Music Reissues Weekly: Atlanta - Hotbed of 70s Soul

ATLANTA - HOTBED OF 70S SOUL GRC is one of America's great soul labels

Despite being bankrolled by ‘The Scarface of Sex’, GRC is one of America's great soul labels

Michael Thevis made his money from pornography. In the Seventies, his Atlanta warehouses were stuffed with most of America’s porn. Nationally, Thevis was the main distributor. Looking for something less edgy to fund with his profits, he turned to the music business and bankrolled the GRC label and its sister imprints Aware and Hotlanta. In time, they became three of America's most lauded soul labels. In parallel, Thevis sealed his reputation as a notorious criminal.

Music Reissues Weekly: Angelic Upstarts - Teenage Warning

ANGELIC UPSTARTS - TEENAGE WARNING Punk landmark remains as abrasive in 1979

Punk landmark remains as abrasive as it was in 1979

NME’s Paul Morley reviewed Angelic Upstarts’ debut album, the newly reissued Teenage Warning, in August 1979. He pointed out that they were “seen as the successors to Sham 69.”

Music Reissues Weekly: Cluster - Zuckerzeit

CLUSTER - ZUCKERZEIT 50th-anniversary nod to when Krautrock began embracing melody

50th-anniversary nod to when Krautrock began embracing melody

In 1974, two albums by German kosmiche musicians working with electronics became the first from the seedbed of what’d been dubbed Krautrock to explicitly embrace – and merge – melody and rhythmic structure. One was Kraftwerk’s Autobahn. The other was Cluster’s Zuckerzeit. Once on the record player, each LP instantly made its presence felt more directly than anything either had released previously.

Music Reissues Weekly: Moving Away from the Pulsebeat - Post-Punk Britain 1977-1981

MOVING AWAY FROM THE PULSEBEAT As musically unruly as the period it documents

Box-set collection as musically unruly as the period it documents

“Moving Away from the Pulsebeat” is the final track – barring the locked-groove return of the two-note guitar refrain from “Boredom” – of Buzzcocks’ March 1978 debut album, Another Music In A Different Kitchen. At five minutes 40 seconds it didn’t cleave to the short, sharp punk template. Also, it was largely instrumental. And it had a drum solo.

Riddle of Fire review - unsubtle but likeable kids' adventure flick

★★★ RIDDLE OF FIRE Trio's quest for a blueberry pie spirals into backwoods peril

Trio's quest for a blueberry pie spirals into backwoods peril

Live-action movies for the under-12 set are rare. Rarer still are those that capture the anarchic spirit of middle-grade children gone wild. Writer-director Weston Razooli made a splash at the Cannes and Toronto film festivals last year with Riddle of Fire, an adventure tale that draws inspiration from Disney’s earnest, spirited TV fare of the 1970s.

Music Reissues Weekly: Jon Savage's The Secret Public - How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture

JON SAVAGE'S THE SECRET PUBLIC How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture

A significant release

Jon Savage's The Secret Public How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979 accompanies the titular author/historian/journalist’s book of almost the same name. The Secret Public: How LGBTQ Resistance Shaped Popular Culture (1955–1979) and this 41-track double CD each track exactly what their titles say, drilling into what has often paralleled or underlain yet repeatedly influenced a constantly evolving mainstream.

Music Reissues Weekly: Andwella - To Dream

How a cult psychedelic band laid the ground for a massive Demis Roussos hit

Original pressings of Love And Poetry sell for up to £2,800. Copies of the August 1969 debut album by Andwellas Dream can sometimes also be found for £700, a relative bargain in the context of the upper limit of the prices the collector’s market has settled on.

DVD/Blu-ray: The Holdovers

★★★★★ DVD/BLU-RAY: THE HOLDOVERS Bittersweet, beautifully observed seasonal comedy - not just for Christmas

Bittersweet, beautifully observed seasonal comedy - not just for Christmas

Glance at The Holdovers’ synopsis and you might suspect that Alexander Payne’s latest effort is a slice of lightweight seasonal schmaltz. Yes, it is set at Christmas, and contains tear-jerking moments, but Payne and screenwriter David Hemingson throw so much more.

Music Reissues Weekly: Warsaw - Middlesbrough 14th September 1977, Joy Division - Manchester 28th September 1979

WARSAW, 1977, JOY DIVISION, 1979 Thrilling live document of one of Britain’s greatest bands

Thrilling live document of one of Britain’s greatest bands

Edinburgh’s Rezillos were booked to play Middlesbrough’s Rock Garden on Wednesday 14 September 1977. “I Can’t Stand my Baby,” their debut single, had been issued in July and they were on the road subsequent to its release, positive music press reviews and regular spins from John Peel. Their humour-laced, Day-Glo art-punk was making waves.