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March 9 / Vinyl Data
One strategy that major record companies
have been employing lately to deter downloading is adding bonus
computer content to new CD releases. I recently discovered that this
technique is not unique to CD's, but had in fact been practiced in the
vinyl era as well. That's right: there were a handful of records released in the late
70's and early 80's that contained computer programs as part of the
audio. This is totally insane, and totally great.
Most of these programs were written for
the Sinclair Spectrum home computer series. The Sinclair Spectrum was
a relatively cheap home computer system that used a television set as a monitor and loaded programs from tapes. It thrived in England in the early 80's:
"If the PC is the great electronic product of the 1990's,
the Sinclair Spectrum was the great electronic product of the 1980's.
The Sinclair ZX Spectrum (nicknamed the Speccy) was invented by Sir
Clive Sinclair, a British Inventor. "
In the case of these programs on vinyl, the user would have to play back the proper portion of the record, record the resultant chatter to tape, and load the tape into the spectrum. Some users have mentioned playing certain games so much that they could recognise the loading sounds.
The Spectrum is emulated, so you can
download the data files and an emulator and view the programs / play
these games. Failing that, you can play most of these games directly
in your browser (provided you have java enabled). All of the data
files are available in the archive at worldofspectrum.org, and
there are tons
of emulators available for both the PC and mac (I used Spectaculator for
Windows and Fuse for OS X).
The most ordinary of these
vinyl-encoded programs are purely informational. Inner
City Unit, a spinoff from Hawkwind, released an album called 'New
Anatomy' in 1984. The last song on side two - 'Hectic Electric' consists of the audio pulses of a program that can be recorded to cassette and loaded into a 48k Sinclair
Spectrum. When run, the program reportedly displays "a comprehensive
description of the band, their recordings and tour schedules, etc." I was unable to find this program data online, but the track has been included on the CD reissue.
Similar, though slightly more involved was a program included on a record called 'XL-1' by Pete Shelly, former leader of The
Buzzcocks, in 1983. The last song on
the record - 'ZX Spectrum Code' - contains the audio pulses of a
computer program for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Again, the
technically savvy listener was expected to copy the audio to tape and
"play" it to their home computer. When properly input, the program was
to be run while listening to the rest of the album. 
If all of the
above was executed properly, the program displayed rudimentary graphics
and printed lyrics in time with the music for the duration of the
album. Only the U.K. pressings of the album have this track. There's
a silent lockgroove before 'ZX Spectrum Code' so you can't play it by
accident (and deafen yourself). I've only found mention of one poor
soul who has claimed to have successfully accomplished this feat - they
mentioned it tangentially in a newgroup posting. If you have any
further information, please contact me.
~*~
A gigantic step up from encoded text
files were actual games included in the grooves of records. In 1984,
The Thompson Twins released 'The Thompson Twins Adventure Game' in both
regular vinyl and flexi disc formats.
This one has survived the ravages of time
and is available for download online. You can play it in your web browser by clicking this link. The
game is a bizarre text-based adventure in which you guide the Thompson
Twins around a land of beaches and caves. If you didn't grow up playing these games, in which you have to keep a map on paper and guess which key verbs the programmers used for certain actions, you may find it a bit frustrating. I poked around a little, but I haven't played it enough
to see how it ends. If you go north from the first screen, the Thompson Twins drown en masse. As always, the British
say it best:
"And, what a surprise, having deafened my family recording
it onto tape
on our dodgy stereo, when the game finally worked, it was crap. Bloody
stupid Eighties floppy haired inumerate Chesterfield talentless
ponces."
~*~
Another spectrum game included on vinyl
was found on the B-side of Chris Sievey's 'Camouflage' 7" single. The game is called 'Flying Train' and was coded by Sievey himself. It's a pretty horrible game, notable only for the explosions, which throw a stickfigure engineer from the wreckage of the train.
You can download 'Flying Train' here, or play the game in your browser by clicking this link. Note that the instructions will ask you to hit 'Cyan' to begin, and no matter what you hit you'll get an error. I've found that hitting the 'C' key three or four times at that point gets you by to a screen where you enter your last name, and you can proceed from there.
So who was this guy who wrote computer game B-sides to his pop singles? Chris Sievey led 80's new wave popsters The Freshies. According to one newsgroup
poster, "the most interesting fact (possibly the only interesting fact)
about The Freshies is that all their instruments and equipment were
painted pink. This is true." 
This history of
the Freshies, from the liner notes of their greatest hits album is an
entertaining read. They had mild success with one single: "I'm In Love With The Girl At The
Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk" (which later had its name changed to "I'm In Love With The Girl At A Certain Manchester Megastore
Checkout Desk").
