Men At Work

Tools You Can Trust - Working And Shopping

I've covered this lot in depth before but as I had the scanner out, I thought I'd prepare lossless re-rips of their first two singles. The debut does not have a picture sleeve, just a small insert peice of paper detailing the credits, including Harvey Murphy on pneumatic drill!

Ripped from a 7" vinyl single released on Red Energy Dynamo (S101) in 1983 to high quality lossless FLAC audio packed with high resolution scans.

A. Working And Shopping

B. The Work Ahead Of Us

Tools You Can Trust - Show Your Teeth

Tipped from a 7" vinyl single released on Red Energy Dynamo (S301) in 1984 to high quality lossless FLAC audio packed with high resolution scans.
A. Show Your Teeth
B. Messy Body Thrust

Tools You Can Trust - John Peel Sessions

Back in March 2009, I featured the disturbing industrial sound of eighties Manchester - the magnificent Tools You Can Trust. With much thanks to DarrenG on the excellent Peel group, I can offer up all three John Peel BBC Radio One Sessions in a lossless format. Most tracks eventually were re-recorded and found their way onto vinyl but the two Duane Eddy cover versions cut a very different seam for the Tools.

Tools You Can Trust : First Peel Session

Transmission : 12/10/1983

Producer - Dale Griffin

Engineer - Mike Robinson

Studio - Maida Vale 4

Recorded : 08/10/1983

TRACKLIST

1. Working And Shopping

2. The Feud

3. Houses And Tools

4. Show Your Teeth

LINE UP

Ben Stedman (Bass,Guitar,Drums,Tapes)

Rob Ward (Vocal, Percussion,Tapes)

Eddie Fenn (Drums)

Colin Larn (Drums)

Tools You Can Trust : Second Peel Session

Transmission - 11/04/1984

Producer - Paul Smith

Engineer - Nick Gomm

Engineer - Tim Durham

Studio - Maida Vale 5

Recorded : 21/03/1984

TRACKLIST

1. Ranters And Preachers

2. Blowin' Up A Storm

3. Cut A New Seam

4. Messy Body Thrust

LINE UP

Ben Stedman (Bass, Guitar, Drums, Tapes)

Rob Ward (Vocal, Percussion,Tapes)

Eddie Fenn (Drums)

Claire Wilkinson (Percussion)

Tools You Can Trust : Third Peel Session

Transmission - 05/12/1984

Producer - Mark Radcliffe

Engineer - Mark Radcliffe

Studio - Maida Vale 5

Recorded : 27/11/1984

TRACKLIST

1. Shazam / Sign Of The Swinging Lightbulb

2. A Knock For The Young

3. Crammed Down The Throat

LINE UP

Ben Stedman (Bass, Guitar, Drums, Tapes)

Rob Ward (Vocal, Percussion,Tapes)

Phil Hughes (Guitar,Trumpet,Percussion)

Jill Richardson (Drums,Percussion)

Martin Herring (Drums,Percussion)

Tools You Can Trust

In 1983, Manchester was infatuated with raincoats, misery and Stephen Patrick Morrissey, New Order had turned disco and the Goths hung around Affleck's Palace peddling cheap fashion before another night in Devilles (nothing different there then!). Not many people noticed Tools You Can Trust - most people would recognise Rob Ward and Ben Steadman - familiar faces (or was it haircuts) on the city's streets.

I first heard Tools You Can Trust on Peel in 1983. Their self released Working And Shopping single was played over and over on his late night radio show.... an unusual mix of jerky, grunted vocals, throbbing bass, simple beats, metal work percussion and pneumatic drill! The single was extremely hard to track down - HMV under the Arndale never had it (they said), Virgin did but had sold out, Piccadilly did have a few copies left.

The first Peel radio session gave us more - they confirmed our suspicions - Tools You Can Trust were like no other band, most likely one of the most original acts of the post-post(sic) punk era, actually label them the only true industrial-agitprop-post-punk band, if you must. Two more 7" singles (all compiled here on Sharpen The Tools) followed as well as a further two Peel Sessions (All the Peel Sessions have been gathered up for a future post).
Live, Tools You Can Trust were just pure energy with a dynamism never seen by this amateur pundit in all his years of gigging. A live album, Yet More Proof made from audience recordings was officially released in 1985, featuring a home town show recorded at The Venue. On stage, the band appeared as a foursome with a additional percussion and metal bashing.

The band's first studio album Again Again Again was a much more organised affair with songwriting credits shared by the whole four piece. Some tracks lacked the energy of earlier work but do in places remind me of early Einsturzende Neubauten. The budget priced 12" Say It Low owes more to Beefheart, Waits or Cave rather than the angry industrial grunts, we had become used to. Factory's Ikon video division released a hard to find compilation of promo and live videos, Tools For Better Labour.

Re:Upped