Read: Mailing list archive.
Pinkflag News - 13.03.09
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the newest edition of the Pinkflag mailing list, getting you all the latest Wire news. Sorry for the length of time since our last missive, but we've been saving up some news for you!
Pink Flag, by Wilson Neate
2009 will see the publication of not one, but two, books on the subject of Wire! The first one off the blocks is Wilson Neate's treatise on Pink Flag as part of Continuum's 33 1/3 series. The book deals with the lead-up to and recording of Pink Flag, setting it within the context of Wire's history, the history of the times and within the greater story of its influence and relevance. The text is ably lavished with personal commentary from the band, insight by the author and how Wire's influence was felt by a number of artists, including Steve Albini, Graham Coxon, Richard Jobson, Henry Rollins, Glen Matlock and many others. In short, it's a recommended read for all Wire fans, and comes endorsed by all band members, past and present. You can read an early review here
Of course, we wouldn't leave you high and dry without a way to pre-order via our wonderful mail-order. You can pre-order Pink Flag here - you can have them just as soon as we get them!
The second Wire book, by Paul Lester, will be more of a history of the band. More about that in a later newsletter
Live in 2009
Wire slipped into its live schedule last month with a few dates in Italy, preceded by a 'warm up' in a rather crowded Cargo in London (see right).
The Italian shows (see above right) were quite remarkable, featuring sold-out venues and very young audiences. Here's some video from Magnolia in Milano
That show was also well documented by photographer Stefano Masselli.
Use our gigography on our website and Google to find more documentation!
As has been publicised for some time, the cancelled Germany/Austria/Switzerland tour from January has been rescheduled for this month. The dates are as follows:
Mar 21: Spedition, Bremen, Germany
Mar 22: Hafenklang, Hamburg, Germany
Mar 23: Blue Shell, Koeln, Germany
Mar 24: Live at Dot, Berlin, Germany
Mar 25: Schauspielhaus, Leipzig, Germany
Mar 26: Scheune, Dresden, Germany
Mar 27: Fluc, Vienna, Austria
Mar 28: Kino Ebensee, Ebensee, Austria
Mar 29: Feierwerk, Munich, Germany
Mar 30: Le Romandie, Lausanne, Switzerland
Mar 31: Alte Feuerwache, Mannheim, Germany
We can also announce that there will be a London headlining show in late April, but we cannot yet announce the venue or event it is part of. There is one more confirmed date in June:
Jun 06: Whelan's, Dublin, Eire
On-tour merchandise
During the upcoming G/A/S tour, we will be making available a new batch of T-shirts. There are two designs: a new one for Object 47 and a new run of the popular 12XU shirt from the North American tour of last year
We also hope to have copies of the Pink Flag book available. A range of CDs and vinyl will also be for sale.
More YouTube
YouTube is full of live videos of Wire - you can find 'em just as fast as we can! But there continue to be interesting and unexpected 'collaborations' on the subject of Wire. None more so than this newsletter's featured video!
You owe it to yourself to see this: 'Outdoor Miner on Ukuleles'
And finally...
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking Pinkflag.com regularly as well as being signed up to this mailing list.
All the best,
Pinkflag
Pinkflag news - 12.11.08
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the newest edition of the Pinkflag mailing list, getting you all the latest Wire news first... Well, first, we'd like to apologize for the length of time since our last missive! We've been busy creating news rather than writing it!
Wire on Daytrotter - FREE DOWNLOAD
US hipster indie internet radio station Daytrotter has just uploaded a session from Wire. Recorded in their Rock Island studios the day after the final show of the recent US Tour (which was in fact the final Wire show of 2008), the session finds the band match fit and presenting a four-song selection from the 2008 set. The session can be downloaded for free by following this link.
Daytrotter usually concentrates on presenting new and, not to put too fine a point on it, younger artists, and so it is indeed both unusual and somewhat special to find Wire represented here. For those that want to know how the session came about there is more information in the forum
Live in 2008
With the closing date of the North American tour at the Metro in Chicago, Wire has ended its busiest touring year since 1987. We'd like to thank everyone who turned out to see us, although to do so personally might take a long time as we have undoubtedly played to many more people in 2008 than in any previous year! There are some 'official' reviews of the North American shows gathered here as well as fan comment, links to pictures and reviews from other places throughout the forum.
