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David Bowie’s Tin Machine II to be reissued on coloured vinyl and CD

By Paul Sinclair

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154

David Bowie / Tin Machine II reissue

The second Tin Machine album is back in print!

Tin Machine II, David Bowie‘s second and final studio album with his late eighties band Tin Machine was released in 1991. It remains one of the few albums in Bowie’s canon that is properly out-of-print and therefore expensive to pick up on both vinyl and CD. All this changes in July since Music On Vinyl will reissue a limited edition coloured vinyl pressing and a CD edition of the album.

Tin Machine were David Bowie, brothers Tony and Hunt Sales (the rhythm section on Iggy Pop‘s Lust For Life) and guitarist Reeves Gabrels (who is now a member of The Cure). The rock band was formed as a way for Bowie to get ‘back to basics’ and escape from some of the commercial cul-de-sacs he’d found himself in during the 1980s. This was very much him ‘pleasing himself’ rather than trying to second guess what people wanted to hear.


Tin Machine

The first self-titled album was issued in 1989 and was fairly well received (Q Magazine gave it four stars, for example). Bowie had to wait until 1991 to put out the second Tin Machine album (simply called Tin Machine II) since he spent 1990 on his Sound+Vision world tour.

While Tin Machine II didn’t follow its predecessor into the top 10 of the UK albums charts, the second album does contain ‘You Belong In Rock n’ Roll’, the one and only Tin Machine single that penetrated the UK top 40 singles chart (it peaked at 33 in August 1991).

The album also features ‘Baby Universal’ (the 1997 re-recording was recently unearthed for the Is It Any Wonder? album), a cover of Roxy Music‘s ‘If There Is Something’, and third single ‘One Shot’ (which was co-produced by Tonight producer Hugh Padgham, fact fans).

The album doesn’t have the rawness and, arguably, the focus of the first Tin Machine album, but there’s still much to enjoy and it’s probably an easier listen for the more casual Bowie fan. In places, it sounds more like a David solo album, with highlights including ‘Goodbye Mr Ed’, ‘Shopping For Girls’ and ‘Betty Wrong’. It’s not all good news though, because the Hunt Sales-sung ‘Stateside’ is possibly the nadir of the entire TM oeuvre.

Nevertheless, this reissue is tremendous news and I’d highly recommend the album to anyone half interested. The final Tin Machine release was the live album Oy Vey, Baby which was issued in 1992.

The silver vinyl of Tin Machine II has now sold out despite an increased 10,000 print run.

Tin Machine II is released on 17 July 2020 via Music On Vinyl. Pre-order both formats now from the SDE shop using this link or the buttons below.

Tin Machine II vinyl reissue

Side A

  1. Baby Universal
  2. One Shot
  3. You Belong In Rock N’ Roll
  4. If There Is Something
  5. Amlapura
  6. Betty Wrong

Side B

  1. You Can’t Talk
  2. Stateside
  3. Shopping For Girls
  4. A Big Hurt
  5. Sorry
  6. Goodbye Mr. Ed
  7.  Hammerhead (Instrumental) (Hidden track/unlisted)

Tin Machine II CD reissue

  1. Baby Universal
  2. One Shot
  3. You Belong In Rock N’ Roll
  4. If There Is Something
  5. Amlapura
  6. Betty Wrong
  7. You Can’t Talk
  8. Stateside
  9. Shopping For Girls
  10. A Big Hurt
  11. Sorry
  12. Goodbye Mr. Ed
  13.  Hammerhead (Instrumental) (Hidden track/unlisted)

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154 Comments

154 thoughts on “David Bowie’s Tin Machine II to be reissued on coloured vinyl and CD”

  4. Few copies of this coloured vinyl ‘limited edition’ of 10,000 available for sale on Amazon UK as of Saturday morning (18th July).

  5. Thank you Paul, for my Tin Machine II bundle. It arrived this morning. Great packaging, excellent delivery time and it looks and sounds great. It’s crazy that it’s taken nearly thirty years to be rereleased. Cheers Mr. Sinclair.

