We've spent most of January digging through tape boxes and orange crates from the Tiger Bay and Finisterre eras which will be coming out soon. It's unbelievable how much we started and discarded. The Deluxe Editions should be available from the end of March.

I'd completely forgotten a 'sequel' of sorts to Mario's Cafe called Drinking At The Black Horse. It switches the locale and the time of day, and features some 'tight axework' from Mr Ian Catt. It was (half) recorded before we decided on the direction for Tiger Bay. Some of the most intreeging outtakes yet. Plus the usual glut of b-sides, and - for digital completists - the first CD appearance for Highgate Road Incident, You Know I'll Miss You When You're Gone, Sushi Rider and Gimp Crisis.

My favourite demo so far is The Wedding Of Stacy Dorning, a tribute to the legendary Black Beauty actress. What were we thinking?

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Only Love Remixes
Following on from Foxbase Beta there is an EP of new mixes of Foxbase Alpha tracks now available on iTunes - get it now. The EP includes the Richard X mixes of Only Love Can Break Your Heart, and Girl VII plus an Air France mix of Spring.

And don't forget you can also download the Foxbase Beta album??too. And if you download the whole bundle you'll get a full track-by-track commentary of the album featuring us and Richard X.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
If you've not heard our remix of the splendid Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, it's up on our MySpace now.

Cheerio

Bob, Pete and Sarah x

BOY GEORGE and TONY HADLEY with special guests GO WEST and ABC will headline the Saturday and Sunday line-ups of the second 80s REWIND FESTIVAL which will take place in Henley On Thames in August. Other artists on the bill include RICK ASTLEY, LEVEL 42, MARC ALMOND, JIMMY SOMERVILLE, THE WEATHER GIRLS, MIDGE URE, KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS, KAJAGOOGOO, HEAVEN 17, IMAGINATION, HAZEL O'CONNOR, ALTERED IMAGES, MODERN ROMANCE, JOHNNY HATES JAZZ and THE BEAT. See NEWS for more details.

A-HA have announced US dates in New York and Los Angeles in May as part of their farewell tour, see GIGS for all the dates.

THE SPECIALS have announced a New York show at Terminal 5 on April 21st, shortly after their appearance at the Coachella Festival on April 16th, the band's first US shows since 1980.

SAMANTHA FOX has announced tour dates across the UK in May and June with more dates expected to be confirmed soon. See GIGS for all the dates.

VINCE CLARKE and MARTYN WARE have created a special installation for the forthcoming 3D Soundclash event at London's Royal Albert Hall on February 18th. The 3D Audioscape will allow performers to manipulate sound in three dimensions...

MARC ALMOND has been added to the bill of the forthcoming Camp Bestival Festival in Dorset this summer. He joins a bill that also includes sets from THE HUMAN LEAGUE, MADNESS, BILLY BRAGG and THE FALL.

GEORGE BENSON and MARTI PELLOW have announced UK dates together in May and June, see GIGS for all the dates.

SADE will make a rare live appearance at the German Echo Music Awards on March 4th when she will perform her new single 'Soldier Of Love' taken from her new album of the same name which will be released on February 8th.

CROWDED HOUSE have announced live dates in the UK in May and June, see GIGS for all the dates.

SHAKATAK will continue their 30th anniversary celebrations with two special shows at Maidstone's Pizza Express Music Room on February 26th and 27th.

EURYTHMICS' single 'Love Is A Stranger' has been sampled in 'I Want U', the new single from Dirty Vegas mainman Paul Harris, which is currently topping the UK club charts.

808 STATE have confirmed the tracklistings for the 2-CD reissues of their '808:90', 'Ex:El', 'Gorgeous' and 'Don Solaris' albums which are all due for release on March 22nd, each accompanied by a disc of rare and previously unreleased tracks. See NEWS for the full tracklisting of all four albums.

BANANARAMA will release 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore' as their next single accompanied by 'The Runner'. Both tracks have been remixed for the single and a release date is expected shortly.

JAKI GRAHAM will collaborate with the BBC Big Band in a show entitled 'Gershwin and Soul', featuring the best of Duke Ellington along with Cotton Club classics. The show, at Birmingham's Symphony Hall on March 12th, will also be recorded for BBC Radio 2's Big Band Special.

ANDY BELL TO HEADLINE EUROPEAN GAY SKI WEEK
Andy will be performing as part of the entertainment at this year's European Gay Ski Week which will take place at France's Tignes resort between March 20th and 27th... a week's skiing and an evening with Andy all in one package! See Andy's website for more details.

VINCE CLARKE'S 3D AUDIOSCAPE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
A sound installation created by Vince Clarke and Martyn Ware will be featured at the forthcoming 3D Soundclash event at London's Royal Albert Hall on February 18th between 8pm and midnight. The event comes courtesy of the Red Bull Music Academy whose website gives more information about the project...

ERASURE MATES MEET-UP
A group of fans are arranging an unofficial meet-up for fellow fans in Sheffield on March 13th, there's talk of a meal but the focus is on a night out at Reflex, the city's 80s club. More information can be found on the event's Facebook page!

VINCE CLARKE REMIX OF NITZER EBB REISSUED
Nitzer Ebb have released a new compilation, 'In Order', this week which sees all their b-sides, remixes and rarities available digitally for the first time, including Vince Clarke's Anonymous remix of 'Ascend' from 1992. The release is available on iTunes UK and all good online stores.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST!
It's The Brit Awards again on February 16th and there a new Brits website which not only gives details of this year's ceremony but also has an archive of the best bits from previous years, including Andy Bell receiving the award for Best British Group from Boy George in 1989. It's part of the notorious show that was hosted by Mick Fleetwood and Samantha Fox where everything went wrong, so it's well worth a look on a number of levels!