Some plans are under discussion for shows in 2009 but nothing conclusive yet. Doubtless there will be some!
Order Object 47 on vinyl
The vinyl version of Object 47 is now available for order in the Pinkflag shop (click on 'buy now' under the Object 47 cover to be taken to the order page). This is being released in two flavours, with the first version being a limited edition that also contains a vinyl version of Read & Burn 03 (the EP that preceded Object 47). Both flavours are on heavy vinyl with an inner bag featuring full lyrics. We expect the limited edition version to sell out quickly.
Wire on iTunes
Following the sad demise of posteverything during the summer, Pinkflag has developed a new system to handle both mailorder and digital sales. Mailorder & high-quality NON-DRM digital is now handled by Pinkflag mailorder (administered by state 51) and the Pinkflag catalogue has been slowly working its way into the more mainstream delivery agents like eMusic and now finally iTunes. Digital formats are in fact the only source of the 50% of the Pinkflag catalogue which is no longer available in physical formats.
Here is some older news
Manchester Wire - BBC
Wire made a short trip to Manchester back in early September to appear in in session on both Radio 2's Radcliffe & Maconie show (Monday, 1st Sept) AND Marc Riley's 6 Music show (Tuesday, 2nd Sept). The Radio 2 session, performed live in the same studio as the presenters, was a somewhat spectacular coup. The sessions were in fact instigated by Marc Riley who downloaded One Of Us from this very site and started enthusiastically playing it on his 6 Music show.
One Of Us video
We have posted a video for One of Us on Wire's YouTube page, and it can also be found on the video page of this site. The video was shot in New York and London by Malka Spigel, who incidentally also shot the video for In The Art of Stopping.
And finally
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking Pinkflag.com regularly as well as being signed up to this mailing list.
All the best,
Pinkflag
Pinkflag news - 15.07.08
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the latest edition of the Pinkflag mailing list, getting you all the latest Wire news first.
Object 47 - US release Today!
Object 47 (pf17) is released today in the USA (it came out last week in the UK). It's available through pinkflag mail order as well as conventional retail outlets. A page of collated review links is available in the forum.
Here's a selection of quotes about the new album:
"It's vital, quintessential Wire. In 2008, no less."
Troy Carpenter (Billboard)
"At 35 minutes long, Object 47 is the perfect length: short, to the point, and boasting some of Wire's most vital music."
Mike Barnes (The Observer)
"Another strong outing from post-comeback Wire."
Joe Tangari (Pitchfork)
"Of all the bands in the rock canon, Wire may be the best embodiment of the term 'forward-thinking' that is so vogue nowadays, and Object 47 keeps with the mantra with stunning results."
John Zeiss (Prefix)
"This new 11th studio album finds them achieving a genuinely beautiful sound. A treat, indeed, for the punk faithful."
Andrew Perry (Telegraph)
"Object 47 sees them flex their potential with a confidence not seen from the band in over a quarter of a century."
Luke Turner (The Quietus)
"As seminal as Wire is, the band refuses to coast on its well-deserved legacy as one of rock's most musically innovative and lyrically profound outfits."
(Reax)
"This album comes beautifully into focus with repeated listens, so Wire seem to solidify with each successive release yet still somehow manage to remain tantalisingly out of reach."
(fact)
"Still propelled forward with the kinetic energy of a band a 10th their age."
ME (Sunday Times)
"Wire is a band that has proven to hold up to change remarkably well, and with Object 47 they continue to triumphantly hold the torch up for post punk."
Aron Fischer (Experimusic)
"Another fine Wire album, another subtle future shift. Recommended and a little unexpected (just like you’d expect it to be)."
Sean Worrell (The Organ)
"Pleasingly this is Wire's best new music since their glory days in the late 70's."
Garry Mulholland (Q)
The full track-listing for the album is: One Of Us; Circumspect; Mekon Headman; Perspex Icon; Four Long Years; Hard Currency; Patient Flees; Are You Ready?; All Fours.
More gigs
Wire's 2008 gig tally has now reached 15, a paltry number by some standards, but actually equal to 2004's tally! There have also been some staggering head counts amongst these shows: New York - 7,500; Porto - 10,000; Zagreb - 15,000; and Torino 50-70,000! We'd like to thank everybody who came to see us, those who have signed up to this list at shows, those who have sent messages or left comments via MySpace and those who have infected us with their enthusiasm for Wire!
