Equal But Different: BBC Sessions 1979-83 [Import, Live]

Au Pairs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 21, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Live
• Label: RPM Records
• ASIN: B000002K7J
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #472,044 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Monogamy [#]

2. Pretty Boys [#]

3. Come Again [#]

4. Ideal Woman [#]

5. Dear John [#]

6. The Love Song [#]

7. It's Obvious [#]

8. Repetition [#]

9. Unfinished Business [#]

10. Diet [#]

11. We're So Cool [#]

12. Armagh [#]

13. The Set-Up [#]

14. Headache for Michelle [#]

15. Intact [#]

16. Shakedown [#]

17. Instant Touch [#]

18. America [#]

19. America [#]

20. Steppin' Out of Line [#]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BREATHTAKING BUT FIERCE!, January 3, 2000

By 

amysamm "amysamm" (SF, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Equal But Different: BBC Sessions 1979-83 (Audio CD)

This collection of BBC Sessions is absolutely essential! Songs from both albums and the singles are portrayed here along with two non-LP tracks, "Monogamy" and "Ideal Woman", two of their best songs hands down.

Don't miss out on a chance to hear the band which defined the equality of the sexes and poked fun at the foolishness of modern day romance.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finished business but they're so cool, December 19, 2009

By 

ascensus - See all my reviews

This review is from: Equal But Different: BBC Sessions 1979-83 (Audio CD)

Birmingham's (that is, Britain's second city and not the Alabama Birmingham) Au Pairs were one of the most politicised groups of the post-punk period, fronted as they were by Lesley Woods who served as inspiration for the later Riot Grrl movement. Along with their contemporaries Gang Of Four they took punk's questioning, defiant attitude and married it with urgent, danceable and innovative sounds. Like the the Gang Of Four they produced an outstanding debut album, a less coherent second album and then disbanded. Unlike the Gang Of Four they've never reformed and it seems improbable they'll ever do so.

What you get on this album are the tracks they recorded for BBC sessions excluding, logically enough, the one from 1983. Versions of the early singles and all of the tracks from the first album, 'Playing With A Different Sex', are included along with half-a-dozen from the second album, 'Sense And Sensuality' and two tracks, 'Monogamy' and 'Ideal Woman', that were unavailable at the time of this compilation's release (they've since appeared on the 'Stepping Out Of Line' anthology).

The Au Pairs were intense and exciting on stage and these recordings come closer to capturing that spirit than the disappointing 'Live In Berlin' recording. They're well worth having though 'Playing With A Different Sex' is the best introduction to the group.

This 2000 issue alters the running order of the original 1994 RPM album and adds 'America'. In common with many sources on the internet Amazon has mislabelled the last two tracks, which are not a second version of 'America' and 'Stepping Out Of Line' but 'Stepping Out Of Line' and 'Sex Without Stress' respectively.