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Mansun / Closed For Business 24CD+DVD anniversary box set

25th anniversary mega-box • 24CD+DVD • Signed by Paul Draper

Kscope will later this year issue Closed For Business an enormous Mansun box set to mark 25 years since the band emerged onto the UK rock/pop scene. The 24CD+DVD collection features an enormous amount of audio/video content and comes with three books, art prints, postcards and a lyric sheet SIGNED by frontman Paul Draper.

Closed For Business features remastered versions of all four studio albums (Attack of the Grey Lantern, Six, Little Kix, and Kleptomania); five discs of single edits, EP tracks and B-sides (remastered); ten CDs of live performance including Sydney ’97, Glastonbury ’98; Reading Festival ’99 and V2000; a disc of Radio Sessions; four CDs of Demos and Rarities and a DVD with the Brixton Academy gig from 1998 and various TV appearances. Phew!

Mansun Closed For Business box set (click image to enlarge)

The box set includes a 160-page hardcover book written by renowned music journalist Peter Doggett (he wrote the fab Beatles book, ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’). This features photos from fans and photographers around the world, a tour history section, historical and newly commissioned interviews and a full discography.

On top of that there are two more books. A 112-page volume, documenting the official fanzines ‘Smelling the Roses’, ‘Take it Easy’ and ‘Cult of Positivity’ and a 48-page studio book cataloguing “newly discovered archival ephemera”.

Finally, this big lift-off lid collection includes five 12-inch art cards, four postcards and a handwritten ‘Closed For Business’ lyric sheet SIGNED by Paul Draper.

Closed for Business is released on 12 December 2020 (was 27 November). You can pre-order your copy from the SDE shop using this link or the button below.

As a special bonus, each SDE shop pre-order will come with a very limited ‘Wide Open Space Perfecto Mix’ CD single, which is totally exclusive to SDE (tracks are the seven-minute Wide Open Space Perfecto Mix ‘ and ‘Wide Open Space Trouser Enthusiasts Hermaphrodite Circus Mix ‘). Only 500 of these were produced and there’s a small quantity left.

DISC 1:   ATTACK OF THE GREY LANTERN

1                      The Chad Who Loved Me                                      05:02
2                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                   05:55
3                      Taxloss                                                             07:02
4                      You, Who Do You Hate?                                       03:06
5                      Wide Open Space                                               04:30
6                      Stripper Vicar                                                     04:05
7                      Disgusting                                                          05:07
8                      She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:55
9                      Naked Twister                                                     04:39
10                     Egg Shaped Fred                                                04:11
11                     Dark Mavis / An Open Letter To The Lyrical Trainspotter 14:40

DISC 2:   SIX         

1                      Six                                                                    08:07
2                      Negative                                                                        04:21
3                      Shotgun                                                             06:37
4                      Inverse Midas                                                     01:44
5                      Anti Everything                                                   02:25
6                      Fall Out                                                             03:47
7                      Serotonin                                                           02:33
8                      Cancer                                                              09:22
9                      Witness To A Murder (Part 2)                                03:06
10                     Television                                                          08:21

11                     Special / Blown It (Delete As Appropriate)               05:32
12                     Legacy                                                              06:26
13                     Being A Girl                                                        00:07:59

DISC 3:   LITTLE KIX      

1                      Butterfly (A New Beginning)                                  05:52
2                      I Can Only Disappoint U                                       04:59
3                      Comes As No Surprise                                         04:01
5                      Love Is                                                              04:37
6                      Soundtrack 4 2 Lovers                                         04:10
7                      Forgive Me                                                         04:42
8                      Until The Next Life                                               04:49
9                      Fool                                                                  04:17
10                     We Are The Boys                                                            04:25
11                     Goodbye                                                            05:10

DISC 4:   KLEPTOMANIA 

1                      Getting Your Way                                                            04:32
2                      Slipping Away                                                     04:51
3                      Keep Telling Myself                                             04:00
4                      Harris                                                                03:25
5                      Love Remains                                                     02:45
6                      Cry 2 My Face                                                    04:11
7                      No Signal/No Complaints                                      04:54
8                      Home                                                                03:26
9                      Fragile                                                               03:42
10                     Wanted So Much                                                 03:23
The Dog From Two Doors Down (Hidden track)04:30

DISC 5:   SINGLES, EPs, B-SIDES PART 1     

1                      Take It Easy Chicken (Manson single version)         04:24
2                      Skin Up Pin Up                                                   03:42

3                      Flourella                                                             04:25
4                      Egg Shaped Fred                                                03:54
5                      Ski-Jump Nose                                                   03:46
6                      Lemonade Secret Drinker                                     04:09
7                      Thief                                                                 05:19
8                      Drastic Sturgeon                                                 03:24
9                      The Greatest Pain                                               03:52
10                     Moronica                                                            04:33
11                     Stripper Vicar                                                     04:10
12                     The Edge                                                           03:15
13                     The Duchess                                                      04:29
14                     An Open Letter To The Lyrical Trainspotter             04:02
15                     No One Knows Us                                               03:41
16                     Things Keep Falling Off Buildings                           03:19