We are now unveiling our Autumn schedule and while we can't pronounce it festival-free, it is more than likely that residents of North America, The UK, Holland and Belgium will be able to see the band in more intimate surroundings.
- August 30: Offset festival, Hainaut Forest Country Park, London, UK
- Sept 08: The Scala, London, UK
- Sept 09: Met University , Leeds, UK
- Sept 10: Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, UK
- Sept 11: The Arches, Glasgow, UK
- Sept 12: Academy 3, Manchester, UK
- Sept 19: Melkweg , Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Sept 20: Minnemeers , Gent, Belgium
- Sept 21: ZXZW festival, Tilburg, Netherlands
- Sept 22: Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
- Oct 05: Le National, Montreal, Canada
- Oct 06: Barrymore's, Ottawa, Canada
- Oct 07: Lee's Palace, Toronto, Canada
- Oct 08: Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Oct 10: Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Oct 11: 9:30 Club, Washington DC, USA
- Oct 12: Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Oct 14: Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Oct 15: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Oct 16: The Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Oct 17: First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Oct 18: Metro, Chicago, IL, USA
There also remain a couple of US shows that are not yet confirmed, so keep an eye out on the front of the Pinkflag.com website for further additions. More European shows should also join the above line-up.
News from the Pinkflag.com website
Festival Wire (June 10 2008)
There are quite a lot of reports online concerning Wire's last two shows. We have been reliably informed that over the course of two weekends we played to 17,500 people! Some of them appear to have written about it and photographed it... Amongst the "official" reports are Prefix Mag, Village Voice, Stereogum, Brainwashed, Billboard and QRO Magazine.
There are also of course a ton of YouTube clips some of which (for the NYC show) can be reached from here and others (for Serralves in Porto) connected to here. There are doubtless more than can be found by judicious searching. If you find something good why not post it to the forum.
And finally
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking Pinkflag.com regularly, joining the forum at http://www.pinkflag.com/talk/ and being signed up to this mailing list.
All the best,
Pinkflag
Pinkflag news - 27.05.08
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the newest edition of the Pinkflag mailing list, bringing you all the latest Wire news.
One Of Us - free MP3 download
As we head towards the July 7 release of Wire's 11th album, Object 47, Pinkflag has added a free MP3 of the album's opening song, One of Us, as a taster for the album. In days of yore (when such things weren't expensive promo items), we might have considered this track the first single from the album, and so this is no second-grade 'b-side' or live rendering - it's the genuine article! Initial reactions both in the forum and on our MySpace blog have been highly positive, and so if you haven't grabbed it yet, now is your chance. When you've had a listen, tell us what you thought in the forum.
We do ask, however, that bloggers host the MP3 themselves, rather than link to the file on our site, to save on our bandwidth costs. You will, of course, be anyhow linking to www.pinkflag.com as it's the official source for all things Wire related!
Live Wire
We would like to thank all those who came out and supported Wire on its re-introduction to the world of performing this spring. There were some memorable shows made more amazing by fantastic audience reactions. There are a couple of reviews: drownedinsound.com (for Leuven) and music.guardian.co.uk (for Manchester). The list of forthcoming shows continues below with the New York festival event apparently generating much excitement.
- May 30: Seaport Music Festival, NYC, USA [free festival]
- June 07: Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugual
- June 27: Sled Island Festival (#1 Royal Canadian Legion), Calgary, Canada
- June 28: Sled Island Festival (Main Stage), Calgary, Canada
- July 4: Rokaj Festival , Zagreb, Croatia
- July 5: Fiera della Musica , Pordenone (Venice), Italy
- July 11: Traffic Free Festival, Torrino, Italy [free festival]
It has been widely leaked that Wire will be playing (according to Drowned in Sound, headlining) the Offset Festival on August Bank Holiday weekend (Aug 30-31) as indeed we are. However, we have not announced the show as we don't yet know the precise date. There will also be a more conventional London show later this year - venue and date TBA.