"Sievey and Ryan approached the one record company
not to be featured in Sievey's expanding rejection folder, MCA. A
licensing deal was swiftly completed, and 'I'm In Love With The Girl
On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Check Out Desk' spent a solid
thirteen weeks on the Radio One playlist, remaining stubbornly in
position throughout the heavily enladen Christmas chart and selling
over 40,000 copies. With dark and cruel irony however, a postal strike
prevented the chart return statistics from the north of England from
reaching the central computing heart of London. Despite this
agonisingly frustrating setback (The Freshies really wouldn't have
been The Freshies without being constantly blighted by such surreal
slabs of plain bad luck), the band remained on stand-by, literally,
with all the equipment stacked in the back of a Transit van for Top Of
The Pops on three separate occasions, while the single bobbed and
dipped with infuriating uncertainty."
"I'm In Love With The Girl At The
Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk" ended up on a soundtrack cassette to a Spectrum game called 'The Biz'. This game wasn't included on a vinyl release, but it too was coded by none other than Chris Sievey, and can easily be seen as a sort of venting of his frustrations with the music industry.
The player inputs information such as name, band name, class, and hometown to begin the game. From then on, the 'band' is offered a dizzying array of options, all affecting variables used to determine your 'Overall Star Rating.' Players must schedule each week's shows and rehearsals; hire managers; record, press and market singles; film videos; and pay attention to what genres the kids are buying on the weekly charts. I ended up playing it for way too long when I 'tried it out.' You can download 'The Biz' here, or play the game in your browser by clicking this link.
 
Sievey ended up making a living wearing a paper mache head, playing a character called Frank Sidebottom. Frank Sidebottom was originally conceived by Sievey as the Freshies' number one fan, but he soon grew to be infamous in his own right (Or so I'm told, I'd never heard of him). He's apparently released albums under the name, and become something of a celebrity soccer (football) fan.
~*~
Rockabilly revivalist Shakin' Stevens - one of the best-selling artists in Europe in the late '80s - also had a Spectrum game included on a vinyl release. 'The Shaky Game' is variously reported to have been included as the B-side of the 'This Ole House' single, and at the end of side 2 of "The Bop Won't Stop" album, possibly both.
The program audio is preceeded by a message from Shakin' Stevens himself, explaining the concept to less computer literate fans. The goal of 'The Shaky Game' is to drive Shakin' Stevens' car to the center of a maze while avoiding bats, who bite you.
 
You can download 'The Shaky Game' here, or play it in your browser by clicking this link.
~*~
Though not released on Vinyl, the cassette version of The Stranglers' 'Aural Sculpture' album included the audio pulses of a game called 'Aural Quest.' The game, a text adventure in which
you controlled the band's tour manager, was written by their Keyboard
player, Dave Greenfield.
From the newsgroups:
"Sorry, Mr. Greenfield, if you read this, but it's true..the
game's so bad I
took my copy of Aural Sculpture back to the shop to exchange for the version
without the game on the end of the tape (which they had to order
specially!)..it just wasn't worth the aggro of
falling to sleep with the tape on and being woken by a Spectrum 48k
loading
noise!"
You can download the file here or play it in your browser by clicking this link. There's a walkthrough here.
~*~
There's a bit of Spectrum audio code in the song 'Thank You' on Scottish band Urusei Yatsura's 'Everybody Loves Urusei Yatsura' album, released on their own Oni records. Successfully importing the code produces a program that, when run, displays the following screen:
Examining the source for the program reveals the following comments:
"Hi Nick, is Robin there?"
"Judas Priest Satanic Message #3"
"What is sadder: a.) finding this b.) writing it"
You can download the file here.
~*~
The last song on side two of 'Peace and
Love Inc' by 80's synth popsters Information Society is an
approximately three minute long modem transmission.
The title of the
song - '300bps N, 8, 1 (Terminal Mode or ASCII Download)' - gives all
necessary information for importing the message. The message revealed
upon playing the transmission into a properly configured computer is:
"SO WE'RE SUPPOSED TO PLAY IN
CURITIBA IN 18 HOURS, BUT OUR BUS IS BEING
HELD
HOSTAGE BY THE LOCAL PROMOTERS. THEY'VE FORMED SOME UNHOLY ALLIANCE
WITH THE
BRAZILIAN COUNTERPART OF ASCAP; THE PRS. APPARANTLY THE PRS HAS THE
LEGAL POWER
TO ARREST PEOPLE, AND THEY WANT A PIECE OF THE NATIONAL TOUR PROMOTER'S
MONEY.
THE LOCAL SECURITY FORCE, "GANG MEXICANA", HAS BEEN BOUGHT OUT FOR 1800
CRUZADOS AND A CARTON OF MARLBOROS EACH. THE ONLY FACTION STILL
OPERATING IN
OUR DEFENSE IN "BIG JOHN", OUR PERSONAL SECURITY MAN, AND HE'S HIDING
IN HIS
ROOM BECAUSE A LOCAL GANG IS OUT FOR HIS BLOOD BECAUSE OF A 1982 KNIFING
INCIDENT IN WHICH HE WAS INVOLVED. OUR 345-POUND ROAD MANAGER, RICK
ONLY HAD
THIS TO SAY: "YOU WANTED THE LIFE OF A ROCK STAR!". PAUL, JIM AND I
REALIZED
THAT THIS WAS ONE SITUATION WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO GET OUT OF
OURSELVES.
