a better life

• A deluxe six-CD box, boasting the entire recorded output of Biff Bang Pow! with the bonus of everything issued by The Laughing Apple.
• Curated with the full support of Alan McGee and other band members, the clamshell set also adds a raft of previously unissued demos and live material.
• Plus tracks from an abandoned album, ‘Sixteen Velvet Fridays’ and a handful of previously undocumented songs.
• And a Laughing Apple CD also adds some hitherto unheard demos by Alan with the band Newspeak (pre-Laughing Apple).
• With sleevenotes including quotes from those involved, this is the ultimate tribute to one of the unsung talents of the C86 generation of indie bands.

Biff Bang Pow! were formed by Alan McGee around the same time he founded Creation Records in 1983. Having evolved out of post-punk band The Laughing Apple, which he’d started in 1980 with friend Andrew Innes, Biff Bang Pow! made seven albums and a handful of singles – many of which were indie hits – before they finally dissolved in 1992.

To many fans of Creation Records, Biff Bang Pow! were the label’s best-kept secret, fusing ‘60s psychedelia and power pop with beautiful, haunting melodies. Their early sound seemed to reinvent The Jam circa 1980, with a pop art approach reminiscent of the ‘60s band from whom their took their name, The Creation (who recorded the song ‘Biff Bang Pow!’).

Albums two and three, ‘The Girl Who Runs The Beat Hotel’ and ‘Oblivion’, captured Biff Bang Pow! at their peak, from the former’s tranquil, ‘60s pop tunes (often with Christine Wanless singing) to the latter’s power pop swagger. Later records adopted an increasingly acoustic bent, essentially solo outlets for McGee, after his discovery of ecstasy, when he was listening to Neil Young and Nick Drake.

Track Listing:

DISC ONE:
PASS THE PAINTBRUSH, HONEY
• THERE MUST BE A BETTER LIFE
• LOST YOUR DREAMS
• LOVE AND HATE
• THE CHOCOLATE ELEPHANT MAN
• WATERBOMB!
• COLIN DOBBINS
• WOULDN'T YOU?
• A DAY OUT WITH JEREMY CHESTER
Bonus Tracks
• FIFTY YEARS OF FUN
10 THEN WHEN I SCREAM 11 THE CHOCOLATE ELEPHANT MAN (Alternative Mix - Extra Intro) 12 IN THE AFTERNOON (Early Version) (by Revolving Paint Dream) 13 THEN WHEN I SCREAM (Different Longer Version) *** 14 LOST YOUR DREAMS (Demo) 15 I'M OKAY ME (Demo) *** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DISC TWO:
THE GIRL WHO RUNS THE BEAT HOTEL
• SOMEONE STOLE MY WHEELS
• LOVE'S GOING OUT OF FASHION
• SHE NEVER UNDERSTOOD
• HE DON'T NEED THAT GIRL
• SHE SHIVERS INSIDE
• THE BEAT HOTEL
• THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD
• IF I DIE
• FIVE MINUTES IN THE LIFE OF GREENWOOD GOULDING
• THE WHOLE WORLD IS TURNING BROUCHARD!
SIXTEEN VELVET FRIDAYS
• IT MAKES YOU SCARED
• SUNNY DAYS
• HE DON’T NEED THAT GIRL (Early Version) ***
• BACK TO THE START
• I NEED OPTIMISM ***
• SHE’S GONE AWAY ***
Bonus Tracks
• INSIDE THE MUSHROOM
• IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME (Alan Vocal)
• IN THE AFTERNOON
• THE DEATH OF ENGLAND
• THE BEAT HOTEL (Alan Vocal – Different Mix) ***
• IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME (Demo – Christine Vocal) ***
• SHE WENT AWAY TO THE LOVE (Demo) ***
• THE BEAT HOTEL (Demo – Christine Vocal) ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DISC THREE:
OBLIVION
• IN A MOURNING TOWN
• THERE YOU GO AGAIN
• 7 SECONDS
• A GIRL CALLED DESTRUCTION
• SHE'S GOT DIAMONDS IN HER HAIR
• THE ONLY COLOUR IN THIS WORLD IS LOVE
• BABY SISTER
• THEN WHEN I SCREAM
• I SEE THE SUN
• I'M STILL WAITING FOR MY TIME
Bonus Tracks
• SHE'S GOT DIAMONDS IN HER HAIR (Demo Version)
• SHE NEVER UNDERSTOOD (Alternate Version)
• FIFTY YEARS OF FUN (Almost Live Version)
DORTMUND, GERMANY, FEBRUARY 1987
• THE CHOCOLATE ELEPHANT MAN ***
• IN A MOURNING TOWN ***
• SHE'S GOT DIAMONDS IN HER HAIR ***
• 7 SECONDS ***
• LOVE'S GOING OUT OF FASHION ***
• LOVE AND HATE ***
• THERE MUST BE A BETTER LIFE ***
• FIFTY YEARS OF FUN ***
• A GIRL CALLED DESTRUCTION ***
• COLIN DOBBINS ***
• WATERBOMB! ***
• SHE NEVER UNDERSTOOD ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DISC FOUR:
LOVE IS FOREVER
• MISS CALIFORNIA
TOOTHPASTE 1972
• SHE HAUNTS
• SEARCHING FOR THE PAVEMENT
• SHE PAINTS
• CLOSE
• ICE CREAM MACHINE
• ELECTRIC SUGAR CHILD
• DARK IN MIND
• STARTRIPPER
• SHE WENT AWAY TO THE LOVE
Bonus Tracks
• THE BEAT HOTEL (12” Version - Christine Vocal)
• IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME (12” Version - Christine Vocal)
SONGS FOR THE SAD EYED GIRL
• SHE KILLS ME
• THE GIRL FROM WELL LANE
• BABY, YOU JUST DON'T CARE
• IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME NOW YOU NEVER EVER WILL
• SOMEONE TO SHARE MY LIFE WITH
• RELIGIOUS
• HUG ME HONEY
Bonus Track
• VICTORIA APPLETREE LOVES CHRISTOPHER JONES (alias She Haunts – Take 1) ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DISC FIVE:
"ME"
• MY FIRST FRIEND
• MISS YOU
• I'M BURNED
• SONG FOR A NAIL
• SHE SAVED ME
• YOU JUST CAN'T BUY SATISFACTION
• SAD EYES IN VELVET
• GUILT RIDDEN
• LOVERS
• BABY YOU JUST MAKE ME STRONG
Bonus Tracks
• SLEEP
• LONG LIVE NEIL YOUNG AND ALL WHO SAIL IN HIM
• IN BED WITH PAUL WELLER
• EVERYBODY WANTS TO DIVORCE HER
• JEAN MICHEL POW
• I HOPE YOU BURN ***
• YOU JUST CAN'T BUY SATISFACTION (Demo) ***
*** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DISC SIX:
THE LAUGHING APPLE
• SOMETIMES I WISH
• CHIPS FOR TEA
• UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS
• I'M OKAY
• PARTICIPATE!
• WOULDN'T YOU?
• PRECIOUS FEELING
• CELEBRATION
DEMOS
• INSTINCT ***
• MY JUDGEMENT DAY ***
• WHERE I TAKE MY PLEASURE ***
NEWSPEAK DEMOS
• WEEKEND WORLD ***
• WOULDN'T YOU? ***
• SHE’S BOXED IN ***
ALAN MCGEE & JOWE HEAD DEMOS:
• FIFTY YEARS OF FUN ***
• I STILL LOOK FOR HER (alias Then When I Scream) ***
• ALL I WANT ***
• YOU STILL LOST YOUR DREAM (alias Lost Your Dreams) *** *** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED