Abecedarians - Demo Recordings 1983-1988

Although not a totally obscure band, Abecedarians had a very strong local following in Southern California, they are best known for two things: the Factory Records 12" single Smiling Monarchs; and the total unavailability of their entire back catelogue.

Smiling Monarchs was a big nod to 1983-period New Order with a remarkable resemblance to NO's Your Silent Face. By sheer coincidence, the final Factory release of the single was produced by New Order singer, Bernard Sumner. I prefer the demo version included here.
On the whole the band's sound leans more towards other UK acts such as Modern English and B-Movie. However on the more instrumental tracks, such as the Mardis Gras recordings, influences such as Brian Eno and, at times, the Durutti Column are all too evident.

In their time, Abecedarians released just one single, Smiling Monarchs, one EP, Eureka and one studio album, Resin. Since their break-up in 1988, two compilations of their work, AB-CD and The Other Side of the Fence have been made available. All of these are long deleted and currently fetch silly money (in excess of $100) on various auction sites. Some of these tracks found their way on to the double 10" compilation The Other Side of the Fence which is ripped into the archive of this blog.
Compiled from a selection of demo tape cassettes, you can hear the following:

1983 Demos
01. Wildflower
02. They Said Tomorrow

1984 Factory Demos
03. Smiling Monarchs
04. Benways Carnival

1985 Mardis Gras Demos
05. Mardis Gras
06. untitled
07. untitled

Recorded live at Santa Monica Civic Center 22nd Aug 198508. Pipe Dream

November 1985 - Eureka Demos
09. Beneath the City of the Hedonistic Bohemians
10. Surf Western
11. The Misery of Cities
12. untitled
13. Hip Hip Hooray

1987 Resin Demos14. Laugh at Yourself
15. Surf Western
16. Dinner
17. untitled

1988 The Last Demos18. untitled
19. Lift off
20. untitled
21. untitled
22. Brand New Song
23. untitled
24. untitled
25. Money

Re:Upped!