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This goes back a long way. Pre Spiritualized in fact. My employees kept me on my toes at my record shop. A few of them kept asking for Spacemen 3 records which were not easy to find in the late 80’s in the US. At least not on a regular basis. I would pick up what I could find on buying/trading trips to London. The main shop I traded with in London, Vinyl Experience, was part of The Chain With No Name so we got plenty of bronze embossed Recurring LPs among other things.

Then came the split. Many would argue the split already happened on Recurring. One side Jason. One side Sonic. Not sure what to make of this then we were told of the first offshoot Spiritualized.

When Anyway That You Want Me came in I immediately played it and thought to myself yeah…I like this. The next single was Feel So Sad. I remember this like yesterday. We opened the box of imports and immediately put this on. It was warm here that day and not a cloud in the sky so this was in the summer. As soon as the record ended I declared Feel So Sad my single of the year. The year was only half over. We took our year end lists seriously in my shop so this was a bold statement.

Next up Lazer Guided Melodies. This was a lot to absorb. Much like other records that have remained close to my heart over the years this took a bit of getting used to outside of Shine A Light which floored me the first time I heard it and continues to this day. Then track by track I realized just how special this record was. I still feel 100% this way 23 years later.

I walked into Dedicated’s offices in Notting Hill Gate and asked if they had any promo posters I could have for my shop. They were amazing and shocked that someone from a US record shop was in the lobby asking for these. While I was in reception I noticed the two ceramic figures used for the LGM cover. The angel and the devil. They were at least 12 inches tall. Maybe taller. Each one on a 5 inch by 5 inch black base. No one I know has ever seen or heard of these. I wonder where they wound up? I was happily given five of the huge red 5 ft by 3 ft fly posters and a roll of the smaller blue posters by the Dedicated staff. I still have one of each.

Pure Phase continued this as well. Another amazing album and the first glimpse of some amazing packaging with the luminous CD case. What was also nice for a record shop owner(not so much for fans as it became expensive) were the singles on various formats that were released.

The timing of my being in London when the Let It Flow triple pack CD was released I will never forget. I went everywhere. I was obsessed. Virgin, HMV, Our Price, Sister Ray, Selectadisc, Vinyl Experience, Rough Trade and every other shop I could find. I put together 33 sets. I came back and only sold them as sets and while a few people complained I had to explain to them if you knew how hard these were to get you would gladly pay the asking price which was $35. Each extra $10 would end up paying for my flight. Otherwise we would only have ever gotten like 5 of them thus never making it out on the floor in the shop.

I vivdly recall when Fucked Up Inside was released as a mail order only CD in the UK. I freaked out I must have annoyed the hell out of the Dedicated UK offices making sure we got these. They are so lucky this was pretty much pre email. Ultimately a US distributor Dutch East got them and we wound up selling nearly 200 copies of this.

I then saw my first Spiritualized gig on the Rollercoaster tour with the Jesus & Mary Chain and Curve at the State Theater in Detroit.  Whoa! An intensity I had never seen before and I was hooked. The second time I saw them they opened for Siouxsie & The Banshees at the same venue. They were meant to stop by my shop before the show and sign records until we got a call from their manager informing me this was not going to happen. I was really pissed off. Then we asked if they would come by after the show and they agreed. This was by far the best night ever in my shop. The band stayed from 9:00 pm until 2:00 am signing everything and just having a great time. Over 250 fans came thru after some impromptu flyering at the show and some well placed phone calls.

Thus began my relationship with Jason Pierce that continues to this day. After the Acoustic Mainlines show in Toronto I was taken upstairs to see Jason and he smiled. He asked “How long have we been friends?” I was pretty stunned. Jason and I email back and forth occasionally but the fact he considers me a friend meant a lot.

Jason has always been willing to go the extra mile for fans. Especially here in Detroit where he has become close with some notable local bands the Detroit Cobras and the Dirtbombs. He does have a big fan base here which helps. Not only because of the support of the local shops but his willingness to meet, greet, sign or just talk to his fans. 30 or so gigs later there is no better night out than a Spiritualized gig. Especially in Detroit as it becomes a reunion with my former employees and customers.

I realize Ladies & Gentlemen is the record most name check as their favorite. It is by far Spiritualized’s most popular. It means so many things to so many people. I will just leave it at that. Ditto for the rest of the catalog. I am not going to go into each album and you may scratch your head wondering why I stopped after Pure Phase. The reason is I love the noisy era Spiritualized. This is how I became a fan. Those early shows? They came out and blew your head right off. Two shows in one night at The Shelter underneath St Andrews Hall in Detroit remain two of the most amazing shows I have ever seen. By anyone. By any band. This was between Pure Phase and Ladies & Gentlemen. The first show was blistering. The second show even more so. They played two fewer songs at the second show yet it was 20 minutes longer. Really giving the songs space to breathe live.

