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1985 B-Sides – THE FINAL GROUPS
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— 24 April 2023 Tom

We’re down to our last 16 B-Side tracks in the World Cup Of 1985 – a parade of the underground, the influential, and the unjustly forgotten.

They’ve been split into four final groups. The Top 2 in each will advance. But in a bit of EXPERIMENTAL POLLING, you can vote for your preferred two in each group. I’m interested to see what difference (if any!) that makes.

Polls end on Wednesday morning UK time and we’ll have our quarter-finals that afternoon. Here’s the YouTube playlist:

Now for the actual polls:

First group:

Second group:

Third group:

Fourth group:

Vote in them all! Tomorrow it’s the A-Side Octofinals over on Twitter too.

[ays_poll id=21][ays_poll id=22][ays_poll id=23][ays_poll id=24]

Latest comments (of 6)

Tom   20 months ago

It feels like we are heading towards some kind of 'clash' of Jamaican 'sounds'.

James BC   20 months ago

This is good - the more of these songs I can vote for, the better. Crossing everything for Girlie Girlie - my nominations hardly ever get anywhere and I couldn't be more pleased and surprised if […]

koganbot   20 months ago

Got the instruction but like Al I didn't think two was enough for the third group.* Finally went w/ Wayne and Sugar, the tie-breaker between Sugar and Schoolly being that "Jammin'" kept its variety […]

TheRealBreadco   20 months ago

I missed that instruction too! Bummer!

1985! B-Sides Round 2 Matches 12-16
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— 21 April 2023 Tom

Here are the final four B-Sides Round 2 matches in THE WORLD CUP OF 1985, which is also continuing over on Twitter at the peoples_pop account (assuming Elon keeps polls intact).

Here’s the YouTube playlist for these:

Matches today include Sophia George, Newcleus, Robert Wyatt (again!), Squirrel Bait, Sugar Minott, Amina, Lone Justice and The Triffids…

Sophia’s reggae-pop bounce and Newcleus’ electro-rap form our first pairing.

That’s followed by a second Robert Wyatt selection – this time it’s “The Age Of Self”, up against uncanny 90s-inventors Squirrel Bait.

Next it’s the full-length dub version of Sugar Minott playing Amina’s French-Tunisian disco-funk

And bringing our B-Sides Round 2 matches to a close it’s Lone Justice head-to-head with this glowering epic from The Triffids.

All these matches except the Minott/Amina one are also on Spotify!

At the weekend Twitter will host the A-Side final groups then come back here on Monday for their B-Side equivalents…

[ays_poll id=17][ays_poll id=18][ays_poll id=19][ays_poll id=20]

A single comment

Cloglover69   20 months ago

Squirrel bait is one of the best things I’ve ever heard in A PPP, crazy what those guys went on to do.

THE WORLD CUP OF 1985! B-Sides Round 2 Matches 9-12
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— 20 April 2023 Tom

 

Back back BACK with four more matches from the 1985 World Cup, underground polls for the more discerning people’s pop palate. Or something like that.

YouTube playlist:

And onto the polls themselves:

Our first match is an absolute cracker – house music from Mr Fingers v freestyle from Brenda K Starr

[ays_poll id=13]

Then we’ve got the first of two Robert Wyatt tunes in the B-Sides, this time it’s “Gharbzadegi” up against The Damned.

[ays_poll id=14]

Proto-gangsta rap vs chic French pop as Schoolly D and Etienne Daho face off in match number three.

[ays_poll id=15]

And finally it’s the arsequake v punkabilly showdown you probably failed to demand as the Butthole Surfers take on the Redskins

[ays_poll id=16]

The Spotify playlist actually has all these tracks – here it is:

Latest comments (of 4)

Tom   20 months ago

I'm glad my remaining nom (PSK) is alive here, but sad because I've, er, fallen for Etienne Daho's track and its wonderful slapstick pratfall synth riff.

Tom   20 months ago

#2 I think at this point they were kind of leaning into their goofiness a bit - they definitely come over as panto goths here and on "Eloise". They were the one punk-era remnant who seemed really […]

Vinnycrackers   20 months ago

So I always think of the Damned as kind of a ludicrous band. Like I don't take them seriously at all. Is it just me?

Tom   20 months ago

Curse the Butthole Surfers for making me vote with the band with the grossest name in the tournament (their opponents)

THE WORLD CUP OF 1985! B-Sides Round 2 Matches 1-4
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— 18 April 2023 Tom

Our first actual on-site polls (I hope they work!)

These are our B-Side matches – lesser-known tracks put under the spotlight. Four head-to-heads with 12 more to come, assuming these function as planned.

First off, Detroit proto-techno from MODEL 500 vs Monsoon’s SHEILA CHANDRA

[ays_poll id=4]

Then it’s an industrial v hair metal clash – COIL v RATT

[ays_poll id=6]

Dancehall don TENOR SAW is up against alternative pop songwriter MARTI JONES

[ays_poll id=7]

And finally a brutal indie-on-indie match between WORLD DOMINATION ENTERPRISES and THE LOFT

[ays_poll id=8]

I’ll be advertising this secret den of polling violence on Twitter too, comment there or here – ultimately I want comments to mostly move here though, but it’ll be much easier once we do Twitter integration on the new site.

Latest comments (of 8)

koganbot   20 months ago

And then in the early '80s Sister Nancy did an absolutely inspired interpolation of the Byron Lee/Toots & The Maytals' phrasing of "bam bam" into the Stalag riddim: Sister Nancy "Bam" […]

koganbot   20 months ago

The first I heard the Stalag riddim was on this track by Big Youth. It's still my favorite of all of them. Big Youth "Jim Screechy" a.k.a. "Jim Squashey." [EDIT: I see that in comments WordPress […]

dorsalstop   20 months ago

Polls are back! Fantastic. (There were rumours they had been continuing on the Bad Place, but even if true I shan't be considering those canon.) Can't wait for my 1985 main, "5 Minutes" by, […]

actualeesimpson   20 months ago

Both World Domination Enterprises and The Loft have grown on me a lot. Meanwhile Sheila Chandra is struggling here but is still in pole position on my golden beat list and in my heart <3

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