Toccata- We Are the Sub-Machines 7”

I first heard this one on a cassette while sitting in a car outside the Wierd party with Martial Canterel and Nick from Crispy Nuggets, and we all couldn’t get enough of it.  I’ve been trying to track the single down since with no luck, but many thanks to Klumpa for providing a rip of this one to share. We can expect a few more treats along these lines, including a handful of loose tracks just itching to be compiled and an Italo flavored 7” to come over the next few weeks.

Very little info to be found about this band (who shares the name with classical terminology, making it difficult to google), though the sleeve indicates that this was released in 1987 and featured the duo of Jan Sinclair and Pete Ward, with various guest musicans and backup singers contributing.  There are a few Pete/r Wards out there, some active around the same period, so I can’t really pinpoint which, if any, are responsible.  Believe me, I’ve tried!

However, here we have two excellent tracks, the a-side coming across like a Kissing the Pink/Eurythmics hybrid with a stomping, torch song rave-up, while the b-side has a very neofolk-esque frailty reminiscent of the Nature & Organisation record and other Rose Mcdowall contributions over the years…

Any more information on this one is welcome!


Toccata- We Are the Sub-Machines 7”
1. We Are the Sub-Machines
2. Gypsy Eyes

*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 11.21.15)

10 Responses to “Toccata- We Are the Sub-Machines 7””

  1. michael Brandon Says:

    Awesome!!!!

  2. Hello, I appreciate this album. I had time searching without success. I also own a website where underground rock distributed (Post Punk, Batcave, New Wave, Experimental, Gothic Rock, etc). I’ve linked to my site and I hope you can integrate into your list of blogs: http://ergofelixculpa.blogspot.mx/

    Thank you very much and good day.

  3. Wow, talk about rare! Thanks to you and klumpa for sharing this record.

  4. oldskoollover Says:

    Fantastic stuff, thank you so much for sharing this gem!

  5. Bouboulover23 Says:

    Thank you so much for sharing this great music !

  6. Grows on you, yep, I can see this gem getting some rotation in my Winamp. Thanks Sir

  7. Peter Ward Says:

    Hi – I’m the man in question!

    Great to read the comments, so glad you like it and happy to answer any questions you may have.

    • Frankie Teardrop Says:

      Hey Peter – thanks for dropping a line! I’ve been obsessed with this single for quite some time now.

      I’d love to hear anything you can share about the band, this single, and more! Did you ever record any additional tracks?

      Also just found this amazing performance video:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ikCK57Yy8E

      what a treat!

      • Peter Ward Says:

        Hi Frankie – happy to try and answer your questions.

        There is an even rarer single FUNKY RHYTHM (same B-side however) that, as the title suggests, is more 1970s disco. Only a dozen test pressings were made of which I have possibly the only two in existence. Also if you can find a compilation album LOOKING FOR LIGHT we did a track on that called NOWEHERE TO GO – same line-up as on the YouTube video.

        Since putting my recent find up for sale on Discogs I’m getting inundated with all sorts of requests and compliments, so I’m seeing about getting those digitised and put online as well.

        As for SUB-MACHINES origin? Well, I’d had a deeply religious upbringing that I was just coming out of, but still had an obsession about the Book of Revelation. It seemed the soon-to-be nuclear war (remember this was the late-ish 1980s!) would bring it all on. So crazy but powerful people like Rupert Murdoch could have been the Magog(s) referred to. And why did almost everyone just blindly follow what they’d been told?

        Maybe times haven’t changed much 😉

        Anyway, I hope that’s of interest.

        Love and peace to you.

  8. Peter Ward Says:

    Dear Everyone,

    By way of introduction it’s the writer and musician here again.

    I’m delighted to say that I’ve literally discovered a box of unsold singles under a staircase. Honestly! They’ve been sitting there for over 20 years in admittedly not the best conditions for storage but there was no dampness or anything like that.

    I’m putting them up on Discogs – and once again, thank you all for your kind comments.

    Happy New Year and all the best for 2022!

    PS I bumped into Jan just before the pandemic in the British Museum cafe – spooky or what? Naturally we exchanged pleasantries, but sorry to say we never discussed a reunion.

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