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SDEtv ‘unboxes’ The Associates Party Fears Two CD single

Out on Friday, is the 40th anniversary 3CD+LP deluxe reissue of The Associates‘ 1982 album, Sulk. If you have pre-ordered this from the SDE shop then you have secured yourself an SDE-exclusive CD of ‘Party Fears Two’, the band’s classic single and commercial high point.

The CD contains five versions of the song (including the demo) and the original B-side. This is the first time it has ever been issued on CD and this is a strict limited edition of 500 units. The CD comes FREE with every Sulk deluxe edition pre-order.

Party Fears Two SDE-exclusive CD single tracklisting

  • Party Fears Two (7″)
  • Party Fears Two (Album Version)
  • Party Fears Two (Remix)
  • Party Fears Two (Instrumental)
  • I Never Will (Demo)
  • It’s Better This Way (original B-side version)

Watch the SDEtv ‘unboxing’ video and pre-order your copy of Sulk to get the CD single. Use this link or the button below.

The 40th anniversary of Sulk is released on Friday 15 July 2022, via BMG.

EU SHIPPING NOTES: If you are ordering from the EU please be aware that that goods may be subject to import VAT when they arrive from the UK. The prices the SDE shop charge you do not include VAT.

Tracklisting

Sulk The Associates / 3CD+vinyl LP deluxe with SDE-exclusive CD single

    • CD 1 – SULK: ORIGINAL ALBUM REMASTERED
      1. Arrogance Gave Him Up (2016 Remaster)
      2. No (2016 Remaster)
      3. Bap De La Bap (2016 Remaster)
      4. Gloomy Sunday (2016 Remaster)
      5. Nude Spoons (2016 Remaster)
      6. Skipping (2016 Remaster)
      7. It’s Better This Way (2016 Remaster)
      8. Party Fears Two (2016 Remaster)
      9. Club Country (2016 Remaster)
      10. Nothingsomethingparticular (2016 Remaster)
    • CD 2 – SULK: OUT-TAKES, MONITOR MIXES & RARITIES
      1. Ulcragyceptimol (Demo) (2022 Master)*
      2. I Never Will (Demo) (2022 Master)
      3. Club Country (Demo) (2022 Master)
      4. Me, Myself and the Tragic Story (John Leckie Recording) (2022 Master)
      5. Australia (John Leckie Recording) (2022 Master)
      6. Skipping (Monitor Mix Instrumental) (2022 Master)*
      7. It’s Better This Way (Monitor Mix) (2022 Master)*
      8. And Then I Read a Book (Alternative Version) (2022 Master)
      9. Ulcragyceptimol (2022 Master)
      10. It’s Better This Way (Alt Version) (2022 Master)
      11. The Associate (2022 Master)
      12. A Girl Named Property (2022 Master)
      13. Grecian 2000 (2022 Master)
      14. Party Fears Two (7″) (2022 Master)
      15. Club Country (7″) (2022 Master)
      16. 18 Carat Love Affair (2022 Master)
      17. Love Hangover (Extended Version) (2022 Master)
      *previously unreleased tracks
    • CD 3 – ASSOCIATES LIVE
      1. Me Myself And The Tragic Story (Peel Session 28/04/81)
      2. Nude Spoons (Peel Session 28/04/81)
      3. A Matter Of Gender (Peel Session 28/04/81)
      4. It’s Better This Way (Peel Session 28/04/81)
      5. Ulcragyceptimol (Peel Session 28/04/81)
      6. Waiting For The Love Boat (Peel Session 06/03/82)
      7. Australia (Peel Session 06/03/82)
      8. Love Hangover (Peel Session 06/03/82)
      9. A Severe Case of Career Insecurity (Peel Session 06/03/82)
      10. Arrogance Gave Him Up (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      11. A Matter Of Gender (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      12. Nude Spoons (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      13. Paper House (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      14. No (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      15. And Then I Read a Book (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      16. Gloomy Sunday (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      17. It’s Better This Way (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      18. Skipping (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      19. Australia (Live at Gigant, Apeldoorn 10/01/81)*
      *previously unreleased tracks
    • Blue vinyl LP – SULK: ORIGINAL ALBUM REMASTERED
      Side A
      1. Arrogance Gave Him Up (2016 Remaster)
      2. No (2016 Remaster)
      3. Bap De La Bap (2016 Remaster)
      4. Gloomy Sunday (2016 Remaster)
      5. Nude Spoons (2016 Remaster)
      Side B
      1. Skipping (2016 Remaster)
      2. It’s Better This Way (2016 Remaster)
      3. Party Fears Two (2016 Remaster)
      4. Club Country (2016 Remaster)
      5. Nothingsomethingparticular (2016 Remaster)
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6 Comments

