In Case You Missed It: Join the (Music) Club!

If you’re a British compilation hunter or fan of imports, it’s tough to go wrong with Demon Music Group’s Music Club Deluxe label. The relatively inexpensive double-disc sets the label turns out might look simple or quickly assembled, but they’re in fact often packed with a few rarities for your buck.

In recent weeks, Music Club Deluxe has issued a half-dozen compilations, all for ’80s pop/rock artists. You likely know their hits, but there are some great album cuts, B-sides and remixes to go around for each. Hit the jump and we’ll run through them all.

Reissue Theory: Go West

Reading Rob Sheffield’s Talking to Girls About Duran Duran was a mistake. I don’t mean that in a literal sense; the Rolling Stone writer’s newest book is a great read (as good as his incredibly bittersweet memoir Love is a Mix Tape), especially for an ’80s enthusiast like myself.

But reading the author’s meticulous combing of tracks from his youth (everything from A Flock of Seagulls to the truly obscure Hayzi Fantayzeee) and how they inspired his ability to engage in dialogues with the women in his life made me think of all the obscure ’80s tunes that I’ve enjoyed over the years.

One of the first ones that jumped out at me was “King of Wishful Thinking” by Go West – but then I realized it’s from 1990, the very early days of my radio-listening career. Obviously, I wasn’t cognizant enough to remember “Don’t Look Down” or “We Close Our Eyes,” not that they were particularly big hits in the U.S. in their time. (They don’t turn up on any major compilations or flashback radio shows, either.)

But they were a good, danceable (if kind of dated) band that deserves some attention on the catalogue side. You know what that means: check out a Reissue Theory set for their first two records after the jump!