WE CONVENED A HASTY CONFERENCE IN THE NOVOTEL LOBBY. PAUL SUGGESTED
CONTACT-
ING OUR NATIONAL TOUR PROMOTER IN SAO PAULO, BUT WE REMEMBERED THAT HE
WAS IN
RECIFE WITH FAITH NO MORE, WHO HAD JUST ARRIVED FOR THEIR BRAZILIAN
TOUR. WE
THOUGHT ABOUT CONTACTING OUR BRAZILIAN RECORD COMPANY IN RIO, BUT THEY
WEREN'T
HOME. OUR EVER-DILIGENT AMERICAN MANAGER WAS ARRANGING HELP OF NUMEROUS
FORMS,
BUT HE WAS IN NEW YORK, AND JUST TOO FAR AWAY TO GET ANYTHING MOVING IN
TIME.
AND THERE WERE 6000 KIDS IN CURITIBA
WHO JUST WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND.
WE KNEW IT WAS TIME FOR ACTION. PAUL
WENT UP TO THE PRS GUYS AND
INVITED
THEM INTO THE BAR TO DISCUSS IT LIKE CIVILIZED MEN OVER A FEW BRAZILIAN
DRINKS,
OFFERING EACH OF THEM A CIGAR ON HIS WAY. THE AMUSED PRS HEAVIES SEEMED
TO
LIKE THE IDEA OF A FEW FREE DRINKS, EVEN IF THEY KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER
GIVE
US OUR BUS BACK. WHEN PAUL WINKED AT JIM AND I ON HIS WAY IN, WE WENT
INTO
ACTION.
I STOLE OFF TO MY ROOM TO PREPARE
WHILE JIM WENT INTO ACTION. CREEPING
CAREFULLY THROUGH A SERVICE DUCT, HE MANAGED TO GAIN A VANTAGE POINT
SOME
THREE METERS ABOVE THE BUS, AND DROPPED CAREFULLY ONTO THE ROOF. AFTER
USING
HIS ALL-PURPOSE SWISS ARMY KNIFE (AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS THE "SKIT
KNIFE")
TO JIMMY OPEN THE ROOF HATCH, HE WENT THROUGH THE DARKENED INSIDE OF
THE BUS
AND REMOVED THE INSIDE ENGINE SERVICE PANEL. USING SOME SPARE
ELECTRONIC PARTS
HE FOUND WHILE ON AN ISLAND IN THE AMAZON, HE WIRED THE ENTIRE BUS FOR
REMOTE
CONTROL, NOT UNLIKE A REMOTE CONTROL TOY
CAR. AT THIS POINT, HE ASKED HIMSELF
"NOW HOW SHALL I GET OUT OF
HERE?!?" PAUL WAS HAVING DIFFICULTIES
OF HIS OWN. "COULDN'T YOU SEE YOUR WAY
CLEAR TO LETTING US FULFILL OUR CONTRACTUAL
OBLIGATIONS IN CURITIBA? THINK OF THE
KIDS!" THROUGH OUR TRANSLATOR, FABIO,
THE PRS MAN, ALDO, SAID: "NO. YOU
AMERICANS THINK YOU OWN THE WORLD. HAH! WE'LL BURN DOWN OUR
RAIN
FOREST IF WE DAMN WELL PLEASE. WE NEED ROOM FOR COWS!! WE WANT A
MACDONALD'S ON
EVERY... OH, SORRY, YES ANYWAY, NO. WE NEED 40% OF YOUR CONCERT
RECEIPTS TO
GIVE TO DAVID BOWIE." HE SAID, WINKING TO THE LOCAL PROMOTER, PHILLIPE.
AS PAUL CONTINUED THIS ELABORATE
DISTRACTION, JIM EFFECTED AN ESCAPE
FROM
THE HEAVILY GUARDED BUS BY CRAWLING DOWN INTO THE CARGO BAY, CUTTING A
HOLE
IN THE FLOOR WITH THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE'S ARC-WELDER, SLIPPING INTO THE
MANHOLE
COVER SITUATED UNDER THE BUS, AND WALKING UP INTO THE HOTEL'S BASEMENT
FROM
THERE. JIM CALLED UP TO ME IN MY ROOM AND GAVE THE SIGNAL. WE WERE NOW
TO MEET
AT THE BACK ENTRANCE, WITH OUR TECH GUYS. BUT FIRST, PAUL WOULD NEED
SOME HELP
GETTING AWAY FROM HIS UNWELCOME GUESTS, AS THINGS WERE GETTING UGLY.
"HE SAYS HE HAS LOST HIS PATIENCE, AND
THAT HE CAN THINK OF OTHER
WAYS OF
EXACTING PAYMENT FROM YOU KURT AND JIM PHYSICALLY." OUR TREMBLING
INTERPRETER
SAID.
