The Comsat Angels: Independence Day
On September 5, 1980 the Sheffield band Comsat Angels released their debut album Waiting For A Miracle. In his book Music Lust, filed under a chapter titled Ten Albums You Missed, Nic Harcourt claims the Comsats album "is arguably the best debut of the post-punk movement. The album features swirling keyboards and chiming guitars, and Stephen Fellows' dry, insightful lyrics".
The album also contains their best known song, "Independence Day", released again in 1984 where it peaked at UK#17
Across the pond, Trouser Press' critic called the debut a stunning masterwork, writing "Roll over Gang of Four and tell Wire the news!"
And here is what Mark Ellen wrote for Smash Hits:
The Skids : Circus Games
On that very same day The Skids released the UK#9 album The Absolute Game, which received a 5 star rating from Sounds, which called it "...a staggering achievement, a perfect progression for a band who must be numbered amongst the most innovative and refreshing in the country . It's one of the finest and most forward looking albums you'll hear this year".
The first 20,000 copies contained a free mini-album called Strength Through Joy, a phrase that was written above the entrance to one of Hitler's most notorious death camps. It was not the first time The Skids flirted with fascist imagery and while Richard Jobson claimed the phrase came from a Dirk Bogarde memoir, the Scottish band got called out for it again.