DISC 6:   SINGLES, EPs, B-SIDES PART 2     

1                      Wide Open Space                                               04:32
2                      Rebel Without A Quilt                                           04:09
3                      Vision Impaired                                                   02:39
4                      The Gods Of Not Very Much                                 04:39
5                      Moronica (Acoustic)                                             03:14
6                      Lemonade Secret Drinker (Acoustic)                      02:47
7                      She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   04:05
8                      The Most To Gain                                                02:20
9                      The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail                         04:40
10                     Live Open Space                                                04:43
11                     Drastic Sturgeon (Live)                                        03:18
12                     She Makes My Nose Bleed (Acoustic)                    03:33
13                     Taxloss                                                             07:19
14                     Grey Lantern                                                      02:04
15                     The Impending Collapse Of It All                            04:05
16                     The Chad Who Loved Me / Ski Jump Nose (Live)     06:31
17                     Wide Open Space (Acoustic)                                04:17
18                     Taxloss (Single Edit)                                            04:27

DISC 7:   SINGLES, EPs, B-SIDES PART 3     

1                      Closed For Business                                            03:03
2                      K.I.Double.S.I.N.G.                                             04:42
3                      Everyone Must Win                                             05:38
4                      The World’s Still Open                                          03:37
5                      Dark Mavis (Acoustic)                                          05:00
6                      Stripper Vicar (Live)                                             04:13
7                      Legacy (Radio Edit)                                             05:56
8                      Can’t Afford To Die                                              02:49
9                      Spasm Of Identity                                                           03:03
10                     Check Under The Bed                                          04:10
11                     GSOH                                                               01:22
12                     Face In The Crowd                                              03:43
13                     Being A Girl (Part One)                                        02:00
14                     Hideout                                                              02:43
15                     Railings                                                            05:52
16                     I Care                                                                03:42
17                     Been Here Before                                                04:10

DISC 8:   SINGLES, EPs, B-SIDES PART 4     

1                      Negative (Edit)                                                    03:45
2                      When The Wind Blows                                          04:51
3                      King Of Beauty                                                   04:55
4                      I Deserve What I Get                                           03:38
5                      Take It Easy Chicken (Live)                                  09:33
6                      Six (Single Version)                                             03:39
7                      Church Of The Drive thru Elvis                              03:02
8                      But The Trains Run On Time                                03:37
9                      What It’s Like To Be Hated                                               03:25
10                     Being A Girl (Parts One & Two) [Live]                     04:52
11                     I Can OnlyDisappoint U (Single Edit)                      04:22
12                     Decisions, Decisions                                          06:03
13                     Repair Man                                                         04:04
14                     My Idea Of Fun 04:00
15                     Golden Stone    04:35

DISC 9:   SINGLES, EPs, B-SIDES PART 5     

1                      Electric Man (Single Edit)                                     04:16
2                      The Drifters                                                        04:31
3                      The Apartment                                                    04:11
4                      Electric Man (Acoustic)                                        04:37
5                      Fool (Edit)                                                          03:33
6                      I’ve Seen The Top Of The Mountain                                   05:05
7                      Promises                                                           05:28
8                      Fade In Time                                                      04:38
9                      Black Infinite Space                                            04:43
DISC 10:   TRIPLE J, LIVE AT THE WIRELESS, SYDNEY, 1/4/97      

1                      The Chad Who Loved Me                                      01:59
2                      Ski Jump Nose                                                   01:57
3                      Open Letter To The Lyrical Trainspotter                  00:38
4                      Ski Jump Nose (Reprise)                                      01:08
5                      Stripper Vicar                                                     03:49
6                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                                05:26
7                      Naked Twister                                                     05:13
8                      She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:42
9                      Take It Easy Chicken                                          07:12

DISC 11 NYNEX ARENA, MANCHESTER – BBC RADIO ONE BROADCAST, 24/5/97   

1                      Stripper Vicar                                                     04:09
2                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                                05:18
3                      Taxloss                                                             05:48
4                      Naked Twister                                                     05:02
5                      Egg Shaped Fred                                                05:30
6                      Wide Open Space                                               05:18
7                      She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:33
8                      Take It Easy Chicken                                          07:18

DISC 12:   GLASGOW BARROWLANDS, 25/5/97  

1                      The Chad Who Loved Me                                      07:10
2                      Stripper Vicar                                                     04:19
3                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                                05:18
4                      Taxloss                                                             05:50
5                      The Edge                                                           04:19
6                      Drastic Sturgeon                                                 03:11
7                      Naked Twister                                                     04:55
8                      Egg Shaped Fred                                                05:29
9                      Wide Open Space                                               05:25
10                     She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:56
11                     Take It Easy Chicken                                          10:27

DISC 13:   QUART FESTIVAL, KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY, 2/7/97       

1                      Stripper Vicar                                                     04:35
2                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                                05:27
3                      Taxloss                                                             05:43
4                      Naked Twister                                                    05:09
5                      Egg Shaped Fred                                                05:04
6                      Take It Easy Chicken                                          05:27