THE MOMENT HAD COME. JIM BEGAN
OPERATING THE BUS FROM HIS BACK
ENTRANCE
VANTAGE POINT. AS THE REMOTE-CONTROLLED BUS LURCHED TOWARDS THE PARKING
LOT
EXIT, THE SUPERSTITIOUS SECURITY YOUTHS FLED IN TERROR. PAUL WAS PULLING
ANXIOUSLY ON HIS COLLAR AS THE PRS MAN BEGAN DESCRIBING HIS COLLECTION
OF
WORLD WAR II NAZI CERIMONIAL KNIVES WHEN A SUDDEN CRASH SPLIT THE
TABLEAU.
JIM HAD PURCHASED ME THE GIFT OF A
COMPLETE BLACK NINJA STEALTH
ASSASSIN
OUTFIT IN ARACAJU. I HAD BEEN GEARING UP AND CRAWLING THROUGH THE AIR
CONDITIONING DUCTS ALL THIS TIME. AS I CRASHED THROUGH THE CHEAP
IMITAION-
STYROFOAM HUNG CEILING TILES, SKATES FIRST, I FLASHED NINJA STARS ALL
ABOUT ME.
IN THE ENSUING PANIC, PAUL ESCAPED TO THE PRE-ARRANGED BUS PICK-UP
POINT.
UNFORTUNATLEY, MY SKATES WERE A POOR CHOICE OF FOOT GEAR FOR ESCAPING
OVER THE
BROKEN GLASS. OF THE TABLE I HAD LANDED ON. WERE IT NOT FOR THE
CONFUSION AND
THE NINJA-STAR-INFLICTED WOUNDS DELIVERED TO THE BAD GUYS, I WOULD HAVE
BEEN
SET UPON WHILE FOUNDERING ON THE GLASS-STREWN CARPET. AS IT HAPPENED,
HOWEVER,
I LEAPT THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR OF THE CAREENING BUS AS IT DEPARTED THE
CITY OF
MARINGA FOREVER.
IF ONLY WE HAD MANAGED TO GET OUR
EQUIPMENT IN THE BUS, TOO . . .
EVERY WORD OF THIS STORY IS TRUE.
- KURT HARLAND
~*~
Japanese composer and synthesizer expert Isao Tomita released an LP called 'The Bermuda Triangle' on RCA records in 1979. A paragraph on the sleeve says "Each side of this Lp contains coded data in the form of sound effects. The
message can be recovered if the electrical signal from the Lp is
interfaced with the input of a micro computer programmed to the Tarbel
system." I found the decoded messages on Tomita's site:
Side A: "THIS IS THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE, OVER. SLOW DOWN. TARGET 50 MILES OFF SOUTH FLORIDA, A GIANT PYRAMID AT OCEAN BOTTOM."
Side B: "THIS IS THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE, OVER. LOOK OUT! THE CYLINDRICAL OBJECT JUST LIKE THE ONE EXPLODED OVER SIBERIA AND CRASHED INTO TUNGUSKA IN 1908, HAS JUST COME INTO THE SOLAR SYSTEM."
Amazing. Tomita appends the following comments to his notes on the 'Bermuda Triangle' album:
"Ocean explorers have found scientific evidence that a collosal pyramind - more immense than any other known - sits beneath the sea in the Devil's Triangle. Sonar tracing reveals massive and symmetrical structure. Says author Charles Berlitz: "I believe we have found a pyramid where Atlantis may have existed!". Pyramid as shown in artist's sketch is in 1,200 feet of water and reaches incredible height of 780 feet. Undersea researcher found it 50 miles off South Florida."
~*~
A few others that I haven't found many details on:
-
A Space Invaders clone on the B-side of the 'Google' single by Atomic Robo Kid. ' '
- Polish group Papa Dance released a 12" called 'Ponizej krytyki' in 1987. It contained a program in two parts. The program was info about the group and some kind of quiz.
- "Carter USM put a program at the start of a song on thier "101 Damnations"
album. 'A Perfect Day to
Drop the Bomb'. It starts with about 15 seconds worth of loading screeches.
