts at promoting the Wanderers; in retrospective paranoia, this seemed like sabotage to Stiv Bators.  Today, the original album is almost impossible to find, but a reissue in 2000 on Captain Oi! Records has brought the album to a wider audience.  ("Oi" refers to a working-class subgenre of British punk rock; Sham 69 was one of the first such bands).  Greg Shaw regards the album as being among Stiv Bators' finest work, and I concur.

 

The name of the conspiracy theorist referenced in the album, Dr. Peter Beter sounds like a weak masturbation joke.  In actuality, however, Dr. Beter is a real person, an ex-CIA agent who brought news from the intelligence-community underground in a series of "audio letters".  (Oddly, the liner notes on the 2000 reissue never mentioned that, nor did those on the original album release).  Not only that, Stiv Bators was obsessed with him in real life and used to regale anyone who would listen about the dangers of impending Bolshevism and the end of the world.  The song "Dr. Beter" presents a synopsis of the endless conspiracies discussed by Dr. Beter and features an actual excerpt from one of his recordings.  Talk about “Reality . . . What A Concept”:  Only Lovers Left Alive had it all!

 

The title of the album is taken from an apocalyptic 1964 novel called Only Lovers Left Alive by Dave Wallis about an uprising of British teenagers against not only the authorities but the entire adult population as well.  Sitting on top of a copy of the novel on the front cover photograph is another paperback book called The War Game, a companion book (published in 1967) to a controversial 1965 faux-documentary film also called The War Game (both by Peter Watkins) about the aftermath of a nuclear war in Britain; it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary that year, though because of the bleak subject matter, it wasn't actually broadcast in Britain for 20 years.  At the bottom of the stack of books is a copy of the Christian "end times" classic The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey.

 

The band was dropped by Polydor and broke up almost immediately.  Shortly thereafter, Stiv Bators and Dave Tregunna formed the Lords of the New Church, which had their own version of doom and gloom.  This post-punk band had a more polished sound than the Dead Boys and were quite successful during the 1980's, but Bators' stage histrionics were as wild as ever.  In one celebrated incident, Stiv Bators hanged himself on stage and was pronounced dead for several minutes.  Though he recovered from that incident, he was hit by a taxi in Paris and died from those injuries all too young in June 1990.

I DO COMBINE SHIPPING! THE $4 FLAT RATE ALSO INCLUDES THE MAILER WHICH COST OVER $1 EACH. THANKS!

ALL 12” RECORDS WILL BE MAILED OUT IN CARDBOARD MAILERS DESIGNED FOR SHIPPING WITH ADDITIONAL CARDBOARD SUPPORT. I DO COMBINE SHIPPING WITH OTHER LIKE SIZED ITEMS. ADDITIONAL LPs $1 EA. IN THE U.S. VIA MEDIA MAIL OR OTHER USPS SERVICES. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING IS BASED ON WEIGHT AND COUNTRY. FOR THE U.S. THE $4 COST OF THE MEDIA MAIL INCLUDES MY COST OF THE MAILER, PACKING MATERIALS & TIME. THANKS! BOB

INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS TAKE NOTE !!!

IF YOU OPT TO NOT PAY FOR THE EXTRA INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED MAIL, AND OPT FOR THE REGULAR INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS WHICH HAS NO TRACKING AT ALL, I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR PACKAGE, AND I WILL TAKE PICTURES OF MY POST OFFICE RECEIPTS AND MY U.S. CUSTOMS FORMS AND SEND THEM TO YOU AS PROOF OF MY MAILING YOUR ITEM OUT, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAILINGS OF YOUR COUNTRIES POSTAL SERVICE, KNOW THIS BEFORE YOU BID ON ANY OF MY ITEMS!!! IF YOUR ITEM DOES NOT ARRIVE DO NOT BLAME ME!

DUE TO THE RECENT INCREASE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MAILING RATES THAT WENT UP ON JUNE. 1, 2015, I WILL NOT DO A FLAT RATE FOR ANY ITEMS, FROM NOW ON YOU WILL HAVE TO CALCULATE THE RATE BASED UPON YOUR COUNTRY. ALSO ADDITIONAL COMBINED ITEMS WILL MEAN A HIGHER SHIPPING CHARGED BASED ON EACH ITEM. SORRY ABOUT THIS, BUT THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT THAT.REGISTERED INTERNATIONAL MAIL WHICH ALLOWS FOR DOOR TO DOOR TRACKING IS AN ADDITIONAL $15.00.

I DO COMBINE SHIPPING……….

CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS

International Buyers – Please Note:

Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.

Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.

PLEASE PAY FOR ALL ITEMS WITHIN 5 DAYS, OR MESSAGE ME TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU CAN’T,(IF YOU ARE BIDDING OR PLAN TO BID ON OTHER ITEMS) I WILL DO A ONE WEEK WAIT FROM THE DATE OF THE END OF THE FIRST AUCTION WIN, TO COMBINE SHIPPING ON ITEMS, AFTER THAT I NEED PAYMENT IN FULL AND WILL MAIL OUT THE ITEMS , EVEN IF YOU ARE BIDDING ON OTHERS, THUS BEGINS A NEW BILLING/SHIPPING CYCLE. THIS CASH FLOW IS MY SOURCE OF INCOME FOR PAYING RENT/BILLS, ETC. IF YOU HAVE WON AN ITEM AND I DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU ONE WAY OR THE OTHER WITHIN 7 DAYS I WILL OPEN AN “UNPAID ITEM CASE”, IN ORDER TO FREE UP THE ITEM FOR A POSSIBLE RE-LISTING OR A “SECOND CHANCE OFFER”. PLEASE WHEN YOU WIN AN ITEM TRY AND PAY FOR IT IN A TIMELY FASHION OR LET ME KNOW YOU ARE LOOKING AT OTHER ITEMS I HAVE LISTED, I MAIL ITEMS OUT WITHIN TWO WORKING DAYS ONCE PAYMENT IS RECEIVED. DO NOT ASK FOR ITEM TO ME MARKED “GIFT” ON CUSTOMS FORMS, INTERNATIONAL BUYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL DUTIES AND CUSTOMS FEE’S! CHECK WITH YOUR POST OFFICE, I WILL NOT PAY THEM.

NEW NOTE TO ALL POTENTIAL BIDDERS PLEASE! DO NOT BID IF YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF PAYING FOR AN ITEM YOU MIGHT WIN, ALSO IF YOU ARE AN INTERNATIONAL BIDDER, PLEASE! BE AWARE OF THE COST OF INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING. I DO NOT LIKE OPENING UNPAID ITEM CASES BUT I WILL IF YOU NEGLECT TO PAY.