VA - Hooks In The Dark, Rare Power Pop 1977-1985 (A Butterboy Compilation) (4 x CDs)

POWER POP

VA - Hooks In The Dark, Rare Power Pop 1977-1985 (A Butterboy Compilation) (4 x CDs)

What you’re about to listen to isn’t just another power pop collection, it’s a four‑disc journey into the parts of the genre that rarely see daylight. I’ve spent years tracking these songs down, checking pressings and making sure every track earns its place. Nothing here is filler. Each song captures something essential about the era, the spark, the innocence, the bite, the ambition, and that unmistakable DIY electricity that ran through 1977 to 1985.

Across these 4 CDs you’ll hear bands who pressed a few hundred copies, groups who never made it past their local pub or community hall, and artists who had the songs but not the luck. That’s the heart of this set, the stories that almost slipped away. These aren’t the usual “rare power pop” suspects that get recycled over and over. This is the real underground, the 7‑inches that lived in basements, the private‑press gems, the regional scenes that flared brightly and vanished.

Each disc has its own character.

CD1 carries the raw edge, the punk‑leaning power pop that still smells like sweat and photocopied gig flyers.

CD2 moves into the sharp, hook‑driven UK/Euro sound.

CD3 leans toward the jangly, indie‑minded side of the genre, the sound that would eventually feed college radio.

CD4 is the late‑night disc, the cult tracks, the darker corners, the songs made for people who stayed up too late with a tape deck and a stack of singles.

What ties everything together is the rarity. More than sixty of these tracks were pressed in tiny quantities, sold at gigs, traded between friends, or left behind in record shops that no longer exist. These are the bands who never got the break, the singles that never crossed a border, the songs that survived on cassette dubs and collector whispers. Bringing them together in one place shows just how wide, inventive, and unpredictable the power pop underground really was.

This isn’t nostalgia and it’s not a rehash. It’s preservation, a way of giving these lost sparks a home again and letting listeners hear how much brilliance was happening far from the spotlight. Only a handful of artists across the entire set ever had anything close to wider exposure. Everything else sits firmly in the deep‑cut, hard‑to‑find, “how did this even exist?” category.

If you’re already deep into power pop, you’ll recognise the thrill of seeing names you’ve only heard rumours about. And if you’re new to this world, you’re about to discover just how strange, catchy, and wonderful things get when you step outside the obvious choices. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Jumpers - Sick Girls 3:48 1979

02 Flys - We Don't Mind The Rave 3:03 1978

03 Suicide Commandos - She 2:59 1977

04 Twisters - Heartless 2:32 1979

05 Flyin' Spiderz - Stupid Photographs 2:54 1977

06 Catch 22 - Scotty and D 3:09 1985

07 Dick 'n The Donuts - Saturday Night 2:42 1981

08 Badbeats - One and One is Two 2:06 1979

09 Heat - High School Sweater 2:59 1978

10 Back Street Romeos - In The Night 3:07 1980

11 New Math - Die Trying 2:00 1979

12 Modulators - Spin Me Around 2:03 1980

13 Trend - Band Aid 2:20 1980

14 Features - City Scenes 3:31 1980

15 Reactors - Do That Thing 2:57 1980

16 Bompers - Do The Bomp 1:55 1979

17 Hitmen - I Don’t Mind 2:43 1979

18 Classic Ruins - Nyquil Stinger 2:47 1980

19 Steroids - Out of Control 3:08 1981

20 Rousers - Party Boy 3:43 1980

CD2

01 Orbits - Phenominal World 2:24 1980

02 Reeperbahn - Havel Ligger Blank! 3:29 1979

03 Pop - Nobody's Toy 3:19 1977

04 Donkeys - Don't Go 3:23 1979

05 Hi-Fi's - Look at What You've Done 3:34 1978

06 Marbles - Red Lights 3:01 1976

07 Quads - There Must Be Thousands 3:21 1979

08 Really 3rds - Everyday, Everyway 2:51 1981

09 Sponsors - In and Out of Love 2:39 1982

10 Tattoo - I Still Want You 3:47 1977

11 Ascenders - She's in Love 2:49 1983

12 Blazers - Top of My World 3:50 1980

13 Elevators - Your I's Are Too Close Together 3:22 1980

14 Fans - You Don't Live Here Anymore 3:22 1980

15 Favourites - S.O.S. 3:19 1979

16 Marshalls - AM 2:47 1980

17 Nits - Yes Or No 3:02 1977

18 Orbits - Rear View Mirror 4:02 1981

19 Shout - Sha-Day-La-Da 2:43 1982

20 Signals - Cold as The Rain 3:08 1984

CD3

01 Poppees - Jealousy 2:34 1978

02 Rattlers - On The Beach 3:04 1979

03 Dabs - Love The Army 3:00 1981

04 Wigs - 180 Degrees 3:22 1981

05 Know - I Like Girls 2:09 1980

06 Secrets - It's You 1:37 1982

07 New Hearts - Just Another Teenage Anthem 1:57 1977

08 Chaser - Lovin' Eyes 3:56 1979

09 David Burdick - Can't Sit Still 3:32 1985

10 Bings - Please Please Please 2:38 1981

11 Zones - You're Not Fooling Me 2:40 1979

12 Lookalikes - Don't Cry for Me 3:36 1980

13 Riptides - Magic Castle 1:46 1979

14 Bats - Not My Girl Anymore 3:20 1982

15 Shake Shakes - You Can Run 3:33 1979

16 Shivvers - Please Stand By 3:04 1980

17 Bats - Popgun 3:24 1982

18 Readymades - Supergirl 1:43 1977

19 Zippers - She's A Rebel 2:36 1977

20 Scarlet Party - 101 Damn-Nations 3:37 1982

CD4

01 Probers - Caught You in The Corner of My Eye 4:27 1982

02 Marching Girls - First in Line 2:53 1980

03 Local Operator - Mumbo Man 3:16 1980

04 Poppees - Love of the Loved 1:51 1978

05 Ronnie Mayor - Can't Wait 'til The Summer Comes 2:52 1981

06 Brats - First Rock Star on The Moon 4:07 1976

07 Pencils - If You Really Wanna Hurt Somebody 3:03 1984

08 Spoons - Red Light 4:40 1981

09 Times - Red With Purple Flashes 3:20 1981

10 Mumps - Rock & Roll This, Rock & Roll That 2:31 1978

11 Moberlys - Sexteen 3:33 1984

12 Tactics - Standing By The Window 2:39 1981

13 Trend - Teenage Crush 3:21 1979

14 Reruns - So So Alone 2:51 1978

15 Agents - Suburban Paradise 2:26 1981

16 Techtones - That Girl 3:13 1980

17 Colors - West End 1:47 1980

18 Names - Why Can't it Be 3:59 1982

19 Smirks - O.K. U.K. 2:17 1978

20 Mosquitos - This Was Then, This is Now 4:08 1981

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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