At one point in 1993-ish one of my employees noticed a classified ad in the back of Record Collector magazine advertising loads of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized rarities. I called and spoke to Pete who referred me to Mark. Turns out Pete was the dub and reggae expert half of Runcible Records. Mark was the Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and Sonic Boom expert. We started trading records. After a few trips we became friends. After a few more we became really good friends. Now we have been thru births, deaths and everything in between. I have watched his kids grow up. I was at his wedding. We celebrated my “big” birthday together at a party he hosted in 2009. He has become a very important part of my life. Common thread? Spacemen 3/Spiritualized/Sonic Boom.

What really impresses me are the fans of the band. I am a moderator on the Spiritualized message board. What I have witnessed over the years is incredible. It has become such a diverse place to post or read on everything from current events to blow by blow reviews of shows to a running thread on the Premier League. The unbelievable wealth of musical knowledge from those who post there is astonishing. In fact I need not look any further than the band recommendations from the message board to expand my musical horizons.

Every once in awhile you realize just how important this message board is in the daily life of the fans who read and post. A few years ago the message board went down for a few weeks. We couldn’t understand why. Eventually it came back and I know a lot us realized just how important it is in our lives. We even helped a forum member’s family sell off his record collection thru the message board after the forum member passed away suddenly thus making sure the records were going to good homes and at the same time helping defray the funeral costs.

While I have met several forum members face to face I feel like I know a lot of people from the years we have been posting. I love the photos of get togethers pre or post show around the world. I know how close other forum members have become as well.

I have put up forum members here, I have happily shown forum members around Detroit and I have been a guest at other forum members homes. This past May three of us got together near Leeds for a few days of catching up and general mayhem meeting up with another forum member while running riot in Leeds on a Sunday. Just look at this photo. Sheer joy!

2014

2015

Here is an addendum to this blog that took place less than 1 month ago. In June 2015 it was announced that Spiritualized were doing a special one off warm up show at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on September 25, 2015. It was a warm up for the Liverpool Psych Fest the next day. I bought a couple tickets and booked a flight. As anyone knows you never know what you are gonna get. Whether you are flying overseas for a gig or or flying to a sporting event.

I arrived on September 22. I had a Yom Kippur fast to contend with as well as jet lag. No problem. Fast completed. Feasting resumed. I must credit my dear friends and hosts in Leeds Judi & Mark for feeding me 5 star meals every night. No one has ever heard me complain about the food in England because the truth is I eat far better there than I do here with my limited cooking skills. Our friend Barry from Stonehaven( in Scotland) to which no trip overseas would be complete without seeing joined us on the Thursday.

On to the gig. In my wildest dreams I could not have hoped for a better show. Spiritualized were amazing as well as the new light show. It was nice seeing some folks I have met thru the band and meeting others for the first time. What happened after was even better. I was with some people who have been fans since the Spacemen 3 days. One had sold Jason an Lp at a record fair in the late 80's or early 90's and the others had never met him. What happens to most people is over time you build this myth in your head of what a person is like. Aloof? Difficult? Not approachable? Jason took the time to meet everyone and dispel any myths that may have been built up about him in fans minds. In fact he remembered which LP he bought off my friend and became emotional when another related a story to him about one of the Acoustic Mainlines tour shows in Manchester. He accepted a batch of CDs of crucial music from my friend Barry as well. Just blowing them all away.

On a side note huge props the the Leeds Brudenell Social Club for not aggressively kicking out everyone after the show. Allowing those who wanted to speak to the band all the time they wanted. I wish all clubs would take a page out of the Brudenell's book. Treat  people nice, keep the bar open, sell more drinks and everyone is happy.

People always ask me why I always go to Leeds when I have time and money to travel. Even Jason asked that after the show. "You came all the way over and you are spending all your time in Leeds"? he asked. I said I have loads of friends here and all that is thanks to you. Spiritualized and Spacemen 3. Had it not been for these bands I would never have become friends with all these folks.

Credit to Judi for the photo above perfectly capturing some fantastic moments in time. Not sure how this became the Facebook cover for this blog link but it has an incredible spirit. Fitting I think.

It really is amazing that whom I consider a few of my closest friends I have met thru Spiritualized. While I love the music I also love how much more Spiritualized have given me and truly enriched my life way beyond the music. Never underestimate the power of music.

This gets me back to the title of this blog.

This is why I love Spiritualized.

Please feel free to comment at the bottom. I would love to hear stories from anyone taking the time to read this.

None of the instores would have happened without the help of our local BMG office who also worked Dedicated Records. Laura & Mike.

Spiritualized message board address:

http://forum.spiritualized.band/