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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Leisure Process - "A Way You'll Never Be" b/w "Love Cascade (Dance Mix)" 12" Vinyl, 45 RPM, 1982 (Epic)


Leisure Process, sometimes billed as Leisure Process International was a duo consisting of studio musician Gary Barnacle and Max Middleton.  As far as I know, they only made two singles, with "Love Cascade" being the song that had a special dance mix.  The early 1980s was the era of the dance mix for British recordings, and one could go broke in collecting these delicate releases from the record companies of that time.   My favorite of those in that special time of perfect haircuts and big shoulders on the suit, is Leisure Process' "A Way You'll Never Be," which is a fantastic piece of music.  If I have to compare Leisure Process with another band, it would be Magazine.  Not as brilliant as Howard Devoto and company, but they share a sense of darkness in a very 'pop' orientated landscape. 

Barnacle was the sax player of choice for a lot of artists in that time, including The Clash.  In fact, if you heard a sax in a British release in that era more likely it's Gary Barnacle.  Middleton is a mystery to me and for some reason, I think of him being a music journalist of that time, but I can be wrong.  Nevertheless, this is a remarkable record, and "Love Cascade" is also a fantastic song - and a good length dance mix of this song.  They were produced by Martin Rushent, who was a great sound maker for a lot of artists such as Pete Shelley, Human League, and including the classic Buzzcocks recordings.  Not easy to find, but worth the trouble.  

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