Released: 15/07/22
Formed in Dundee in 1979, The Associates—vocalist Billy Mackenzie and multi-instrumentalist Alan Rankine—blended art rock, glam, and disco. Their 1982 album Sulk became their definitive statement, mixing lush New Romantic pop with dark cabaret, and was named Melody Maker’s Album of the Year.
This limited 40th Anniversary 3CD/12” Bookpack features Sulk remastered on 140g blue vinyl, along with outtakes, monitor mixes, rarities, Peel sessions, and a previously unreleased 1981 live show from Gigant, Netherlands. It includes exclusive sleevenotes by Simon Reynolds, interviews with Rankine, Michael Dempsey, Mike Hedges, Martha Ludley, and unseen photography by Derek Reid, Tom Sheehan, and Eveline Dröge.