news

2008

September

Hungry, So Angry is getting yet another compilation release. Cherry Red Records is releasing a massive box set that includes the first 61 singles--A-sides and B-sides--from the label. Hungry..., the label's nineteenth single release, came out in early 1981. The box set, comprising eight discs and 185 tracks, commemorates Cherry Red's 30th anniversary.

By coincidence, Medium Medium's 30th anniversary is coming up in January 2009. We've started planning a few live dates in Europe at the beginning of summer to mark the occasion. Stay tuned...

news

2007

December

The 1981 promotional video of "Hungry, So Angry" is included on the DVD
accompanying the "Pillows & Prayers - Cherry Red Records 1981-1984" 3-CD,
25th anniversary box set, set for release January 8, 2008. We have also
learned that another Cherry Red box set is scheduled for later in the year
which will also include "Hungry, So Angry." Stay tuned for more details.

November

Alex Ogg included Medium Medium in "No More Heroes," his complete history of UK punk, 1976-1980. Alex writes: "Medium Medium occupied similar post-punk territory to the Pop Group, Gang Of Four, etc, though operating out of
Nottingham meant they never quite registered on the post-punk radar to the
same extent as those peers. This fact has not been rectified in either Simon
Reynolds' Rip It Up And Start Again or genre surveys such as In The
Beginning There Was Rhythm. Yet their 'extreme dance music' (or 'free-blown
dubbed-up white funk' according to the NME) shared similar punk roots, was
aimed similarly at the dancefloor as well as the intellect, and produced one
bona fide era classic, 'Hungry, So Angry'."

March

What's old is new again with the latest release on the Supersound label of "Hungry, So Angry" on limited edition 12-inch vinyl. It's nice to have the version from the "Live in Holland" album out there for the first time, even though it may not be entirely official. Available from DJ specialist outlets worldwide since late February, this version was recorded at an outdoor radio broadcast show in southern Holland in June 1982 by a lineup that comprised Andy, Alan, Les and Steve. It's described as "tighter, funkier and sharper" than the original 1981 single and LP versions by the label, which specializes in releasing dance music gems of past years, apparently.

March

The entire 15-song "Hungry, So Angry" retrospective collection from 2001 is
now available through

, courtesy Cherry Red. The promotional video of
the single that was included on the enhanced CD version isn't available but,
hey, there's always YouTube. Anybody who prefers their music downloads to be
unencumbered by digital rights management can head over to eMusic or
Cherry Red for unrestricted MP3 versions.

March

We recently discovered an article in an online archive by Mick Sinclair, former music journalist for the now defunct UK weekly, Sounds. Mick accompanied us on a short Dutch tour and captured what the band was all about in a story that ran in December 1981:

"For MM, each board-treading is vital. Not in the commercial give-'em-a-good-time-so-they-buy-the-record sense but as a channel to unleash their pent-up energies and emotions. Anything less than a hundred percent commitment is considered a failure..."

"In the flesh and on a good night, MM are so hot they scorch the ears, so danceable they blister the feet and can display such a masterful grasp of atmospherics and pacing...that the hairs on the back of the average neck stand to rapt attention."

Read the full article here

2006

June

It takes a Village to record a new release...

Medium Medium have started on the road to the band's first new studio release since 1981 with tracking sessions at The Village Recorder in W. Los Angeles. We have loads of people to thank for making the recording sessions go smoothly and sound great, including: Jeff Greenberg and the hard-working staff at The Village; our engineer and co-producer, Michael Frondelli; engineer and Pro Tools wizard, Jim Monti; Brian Maguire, for the Fender Princeton and black-face Tremolux guitar amps; Dave Lewty and American Sound & Music, for the Mark Bass gear; Josh Thomas and Rupert Neve Designs, for the Portico modules; Peter Chaikin and JBL Pro, for the LSR6328 monitors; Ed Simeone, for the TC Electronic System 6000; and Doug Osborne and Martinsound, for the MSS-10 mic preamps and MSS-01 DI box.

Click on a thumbnail to view larger image

Jan

All 15 tracks from the retrospective "Hungry, So Angry" CD, released in 2001 on Cherry Red Records, are now available for download from eMusic.com. With its one million-track catalogue comprised entirely of music from independent labels, eMusic is second only to iTunes in monthly download sales, selling 45 million tracks--more than Rhapsody, MSN, Yahoo! and Napster
combined--over the past two years.

Buy Hungry, So Angry tracks here.

Subscribe to eMusic now and get the first 50 tracks free!

Jan

Erik Rug, a DJ at the Rose Bonbon club in Paris for many years during the early 1980s, has posted a podcast that features "Mice Or Monsters." "Oink! - White Funk Alternatives and Other Post-Punk Obscurarities Vol.1" is available for free download at the Paris DJs web site. According to Erik, Vol. 2, coming soon, will include "Serbian Village."

Download the podcast here.

