There has been a bit of a gap in my posts here. Mostly this is due to my trip to London that started last Wednesday. In spite of almost having the entire thing sabotaged by American Airlines who cancelled our flights at 6 pm the night before we were supposed to leave at 8 am, everything went splendidly. I actually was able to learn a lot about the UK publishing world from some fellow colleagues who were more than gracious with their time. There are some very intelligent folks over there who believe in publishing and they are coming up with really creative ideas.

London is one of those cities I always feel at home in, perhaps because the Brits are such conversational people. They do have a knack for making one feel welcome. It was also a chance to catch up with several old friends who always go out of their way to come out and have a grand ol’ boozer. I miss them all already.

One of the things I love about London is that like New York City, there are always new things to discover, new parts to explore. This time around, I was lucky enough to discover a slew of new record shops. Unlike New York City, the London shops don’t overcharge for their LPs or 45′s. New York City has become ridiculous in this regard. Thank god for street vendors (usually ex-DJs) who are willing to be a bit more reasonable (and in most cases have a better selection). But I struck gold in London. It’s always painful to make that difficult “I really want these singles, but I suppose I can put these ones back in the rack” decision. There were so many gems in the bins, many going for £1 to £3 each, that I couldn’t resist. So without further ado, a quick rundown of the score (click on the images to enlarge them):

An original “Radio Clash” single (from the Clash of course). It came out in ’81 but was never on any of the LPs. It still is one of my favorite Clash songs and the B-side includes a longer, more Dub-esque version recorded live for Radio Five.

How do you pass up the original single for “White Riot”? Especially when it is actually a different, slightly longer version than the UK Album version (it has a new intro) and it includes 1977 on the B-side.

This one is probably my favorite of the lot. It is an original 45 for Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law” (B-side is Metal Gods) with a gatefold cover. Even better, it included the satin patch that was included in the original packaging.

I was originally going to pass on this one. It is the original 45 for Judas Priest’s “Take On All the World,” which is one of those really bad Priest anthems like “Defenders of the Faith.” However, included on the B-side was a great live version of “Starbreaker” recorded in Cleveland in 1978.

There is nothing to say. It’s the original Vertigo 45 for Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” with “The Wizard” on the B-side. Sabbath always sounds heavier on vinyl.

The first band I was ever really rabid about was the Police. “Walking on the Moon” sounds so much better on Vinyl because it is a essentially a reggae song. It was a hard choice between this one and “Message in a Bottle.” In the end, “Walking on the Moon” won out since “Visions of the Night” is a better song than “Landlord.”

I am an unashamed Rush fan. Laugh all you want, but I’ll never deny it. My very first concert was the Grace Under Pressure tour where Neil had the rotating drum set. I even like their bad songs like “Time Stand Still.” This single is a gem because it has a live version of “Bastille Day” and “The Temples of Syrinx” (from 2112) on the B-side.

Not my favorite Motörhead album, but still one of my all-time favorite songs from them. And like Sabbath, Motörhead always sounds better on vinyl. Of course, the cover is more Spinal Tap than Spinal Tap, but Lemmy, Eddie, and Philthy never took themselves that seriously anyway.

If you could write a better song than “Ace of Spades” by Motörhead, you would, but you can’t. It still reminds me of the “Bambi” episode on the Young Ones.

The final pick-up in my triumvirate of Motörhead singles. “Overkill” should be subtitled, “The Song That Will Not End” because of the multiple fake endings before they kick back into it.

A little gift I picked up for my lovely girlfriend who is a far better David Bowie fan than I could ever be. But I like this era from him. The “Space Oddity” single is a nice find because the B-side includes “Changes” and “Velvet Goldmine,” which wasn’t originally on an album (although you can now find it on the CD reissue of Ziggy Stardust).