Department S - Sub-Stance

Formed from the ashes of London band Guns For Hire, Department S released three abrasive pop singles during 1980 and 1981, including Going Left-Right, I Want and Is Vic There?, the latter reaching #22 on the UK national singles chart in April 1981, earning the band several appearances on Top of the Pops and a Smash Hits cover!

Despite this flirtation with mainstream success, and a busy live schedule, an impressive debut album titled Sub-Stance (produced by Parallel Lines engineer David Tickle) went unreleased after the band fragmented. On this remastered CD the 12 tracks from the lost album are augmented by singles and b-sides, along with five powerful live tracks recorded at a club date in December 1981.

Original album artwork and detailed liner notes.

Tracklist:

1. Of All the Lost Followers
2. Just Pretend
3. Romany Blood
4. I Want
5. Fighting Irish
6. Is Vic There?
7. Going Left-Right
8. Age Concern
9. Somewhere Between Heaven and Tesco's
10. Whatever Happened to the Blues
11. Ode to Koln
12. Clap Now
13. Is Vic There? (live)
14. Going Left-Right (live)
15. I Want (live)
16. Clap Now (live)
17. Tell Me About It (live)
18. She's Expecting You (b-side)
19. Monte Carlo or Bust (b-side)
20. Put All the Crosses in the Right Boxes (b-side)
21. Solid Gold Easy Action (b-side)
22. Another Route Home (demo)