Loose Fix (Happy Mondays x Levi Clothing)

 Posted about bands x brands collabs once upon a time on this blog. With a great deal of suspicion and contempt.

The latest one involves one of my favourite bands - The Mondays - who have had one or two questionable collabs in the past, Admiral and Palace spring to mind (stay tuned for more on these..)

This collaboration seems a bit more on point as the designers are actually Central Station, who worked with Factory Records creating artwork for the Mondays early work. And it's these late 80s iconic designs that are emblazoned on Levi gear.

The t shirts are the pick of the bunch. Clean, crisp, white long sleeved tee coming in a Loose Fit, obviously, with one of four LP covers on the front - singles Freaky Dancin' or Tart Tart and albums Squirrel & Gman or Bummed. If that wasn't cool enough, they come folded up in its own record sleeve box.

Double double good.

One Step Beyond

Madness' debut album One Step Beyond was arguably their best, and definitely their most iconic. It was released 35 years ago next month and still has that heavy heavy monster sound throughout. Hey you! Don't watch that, watch this...

Dung 4

It's strange how the soundtrack to my summer of 2014 was penned and recorded in the winter of 1987. And in Oldham of all places, which never experiences summer anyway.

The band is the Inspiral Carpets, whom during the early 90s were third in line for Madchester's crown after the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. As baggy took hold they swaggered up to the top of the music food chain - the debut album Life was popular as breathing, sell out festivals and tours followed, and they pretty much grabbed the term 'Cool as Fuck' for themselves (using on a range of tee shirts with a smoking cow).

Dung 4 is the lost album Carpet fans have been waiting for, briefly available in 1989 only as a cassette via mail order (only 8000 sold), so it's fair to say the circle was kept firmly around it. Original lead singer Stephen Holt (replaced by Tom Hingley for 18 years, now back at front when reformed in 2012) is on vocals and the album combines tracks from demo tape Cow and ones that later appeared on EPs Plane Crash and Trainsurfing.

Joe for example is one track I love. Here it isn't as stand out as the remixed/rewrote single that got released a few years later, but I love the slow plodding nature of Holts lyrics and slightly ska/Specials influence perhaps in the intro. The song is here in it's original format and structure, as with many others - undisturbed and unbastardised - and for Carpet fans you couldn't spend a better tenner on listening to the band you might have had...