Two Tribes - extended edition

[I, Brian]

I don't know about anyone else here, but the "Two Tribes" (extended remix) 12" version by Frankie Goes to Hollywood was one of my most prized records. I rarely played it because I considered it so valuable, and so didn't wish to wear it down.

The music in itself is great - however, it was the message that was important to me.

It's not the message of "Two Tribes" the single for radioplay - of mere simple conflict. It's the additional vocal loops of someone reading out what would appear to be government advise on how to deal with surviving a nuclear attack.

For example: "If any member of the family should die from contamination, while in the shelter, then put them outside, but remember to tag them first for identification purposes."

Run those line - with variations - a few times through 9 minutes of extended remixing.

I was absolutely haunted by the idea of nuclear holocaust as a child. I still have a newspaper cutting from our local daily showing the extent of devastation that would occur if a standard megaton nuclear warhead was dropped on the middle of my home town/city of Hull.

And, of course, as a child I watched the biggest horror film ever made - the BBC film/documentary made in 1960's about what to expect in the event of a nuclear attact. It was considered so scary it was banned from public showing until the 1980's.

"And here is a reminder about fall-out warnings..."

It's amazing to see how far the wolrd has moved since then - from the thickness of the Cold War, through the machination of Perestroika and the Fall of the Iron Curtain across Europe.

But even still, the nuclear menace is still with us. It just isn;t about Two Tribes anymore.

My extended version of the song is in the loft, with all my other vinyl. But I just downloaded the track from Kazaa, and am listening to it now. It's funny how the world has changed since then - but a deep sense of unease remains.

Just a thoughtful ramble.