DISC 14:  GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL  27/6/98         

1                      Everyone Must Win                                             05:02
2                      Stripper Vicar                                                     03:55
3                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                               05:36
4                      Shotgun                                                            06:30
5                      Drastic Sturgeon                                                            03:14
6                      Wide Open Space                                               04:51
7                      She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:35
8                      Take It Easy Chicken                                          04:42
9                      Taxloss                                                             05:42

DISC 15:   BRIXTON ACADEMY, 23/10/98        

1                      Negative                                                                        03:36
2                      Being a Girl                                                        04:28
3                      Stripper Vicar                                                     04:14
4                      Everyone Must Win                                             04:46
5                      Special/Blown It (Delete as Appropriate)                 04:08
6                      Shotgun                                                             06:52
7                      Wide Open Space                                               04:19
8                      Television                                                          07:00
9                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                                05:19
10                     Six                                                                    06:21
11                     She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:32
12                     Taxloss                                                             07:13
13                     The Chad Who Loved Me / Drastic Sturgeon                        06:38
14                     Legacy                                                              04:19
15                     Take It Easy Chicken                                          07:08

DISC 16:   MARGATE WINTER GARDENS, 24/1/99      

1                      Negative                                                                        03:53
2                      Being a Girl                                                        04:31
3                      Stripper Vicar                                                     04:19
4                      Everyone Must Win                                             04:43
5                      Special/Blown It (Delete as Appropriate)                 03:52
6                      Shotgun                                                             06:44
7                      Wide Open Space                                               04:18
8                      Television                                                          06:52
9                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                               05:25
10                     Six                                                                    06:15
11                     She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:34
12                     Taxloss                                                            07:27
13                     The Chad Who Loved Me                                      03:53
14                     Drastic Sturgeon                                                 02:40
15                     Legacy                                                              04:24
16                     Take It Easy Chicken                                          06:51

DISC 17:   READING FESTIVAL, RADIO ONE BROADCAST, 29/8/99 

1                      Take It Easy Chicken                                          06:14
2                      Stripper Vicar                                                     03:56
3                      Drastic Sturgeon                                                 03:19
4                      Being a Girl                                                        05:06
5                      Special/Blown It (Delete As Appropriate)                 04:17
6                      Everyone Must Win                                            05:10
7                      Six                                                                    07:15
8                      Ski Jump Nose                                                   03:46
9                      Mansun’s Only Love Song                                                05:53
10                     Wide Open Space                                               05:03
11                     She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:44
12                     Taxloss                                                             09:00

DISC 18:  V2000, 19/8/00

1                      Being a Girl                                                        05:27
2                      Comes As No Surprise                                         04:17
3                      Stripper Vicar                                                     04:15
4                      Special/Blown It (Delete As Appropriate)                 04:38
5                      Electric Man                                                       04:17
6                      Love Is                                                              04:26
7                      Wide Open Space                                               04:35
8                      She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   03:52
9                      Taxloss                                                             08:48

DISC 19:   ONE LIVE IN CARDIFF, RADIO ONE BROADCAST, LAMACQ LIVE, 23/10/00                

1                      I Can Only Disappoint U                                       04:34
2                      Being a Girl                                                        02:10
3                      The Chad Who Loved Me                                     05:14
4                      Stripper Vicar                                                     03:46
5                      Comes As No Surprise                                         04:35
6                      Electric Man                                                       04:40
7                      Love Is                                                              04:44
8                      Wide Open Space                                               04:26
9                      Taxloss                                                             10:04
10                     Fool                                                                  04:30
11                     Legacy                                                              05:04
12                     Special / Blown It (Delete As Appropriate)               04:22
13                     Everyone Must Win                                             05:00
14                     She Makes My Nose Bleed                                   04:21
15                     Take it Easy Chicken                                           06:54

DISC 20:  RADIO SESSIONS     

Mark Radcliffe Radio One Session, 20/11/95       

1                      Drastic Sturgeon                                                 03:22
2                      Naked Twister                                                     03:48
3                      She Makes My Nose Bleed                                  04:04

Peel Session, BBC Radio One, 24/3/96    

4                      The Chad Who Loved Me                                      06:09
5                      Ski Jump Nose                                                   02:30
6                      Lemonade Secret Drinker                                     03:13
7                      Egg Shaped Fred                                                04:38

BBC Radio One Session, 23/9/97               

8                      Everyone Must Win                                            04:16
9                      K.I.Double.S.I.N.G                                              03:25
10                     The World’s Still Open                                          03:28
11                     Lemonade Secret Drinker                                     03:14
12                     Closed For Business                                           02:47

John Peel Special, BBC Maida Vale Studios, to celebrate 25 years of Festive 50, 19/12/00

13                     Shot By Both Sides (sung by Chad)                                   03:38

DISC 21:  DEMOS & RARITIES VOLUME ONE    

1                      Take It Easy Chicken (Unsigned Demo)                  04:20
2                      She Makes My Nose Bleed (Unsigned Demo)           03:59
3                      Moronica (Unsigned Demo)                                   03:58
4                      No One Knows Us (Demo)                                    03:31
5                      Flourella (Demo)                                                  04:17
6                      Stripper Vicar (Demo)                                           04:05
7                      Skin Up Pin Up (Demo)                                         04:02
8                      Drastic Sturgeon (Demo)                                      03:25
9                      Egg Shaped Fred (Demo)                                      05:10
10                     Ski Jump Nose (Demo)                                         03:42
11                     Things Keep Falling Off Buildings (Demo)                04:34
12                      The Greatest Pain (Piano Take)                            02:58
13                     Naked Twister (Near Final)                                   03:51
14                     Mansun’s Only Love Song (Full Length)                  06:17

