Description
Lets hear it now for good old ’89….
Following a year of devastating trauma where the Pink Dots went from being a six-piece band to just two stalwart survivors of myself and Phil (The Silverman), and our Amsterdam home was emptied so it could be transformed into a wine bar for Yuppies, the last 12 months of the decade were laced with the optimism of a new beginning.
For a start, ace saxophone master Niels Van Hoorn stepped in, playing his first show perhaps three days after his first rehearsal. We’d been living in a caravan in the grounds of Niels’ converted farmhouse, but were offered a flat in the “worst part” of Nijmegen (which actually meant there were fewer buses on Sundays). Then, Niels’ old friend and “Golden Age” guest guitarist Bob Pistoor turned the Dots into a foursome and injected an intense passion into band.
A good year. Lady Fate didn’t seem quite so angry anymore, and a couple of cassettes bearing sketches for songs were fleshed out into the evergreen landmark that became “The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse”. Has it really been a whole 30 years?
The only sad footnote was that Bob joined the band a month too late to qualify for that elusive American work permit and The Pink Dots’ first tour of the continent was as a three piece. His greatest ambition was to play in the USA, but the tiny mind of pointless bureaucracy can’t cope outside the box. Tragically, Bob prematurely passed away in 1992, having never toured America. This 30th Anniversary edition of “The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse†is dedicated to Bob with undying love.”
—- Edward Ka-spel, August 2019
This 30th Anniversary Edition of “The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse” is presented in a deluxe gatefold jacket, with a lyric insert and a postcard with a download code. Limited edition of 275 copies on black vinyl, 222 on clear vinyl.
Track List:
Disc One
The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse
A1) I Love You In Your Tragic Beauty
A2) Green Gang
A3) Hellsville
A4) Helloween
A5) The Safe Way
B1) Just A Lifetime
B2) Death Of Jack The Ripper
B3) New Tomorrow
Disc Two
Princess Coldheart EP
A1) Princess Coldheart
A2) The Pleasure Palace
A3) The Collector
The Velvet Sessions
B1) The Velvet Sessions 1
B2) The Velvet Sessions 2/CVA