Back in the old days, I posted a compilation of UK post-punk/new wave band Airstrip 1’s discography, which was collected on a rare cassette donated by a generous reader. I was never sure if this was an official cassette or a dubbed collection of the band’s tracks, but either way I’ve noticed that the cassette played at at the wrong speed over the years, which hurt the nuance and mystery of some of these tracks. I noticed primarily because I’ve played the excellent politically charged, Clash-meets-Certain Ratio jam “Longer to Live” often at NYC’s Wierd Party, and it’s one of those early-in-the-night slow burn tracks that I still play in DJ sets even to date.
Instead of attempting to fix the speed of the cassette digitally (easier said than done with drift), I’ve decided that perhaps it’s worth re-ripping whatever I have in my collection at the moment for posterity’s sake. With that in mind, here are three releases by this underrated guitar-driven band, including their debut cassette, the excellent Longer to Live EP, and the Social Fools and Satellite 7”s. While these are the only Airstrip 1 releases I own and ripped myself, I’m also including the 12” mixes of “Satellite” and “Social Fools,” which I’ve found out there in the ether and should otherwise complete the discography.
Fans of bands such as Ultravox, The Clash, The Associates, and maybe even a little early Duran Duran should dig these guys quite a bit. Definitely a little bit of that UK swagger here on display. The band started off with a rather edgy post-punk sound, quickly employing more synthesizers and horns, as was the style at the time. After their final singles, the band changed their name to Escape From New York and released two more singles, both of which can be found on Bandcamp.
With all of this in mind…
Airstrip 1 – Nothing Is Forever K7 (1981)
1. Nothing Is Forever
2. Fiction
3. Vodka Cola
4. New Messiah
5. Nothing Is Forever (Remix)*
*not listed on the cassette sleeve, included at the end but cuts out, unfortunately.
Airstrip 1 – Longer to Live 12” (1981)
1. Longer to Live
2. English Guns
3. Crime
Airstrip 1 – Satellite 7” (1982)
1. Satellite
2. All Fall Down
Airstrip 1 – Satellite 12” (1982)
1. Satellite (Slow Motion Mix)
2. All Fall Down*
*not included as this is track also on the 7”*
Airstrip 1 – Social Fools 7” (1982)
1. Social Fools
2. Social Fools (Part IV)
Airstrip 1 – Social Fools 12” (1982)
1. Social Fools (Extended Mix)
2. Social Fools (Part IV)
3. Social Fools (Poly Mix)