6 thoughts on “SDEtv ‘unboxes’ The Associates Party Fears Two CD single”

  1. Still gutted – and I’m sorry, I know I do bang on about it – that the LP version here and on the album is actually the 12″ version. The original LP version was about 10 seconds longer with a little bit more of the looping instrumental before the fade. Not a great deal in the scheme of things but it’s enough to annoy me! Otherwise really pleased with the new edition – lovely CD single, the live album does not disappoint and the three new rarities are well worth hearing.

  2. Just out of curiosity Paul, what is the total playing time for this CD?

    ‘Sulk’ was my first exposure to Associates. I found MacKenzie’s vocal stylings a bit over-dramatic and bordering on histrionic at first, so Associates were an acquired taste for me. By the time I bought a CD version of ‘Sulk’ in ’90 or so, though, I’d come to better appreciate their unique vision. The best of the UK acts that fit roughly under the ‘electropop’ banner in the early to mid ’80s – ABC, New Order, Scritti Politti, Human League, OMD, Heaven 17, China Crisis, Talk Talk, Fashion (well, ‘Fabrique’ at least), New Order (sometimes), The Blue Nile, Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, and yes Associates (no doubt I’ve forgotten somebody obvious in this list) – had at least two things in common: they made ‘pop’ intriguing to the ears of a listener (me) who’s taste at the time was more in the ‘postpunk’ vein; and they were utterly unique. Of course, these acts all owed something major to what came before – most notably Suicide and Kraftwerk – but each added something fresh to the mix. I’m looking forward to this when it arrives…

  3. I remember buying the 12″ single of Party Fears Two when it was first released. Here in the States, in Los Angeles, California, that meant seeking the record out in the better stores that carried import vinyl releases. More than that, I never heard the song on any L.A. radio station; not even the listener supported, commercial free college/university stations. In other words, I was buying something and having no idea as to what it would actually sound like.
    But I definitely knew The Associates music! Thanks to a small, obscure US music magazine that was published at the time, a most informative article appeared in an issue from 1980. The writer focused on UK bands that were predominantly experimental, relying on diverse keyboards, instruments and electronic effects. He wrote about UK bands. None of them had US record contracts. I read about every one of these Avant-Garde artists that bravely took music to a new direction: The Associates, Dalek I, The Human League, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Ultravox.
    Without hesitation I went out to buy everything I could from these bands. This quest found me driving to a number of record stores until I was convinced I had everything available up to 1980.
    That’s when I first heard The Associates: Their debut album, The Affectionate Punch, played on the living room stereo of my North Hollywood apartment. I was swept away. Honestly, I couldn’t compare The Associates to any band I’d heard before. From that moment on I bought everything, EVERYTHING I could find by them as well as solo and collaborative work by Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine. The emotional passion I hold for these recording artists’ music remains in my heart.
    Paul Sinclair, when you offered your very deluxe edition of Sulk with this special CD single of Party Fears Two, I bought it as fast as I could. When I hear every track from this set including the single, I know I’ll be swept away again.
    Also, with nostalgia taking me back to other years and other L.A. neighborhoods I lived in, this extraordinary music will hit me real hard.
    When I hear Sulk, I already know my eyes will tear up at some point. Believe my words.
    Thank You, Alan, Billy and definitely Paul, for bringing this music once again to my L.A. home.

    1. “I couldn’t compare The Associates to any band I’d heard before”

      I think you’ve summed them up quite nicely there, Joe.

      Thanks for the vid, Paul – looking forward to spending some time with this set over the weekend when it arrives. With the recent rise in press coverage about the “resurgence” of the CD it probably won’t be long before CD singles are back in vogue in certain quarters as venerated fetish objects. From landfill to love-in. It’s a funny old thing, time, isn’t it?

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