If it ain't Stiff...

I accidentally went into the HMV at Covent Garden yesterday after 'Lord of the Rings' and accidentally bought product. I couldn't help myself when I saw the new box set of Stiff records released by Salvo, 'The Big Stiff Box Set' with its tasteful cover.

Stiff was one of the saviours of pop music in the late '70s and part of the whole 'do it yourself' thing that came with punk - have an idea, record it and release it within days. Cheap 'n' cheerful and you never knew what kind of music would feature in the next release, but always worth watching out for. I think my first Stiff single was 'One Chord Wonders' by The Adverts (who can forget Gaye Adverts panda-eyes staring through the screen on 'Top of the Pops' when they played 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes'? and she played bass too). I went to see the 'Be Stiff Tour' with the marvellous Lene Lovich and Rachel Sweet which was a wonder to behold, half a dozen acts all playing on the same stage in the space of two hours.

The roster of Stiff stars is incredibly varied and we should all be grateful that Stiff gave them their break. With one or two exceptions, most moved on after a single or two so Stiff never enjoyed the mega-success of some of its artists, but that's not the point really.

Some of the names on this collection are: Nick Lowe, The Damned, Elvis Costello, Motorhead, Kirsty MacColl, The Pogues, Tracey Ullman, Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric, Jona Lewie, Lene Lovitch, Rachel Sweet, Madness, Tenpole Tudor, The Adverts, The Belle Stars, Department S and Alvin Stardust. And of course the wonderful Jane Aire.

Many of the tracks are new 'uns to me and some are barely remembered, like 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted' by Dave Stewart and Colin Bluntstone, a lovely version of the song. From punk to swing and touching on everything inbetween, the Stiff catalogue is a marvel to behold. A new gem for me is 'Religious Persuasion' by Andy White (who? but see here) and Desmond Dekker's 'Please Don't Bend' is pretty damn fab. 'Do You Believe in the Westworld' by Theatre of Hate deserves many plays. At over four hours, 98 tracks on four CDs and a 60-odd page booklet, this is a bargain indeed. Click on the link above to see the full track listing of wonders and oddities.

As they said back in the day, 'If it ain't Stiff it ain't worth a fuck'. How right they were.