It's just code, though (the blue and yellow bit), with no header, so you can't
load it in, unless you know what you're doing. "
~*~
Other Articles in this 'Series:'
~*~
Home
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Comments
Michael Bell-Smith / Tuesday, Mar 9 / 6:59 PM
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check google groups "carter usm spectrum" and you'll find all sorts of inconclusive stuff about what that code might be on 101 Damnations. "Geoff Capes Strongman" comes out as a strong contender! |
Alan Trewartha / Thursday, Mar 18 / 5:23 AM
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AFAIK that burst of code on the Carter USM album is just standard SMPTE Timecode (which, admittedly, sounds remarkably like Spectrum data). SMPTE is used to synchronise hardware devices to a multitrack tape machine. One track of the multitrack reel is "striped" (i.e. incremental code is recorded onto that track) and compatible devices (sequencers etc.) can read that code to determine where in the song the tape is, what tempo the song is at, etc. |
Anthony Chapman / Thursday, Mar 18 / 9:36 AM
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Sorry forgot to add - this is why there's no header. SMPTE just goes straight to data. |
Anthony Chapman / Thursday, Mar 18 / 9:38 AM
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A FLock Of Seagulls had a BBC B Microcomputer "video" on a B-side, I remember it being demoed on Saturday Superstore. |
Pete / Thursday, Mar 18 / 11:50 AM
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A Flock Of Seagulls had a BBC B Microcomputer "video" on a B-side, I remember it being demoed on Saturday Superstore. |
Pete / Thursday, Mar 18 / 11:50 AM
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Nice, but Commodore 64 will always be better / cooler than the Spectrum.
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x2sys / Thursday, Mar 18 / 12:36 PM
J / Thursday, Mar 18 / 2:23 PM
Dave / Thursday, Mar 18 / 4:48 PM
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"Nice, but Commodore 64 will always be better / cooler than the Spectrum."
The above comment distills, I think, the very essence of the geek nature. I find that essential techie inability to see the forest for the trees to be so very endearing. <3 |
HK / Thursday, Mar 18 / 5:23 PM
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Cool! I saw your page described on Boing Boing and thought "I bet they haven't got the Inner City Unit New Anatomy spectrum program ("load it don't hold it"). And... well, I was right, but at least you know it exists.
I've had that record nearly 20 years and still haven't seen what the program does. |
Dan / Thursday, Mar 18 / 5:26 PM
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There's more on the Pete Shelley XL-1 program here - http://www.headen.com/XL1.htm - written by the programmer. He also has versions of the original and an improved version of the program in emulator format - just email him ;-) |
JH / Thursday, Mar 18 / 11:11 PM
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I have one by "Kissing the Pink"
It's a 12" record and the program on the B side is for the BBC Micro. It produces visuals to go along with the music.
It's in storage atm. and I'm off out for breakfast.
I might dig it out later for the details. |
Matt / Friday, Mar 19 / 4:14 AM
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I have a 12" with ZX code on one side and music on the other - it's by a band called la lu lu's - does anyone know anything about this? |
Emily / Friday, Mar 19 / 2:39 PM
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This is amazing. Almost unbelievable. Please keep a running discography of all known Sprectrum-enhanced recordings. Wow. |
Jake / Friday, Mar 19 / 3:36 PM
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This is incredible. I've actually had an import copy of XL-1 for years and had no idea that was hidden on there. |
Karoshi / Friday, Mar 19 / 3:53 PM
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What about Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music"?
The whole 2 record set sounded like machine code (as I recall)! |
Jason Rainbows / Friday, Mar 19 / 4:37 PM
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The Stranglers keyboardist is Dave Greenfield, not Mark as you have stated above. Fascinating article, thanks. |
Jude / Friday, Mar 19 / 9:11 PM
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Radiohead's Let Down (off OK Computer) has ZX Spectrum beeps in it. I think it's just programmed music from the thing though, not an encoded program or anything. |
Alex / Friday, Mar 19 / 11:56 PM
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It's all very nice but the Commodore 64 is way cooler |
zuko1 / Saturday, Mar 20 / 2:33 PM
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Also check out Jega's album "Spectrum", has a song called Manic Minor !!
Hacked Speedlock when I was a kid. Great fun.
|
msd / Sunday, Mar 21 / 7:04 AM
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Wonderful. And here I was thinking that bonus PC material was developed with the advent of the CD-ROM; how wrong I was! |
Tobriand / Wednesday, Mar 24 / 8:12 AM
Kim / Friday, Mar 26 / 11:18 AM
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Hey I bought the magazine with the Thompson Twins adventure game on it at age 11 ... and it never bloody worked!
Thanks for the link. Can't believe I spent so long rerecording that foul noise again and again (to no avail) for such a bunch of arse! |
Martin / Friday, Mar 26 / 11:25 AM
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Another of the "Saturday Superstore"-demo'd tracks, I seem to remember, was from Art Of Noise. I don't remember the name of the track (it was very mechanical/electronic, Dummm---Dummmm, DaDumDumDumDum Dummm----. Dummm--- Dummm--- Dummm. La La Laaaah) but they definitely had a BBC Micro in the background, animating to the music. |
David / Friday, Mar 26 / 3:03 PM
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Quote: "I seem to remember, was from Art Of Noise. I don't remember the name of the track (it was very mechanical/electronic, Dummm---Dummmm, DaDumDumDumDum Dummm----. Dummm--- Dummm--- Dummm. La La Laaaah)."
Sounds like "Close (To the Edit)" from 1984. |
Bill / Friday, Mar 26 / 6:01 PM
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I have actually got the Thompson Twins record !!
Seeing it here reminded me !!
Cor bet its worth loads of money ! (NOT!)
