The Gun Club - Preaching The Blues Singles Box Set
The Gun Club ‘Preaching The Blues’ Singles Box Set
Limited Edition 7 x 7inch vinyl Box Set
Includes the highly sought-after debut 7” ‘Ghost On The Highway/Sex Beat’
All tracks remastered and issued with original artwork
52-page booklet with rare photographs, reminisces from Thurston Moore, Mark Lanegan, Henry Rollins, X and extensive liner notes from noted author Clinton Heylin
Includes exclusive ‘Fire Of Love’ Fanzine, ‘Gun’ Button and Promo Postcard Released by Flood Gallery on 21st January 2022
If ever there was a band seemingly determined to come from nowhere and go straight back there, it was The Gun Club. Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s search and destroy combo was spawned by the L.A. punk scene in 1979. Two years later their first LP, the incendiaryFire Of Love, was spewed out by Slash Records, a matter of months after the punk zine Pierce wrote for, and the label named itself after, breathed its last.
Fire Of Love was one of the 80s’ genuinely shape-shifting US debuts, igniting post-punk depth and minting genres including blues, psychobilly and Americana.
Yet before they could fire up the lathe to cut the album master, The Gun Club unleashed a debut 7” ‘Ghost On The Highway’ b/w ‘Sex Beat’, two purgatory-bound hellraisers from the pen of Pierce. Appearing in the UK on the Beggars Banquet label, this single is now entrenched in the collectors’ market commanding a three-figure sum for a mint original. Its inclusion here is worth the price of the Box Set alone.
“Ghost on the Highway/Sex Beat’ was the first in a run of fire and brimstone singles The Gun Club released. Seven of their very best 45’s issued between 1981-1993 are brought together on this potent collection including three later day 7”s for the completists. Joining “Ghost On The Highway’ are ‘Fire Of Love’, the ‘Death Party EP’, ‘The Great Divide’, ‘Pastoral Hide & Seek’, ’Cry To Me’ and a ‘Miami Demos’ single, exclusively made for this box set.
Each double-sided single is remastered and reproduced with its original artwork. Inside the Box Set is a high quality 52-page page booklet complete with expert sleeve notes by author Clinton Heylin alongside various contributors, among them Mark Lanegan, Henry Rollins and Thurston Moore. Reproductions of gig posters, tickets, rare photographs and other Gun Club memorabilia are featured throughout. The Box Set is produced in association with the Jeffrey Lee Pierce Estate.
Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an extraordinary character. Learning to play guitar at the age of 10, he quickly immersed himself firstly in reggae and later the Delta Blues, particularly works by Tommy Johnson & Robert Johnson. By 1976, he had become obsessed with Blondie, going on to become President of the West Coast Blondie Fan Club. It was Jeffrey Lee Pierce who suggested to the band they cover ‘Hanging On The Telephone’. The Blondie connection would later resurface in 1982 when Chris Stein signed and produced The Gun Club for his Animal Records label. In 1996, after releasing 7 studio albums, 37-year-old Jeffrey Lee Pierce sadly passed away following a stroke
The Gun Club story would not be complete without mentioning the following personnel who played an integral role in the musical output of the Gun Club: Kid Congo Powers, Terry Graham, Chris D, Rob Ritter, Patricia Robinson, Romi Mori, Ward Dotson, Jim Duckworth, Dee Pop and Nick Sanderson.
The Gun Club ‘Preaching The Blues’ Singles Box Set
1. Ghost On The Highway (1982) - Ghost On The Highway/Sex Beat
2. Fire Of Love 1982 – Fire Of Love/Walking With The Beast
3. Miami Demos (1982) – Carry Home/Brother And Sister
4. Death Party EP (1983) – The House On Highland Ave./ The Lie/Death Party 5. The Great Divide (1990) – The Great Divide/Crabdance
6. Pastoral Hide And Seek (1990) - Pastoral Hide And Seek/Black Hole/Emily’s Changed (Live in Paris, 91)
7. Cry To Me (1993) – Cry To Me/Give Up The Sun
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