YouTube
These days, very little eludes mobile phone capture and YouTube posting, and so it's no surprise that bits of some of the recent shows were posted. 10 minutes of vaguely adroit searching found the following:
These are of variable quality, but what they lack in audio-visual veracity is at least partly made up for in atmosphere... Doubtless there's more to be had from that source. Meanwhile, 'volunteer' videos of '70s classics continue to create their own sub-genre, Dot Dash being the most interesting of the bunch - a black and white cut-up of found footage. Field Day for the Sundays is a little animation of "Wire" figures, while Three Girl Rhumba features some classroom stress, the relevance of which escaped us.
And finally
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking Pinkflag.com regularly as well as being signed up to this mailing list and forum.
All the best,
Pinkflag
Pinkflag news - 23.04.08
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the newest edition of the Pinkflag mailing list, bringing you the latest Wire news.
New Wire album: Object 47
Object 47 (the 47th object in Wire's discography) is Wire's 11th studio album, and features nine all-new tracks. It is the second product of an arc of work started in 2006, which has so far produced the well received EP "Read And Burn 03", and stands as a confident statement of where Wire are in 2008 (as ever, looking forward!). Retaining Wire's idiosyncratic mix of an avant-garde mindset with classic pop timing, this album also boasts "tunes with zoom", a unique formula that manages to sound wholly Wire (in a classic sense) and contemporary. A preview of the front cover has been placed on the website at http://www.pinkflag.com.
The full track-listing for the album is: One Of Us; Circumspect; Mekon Headman; Perspex Icon; Four Long Years; Hard Currency; Patient Flees; Are You Ready?; All Fours.
The provisional release date for Object 47 is July 7, 2008.
Let's talk!
During the last couple of weeks we have been testing out a forum on pinkflag.com at http://www.pinkflag.com/talk/ and now it is ready to accept new members. We have wanted, for some time, a place where people could express their views about Wire, ask questions or just generally discuss stuff related and not so related to the band in a way that's simple and intuitive. Hopefully we've got that (although it hasn't been tested to destruction yet, so bear with us if we have teething problems).
More gigs
The gig list at the front of the website has been growing, and more dates will soon be added or confirmed. The current, officially confirmed, date-list is:
- April 29: Stuk, Leuven, Belgium
- April 30: Ekko, Utrecht, Netherlands
- May 01: 4AD, Diksmuide, Belgium
- May 02: Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands
- May 03: Futuresonic Festival, Manchester, UK
- May 05: Bronson, Ravenna, Italy
- May 06: Circolo Degli Artisti, Rome, Italy
- May 07: Nuits Sonores Festival, Lyon, France
- May 30: Seaport Music Festival, NYC, USA [free festival]
- June 07: Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugual
- June 27: Sled Island Festival (#1 Royal Canadian Legion), Calgary, Canada
- June 28: Sled Island Festival (Main Stage), Calgary, Canada
- July 4: Rokaj Festival , Zagreb, Croatia
There will be a London show during the summer. New Yorkers may be interested to note that Wire will be headlining a big free festival on May 30th as part of the River to River series. A more wider-ranging visit to North America will take place in October, but no dates are currently conformed. As always, it pays to check back with the website periodically, to see if more dates have been added.
Note that due to Bruce Gilbert's resignation from the group in 2004, upcoming Wire gigs will have Margaret Fiedler McGinnis augmenting the band on rhythm guitar. Known for her work in Laika (masterminds of one of the best Wire covers to date, the Whore version of German Shepherds), her live credentials are further enhanced by her being a part of PJ Harvey's touring band earlier in the decade.
And finally
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking Pinkflag.com regularly as well as being signed up to this mailing list.
All the best,
Pinkflag
Pinkflag News - 26.02.08
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the newest edition of the Pinkflag mailing list newsletter, getting you all the latest Wire news first.
Thanks!
First, thanks for all your kind and supportive comments on Read & Burn 03, both through this site and through Wire's MySpace. The reception, both personal and critical, has been really excellent and while we are, due to reasons of copyright, unable to share full reviews with you, we have instituted a 'quote generator' which throws up a fresh quote each time one refreshes the front page of pinkflag.com. For those seeking a more ordered way to see these quotes, they have all been compiled on the Read & Burn 03 page. Wire is, of course, now well advanced in recording and mixing its 11th (as yet untitled) album, due for release later this year.
Gigs in the offing!
