DJHistorians: a local promoter is putting on an ‘alternative’ 80s night (indie / pop skewed) and I’m vaguely speculating about trying to use my sweet sweet words to finagle my way to a hour at the start. If I were to put a wee mix together, what golden nuggets could you suggest to sprinkle throughout? I’m thinking stuff that won’t step on the obvious hits for later on, but also not terrify your standard medium-sized-town civilian, there to dance to a bit of Cure / A-ha / Depeche Mode (for example: stuff off the Mutant Disco comps / Visage - We Move). Like most vague speculations, this will likely just remain on the inside of my head - but thought it would be a mildly diverting game nonetheless.
Happy House - Siouxsie And The Banshees
Too early in the evening?
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Otherwise overlooked (in a mass-market sense) album tracks and b-sides will sound ‘right’ without being too obvious.
An example from the Touch Dance remix album:
Remixed B-side to the 12" remix of Just Can’t Get Enough:
Cosmic disco classic tucked away on the back of a goth hit:
Fairly well-known, but perhaps less obvious to a mainstream crowd:
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And… I was listening to a load of Scritti Politti yesterday. Forgot how great it sounds.
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I like to think of this as a bit of a secret weapon (prob not round these parts though!), it’s very 80s!
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B-side to a top ten pop hit, and a Paradise Garage classic to boot:
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@MusicForHangovers - I went through a ‘things I’ve never heard before by commercial behemoths’ phase a while back and mostly ended up empathising with the fellow making his escape at the end of Shawshank Redemption. The occasional smasher makes it worthwhile though.
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Another cosmic disco classic, a Daniel Miller solo project, b-side to a lesser indie hit:
I was listening to tons of this sort of thing yesterday!
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…and/or Let Me Go 12" early on.
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There is a 12’ mix but it is a bit too swathed in reverb and echo to hear the song properly.
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The B Side of the 12" of “If It Happens Again”:
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Good call…!! 
A bona fide Cosmic classic from 1982:
Got to have some B-52’s:
B-side to Genius Of Love:
Nice cover of the song from S Pacific:
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That’s a revelation!! I’ve flicked past it loads of times - bet I won’t see another one now!
Those guys did a lot of interesting stuff.
There’s Zulu, for starters, which I edited many years ago but the John Luongo mix is excellent too.
Then there’s Rhythm Of The Jungle, which was an almost hit.
They also produced a cover of it for an all-girl group (there’s a 12-inch mix which is not on YT):
Personally, though, I think this is their best track:
They also produced a Scottish group called Endgames. This is the B-side of Miracles In My Heart and now fetches upwards of £50.
This concludes my George McFarlane and Colin Campsie Appreciation Thread.
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There’s so many Larry Levan mixes to choose from as well, how about something they’d likely be familiar with?
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You can’t get much more alternative than Crass. I’ve been searching for a few hours for their probably sole disco-y moment, only to find it was released in 1979. Oh well …
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A funky instrumental from 400 Blows, slowed down in true Cosmic fashion:
Probably well-known around these parts - a Culture Club b-side (instrumental version of ‘Time’):
Stepper classic tucked away on the flip of a Dutch(?) funky pop tune:
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