Singles & Sessions 1979-81

Delta 5 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 24, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kill Rock Stars
• ASIN: B000CNFB2W
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,358 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Part of the Leeds/UK art/music scene in the late '70s that launched The Gang Of Four and The Mekons, Delta 5 was signed to Rough Trade after only a few months in existence, and released their first single, "Mind Your Own Business/Now That You've Gone" in 1979. BBC host and producer John Peel requested the band do a "Sessions" gig for him and they were officially on their way. Relentless touring with The Gang Of Four, Echo And The Bunnymen, B52s, The Specials, The Teardrop Explodes, and U2 put the group on the map. They continued until various members departed in 1981, when they recorded one last single and broke up in 1982. This release contains long unavailable material as well as the never before released Peel Sessions. Kill Rock Stars. 2006.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Classic Post-Punk, January 25, 2006

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F. Go - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Singles & Sessions 1979-81 (Audio CD)

WOW, this CD is great.I was always curious about Delta 5 knowing they ran in the same circles as Gang of Four & the Mekons.Similar in sound to bands like Au Pairs,The Slits,Raincoats, Bush Tetras & the aforementioned Gang of Four.Something must be in the water during that time because they all share a similar sound, funky rhythmns, angular guitar, female vocals..This CD has all their singles,Peel sessions, & a few songs from a live gig from Berkely in 1980.Excellent.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great music, however too much missing..., March 6, 2006

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P. Marter "music lover" (Vancouver, B. C., Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Singles & Sessions 1979-81 (Audio CD)

While it is nice to see some of this excellent bands music back in print I can only rate at 3 stars. My biggest problem is that all the releases by this band, 3 early 7" singles, 1 LP, an unreleased 7" b-side (Leaving), and their final 7" Powerlines b/w The Heart is a Lonely Hunter could have fit on one cd. Why issue this recording with only the first 3 7" singles, a few LP tracks, and 3 live tracks?

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Super Alpha Delta 5, September 30, 2006

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A. J. M. Mcdonald "avril" (the hague) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Singles & Sessions 1979-81 (Audio CD)

The 1980s has an undeserved reputation for bad music, bad everything, in fact. But it wasn't all dancing around handbags to cheesy pop. The late seventies and early eighties produced some of the most cogent and urgent music in the punk/post-punk vein.

Leeds-based Delta 5 (part of the college scene that also produced the Mekons and Gang of Four) were part of a wave of all female or female-fronted bands during this period, that also included the Au Pairs, the Raincoats and the Slits, who produced bolshie, in your face, uncompromising, political music. Those were the days, hard for younger people to imagine, before the main topic of conversation was house prices. But the best thing about the music was its defiant attitude and its sheer energy. Listening to the best bands of this period, it is clear that since then, angry guitar music has rarely been bettered, and the best guitar bands of today draw heavily from these pioneers.

On this collection of Delta 5's singles and sessions recorded between 1979 and 1981, some for the legendary His Greatness John Peel, the listener can get a good feeling for this great band. One of their best known cuts, Mind your own business, has lost none of its power. Neither have Now that you've gone, colour, Delta Five, Triangle, Innocent, Train song. But overall, not a lemon here