Husker Du B-sides

It wasn't until Sugar released "Copper Blue" 20 years ago that I really got into Husker Du. Starting with 'middle period', relatively obtainable albums "New Day Rising" and "Flip Your Wig" and moving further back through "Zen Arcade", "Metal Circus" and Everything Falls Apart". I've never really managed to listen to "Land Speed Record" all the way through.

At that time, the two major label releases - "Candy Apple Grey" and "Warehouse: Songs and Stories" - were out of print, so I paid through the nose for vinyl copies in second hand shops in Birmingham. I fell in love with "Warehouse..." and it remains my favourite album by them.

It was in the same shop - Plastic Factory - that I first saw a copy of the "Ice Cold Ice" 7". Displayed high up on the wall. Out of reach in more ways than one - it was £25.

It was probably another 10 years or so before I bought any of the four singles from these two Warner Bros albums. Much scarcer than the constantly repressed SST singles "Eight Miles High" and "Makes No Sense At All".

They were still between £6-8 each but much less than that original find in PF all those years ago.

And was it worth it? Well, yes. Just to own them and the lovely artwork. Musically, each single comes with one unique b-side and a bunch of live versions of album tracks. Here I include the four exclusives:

On "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely", an 8 minute song called "All Work And No Play" - very much in keeping with the songs from "Candy Apple Grey".

On the "Sorry Somehow" 12" you got a track called "Fattie" which is an instrumental/noise thing.

"Could You Be The One" contains the only song to have been sung by the bass player Greg Norton, called "Everytime". Not bad at all.

Finally, my beloved "Ice Cold Ice" 7", which contains a song called "Gotta Lotta" - probably the pick of the bunch.

Getta Lotta