VA- Pillows & Prayers (Cherry Red Records 1982-1983) (40th Anniversary)

Label: Cherry Red

Reissued 12/16/2022, Originally released 1982

UK Import

Vinyl LP pressing. Originally conceived as a label sampler by A&R man Mike Alway, Pillows And Prayers quickly became both an iconic compilation and a must-have artefact of early 80s Thatcherite Britain. Famously retailing at "No more than 99p", the album provided an accessible gateway to both the Cherry Red label and the independent scene. Over 100,000 people took up the offer, found a pound and became a part of something that resonated perfectly with its own time and place. Four decades later, to celebrate its 40th Anniversary, this extensive companion to that original release features the Japan-only 1984 Pillows & Prayers Volume II, selected singles and album tracks, live recordings, demos sourced from the artists' own archives and the best of the Peel sessions recorded by Cherry Red artists at that time, this time capsule package both celebrates and revels in the eclectic, inclusive and downright unpredictable attitude of the label. From the hesitant lo-fi of Marine Girls, through the ranting verse of Attila The Stockbroker and the ethereal pop of Felt to The Passage's state-of-the-art synth pop and the brutalist avant-noise of Eyeless In Gaza, Pillows And Prayers remains a fascinatingly eclectic brew, and something of a membership card to that world, standing alongside the NME's C86 cassette as an 80s indie time capsule which remains relevant and in demand today.

Track listing:

1. Five or Six - Portrait
2. The Monochrome Set - Eine Symphonie Des Grauens
3. Thomas Leer - All About You
4. Tracey Thorn - Plain Sailing
5. Ben Watt - Some Things Don't Matter
6. Kevin Coyne - Love in Your Heart
7. Piero Milesi - Modi 2 (Extract)
8. Joe Crow - Compulsion
9. Marine Girls - Lazy Ways
10. Felt - My Face Is on Fire
11. Eyeless in Gaza - No Noise
12. The Passage - Xoyo
13. Everything But the Girl - on My Mind
14. Attila the Stockbroker - a Bang and a Wimpy
15. The Misunderstood - I Unseen
16. The Nightingales - Don't Blink
17. Quentin Crisp - Stop the Music for a Minute