Rough Trade Records will release Volume 2 of their seven-inch singles boxset on 30 October, tracing key releases from the label’s history through the 1980s and into the early 1990s.
The nine-disc set was handpicked by Rough Trade co-MDs Jeannette Lee and Geoff Travis, and includes repressings of original seven-inch releases from The Fall (‘Totally Wired’, 1980), Scritti Politti (‘The Sweetest Girl’, 1981), Robert Wyatt (‘Shipbuilding’, 1982), Aztec Camera (‘Oblivious’, 1983), The Go-Betweens (‘Cattle and Cane’, 1983), Jonathan Richman (‘That Summer Feeling’, 1984) and The Sundays (‘Can’t Be Sure’, 1989), each reproduced with their original b-sides.
Mazzy Star’s cover of Love’s ‘Five String Serenade’, originally released via Rough Trade’s singles club in 1993, is also included, though its original b-side has been swapped at Lee and Travis’ request for David Roback and Hope Sandoval’s version of Slap Happy’s ‘Blue Flower’, creating what the label is calling a “covers release.”
The set’s ninth single is entirely new: ‘The Headmaster Ritual’ becomes an official Rough Trade release for the first time, at the request of Morrissey and Johnny Marr. The Smiths track, taken from Meat Is Murder, is backed with ‘I Want the One I Can’t Have’ as its b-side, a change from the single’s original 1985 Netherlands release, which paired it with ‘Oscillate Wildly’. Morrissey has also overseen new artwork for the single, sourcing an image of American actor Billy Halop from 1939.
Sleeve notes include a new, extensive interview with Lee and Travis, alongside contributions from both members of The Smiths, Elvis Costello, Stewart Lee, Roddy Frame, Green Gartside, Jonathan Richman, The Sundays’ Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin, and The Go-Betweens’ Lindy Morrison and Robert Forster. Archival photography comes from Anton Corbijn, Laura Levine, Paul Slattery, David Corio and others who documented the artists at the time.
Volume 2 follows last year’s first instalment, which focused on Rough Trade’s earliest years and featured singles from Augustus Pablo, Young Marble Giants, Cabaret Voltaire and The Raincoats. Like its predecessor, the new boxset is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide and is available for pre-order now.
Rough Trade Boxset Volume 2 tracklist:
- The Fall – ‘Totally Wired’ / b-side: ‘Putta Block’ (RT056, 1980)
- Scritti Politti – ‘The Sweetest Girl’ / b-side: ‘Lions After Slumber’ (RT091, 1981)
- Robert Wyatt – ‘Shipbuilding’ / b-side: ‘Memories of You’ (RT115, 1982)
- Aztec Camera – ‘Oblivious’ / b-side: ‘Orchid Girl’ (RT122, 1983)
- The Go-Betweens – ‘Cattle and Cane’ / b-side: ‘Heaven Says’ (RT124, 1983)
- Jonathan Richman – ‘That Summer Feeling’ / b-side: ‘This Kind of Music’ (RT152, 1984)
- The Smiths – ‘The Headmaster Ritual’ / b-side: ‘I Want the One I Can’t Have’ (RT0507S, 2026)
- The Sundays – ‘Can’t Be Sure’ / b-side: ‘I Kicked a Boy’ (RT218, 1989)
- Mazzy Star – ‘Five String Serenade’ / b-side: ‘Blue Flower’ (45REV19X, 1983)
Rough Trade Boxset Volume 2 is out 30 October.