Spectrums were proper Bo ! C64s had better sound but the currah microspeech sorted it !
Oh I feel all old now !! 34 is not old but...
Wkd site! |
George Grylls Jnr / Saturday, Mar 27 / 11:39 AM
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Ha! Great read. My friend just passed me this link. I released a dance record in the mid nineties with spectrum data on it. And up until now I was unaware that anyone else had included promotional Spectrum data on vinyl (I even promoted it as 'the first' at the time). The record was BrainFuel 2 on PH1 Records, I used to program the Speccy when I was very young, then a number of years later I released the BrainFuel series. 'multimedia' was the buzz word of the time so I decided to dust off my old spectrum manual and make a "vinyl multimedia" release.
My spectrum programing was pretty crap, and all it was (as far as i remember) was a promotion for the next BrainFuel release.
A surprising amount of people took the effort of loading it into their old Spectrums though, I felt a bit embarrassed as I kinda never thought anyone would bother, and so never put much effort into it as I could.
I thought about doing a sequel with modem data, but i'm not sure it's technically possible due to the information handshaking that goes on, anyone? |
Ben Milford / Sunday, Mar 28 / 6:50 PM
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Great site!
One correction on the Information Society track - another line after where you have it end reads "NO CARRIER" (quotes mine.)
Al least, it would have if some clueless record engineer hadn't performed a standard musical "fade out" on the track. Thanks to that, the finished product usually ends with "NO CAR".
Information Society also did this on the next album, "Don't Be Afraid." The album's final track, "White Roses 1.0 300 8-N-1," was a modem-tone transmission of a text file as above, which provided hints that fans connected to the early Internet (in 1997) could download a wav file of the track. These fans were encouraged to share the track freely, making Information Society possibly the first band to do that.
The track is as follows:
-------------Begin Transmission--------------
For reasons that will become obvious when you hear it, the song "White Roses" is not found on this disc. This is just an audio recording of a modem spitting out this text. "White Roses" is, however, an actual InSoc song, and you CAN obtain it. It will not be easy. You must use your web browser to access the following document:
http://InSoc.org/rose.htm
When it asks you for a user ID and password, enter the following:
userid - roses
password - barbara
This will bring you to the next step. When and if you ever succeed in obtaining this 10th InSoc song, it will be YOUR responsibility to make copies of the song and distribute it to other people. Feel free to charge money for it, if you can. Spread the song around as much as you can.
Good luck.
2±^U& |
Rob / Wednesday, Mar 31 / 11:51 PM
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Bill, the Art of Noise were using the Fairlight CMI, one of the first commercially available samplers which famously cost about 20 grand at the time.
I remember seeing six of them playing a Fairlight EACH on top of the pops - show offs or what?! They had a black and green monitor with a light pen and would usually be seen with a 3D spectrum analysis bobbing about on screen.
Kate Bush was another early adopter.
More info: http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/fairlight/ |
Chris / Friday, Apr 2 / 4:10 AM
Matt / Friday, Apr 2 / 10:53 AM
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I found this little intro to a link to this site, interesting:
Few people know that "modem" stands for "modulate/demodulate" -- and only true geeks actually know what that means. It's a description of how modems work: They take digital data and turn all the 1s and 0s into sound, so that it can be transmitted over an audio device like a phone. Back in the early days of computers, when nobody had hard drives, the only way to save a program was to actually shove it out your computer's modem and store it on a cassette tape as sound. Back when I was a kid, I used to occasionally "listen" to the programs I had stored on a tape, to see if I could actually hear any patterns in the data. |
collision detection / Sunday, Apr 4 / 4:22 PM
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Actually no, the sounds recorded on data cassettes were not modem tones, nor did they come from a modem. Close though. |
joe mama / Tuesday, Apr 13 / 10:44 PM
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does anybody know if kraftwerk did this? any of their songs are ideal for this kind of trick |
perc / Thursday, Apr 15 / 7:26 AM
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Some machines did use modem tones to save to tape, the Tandy Model 100 notably. You had to buy an extra cable to connect it to a phone line but the hardware was all there.
Once in a while I debate grabbing one to use as a portable terminal. But then I realize now my phone has a computer built into it rather than building a phone into a computer. |
crypt(3) / Sunday, Apr 18 / 11:17 PM
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Anyone but me remember Radio One (I think..) actually broadcasting Spectrum software? I remember at least twice trying to patch the radio into the computer and it almost worked. Probably we were expected to tape the thing and load it later but I was too impatient..... |
Jonathan / Monday, Apr 19 / 9:46 PM
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Great stuff! I'm extremely nostalgic for the Spectrum. It still seems amazing to me that the entire computer can be compressed into one Java applet which runs within a webpage!