After a considerable absence from the live scene (the last show was at Benecassim, Spain in 2004), Wire is set to announce dates for new live shows this year. As yet unconfirmed dates will include European festivals during the summer season and a trip to North America in the autumn.
At this time, we are able to confirm the following early show dates:
- April 29: Stuk, Leuven, Belgium
- May 01: 4AD, Diksmuide, Belgium - as part of their 50th Anniversary
- May 07: Nuits Sonores Festival, Lyon, France; the Nuits Sonores Festival is one Wire played previously, in 2004.
The front page of pinkflag.com will now carry a 'forthcoming gigs' listing. We recommend you consult this regularly, to read the most up to date information for Wire dates!
The gigography
With a gigging Wire back on the agenda, it will not be long before the gigography starts to lengthen. However, in spite of regular new information this list still remains 'an almost comprehensive list of all Wire gigs' due to gaps and incomplete information. So if anyone is able to fill in any of the gaps or resolve the 'question marks' please don't hesitate to contact us.
News from the site
Here are a few snippets of news from the site you might have missed.
Wire reach 14 on CMJ 200 - Jan 08 2008
Over the back end of 2007 Read & Burn 03 has been steadfastly scaling the USA based CMJ college radio charts and on the reporting of the week of January 8th 2008 has reached no 14. The chart, which is based on the playlists of the many highly influential College Radio stations, such as WUMD and KFAI, tends normally towards releases from newer bands, so it is doubly amazing that Wire can continue to do well in such company.
New Track added to Free Downloads - Dec 15 2007
The 3 minute 17 second 'radio' edit of 23 Years Too Late from Read & Burn 03 is now available in the listen section of pinkflag.com. This area carries tasters from most pinkflag releases as well as a few exclusive unreleased items and best of all, the downloads are all free...
And finally
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking Pinkflag.com regularly as well as being signed up to this mailing list.
All the best,
Pinkflag
Pinkflag News - 19.10.07
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the newest edition of the Pinkflag mailing list, getting you all the latest Wire news first.
Read & Burn 03 - pre-order now!
You can now pre-order Read & Burn 03 from Posteverything. The official release date is November 12, but we expect Posteverything might dispatch a little earlier, so order early and get your hands on the latest Wire material before anyone else! The EP can also be auditioned on Posteverything's streaming radio, thereby giving everyone the chance to sample what Wire's been cooking these past four-and-a-half years! We can't guarantee the "sound of the 2030s" as Pitchfork media would have it, but nonetheless expect the unexpected - in true Wire style!
Help promote Wire
Anyone who's spent time reading the often entertaining and nearly always good-natured Ideal Copy list will know Wire fans are very often serious students of the culture that surrounds us all, and mines of information on many a varied subject. It occurred to us that this attention to detail and expertise could prove useful as we attempt to connect with the world that knows about Wire and is interested in it but doesn't know what we are doing right now.
In general, Pinkflag uses the same promotional tools as any label - press officers, mail-outs, etc. - but we often wonder if we're reaching the right people with such a scatter-gun approach.
This is where you come in.
If you've ever opened your local paper and wondered why Wire never gets written about in the culture pages, you can help. It doesn't matter if you live in Cleveland, Ohio or Wiesbaden in Germany or Hong Kong - there will be a local paper/fanzine or website that has a page or section on music or culture. You'll know if they would ever be likely to review a Wire release, and you'll probably know which journalist would be most interested in something new from Wire. You might even personally know the right person to contact - if so, have them contact us through the feedback form on the website (or email us directly if you're the right person!). Alternatively, if you don't know the likely person on a personal basis, send us relevant contact details (preferably an email address) via the same contact form. If this proves successful, you'll obviously have had the pleasure of helping us out, but we wouldn't just leave it at that! If you're responsible for helping get some Wire press published, contact us and we'll give you the correct address to send a scan of a piece or a website link to, and in return we'll make available to you an exclusive download of a completely unreleased track!
The video page
The website now has a video page to continue our policy of making the Pinkflag site the home for as much about Wire as possible. The videos are embedded from Youtube (no need to duplicate what YouTube already does well) so you'll need to go there if you feel moved to comment.