  7. My copy just arrived thanks :)
    For those tempted here’s the details…
    Nice spot varnishing of album title
    that’s it, not the figures themselves.
    Described as LIMITED EDITION…
    b*ll*cks! …10,000 copies.
    Dark Silver/Grey heavyweight vinyl
    One sheet insert with lyrics one side, photos on the other, no download code.
    Resealable plastic sleeve (Not heavy duty).

    CD standard CD case. Thin booklet. Sealed.

    1. The limit is 10,000.
      The Police 6 Pack of blue vinyl singles from about 40 years back was limited to ‘only’ 50,000 copies…

  8. Does this put the kibosh on the long planned Tin Machine boxset? Reeves is reported to have assembled a collection that included several previously unreleased tracks.

  9. A live album from Dallas 1995 is due for imminent release on streaming platforms. I suspect that “Ouvrez le chien” will be released on physical formats included in the next in the series of Bowie box sets

  10. If the tin machine stuff is now being released separately, maybe we will see another in the series of Bowie box sets soon, minus the tin machine stuff? I’m sure they have plenty more stuff to pad out the next box set with!

  12. I have the Japanese Mini LP of this album which I purchased from CD Japan.

    I have not opened it but it says on the back cover that it has been digitally remastered.

  13. For clarification, this is a straight repress/reissue of the original CD bit for bit, with no remastering whatsoever, is that accurate?

  14. Real lost opportunity. A decent 4 CD boxset with both studio albums, the live one plus a disc of outtakes B.sides, rarities and demos plus booklet etc would have been perfect. Tin Machine a strange diversion for Bowie but perhaps ripe for reappraisal.

  16. It’s funny that this has now come up for reissue. With the reissue of the Iggy’s “Lust For Life”, an the fact that the Sales Brothers played on it, it prompted me to go back and listen to the first Tin Machine album last week. Like most people, I have the first Tin Machine album because it was part of the Ryko reissues (I didn’t start collecting Bowie releases until about 20 years ago). I never owned the second one, and was hesitant to pay the high prices on eBay, etc. This is great news indeed that this is seeing the light of day again. By the way, your site is the first web site I go to everyday. It’s the best source of information regarding reissues, and the comments from the other music collectors is spot on too.

    1. Thanks Joe! Actually the first Tin Machine wasn’t part of the Ryko reissues, but EMI have reissued it a few times and it was included in the 2007 Japanese mini-LP Bowie reissues.

      1. Paul, I stand corrected. My Tin Machine CD does say EMI Virgin, and not Rykodisc. Ordered my TM II copy from SDE today. Thanks Paul!

    1. There’s one Bonus track, “Hammerhead”, which is an instrumental.

      I have a CD of the outtakes from sessions recorded in Australia, and it’s a good listen. They could have made a second disc – but keep in mind this is being put out by a label that usually does straight reissues on license.

    2. Thanks for the nod Paul – ordered vinyl/CD bundle to go with original vinyl and CDs.
      I like both TM albums and One Shot, Amlapura and Goodbye Mr Ed are up there with any tunes.
      I feel most Bowie stuff is always judged harshly against such an auspicious and expansive body of work and I would think most writers/performers would be proud to say they had written even the “poorest” tracks!
      Saw Bowie ten times including TM at Brixton once – possibly the best concert I’ve been to.
      Seemed to genuinely love playing and I seem to remember the encore was almost another set.

  18. I never understood why this was out of print. The other TM album was remastered together with all the other Bowie albums at the time around 1998/99 but for some reason TMII was left off. I don’t think it is a bad album at all. It’s not a 5 star album but does it have to be? I give it a solid 3 stars. There are some great tracks on here, in general a bit less loud than TMI if I remember well. Haven’t played it in a while but this is a good occasion to start looking under the “T” in my collection and play it again. Very weird that this was not remastered by the way. Who reissues stuff 20 years after it went out of print without a remaster? That sounds like a shotty reissue job by some B label.