DISC 22:   DEMOS & RARITIES VOLUME TWO    

1                      The Chad Who Loved Me (Near Final)                     04:26
2                      She Makes My Nose Bleed (Near Final)                  04:01
3                      Ski Jump Nose (Acoustic)                                    02:30
4                      You, Who Do You Hate? (Demo)                            02:59
5                      Stripper Vicar (Parr St. Mix)                                 04:12
6                      Closed For Business (Demo)                                 03:22
7                      Anti-Everything (Extended Instrumental)                 03:25
8                      Grey Lantern (Alt Studio Version Take 2)                02:03
9                      Television (Live)                                                  07:08
10                     Mansun’s Only Love Song                                                05:39
11                     Taxloss (Live)                                                     06:44
12                     Everyone Must Win (Live)                                     05:00
13                     Dark Mavis (Near Final)                                        07:34

DISC 23:   DEMOS & RARITIES VOLUME THREE

1                      Rock ‘n’ Roll Loser (Demo)                                                04:25
2                      Watcher                                                             03:37
3                      An Open letter to a Lyrical Trainspotter (Take 2)      03:59
4                      Way It Is (Demo)                                                 04:57
5                      The Impending Collapse Of It All (Demo)                 04:21
6                      She Makes My Nose Bleed (Unknown Acoustic)       03:25
7                      Egg Shaped Fred (Acoustic)                                 02:49
8                      Railings (Demo)                                                   06:02
9                      Promises (Demo)                                                 05:23
10                     Naked Twister (Unknown Acoustic)                        03:03
11                     South of the Painted Hall                                      03:18
12                     The Drifters (Demo)                                             04:30
13                     These Days                                                        04:24
14                     You, Who Do Hate? (Near Final) 03:06

DISC 24:   DEMOS & RARITIES VOLUME FOUR   

1                      Things Keep Falling Off Bridges (Backing Track)      03:53
2                      Flourella (Studio Monitor Mix)                                04:20
3                      The Greatest Pain (Alternative Mix)                                    04:17
4                      Grey Lantern (Unreleased Studio Version)               02:59
5                      Rebel Without A Quilt (Take 2)                              06:22
6                      I Wanted So Much                                              03:24
7                      The Edge (Backing Track)                                    03:00
8                      This Is My Home                                                 03:44
9                      Forgive Me (Demo)                                             05:42
10                     Superstar (Demo)                                                            03:41
11                     Witness To A Murder (Part 1)                                01:49
12                     Chad’s Song (Guide)                                            04:15
13                     King Of Beauty (Writing Session)                           04:13

 

DISC 25:    DVD      

Brixton Academy (23/10/98) (80 mins)

1                      Negative
2                      Being a Girl
3                      Stripper Vicar
4                      Everyone Must Win
5                      Special/Blown It (Delete as Appropriate)
6                      Shotgun
7                      Wide Open Space
8                      Television
9                      Mansun’s Only Love Song
10                     Six
11                     She Makes My Nose Bleed
12                     Taxloss
13                     The Chad Who Loved Me
14                     Drastic Sturgeon
15                     Legacy
16                     Take It Easy Chicken

Top Of The Pops performances:

Wide Open Space (6/12/96)
She Makes My Nose Bleed (14/2/97)
Taxloss (9/5/97)
Closed For Business (17/10/97)
Legacy (10/7/98)
Being A Girl (4/9/98)
Six (12/2/99)
I Can Only Disappoint U (11/8/00)

 Later With Jools Holland (14/6/97)           

Wide Open Space
Mansun’s Only Love Song

Later With Jools Holland (21/10/00)        

I Can Only Disappoint U

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125 Comments

125 thoughts on “Mansun / Closed For Business 24CD+DVD anniversary box set

  1. Finally got my grubby little hands on a new copy of this for a little over 100USD. And it’s pretty. Lots to wade through, but on first listen to Attack, the sound is atrocious. Anyone else? I play discs on a very high end unit, so it ain’t me.

  2. I’m currently about 60% through this mammoth boxset and absolutely loving it. What is a shame is the original songs from disc 3 of Kleptomania that they left off. There are some classics on there that would have fit perfectly onto one of the 4 rarities and demos discs. Or even an extra disc? Anyway, it was a good excuse to give disc 3 of Kleptomania another spin.
    Anyone any idea why they left these off, but added such rarities as South of the Painted Hall? Still a great release. My number 1 boxset for 2020.

  3. “Great set. I am only disappointed they did not call it ‘I can only dissappoint u’.”

    This.

    And I can only hope I win the competitions I entered for this!

  4. Just received this from the SDE shop. Thank you Paul. I wasn’t going to buy this but then I watched your unboxing video! You did it justice, it really is superb.

