where were the 1982 portastudio demos recorded?
Posted: 08 Jul 2018, 16:18
It is widely stated online that the demos initially released on the HARD REIGN bootleg LP come from a recording session that took place in September 1982 with John Ashton at Strawberry Studios, Stockport. I wonder if there is any evidence to support this claim.
First of all, the tracks seem to originate from different recording sessions (Lights is likely the same demo from Gary Marx' 1981 demo tape, while Anaconda, Good Things, Phantom and possible also Driver likely pre-date the Reptile House demos who fit naturally together).
Another point that, in my view, undermines the Strawberry/Ashton origin for the demos (at least the Reptile House demos) is the established fact that, despite the success of Alice, Eldritch decided to produce Anaconda (and Phantom) on his own, without Ashton's help, so why would he bring Ashton back to record demos of Reptile House? Also knowing the Reptile House EP was recorded at KG and produced by AE alone, does it make sense for the EP to be demoed at Strawberry with Ashton, but not recorded there? The Sisters recorded Temple Of Love at Strawberry, and from interviews at the time, this was presented as a step-up from KG, so it sounds as if TOL was the first time the Sisters record at Strawberry.
Finally, these RH demos are known as "portastudio" demos, which seem counter-intuitive for demos recorded in an actual studio such as Strawberry. AE had bought a portastudio at the time of recording Anaconda, so it seems more logical that the RH demos were recorded at home.
To recap, of all the demos included on HARD REIGN, I would guess only Good Things was recorded with John Ashton, and more likely at home or KG. Lights, Driver and all the Reptile House demos are probably home recordings, while both Anaconda and Phantom sound quite polished and were probably recorded by AE at KG.
Would love to hear what you guys think/know about this.
First of all, the tracks seem to originate from different recording sessions (Lights is likely the same demo from Gary Marx' 1981 demo tape, while Anaconda, Good Things, Phantom and possible also Driver likely pre-date the Reptile House demos who fit naturally together).
Another point that, in my view, undermines the Strawberry/Ashton origin for the demos (at least the Reptile House demos) is the established fact that, despite the success of Alice, Eldritch decided to produce Anaconda (and Phantom) on his own, without Ashton's help, so why would he bring Ashton back to record demos of Reptile House? Also knowing the Reptile House EP was recorded at KG and produced by AE alone, does it make sense for the EP to be demoed at Strawberry with Ashton, but not recorded there? The Sisters recorded Temple Of Love at Strawberry, and from interviews at the time, this was presented as a step-up from KG, so it sounds as if TOL was the first time the Sisters record at Strawberry.
Finally, these RH demos are known as "portastudio" demos, which seem counter-intuitive for demos recorded in an actual studio such as Strawberry. AE had bought a portastudio at the time of recording Anaconda, so it seems more logical that the RH demos were recorded at home.
To recap, of all the demos included on HARD REIGN, I would guess only Good Things was recorded with John Ashton, and more likely at home or KG. Lights, Driver and all the Reptile House demos are probably home recordings, while both Anaconda and Phantom sound quite polished and were probably recorded by AE at KG.
Would love to hear what you guys think/know about this.
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