    1. Music In Vinyl very rarely remaster if at all, however the quality of their pressings and packaging is very high for the prices they charge

    2. I’d hardly call MOV a B label when it comes to reissues, and they have a good history with releasing Bowie on vinyl (Outside, Earthling, Hours, Heathen, Reality, Just A Gigolo, Peter & The Wolf, Philip Glass Low & Heroes symphonies)

  19. Reeves Gabrels posted on Twitter this evening that he knew nothing of this release & wants the label handling it to contact him, may be issues with the legitimacy of this reissue

  20. It seems like this may never actually happen, Reeves Gabrels has tweeted that neither him or Bowie’s reps were aware of this and they have now approached MOV with a please explain?

    1. Let me just point out that this reissue was announced on the official David Bowie website, which is controlled by the David Bowie estate. Reeves is perfectly entitled to ask a question online about how the project came about and where it was licensed from, but it is impossible for Bowie reps to be be unaware of something that they announced and promoted on the official website.

      1. Reeves appears to have deleted his tweet questioning / objecting to the release so maybe he’s been reassured its legit

  21. Oh for goodness sakes, some people really need to get over their hatred for anything Tin Machine. This is a great album, and Goodbye Mr. Ed would have been a highlight on a lot of Bowie albums.

    There’s a bonus track on this, Hammerhead, so that’s something. I have the original CD, but what the heck, I’ll get this for the bonus track (an instrumental) and have fun.

  22. Nearly 100 comments in less than a day for an album not universally loved and not remastered. Amazing! I actually think this album is great and wish it had sold more. Might buy it just for the uncensored artwork.

  23. After reading this “Nevertheless, this reissue is tremendous news and I’d highly recommend the album to anyone half interested. ” I have ordered the vinyl. I love your site Paul, managed to get lots of amazing music at an excellent price thanks to you. Imagine at only 1000 copies in the UK its going to sell out quickly.

  24. Personally think they’ve got this campaign wrong. Would of been delightful to have both Studio albums combined with Live album and the extras. I’ll be skipping this one, still a great album but first one slightly ahead for my tastes.

  26. Bundle ordered, one of my favourite Bowie lyrics is
    ‘when the kiss of the comb, tears my face from the bone’, I saw TM a few times on both tours, the last TM shows at Brixton were pretty stunning.
    Going back to TM after the Sound + Vision tour was a bit like going back to a lit firework, at the time a lot of big artists were striking out , like Springsteen dropping the E Street band & Jagger going solo, it’s difficult to understand why DB thought a second TM album had enough juice for another round after the hits tour, no one seems to like their favourite artist/band doing side projects. When TM worked it was top drawer Bowie, and the Sales brothers had a huge Bowie history, & I thought Reeves Gabrels was magnificent, though I know that divides Bowie fans. I think it’s right that TM are not part of the box set series, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to TM1, I hope that gets a stand alone release ( they can always mop up the b sides & Oy Vey Baby for RSD releases ) and the boxes start again with Black Tie White Noise. I haven’t listened to TM2 in one go since it was released, I’m looking forward to getting the vinyl and seeing what it sounds like on a half decent system.

  28. hi. cheers for info as always. with your bundle offer, how are the items packed to ensure the cd leaves no marks/indents on the vinyl when the package is chucked around by postie? apologies if this is a little over the top (OCD-lite?) but back when there were shops I would obsess over the pristine-ness of my records! thanks. paul.

    1. The vinyl record will be in a bubble-wrapped outer bag and the CD will be on top of that and it will be folded in a way that protects both. All that is inside a strong vinyl mailer. We’ve done it before and it works really well.

      1. thanks for the reassurance! order for bundle: placed. now simply need to stop the (diamond?) dog attacking the postman…i’ll get my coat. paul.

    2. Unfortunately my Dead or alive arrived Monday bashed up and the record cover and inner cover bent up beyond repair. The mailers do say “fragile” on them but unless they’re posted in second boxes ala Amazon with bubble wrap then you take your chances

  31. Hi I’ve got all 3 Tin Machine albums on Original vinyl inc Oh very baby and all 3 Original CDs,is it worth getting the Silver Vinyl? Really undecided,just pre ordered Live and We’ll Earthling t-shirt also just bought Next Day extra on vinyl and also have RSD albums coming out
    Don’t know whether to buy this

  32. The market for a big multi disc 5 years box set of TM is probably pretty limited so makes sense to release the albums as standalone discs. The last 5 years set sales were probably a lot lower than the previous 3, and TM could be lower still.

  33. I wonder if there will be alternate cover on the US version aimed to please all the prudes in the US. Penises, shocking, praying to make it go away immediately. Peace.

  35. Ordered both. Thanks, Paul!
    I’m sure there’s somebody disappointed that there’s not three CDs of “Stateside” remixes. The Geneva Convention forbids that.

  36. Bundle ordered! Never had the original vinyl, but did have the CD. Strangely, I could never find my copy and assumed it was somehow lost. I moved a year ago and magically it re-appeared when unpacking the collection.

          1. Black vinyl isn’t coloured, it’s derived from the addition of carbon and other ingredients for durability, and occurs naturally. Pretty much in the same way tyres are black, and rubber hoses etc. There is no dye in black vinyl.

  37. Ordered on Vinyl, Cheers, i’ve been wanting this album added to my collection for ages, (the Original is a bit pricey – well on Ebay anyway)

  38. Tin Machine 1 was a fantastic album, this however is a steaming bunch of arse. Such a let down after the 1st one. “Baby Universal” & “Stateside” are pretty good but the rest of it….

    Wonder if this had been a big hit & there had been no Columbian Export problems With a certain member if they would’ve done another album? As it stands, if they do a reissue box with remastered albums, live stuff & demos, I’ll buy it no worries but not this on its own.

      3. Paul, your FT reference made me genuinely LOL. Perfect response. As an American, i’ve used this one or twice…and I get nothing. Figures. Anyway, thanks for your page and the laugh…

  40. ‘Amlapura’ is a hidden gem of the same mysterious and intriguing genre as tracks such as ‘Some are’ and ‘A small plot of land (Basquiat OST version)’. I have the original version of this CD and would have bought this re-issue if it had included the Indonesian version of ‘Amlapura’ as a bonus track but no such luck. It was originally released as a B side to ‘You belong in rock and Roll’. Have a listen to it (and also a live version) on Youtube, it’s even more stunning than the album version.

  42. Bundle ordered – couldn’t resist, despite having the originals. Thanks Paul.
    Any word on whether they’ve been remastered?

  44. Surprised it’s a standard jewelcase, Music on CD is known for packaging albums in super jewelcase format.

    I’ll have to disagree with you Paul regarding the prices of the CD, it is not hard to pick up for a cheap price.

    However, what’s really interesting is the limited edition digipak. It comes with a stuck-on poster with portraits of all 4 members. There’s also a beautiful japanese paper sleeve from 2006.

    Glad Tin Machine II is getting re-released (and hey, it only took 29 years!).

  45. I have the original vinyl and CD releases, but good to see these reissues (bundle ordered, thanks Paul). This does lead to disappointment though, as the spectre of a remastered all-encompassing Tin Machine set looks unlikely

  46. Paul – I’m guessing that because no mention is made, this upcoming release (on CD for the purpose of this question) has not been remastered… therefore, for those of us who have and hold dear “Tin Machine II” on CD when it first came out there is seemingly no reason to acquire this version?

    1. Yes, I don’t believe this has been remastered so as you say, other than getting a nice brand-new looking copy, no massive need to buy the CD again, if you already own.

    2. When you think about some of the previous remastered disasters and what could go wrong, maybe a straight reissue is good news. It doesn’t sound like anything needs to be changed anyway.

