TOWN TO TOWN
(SINGLE)

FOUR TRACK 12" ON VIRGIN. CAT NO. VSD 927-12.
Side a- Town To Town, Little Town In Ireland.
Side b- Bullwhip Road (Live), Genius (Live).

FIVE TRACK DOUBLE 7" ON VIRGIN. CAT NO. VSD 927.
Record 1- Town To Town, Little Town In Ireland.
Record 2- Begging Bowl, Horse Overboard, Loftholdingswood (all from Peel Sessions).

SEVEN INCH SINGLE AND CASSETTE ON VIRGIN. CAT NO. VSC 927.
Single- Town To Town, Little Town In Ireland.
Cassette- Birthday Girl (Live), Big Sleeping House (Live), Begging Bowl (Live).

All sorts of promotion for the first single on Virgin. There was even a promotional video made of the band going round on buses- from town to town. A strange affair, it was either too ironic for it's own good or a cautionary warning for anyone planning to leave a video in the hands of an 'expert'. From what I can remember, there was certainly no sign in the video of nuclear war or charred human remains trying to make love to each other, but that would probably have cost more to make.

Taken from the 'Crooked Mile' LP (bigger review there), 'Town To Town' is a fine start to their Virgin career and contains all the crucial Microdisney elements. Despite the myriad of songs contained on the three versions of the single, this was the only new Microdisney song on the record- unless you include 'Little Town In Ireland'. 'Little Town In Ireland' is simply the worst thing they ever did, an Irish Country song (vaguely wimpish Pogues in nature) which is neither ironic, funny or filled with hidden meaning.

The remainder of the tracks on the various formats (8 of their best songs) were a good introduction to Microdisney for any new followers. The recordings consisted of five live tracks and three from Peel sessions, which also made it a necessary purchase for die hard fans. Promotional tools they may have been, but each version was value for money and made me happy that Virgin were on board.