Ben Jones - Two- Piers Record Label
Ben Jones, one quarter of the Two-Piers Compilation and Reissue label based in Brighton.
His previous compilations include Cotillion Soul 1968-1970 Singles Box-Set, Music For The Stars - Celestial Music 1960-1979, Night Train - Transcontinental Landscapes 1968-2019 and a new compilation coming soon. https://two-piers.bandcamp.com/
‘It’s an honour to be asked by Oz to put together a list of 5 records that mean a lot to me. As with any lists they change from day to day; so for today here are 5 that touched by life and inevitably lead me off somewhere else down the never ending pathway of sound.’
1. Paid In Full (Seven Minutes Of Madness) : Eric B & Rakim (4th & Broadway) (1987)
‘This was massive to us all as a kid, after Electro a lot of my friends got into Rap and Eric B & Rakim were always up there; this Coldcut remix was essential in our teenage record collections and opened our minds to the remix. Before there were extended versions which were great too and maybe more appreciated later in life but this was rip it up and add the samples.’
2. Ghost Town: The Specials (Two-Tone Records) (1981)
‘I mainly remember this for being a different new sound, more bass, dub essentially, the video you couldn’t look away from, watching it on Top Of The Pops with my Nan & Grandad. We all grew up on Two-Tone, the sound of the playground for me. The 12” of this is essential in any record collection in my humble opinion and is the best pop record about the state of Thatcher’s Britian.’
3: Rari: The Standells (B Side Of Dirty Water) (Tower) (1965)
‘I have Sam Szczepanski to thank for introducing me to The Standells from our days of sharing the till shifts. I learnt a lot from working at the Tower Records Piccadilly because of the wide range of peoples taste from different tribes that worked there, and I thank them all dearly. This track will always be a highlight for me on a late shift on a Tuesday. 1965/66 Los Angeles Sunset Strip, what’s not to like?’
4. Heaven Or Los Vegas: The Cocteau Twins (4AD) (1990)
‘Again, this was played a lot at Tower and seeped into my bones, I guess the production, the pedals that take you off somewhere else, & of course Liz Fraser’s voice is unlike anyone else’s. I can listen to this song back to back and have done many times looking out of bus window ignoring all the other passengers in a world of my own.’
5. Come Together: Primal Scream (Creation) (1990)
‘I own 3 copies of this on 12” One, totally knackered from having fun, one playable, still OK and one pristine from the singles box set. One of the best singles of the time and just what the opening of the 90s needed really. Primal Scream/Terry Farley/Andrew Weatherall, I mean come on.’