      1. I believe there will be an expanded version of Little Kix, similar to the previous 2 albums. I think Paul Draper mentioned this in one of the videos about the box set. Would imagine it could be a year or so away though to stop people getting Mansuned out!

        1. I read that at some point Paul Draper wants to re-record Little Kix and Kleptomania and make them the albums they should have been. That would be amazing if he did that, but albums have some really strong songs and, in the case of Little Kix, a number of b sides stronger than some of the album tracks. But first his new album Cult Leader Tactics will be out later this year, looking forward to that one.

      2. Thanks Philip, anyone know definitively?

        Another question, is the box set using the exact same re-masters as the deluxe editions of Attack and Six? My copy of Grey Lantern says mastered 2018 by Jon Astley. Or are they new?

    1. Good to hear! If it feels a bit ‘quiet’ at SDE right now, then it *may* have something to do with us packing a lot of Mansun box sets :)

  5. A pretty great collection… i love mansun since the 90s, and have all their cds, singles, tapes, and this is amazing…. i just wonder…. why it didn’t includes 4 acoustic songs released as b-sides of cassettes back in the 90s (egg shaped fred, ski jump nose, the acoustic collapse of it all and mansun’s only acoustic song)…. i think paul is wondering the same

  6. Triple J live set is awesome it was the first time i heard this band and still have the cassette recorded from radio!
    Cant wait to hear this, many thanks ;)

  7. Pre-ordered from SDE shop. I tend to go for 2-3 CD deluxe edition sets a lot of the time but this one is impossible to resist!! I have pretty much every release by Mansun but still so much new stuff here! And thanks Paul for the extra CD single, the Wide Open Space Trouser Enthusiasts remix was on the Being A Girl cassette single which I had but lost ages ago, this is a brilliant remix!

  8. Awesome value for money for that much content but even as a fan of the band I hope there’s a repackaged version of this down the line that excises all the live stuff to bring the price down to around a hundred for the albums, b-sides, rarities & beeb sessions, I’d be in for that…

  9. Decent price for a decent set and I ordered as soon as I could. Looking forward to the extra single. Not for everyone but it is always great imho when a band you like issues live sets at a reasonable price and saves you scrabbling everywhere for bootlegs.
    Only sad there wasn’t an early Moles gig or two in there. They were great but never sure if they got recorded.

  10. Not a big fan of Mansun but wow ! That’s a massive retrospective box set for a band that only made 4 studio albums. A very creative box set with the artwork and books. Kudos to people who curated this box set.

    Mode (18 CD with all the studios albums of Depeche Mode but no additional CDs, tracks, demos, live or bonuses of any kind) looks pale compared to that. I know we’re not talking about same production (18 studios albums and probably 100+ singles instead of only 4 studio albums and less than 20 singles) but still, I applaud the effort made by Mansun and the label.
    In order to have the same output for DM, you’d need to buy the Mode box, either the CD singles or 12″ singles box sets + at least 5 live shows on double CD (DM release one after almost every tour). Even if you did that for only DM’s first 4 albums, it would be pricey !

  11. Another thought…is this possibly the best value uber box set? Bearing in mind a casual fan wouldn’t buy this (probably), and bearing in mind the cost of some SDE’s (hello Roxy Music, Macca), the fans know what they are getting, so 13 versions of …Chicken = fair enough. Plus the books, all the albums, live stuff, b-sides, sessions, DVD…And the repetition isn’t Floyd-esque (Blu-ray AND DVD if the same stuff in the same set), but different versions from different times in the bands history… It works out as, what £6 A disc? Mansun always were generous with bonus material back in the era of multipart CDs, and that seems to be continuing.

  12. Do you need 5 live concerts? Well if you are a fan, yes you do. I’d take 20, if I were a fan.
    I have about 30 Lilac Time / Duffy concerts from awful to very, very good and I cherish each and every one. If they were made available via some massive boxset I would be first in the queue. And that’s the point. There is the slightest difference between people who “like someone“ and “has all their records”, a phrase you see here often. But what they mean is I have the big ones and a couple of the smaller ones and I bought a single or two back in the day. I qualify as a fan. Well, yes and no. I doubt whether many on here are capable of being *that* kind of fan for more than one or possibly two artists. It would be very expensive for starters. For those who are slathering at the thought of 5 Mansun gigs as part of a 25 disc set I salute you, you lucky ducks! For those that don’t see the point of 5 gigs, we’ll this ain’t aimed at you is it? If you are thinking “why doesn’t band or artist X do this” then that’s why this isn’t squarely in your sights.
    Good luck to those who see this as a no brainer. I envy you. I really do.
    Can you imagine the inner turmoil if it was your group? If it was Kate Bush releasing a jam packed 25 disc retrospective? That’s how these guys feel right now. Jealous.

    1. Perfectly put Chris.

      Comments that highlight tracks/versions that are missing from releases are genuinely helpful. Complaints that a release has *too much* content (or just replying ‘Who?’, as Paul tweeted about) really aren’t.

  13. A nice comprehensive set for a great band. Alas, since I bought the original albums and EPs at the time, got sent the Mansun Demos CDs from Dark Dave back in the day, and recently got the the Six and Grey Lantern reissues (on vinyl and deluxe 5.1 sets), there’s not a whole lot in there that I don’t have (and ten live albums is about nine too many), so it’s not for me.

    I’d recommend the set to anyone else who’s curious though!

  14. Ordered from SDE as a birthday present to myself!

    As someone with ‘prog-tinted’ tastes, I always liked Mansun and AOTGL still stands up as a stunning debut. I followed the band through the following single releases (Legacy is their best song imho), but the Six album left me a bit cold as it always seemed a bit all over the place to me. It was years later before I picked up Little Kix and I still really enjoy listening to it today, as it’s a great return to form.

    A great price for this set (I look at it as £40 each for four 6 disc SDEs) which I can personally justify as I missed out on the recent SDEs of the first 2 albums

  15. Of all of the “Britpop” bands of that era, Mansun was the proggiest and probably the best (also loved Suede). As an avid fan in the U.S., this was an immediate purchase for me regardless of shipping costs. Something that heavy is going to cost you…

      1. Looking at some it does look to include this, but the fact this long out of print item being included isn’t being touted made me ask the question. I am more bulking at the 60 gbp to ship to canada…

        1. This is tricky, doing some referencing, it does look the like it’s using the UK Six, not the US Six and some of the Japanese Six AVCD tracks are in too, in addition to CDs 2 and 3 of the Kleptomania, which have been disbursed over multiple cd’s in this set.

          The Demo Tapes are in their, but the tracks have been re sequenced (I got some of the tapes to Dave back in the day – and I would hazard there are a few in Japan, still not on this compilation, unless Draper copied them before sending them out… )

          The Reading Radio One version might be a different one (or a full set), as a shorter set was broadcast on 26 July 1999 on Lamacq live with an interview with Draper before they played it. The extra tracks here are Being a Girl – Special/Blown It (Delete As Appropriate) – Ski Jump Nose – She Makes My Nose Bleed.

          And re the shipping, I know it’s big set Paul, but I have to factor in the extra $40 fees and duties that I know will also come with it. First world problems I know.

  16. Love Mansun, and love AOTGL & Six. That said, in this climate, I can’t justify this – especially as I bought the SDEs of the first two albums in the last couple of years (inc. Six from this very site, thanks Paul). But no denying it’s a hell of a set, and I agree it’s a way out of not doing a 4-disc Little Kix SDE.

    What I am curious about is the Brixton Six Tour DVD. In the Six SDE, PD talks about it as a separate project for a separate release. It’s held up as arguably the very peak of their powers, their greatest gig (remember, in ’98 they were voted best live act in MM & NME, I think). I wonder if a stand alone release will be forthcoming. Because I think that would sell very well…

    1. Is it actually true that Mansun were voted ‘best live act’? (presumably in readers poll) I don’t remember that at the time and can’t find evidence of it now. Just curious to see it confirmed

  17. While I am not a Mansun fan (not really familiar with much from that era – raising young kids at the time) I can appreciate that this must be very welcome for fans.

    I hope some day that one of my favorites will get a similar treatment though to expand 4 albums to 24 CDs takes a lot of canojes IMO. Ten live shows to me is excessive as I am not a big fan of live albums and no matter how you look at it, it’s a lot to release for a 4-year period. Five live albums and 5 DVDs would have made more sense to me. But can’t beat that price. Or actually the 33 CD Donna Summer set sold for just £10 more.

    Looking forward to seeing what gets done with the Blondie Box that was in the works.

    1. I am also looking forward to seeing what they do with the rumoured Blondie box…………… We can hope that it will be something like this!

  18. This is one of those posts where I wanna know every detail and simultaneously I’m thinking “how fast can I get this ordered!?!” So, ordered! Even with the £80 shipping to the US (ouch!!).

    Are the track times for disc 10 correct? The first half of them look really short.

      1. It’s possible these are parts of a live “medley” perhaps? Maybe they played short snippets of each track before segueing into the next? I loved finding out about Mansun’s time on the Isle of Man (where I live now) and their debut album launch where they renamed it the Isle of Man-sun…sadly that was before I lived here, but sounded like a good event, doing a signing in the HMV here then a gig that evening at a local hotel/casino. I got into them more around ‘Six’ but we’re definitely my favourite Britpop era group after Pulp. After a bit of deliberating, put my order in through SDE shop last night Paul – is the promo CD the same one available when you had the Attack of the Grey Lantern LP for sale? While I’ll duplicate this, I have a friend overseas who collects Mansun stuff so will gift it to him!

        1. Thanks Peter. Yes, it is the same CD single. Had some left over, so thought I may as well put ’em in the hands of fans via this incentive.

  19. Wow. Thought it was a typo at first! 24cds! Really not sure, love mansun but am I really going to listen to all those (similar) live CDs and backing tracks?!… Bargain when you compare the output to Maccas deluxe campaign.

  20. I really want this, but I’m not sure I can justify this purchase. 10 live CDs, most of which look identical (I know they’re not identical, but how different can they really be?)

    I’ve already bought Attack six times. Cassette and CD when it came out, then the 3 CD box, then the 4 disc one, twice, and the vinyl, plus Six twice, and the greatest hits, and Kleptomania.