Yet more YouTube
While Pinkflag as Wire's official representative on Earth only posts to YouTube content it officially owns, others will post whatever may prove interesting until someone objects, and so our latest YouTube collection starts with perhaps Wire's most infamous TV performance: Drill on Fox TV's Late Show during the mid-80s - complete with the famous Susan Somers ending "I'm gonna sing after the break, so don't come back"! Also, the Pink Flag collection continues with a travel video to accompany Fragile, but perhaps the most disturbing contribution accompanies the Newman/Lewis song Alone (originally on A-Z), which does a lo-fi play on that song's inclusion in the movie Silence of the Lambs; you can find it here.
And finally
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking Pinkflag.com regularly as well as being signed up to this mailing list.
All the best,
Pinkflag
Pinkflag News - 03.10.07
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the newest edition of the Pinkflag mailing list. They're appearing with alarming regularity now!
Well, we have a special announcement to make...
Read & Burn 03 - is on its way!
Yes, you read it here first! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, "Read & Burn 03" - the latest in Wire's series of "research & development" vehicles - is finished, mastered, designed and in production for a November 12th UK release. Featuring four new tracks - 23 Years Too Late/Our Time/No Warning Given/Desert Diving - and with a total running time of over 25 minutes, "Read & Burn 03" is both a substantial chunk of audio and significant signposting in the third reactivation of Wire as a recording and live entity.
We will, of course, let you know as soon as we can offer pre-order through Posteverything. Meanwhile, we would be happy if you spread the word that Wire is most definitely back! Please note: unlike previous "read & burns", this release is intended as a complete standalone entity. NONE of the tracks will be included on the next full length album, so there will be no excuses not to buy it!
The Gigography - Wire live
Firstly, thanks to everyone who has written in via the Pinkflag.com feedback form to fill in the blanks in our gigography. We're getting there, but we still need more information - especially about the 1978-1987 period. If you've ever seen Wire live and remember when and where it was, please take a look at the gigography to check if it accords with your experience. Thanks also to all those who've written in asking when Wire will next play in your town. Playing live is definitely part of the step-by-step plan, but we are too early in this story to talk about definite dates.
YouTube: the Wire page
The Wire YouTube page has received a modest makeover during the last month. We've added "Mr. Marx's Table" from "The Scottish Play" and replaced the video to "In The Art of Stopping" from "Send", which stopped working at some point. If you've never seen either of these you owe it to yourself to check them out!
News from the site
Here's some news from the site you might have missed.
CBGB's Wire photos on show in New York from the 19th - 12th Sept
Eugene Merinov the photographer, who took photos of Wire at CBGB's in 1978 included in the gallery, and who has been described as "the ultimate and sharpest visual recorder of the emerging & amazing post-punk scene" by Jack Rabid of Big Takeover, has a show of work entitled "Press the Eject and Give Me the Film: The Photography of Eugene Merinov, 1977-1981" opening at Etheria in Manhattan on September 19th. The show runs until December 12th and also features images of Bauhaus, Gang of Four, X, XTC, New Order, Monochrome Set, The Contortions, The Voidoids, Suicide, Pere Ubu, Lydia Lunch, Only Ones, Bush Tetras, the Ramones and many more. http://www.eugenemerinov.com
Graham Coxon performs Sand In My Joints at V Festival - 10th Sept
Wire's favourite ex-Blur member Graham Coxon performed Sand In My Joints (originally on Chairs Missing) as an encore during his set at this year's V Festival. Footage has been posted on YouTube. While on the subject of YouTube, a video clip has been located with an impromptu although somewhat literal reading of Two People In a Room. It's, as you might imagine, two people, in a room...
And finally
This newsletter and the website are complimentary resources. To keep abreast of Wire and and all its doings, we recommend checking Pinkflag.com regularly as well as being signed up to this mailing list.
All the best,
Pinkflag
Pinkflag News - 08.08.07
Dear Wire fan,
Welcome to the newly re-launched Pinkflag mailing list. Hopefully all of you who have signed up over the last year will have a bit more than rumour and innuendo to digest as we attempt to make these communications a little more regular!
Anyway, on with the news, we'll leave the rumour and innuendo to later communications :)
Digital availabilities
After a rather protracted period of R&D posteverything has quietly launched its digital service in the last few days. Pinkflag releases may be found by going to www.posteverything.com/pinkflag or www.posteverything.com/wire.