  47. I’m waiting for the next Bowie box – it would be nice to have the Tin Machine stuff in there, but the uncertainty is what is keeping me from getting this release.

  48. Hi Paul, I’ve ordered the vinyl and it’s in my cart, but when I went to pay via PayPal it said it was unable to process the order! Now I can’t even get from my cart to the checkout stage! I’ve removed the item and re added it but still no joy!

    Any ideas??

    Rich

    1. Weird.. there certainly are no issues. Have you tried paying directly with a credit card, which is another way of doing it?

  51. I’ve the three albums (actually two of TM1 as there was the 15 track original and a 1999 remaster which excluded the Bus Stop bonus track) and loved them. Really good turned up and disappointed I never got to see them live. I have a bootleg with extended versions, an Indonesian version of Ampalura and live at the BBC tracks. A five CD box set would have been great.

  54. I’m wondering if this is a way of clearing the decks for the next Bowie ERA boxset so that the other members of Tin Machine are kept happy?

  55. Just Ordered Many Thanks Paul. I’ve never owned this Album but gave it a Listen on You Tube and it sounds Pretty Good so I look forward to it coming.

  56. Ordered. Own the originals (even saw TM three times in ’91) but I am excited that this is getting a re-release. TM box set at some point would be awesome — I’ve heard that the hold up on the TM box was a dispute about whether the Sales boys were going to be given equal shares of the profits. I wonder if that dispute has been settled, or how the monies are going to be distributed on this reissue.

      1. Thank you Paul, ordered. By the way – really appreciate your newsletter.
        It certainly helps with where to spend.
        Keep up the great work.

          1. Paul, please can you check that I ordered this, I’m sure I clicked on the link from here and committed the purchase, but the purchase is not in my account. Thanks in advance.

          2. Hi Colin. There is no order with this email address (I can see you ordered the McCartney booklet – thanks).

  60. A Tin Machine box would be fab. There’s more than enough outtakes floating around, and plenty of well recorded live gigs. But as is stated here, this could be coming out instead…..

  63. Not being pessimistic, but judging from some of the shenanigans from the Bowie estate, I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets released followed by a Tin Machine box set later this year or early next year.
    That said, I’m happy to see the album re-released on CD again.

      1. Yes. It’s now indeed unlikely a Tin Machine box set is coming. Which is a pity as it would’ve been nice to have all albums + assorted songs collected in one box, etc. It seems now that if anyone wants to get some Tin Machine material they’ll have to hunt the individual releases.
        So in that sense I do not consider this release any good news.

        (BTW, from what I understand the Music On Vinyl/CD label does straight reissues, so this one will not be remastered or such. It will likely have the same sound quality as the original release.)

  65. Just ordered – thanks
    Received the white Split Enz Mental Notes reissue yesterday – great pressing – really flat and quiet

  66. Brilliant news! Bundle ordered. A vastly underrated album, and it’s great to get an upgrade on my somewhat battered original vinyl copy.

  68. After owning an originalcd of the album, I suspect that there is a reason tm2 has been out of print for so long (its a bit crap), but thats only my personal opinion!
    A Bowie dvd or blu ray release in the near future would be nice, if anyone from parlophone is reading this post (preferable 1974 era, but anything is fine as long as its not tin machine live at the docks!)

  71. Awesome! Thanks so much Paul! My Russian Vinyl copy has worn thin – glad to replace it with a nice view one!! Great album – still holding out for a Bowie 5 Years type box set that covers Tin Machine!! Cheers

  72. Cheers for that Paul. A massive Bowie fan but have never owned – or heard – a Tin Machine album.
    In 2 minds – have heard so much negative stuff about them. Maybe will give it a listen first.

    I assume the CD version is unlimited?

    1. Yes, I don’t think numbers on the CD are an issue. This second album is definitely an easier listen for the uninitiated!

  77. Great news. I wonder if this bodes well for a possible TM ‘Five Years’-style box set this year?

    I still have my original TM2 from 1991. Must dig it out and see if it still plays.

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