2005

Dec

"I Can't Live Without My Radio" The latest trend-setting mix CD by DJ Morpheus, also known as Samy Birnbach of the band Minimal Compact, SSR Records and the legendary Freeform club events, includes "Hungry, So Angry." DJ Morpheus regularly spins at the top clubs around the world and has also worked with Jean-Paul Gaultier, Giorgio Armani and Mercedez Benz. The full track listing includes Jeff and Jane Hudson, The Residents, Virgin Prunes, Medium Medium, Love & Rockets, Heaven 17, Shriekback, That Petrol Emotion, Head, World Domination Enterprises, Timezone (feat. John Lydon & Afrika Bambaataa), Age of Chance, The Thrill Kill Kult, Taboo, 400 Blows vs. 23 Skidoo, and Einsturzende Neubauten.

Buy the CD here.

Sep 11

"Hungry, So Angry" is included on the free compilation CD -- "Made in Britain: The Sound of a New England 1977-1983" -- on the cover of the October 2005 issue of MOJO magazine. Inside, CD compilers Dave Henderson, MOJO editor-in-chief Phil Alexander and Nardia Plumridge write: "One of the most effective and fluid pieces of post-punk, Hungry, So Angry became a trans-Atlantic club hit in the early '80s. Twenty-five years on, its bubbling bass, stripped-down drum sound, irrestible scratch-funk guitar and chanted vocals make it the best track the Talking Heads never recorded. The fact that the Nottingham outfit re-formed last year to play a US music convention suggests an ESG-styled reappraisal may be on the cards."

Feb 15

A live performance of "Serbian Village" from Medium Medium's 2004 CMJ showcase at the Knitting Factory in New York aired on a CMJ special on NYC TV's "New York Noise" music show. The flagship channel of the newly formed NYC Media Group, NYC TV 25 features content highlighting New York City lifestyle, culture and history.
Episode 18: CMJ Music Festival
Shot from NYC's CMJ Music Festival this episode brings you super-hot exclusive footage of the finest caliber! This includes performances recorded live at CMJ from Midlake, The Russian Futurists, Poingly, Br. Danielson feat. Sufjan Stevens, The Organ, Parker and Lily, and our favorite preteen girl band, Smoosh. Hear from Chris White of CMJ network about the history of CMJ and how the festival is put together. Plus music videos by bands who performed there, including Human Television, The Dears, Palomar, The High Strung, Adem, The Wrens, Medium Medium as shot by Joly of Punkcast.com, and more!
Premiered February 15th, 2005

2004

Nov 17

Medium Medium has been confirmed as the opening act for an all-ages show at The El Rey Theater in Los Angeles by Moving Units on Thursday, December 16. Tickets are available now for $18.50 (inc. service charge) from The El Rey or through Ticketmaster

Nov 9

Medium Medium's 2004 CMJ showcase at the Knitting Factory in New York was documented by guerrilla videographer and fellow English expat Joly MacFie for his punkcast.com website. Joly has posted "Serbian Village" from Punkcast #593 for streaming or download and has made a Video CD of the entire 8-song set available for just $4 (inc. domestic shipping) or $5 (foreign). Set list: "Further Than Funk Dream," "Nadsat Dream," "Serbian Village," "Mice Or Monsters," "7th Floor," "Them Or Me," "Hungry, So Angry," and the encore, "Guru Maharaji."

Nov 1

Medium Medium are enjoying their third compilation release this year. "How to Kill the DJ (Part 2)," the much anticipated debut mix CD from Scotland's Optimo DJs -- JD Twitch and JG Wilkes -- has finally been released in Europe on Tigersushi Records. A 75-minute slice of a typical night at the Optimo club in Glasgow, it includes Twitch's mix of "Hungry, So Angry" with Chromeo's "Destination: Overdrive (DFA Dub)." The track will also be included on a limited edition, gatefold, multi-disc vinyl version timed to coincide with the CD's U.K. release in January 2005.

Oct 11

Headman, the Swiss DJ, producer and artist known to his friends as Robi Insinna, has released a wickedly eclectic mix CD "Headman Presents Dance Modern" on Belgium's Eskimo Recordings label, that features "Mice or Monsters" as the opening track. A 3-track, limited edition, 12-inch picture disc sampler of the album features Medium Medium with Rex the Dog and Lene Lovitch. The album also includes cuts from Franz Ferdinand, Chromeo, Divine, and New Fast Automatic Daffodils. Robi has been telling interviewers that he included Medium Medium because the band is one of his favorites of the era and one of his biggest inspirations.

Sep 27

Recently reunited, Medium Medium will be returning to the stage for the first time in 21 years when they play two select shows on the East Coast in mid-October. The U.K. post-punk/funk pioneers, best known for their influential dance club hit, "Hungry, So Angry," last played together in June 1983.

Fri, Oct 15, 2004: Plain Parade at Tritone, Philadelphia, PA

Sat, Oct 16, 2004: 2004 CMJ Music Marathon showcase at the Knitting Factory Tap Bar, New York, NY