The site has a lot of new features, most notably the radio (tip: log in to hear full-length clips) and, of course, plenty of releases by projects associated with Wire. However of most direct interest to Wire fans will be the fact that all the long out-of-print, early Pinkflag releases are now available in digital format. These include The Third Day, It's All In The Brochure, and Twelve Times You. Also, we are making available Wir's Vien, a CD originally released by Touch in 1997. This item will mark the first of our digital-only availabilities, something we will be exploring further in the fullness of time. All PostEverything digital files are LAME-encoded 320kbps DRM-free MP3s. Unfortunately, neither Pinkflag nor PostEverything currently have the rights to sell items originally on EMI on Mute, but we are working on possible solutions to this.
Wire Online
It doubtless will not have escaped anyone's notice that Wire has a rather popular MySpace and that Pinkflag.com is currently displaying a 'tease' page. The new Pinkflag.com is actually quite an extensive site and nearly finished. It will have news, a full discography (with lyrics), a gallery and a download page, etc., and is part of Wire's strategy for gradual but determined resumption of activity. Expect news and expect developments but don't ask us what they are right now.
YouTube Wire: the 'alternative' videos
Alongside its MySpace Wire also has an official YouTube page, which is a little sparse as we only post videos we have rights to. However, YouTube has more to offer the interested Wire fan than excepts from On The Box tagged as 'rare punk video', or Mute-era videos recorded from MTV, because there is now a small industry of video 'interpretations' of Wire songs. By far the most popular title is Outdoor Miner of which there are 3 versions: one, two and three. Alongside are videos for Champs and the vaguely unsettling reading of Love Ain't Polite. However, the most fascinating must be the 1990 'disco' video for I Am The Fly, which manages to be lo-fi, funny, psychedelic and groovy all that the same time. Congrats to Gaz, Stu, Ian and Nay.
And finally
We'd like to make this list a little more active (although we won't be overburdening your spam filters anytime soon). Once the new Pinkflag site is up and running these communications can provide a complimentary information source to the news on the site, flagging up new and re-activated availabilities and perhaps providing a little rumour and innuendo which wouldn't fit comfortably into a 'news' item. The new site will have a feedback form so you can send messages to Pinkflag to Wire, so please don't reply to this message.
All the best
Pinkflag
Pinkflag News - 08.11.06
Dear Wire Fan,
As of this week some new items are available at http://posteverything.com
-
The '70s live double album Live At The Roxy, London (1977)/Live At CBGB Theatre, New York (1978), previously only available as part of the super exclusive 1977-1979 box-set. This release came about because of the many who bought the digi-pack re-releases before finding out about the box set version. Hopefully, everyone who requested information about this release also subscribed to this list!
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The 180g Audiophile vinyl re-releases of Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154 (there's a deal if you buy all three together) Don't need any introduction!
Check http://www.posteverything.com/pinkflag for further details.
Keep a weather eye for details of further activity/ releases. Watch this space—as always you will be the first to know!
Pinkflag News - 13.05.06
Pinkflag News SPECIAL EDITION (the one you've been waiting for):
Dear Wire fan,
We promised that if you subscribed to the Pinkflag mailing list that you would get information about the box-set before anyone else. So here it is, finally!
The following information is being exclusively given to the PostEverything and Pinkflag mailing lists.
WIRE - 'Wire: 1977-1979' (Pinkflag (America)) Limited Edition 5CD Box Set + 60 page booklet
**AVAILABLE TO ORDER ON THE AFTERNOON OF SUNDAY 14th MAY 2006 EXCLUSIVELY FROM POSTEVERYTHING.COM**
The long awaited collectors' box-set contains re-mastered re-issues of Wire's groundbreaking classic first three albums Pink Flag, Chairs Missingand 154, along with two CDs ofpreviously unreleased recordings documenting the band's live performances at the Roxy, London (1st and 2nd April, 1977) and at the CBGB Theatre, New York (18th July, 1978), providing a set of the essentials of '70s Wire, provided from both the studio and live standpoints. Here you have the touchstone albums brought back to vibrant colour, each contextualised by documentation of a series of transitional performances, contemporary images and writing designed to bring the whole alive. These are simply the essential documents for a serious appreciation of 70s Wire and should be in every serious fans' collection.