A much prized possession this single – the first record on Mute Records which was formed by one Daniel Miller who played everything on these tracks. Most people know ‘Warm Leatherette’ from the sumptuous cover of it by Grace Jones with Sly ‘n’ Robbie, but it was actually the B side, with ‘T.V.O.D’ taking first place. Both songs stood out from the crowd in 1978 – remember this was the year when punk/new wave hit its stride with blazing guitars. This really was different (whilst making a big nod to Kraftwerk, Can etc) and was a taste of what was to come in the UK in a couple of years time (paving the way for Soft Cell, Blancmange and indeed Depeche Mode).
Spurred on by the positive critical reaction Mute Records (i.e. Daniel Miller) became the home of the new UK electronica scene in the late 70's/early 80's with the first records by Depeche Mode (and look what happened to them); Yazoo (including the ‘Only You’ smash) and later Erasure. Other less well known acts still sound like a roll-call of the hip in the early 80’s – Fad Gadget, D.E.F, The Birthday Party and the Silicon Teens (another vehicle for Daniel Miller).
In a word: hypnotic. Here are the songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5QErPDNcj4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhsQqpYEDzE