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Arthur Butler qx / Friday, Apr 23 / 9:57 PM
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Super! I'm extremely nostalgic for the Spectrum also. |
Mark / Saturday, Apr 24 / 4:00 AM
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Hi there, I played in Inner City Unit for the NewAnatomy album (their/our worst) and am the person responsible for the data track, the main things I remember about it are: it was 48k to the byte long, there was a competition to win the acetates of the album on it but no-one entered (I still have the acetates), we mastered the data track straight onto the record lathe from the spectrum itself, there was no tape between the computer and the record. I've managed to get it running on Spectrum emulators on the PC in the pat, but don't have a copy any more, I'll have another go at it and if I get it working I'll send you a copy. It was really just glorified sleeve notes, lyrics, a guide to the best on the road food places, a lightshow, band history etc..
Oh, and if people looked at the source it had a postal address for more goodies.. but alas, no-one found that either :) (useless now, I've moved..) oh, and the track was submitted to the PRS as "Electronic music, avant garde" so I could collect publishing on it! Thanks for including us, -Steve |
Steve / Saturday, May 1 / 2:57 AM
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I believe that Information Society's "HACK" album also contained an encoded track in the same format... but I don't really remember.
Their original CD had CD+G graphics, which were really cute, unfortunately the reissues don't include this, which really sucks. |
Dave S. / Monday, May 3 / 12:29 AM
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Bah. My Atari 800 > your C-64. That is all. |
David / Thursday, May 6 / 11:20 PM
Dan / Thursday, May 13 / 11:12 PM
hotel / Friday, May 14 / 3:33 AM
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Very intresting,however one small gripe.
The Stranglers keyboard player, is Dave
Greenfield. & not Mark.I do seem to remember
one of The Stranglers albums, (The Raven ?)
which contained a load of beeps/tones sounds,
which fans had to decipher into something.
I never found out if anybdy ever managed it.
And i am wondering know if it was some sort of
early programme for a computer.However as the
album was released in 1979, it would have had
to be a very early programme
|
Ian Speight / Friday, May 14 / 1:50 PM
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Anyone remember Mazogs on the ZX81, good thing about the ZX81 was that it made the Spectrum look good. |
Scot / Tuesday, Jun 8 / 8:58 AM
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some thing about notebook PC! |
笔记本 / Monday, Jun 21 / 9:04 PM
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I think the record companies should know this: NOBODY BUYS MUSIC CD'S TO GET COMPUTER PROGRAMS!!
If anybody knows the person who came up with idea, please direct them to this post. |
John / Sunday, Jun 27 / 8:54 AM
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The album "Över tid och rum" by "Adolphson & Falk" contains a program for Atari machines.
See http://www.efd.lth.se/~e96an/vintage/af/af.html
(only in swedish, sorry, but there's a picture of the album, the program code and the running program) |
Ola / Tuesday, Jun 29 / 4:36 AM
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I have a 12" with ZX code on one side and music on the other - it's by a band called la lu lu's -does anyone know anything about this?
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Mario / Thursday, Jul 15 / 11:17 AM
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Fascinating.... but the Commodore 64 was much cooler ;) |
chris / Friday, Jul 30 / 10:45 PM
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"but Commodore 64 will always be better / cooler than the Spectrum"
word. |
Steve / Tuesday, Aug 3 / 11:52 PM
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NICE SQUARED COLORS IN THE C64 I GUESS...... NICE SOUND HORRIBLE GRAPHICS........ |
Lois / Wednesday, Sep 1 / 12:40 PM
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Hallo friends! Really nice place here. I found a lot of interesting stuff all around. Just what I was looking for. Great joy! |
Janice Lee / Tuesday, Sep 14 / 3:02 AM
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Ah, the Sinclair Spectrum. Good memories. Unfortunately I was one of those that could recognize loading by the sounds. |
Vitesse / Wednesday, Oct 13 / 12:23 AM
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good site!Unfortunately I was one of those that could recognize loading by the sounds.
|
china soft / Wednesday, Oct 20 / 11:02 PM
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Hey... just read your spectrum games on records piece... a
few years ago I bought a 12" ep of electronica on a uk
label called plastic phantom (maybe) imaginately titled
"the spectrum ep" with a funky yellow plastic sleeve and a
paper label pic of a spectrum on the top. the last track is
called "brand new games" and it sounds like more of the
same allthough I always assumed they'd done the reverse
of what you'd mentioned and put audio data from an
existing games tape onto vinyl. I used to buy c64
cassettes just to listen to those noises sometimes... crazy
sounds. |
Anonymous / Monday, Nov 14 / 1:13 AM
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Computer programs on records apparently originally came out in July 1977 (according to old-computers.com). Here's the link to the article which is quite humorous:
http://www.old-computers.com/history/detail.asp?n=30&t=2
I also sent him a link to your site on the records with the Sinclair programs on them. |
Ben / Monday, Nov 14 / 1:22 AM
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OMG I just found my old Thompson Twins Adventure flexidisc in a cleanout. Wish I hadn't thrown out my record player now. LOL |
Justice / Wednesday, Feb 1 / 9:29 AM
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Nice output. remind me the old times.
------------------------------
kifaru says.