    I hate to say it, but I hope this will be available to stream. I think Paul Draper has had plenty of my money now!

    1. One often sees comments here where people say “I must get around to listening to that boxset I bought 5 years ago” and suspect that this will be one of those in many cases…

    1. Well said .i bought MODE . Can’t believe people are saying they can’t justify the price ( current climate aside) on this set . It’s fantastic value for that amount of discs. DM issue 10 12” singles for £160 ! Admit I’m nuts on Mansun ( I’ve got 3o + copies of Lantern and Sx) but I’ll follow they’re releases ‘Right To The End Of The Earth’ .

    2. I was inspired by the release of the MODE-box (which btw is currently available via Discogs for 430€ +) to look around for the 10 re-released studio albums that included the 5.1-mixes.

      Over a few weeks i was able to locate all of them new at regular web-shops and added a copy of the “101”-DVD to get that in 5.1 as well.

      All in all i paid less than 200€ for the lot AND have original artwork and surround mixes

      For anyone wondering – i got the other three available 5.1-mixes (Playing The Angel, Sounds Of The Universe and Delta Machine) when they were originally released.
      So i’m currently only missing out on “Spirit” where sadly there is no surround mix released so far.

  21. Hi Paul

    Sorry forgot to ask…..Is the Box Set with Signed Music Sheet limited to 500 or is it the SDE exclusive single that is limited to 500? Thanks so much in advance.

    1. The CD single is limited to 500. Although we gave away quite a lot of them before so I think we have between 100 and 200 left over.

  22. Hi Paul

    Could you PLEASE hold a copy for me as PayPal need to VERIFY my New Debit Card and they don’t currently have any LIVE customer service agent working for them at the moment so, the verification has to be done via snail mail. Your cooperation in advance would be greatfully appreciated.

  23. Hi Paul,

    Is it a typo, or is “Good Intentions Heal the Soul,” the final track on Kleptomania, not included in this box set?

    1. @Andre Salles:

      The track listing @burningshed.com includes “Good Intentions Heal The Soul” as track 11 of “Kleptomania”, track length given including the hidden track “The Dog From Two Doors Down” is 26:12.

  24. Nice but a lot of duplicated live stuff , the set list varies little . Also if it’s a mansun box set then all the signatures would be nice rather than just Paul Drapers or is he now Mr mansun ? Sorry if I sound churlish but they were a band and everyone brought something to the table .

    1. I think there was a bit of a falling out with Mansun and Paul Draper effectively looks after the reissue stuff nowadays. As you say a full band signature would be cool but this is a bit of an embarrassment of riches for fans. That’s my Xmas present sorted!

      1. Good luck tracking down the other three! I don’t believe even Paul Draper knows where they are. They weren’t really friends to begin with and things didn’t end well, to put it mildly!

  25. Now THAT’S a box set! Looks absolutely spectacular. I love Mansun and even though they’re not anywhere near musical heroes of mine their output really was exceptional. I never ever buy cd’s – I’m strictly a vinyl man nowadays but couldn’t pass this up. Bought the vinyl reissues of Attack and Six and spin them quite often and I’ve wondered when the next two were due for the reissue treatment. Feel like that’s not going to happen now. Somehow glad there is not any vinyl option as I surely would have felt compelled to pay for that otherwise. Shudder to think what a – give or take – 35 disc vinyl set would have cost…

    Happy to have ordered from SDE as well, and the added cd single is a nice bonus!!

  26. Oh, and just to be clear I got my copy of the “Attack …” box from Paul so I have the SDE exclusive CD Single already as well ;)

  27. I’m a little frustrated as, after buying the two recent SDEs, I went through Ebay and other sources to collect every single song they officially released by getting all the EPs, often in multiple formats. Seems like I should have saved some money and waited for this instead! ;) In reality, as I have all the official content (including the best 2 albums as HD versions) and rarely listen to live stuff I think I will give it a pass … but fair do’s, a spectacular set at a great price and would have snapped their arm off before I went on my Ebay mission (which I’m sure cost me more)!

  28. For an item which is touted on Mansun’s own website as the “ultimate collection”, I find it somewhat ironic that SDE are selling this with item with an exclusive, bonus CD single… particularly in the light of castigating the McCartney organisation for their ‘Beautiful Night’ download which isn’t included in their own Flaming Pie monster release… I think if I was a Mansun fan who had ordered their copy from the band website you would be a tad miffed to find it wasn’t actually the ultimate because SDE had an extra item they wouldn’t be receiving. I like the SDE site and how to speaks for fans but this seems a contradiction against the very thing it, and others, were calling out all too recently.

    1. Interesting attempt to contrast apples and oranges. Mansun fans have all the time in the world to purchase this wherever they wish – it doesn’t come out until November. If they want the SDE deal they can cancel their other order and go for it. The SDE listing and the Mansun one went up at roughly the same time, so it’s not like I’m late to the party. I don’t see how McCartney not putting a free download on CD in a £500 box set is similar to me, with my retailer hat on, giving away a CD single.

        1. Well you haven’t done a very good job of explaining why, but please don’t bother, because I’m really too busy to get into some tedious point-scoring debate.

          1. Yes, Paul – how dare you rip off Mansun fans by shamelessly giving them a free CD?

  29. Missing tracks as far as I can see:

    Taxloss (Lisa Marie Experience Remix) from Taxloss (cD1)

    Wide Open Space (The Perfecto Mix) from Legacy (CD2)

    The Impending Collapse Of It All (Acoustic) from the Legacy cassette

    I Can Only Disappoint U (Perfecto Club Mix) from Electric Man (CD2)

    Secrets, It’s Ok, Drones, Right to the End of the Earth plus two hidden tracks (Witness to an Opera and Thief (Alternative Version) and 2 demos (Love Is… and Love Remains) from Kleptomania

      1. Yep, it’s incredible this has been left of yet ANOTHER Mansun release. It was released on the Being A Girl cassette single, but is presumably from the same acoustic session as all the first album acoustic sets. So it could have been included on the original Parlophone AOTGL deluxe cd, the AOTGL boxset and the Six boxset. How bizarre for such an extensive boxset, this could be left off again! Draper even replied to someone on FB saying it’s be on, so he knows all about the track.

    1. It’s not Mansun- The Complete Works. It’s the ‘ultimate ‘ box set . Remixes are lame anyway and easy to find as are the other tracks .

  30. Massive Mansun fan and I quickly ordered it from your site. Happy to bring business to SDE and very pleased to get the limited edition single. The box set is massive. Makes the super deluxe editions of the first two albums a bit redundant. Still, Draper’s packages are usually exceptionally well done. So looking forward to this.

  31. Ordered! What an incredible box set, I had collected all the singles to get the b-sides but I’m glad to get them all in one place. The live material was enough tempt me, can’t wait to get listening to this.

    One of my favourite bands, they should have been massive.

  32. I get the feeling Paul didn’t really want to do standalone Little Kix and Kleptomania reissues, so this is the way to get that material out there.

    Looks like I’m going to be saving up for a while as this is only a few weeks after the similar Divine Comedy box.

    1. Ross can you confirm there will be no Little Kix deluxe version like the 1st two?
      Does anyone know if a stand-alone re-issue of Little Kix will happen and when?

  33. Wow! This is amazing! One of my favourite bands ever! Ordered already from SDE! Thanks Paul

    My only observation (I won’t say complaint as that would seem churlish) is that this doesn’t have the remixes from the time on it, e.g. for Taxloss and I Can Only Disappoint You. Maybe they will all make it on to CD someday.

    This is still amazing!

  34. Now that Paul has notified us of this and the recently announced Prince box sets, I guess were not that far away from even bigger box sets? Lol…

    “Dear valued customer, your order has shipped the first of 3 packages”.

  35. just ordered at sde. Ridiculous shipping prices now from UK to Germany – maybe this is the hidden financing of the brexit ;-)
    – but the most important: really happy to get this special super deluxe edition! A great addition to all my mansun vinyls.

  36. I was always quite fond of Mansun,remember buying their CD singles at the time,my favourite was Legacy
    This is definetley an exhaustive collection,not sure i can afford it though at the moment,maybe regret it when it goes out of print and is on Ebay for £500 which is what i expect to happen

    Attack of the Grey Lantern and Six had a good Expanded treatment a couple of years ago,not sure if im enthusistic enough to get this as opposed to making do with those 2 previous excellent releases
    Really dont know what to do,£160? Think i’ll have to listen to their stuff again and reaquaint myself before deciding
    Thanks for informing us of this release though,very interesting

  37. Hi Paul, any idea if this is only going to be sold via a few outlets like the recent Divine Comedy box? Or will it go wider than that?

  38. Surprised there’s only one dvd, surely there must be more than that in mr draper’s basement? Other than that though, excellent package and half decent pricing too.

  39. is this going to be available other places as well such as amazon and what not, since i would love to order from SDE, but it’s $300 after shipping to the USA

      1. I ordered mine from burning shed . It came out to around $243 after shipping. Wanted to order it from the SDE shop but shipping would have been an extra $56 which is a lot for an limited exclusive cd single.
        I also like they charged at purchase which is nice for a big purchase, so I can just forget about it until I receive shipping notification

  40. Well they said they had a big project and it certainly is that. At first I thought some of the shows were short and wasting space on the disc (could have combined them), but then, actually I think it is better that way. Personally I would have put all the b-sides from Little Kix on the same CD (disc 9) as they would all fit but other than that it looks pretty perfect, Looks like it has all the cassette b-sides which are hard to find, and not full overlap with the First two album box sets.

    1. not, the cassette b sides are missing…. egg shaped fred acoustic (closed for business 7″), ski jump nose acoustic and the acoustic collapse of it all (legacy cassette) and mansun’s only acoustic song (being a girl cassette)

  41. WOW, does this then include the remasters as included in the latest 2 SDE of the first and second albums. Or are these again new remasters?

  42. Great set. Decent price and no superfluous vinyl to push up the cost. Does this duplicate the content of the recent Six and AOTGL special editions?

  43. Jesus…some treat for fans. Frustrating that much bigger groups from the era, ie Pulp, don’t have anything as comprehensive in terms of reissue.

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