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jamire / Monday, Apr 3 / 6:18 AM
andy / Wednesday, Apr 12 / 9:27 PM
fdhjdfj / Tuesday, May 16 / 1:23 AM
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I LIKE YOUR SITE! I bookmark it:)
Victor |
Viktor Losevski / Saturday, May 20 / 5:31 AM
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Awsome site !! keep up the good work. really liked it .
check out concert artist Review site, it has music artist review along with dates of concerts in future. |
concert artist / Wednesday, May 31 / 11:01 PM
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Big thanks for great site. I like spectrum. I have programmed for spectrum for myself. |
Go Go / Wednesday, Aug 9 / 1:50 AM
liz / Friday, Aug 25 / 8:16 PM
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Yep - good site.
I've got the Pete Shelley album and the Thompson Twins advanture. Completed it too - its actually not that bad, although some of the actions are obscure to say the least - use the walkthruogh.
Do any of you remember a game called "The Extricator"? It was a mid 80's adventure with a dance track on side B of the tape made up from spectrum loading noise. Not sure what to make of it, but I do remember bits of it even now. |
Mattybennett / Monday, Sep 18 / 9:21 AM
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Jatropha Curcas Seed exporters in India. Supplying Jatropha Curcas Seeds for cultivation of fuel crop Jatropha. |
David / Friday, Dec 8 / 4:12 AM
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Jatropha Curcas Seed exporters in India. Supplying Jatropha Curcas Seeds for cultivation of fuel crop Jatropha. |
David / Friday, Dec 8 / 4:13 AM
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I had my first job at Fairlight. I must have built and tested a hundred of them. Packing them up for shipping was hard work - it took two men to lift the main unit (seriously). Ahhh . . . those were the days. |
Dave / Monday, Jun 18 / 10:57 PM
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I was the programmer for the Thompson Twins adventure on the Spectrum :-)
Fond memories.... |
Dave / Tuesday, Jun 19 / 7:59 PM
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Awesome piece man... fantastic. Thanks for compiling it! |
si / Wednesday, Jun 20 / 8:31 AM
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What an amazing concept for the 80s. very dope. |
Giancarlo / Wednesday, Jun 20 / 4:38 PM
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Ah, I remember the days of the old tape loading Amstrad that my father bought me as my first computer. The horrors of having to rewind and reload a game if it failed the first time, and that horrid skreetching noise as the game loaded into the computers memory.
Thanks for the great read. |
KJ / Wednesday, Jun 20 / 4:47 PM
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>>Nice, but Commodore 64 will always be better / cooler than the Spectrum.
>>Bah. My Atari 800 > your C-64. That is all.
TI-99/4A FTW! |
420 / Wednesday, Jun 20 / 10:54 PM
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I remember having the Thompson Twins vinyl - but it was so poor quality it wouldn't load.
As interesting was when Channel 4 once spent a week broadcasting Spectrum games whilst the channel was off air and broadcasting Teletext.
I was at home one day 'ill' and realised the sounds I was hearing were of a Spectrum game. I grabbed by tape recorder and placed it near the TV, pressed record and left the room for 45 mins.
Not many games worked but I do remember Pud Pud by Ocean coming through ok - and that game was brand new at the time. I was amazed that Ch4 did this and to date have never met anyone who captured this event.
D |
Dom / Sunday, Jun 24 / 4:54 PM
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Recently, there was a game as track 2 of the Spectrum EP from Cardiff label Plastic Raygun. I was told I'd have a week to write it, but the production schedule was brought forward and in the end I had less than a day to write it and provide the audio for mastering. It's probably available for download somewhere. |
Andrew Owen / Monday, Jun 25 / 8:55 AM
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The best site to play ZX Spectrum games is ZXSpectrum.net with hundreds of ZX Spectrum games to be played directly in the internet browser. |
zx spectrum games / Sunday, Jul 15 / 4:39 PM
Lead / Wednesday, Oct 3 / 12:03 AM
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Don't spend extra money while shopping here lots of fresh coupons I found related to Video games......!! |
Lam / Saturday, Oct 13 / 3:47 AM
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Great article, thanks.
Regarding channel 4 broadcasting games, I wonder whether that was signal interference from someone loading their Spectrum next door?
|
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Sohbet / Sunday, Feb 3 / 1:29 AM
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Yes, I remember the ZX Spectrum broadcast on Channel 4 very well. The day I did it, it was stuff from Melbourne House. It had a demo for Mugsy's Revenge (pool hall scene) and a loading screen for a game called Black Belt (never heard of it again) and a Horace game that never was (never heard of that again either, a real mystery that one) - then there was a demo for Sir Lancelot.
From there it went we had Channel 4 ident and then Microsphere software and a demo for a game called "A day in the life" featuring Sir Clive Sinclair. Lastly there was a single level of a game called Jasper. Think that's all...it has been 20 years. I really must dig out the ageing tape and make it available. |
Robert / Monday, Feb 4 / 1:20 PM
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