VARIOUS – Richard Norris Presents – Weird Scenes from The Hangout (Psychedelic & Freakbeat Dancefloor Anthems 1967-1982) – 2LP – Neon Pink / Transparent Curacao Vinyl [NOV 15]

2LP – Limited Edition Neon Pink & Transparent Curacao Double Vinyl. Includes two tracks exclusive to the vinyl format (see tracklist below).

Two-Piers brings you their latest killer compilation in the shape of Richard Norris Presents Weird Scenes from the Hangout (Psychedelic & Freakbeat Dancefloor Anthems 1967-1982). An album curated by Richard Norris (The Grid, Beyond the Wizards Sleeve, The Time and Space Machine, and more) and centred around Richards Liverpool Club Night The Hangout in the 1980s.

Richard Norris on how The Hangout came about after being inspired to go to University in Liverpool..

For a place with a distinctly psychedelic tinge, Liverpool was missing one thing in the mid-eighties. A full-on psychedelic club night. Id been schooled in all things psychedelic, a result of working at Bam Caruso, a label steeped in psych who lovingly reissued many lysergic greats. It was a fantastic education. I was determined to bring some technicolour sonics to Liverpool.

I found a suitable venue, called Krackers, at the bottom of Mount Pleasant. It was a big basement club, with a stage, video projector, lights, bar, and long tables. In front of the stage, there was ample space for a dance floor. Theres something about clubs in basements. They just work. I chatted to the owner, Bill, who suggested trying out Thursdays for the new night. Inspired by Bam Caruso, and the Soho club Alice in Wonderland, I agreed to take Thursdays on. 50p to get in. The night was named The Hangout.

The Hangout was born in autumn 1984. The place was perfect. Clips of op art psychedelic films copied to VHS tape were projected on to the large screen that covered the stage. There was a smoke machine, a bubble machine, many moving lights. The place opened to a packed dancefloor and stayed that way into 1985 and beyond. There were guest bands, including Zodiac Mindwarp, Mr.Suit featuring Larry from Wimple Winch, Freight Train and the Cardiacs, among others. There were giveaways of sweets, flowers, balloons, and jelly. Tons of jelly.

Musically, the Hangouts take on psychedelia and freakbeat had one aim – to make you dance. We werent trainspotters it didnt matter if a record was rare, so long as it grooved and worked on the dancefloor. Wed give equal time to the more bandwagon end of sixties exploitation as to hipper acts. Id pick up tracks on shopping trips in London with Phil Smee from Bam Caruso, or at Probe in Liverpool, where there was a class selection of psychedelia. Bob and Mick from Probe, and their mate Bernie Connor, became Hangout DJs, and brought even further mind-bending madness to the Hangout dancefloor. Standout tunes got played again and again, every week, until tracks like The Left Bankes Ive Got Something on My Mind, the Turtles Buzzsaw, Cans Outside Your Door and all the other tunes you now hold in your hands, became bona fide Hangout club anthems. The Hangout came and went in a flash, but its legacy of bringing psychedelic foot stompers to the dancefloor carries on. The Hangout left me with a personal love of all things beat and freak. Ive been pursuing various musical shapes that all have their roots on the Hangouts psychedelic dancefloor ever since.

I hope you enjoy this compilation. Every track is a tried and tested Hangout anthem – Richard Norris, Lewes, August 2024.

Vinyl Tracklist:

A1) The Nazz – Open My Eyes
A2) The Easybeats – Good Times
A3) Sir Douglas Quintet – Shes About a Mover
A4) Can – Outside Your Door
A5) The Music Machine – People in Me
A6) Wynder K.Frog – Im A Man
A7) Sharon Tandy – Hold On

B1) The Hombres – Let it All Hang Out
B2) The Left Banke – Ive Got Something on My Mind
B3) The Seeds – The Wind Blows Your Hair
B4) The Apple – Buffalo Billycan
B5) Dantalions Chariot – Madman Rising Through the Fields
B6) The End – Shades of Orange
B7) Warm Sounds – Night Is a Comin

C1) The Velvet Underground – Foggy Notion
C2) The Modern Lovers – She Cracked
C3) Kim Fowley – Bubblegum
C4) The Balloon Farm – A Question of Temperature
C5) Fleur De Lys – Circles **
C6) The Starlets – You Dont Love Me

D1) The Turtles – Buzz Saw
D2) Lothar and The Hand – People Machines
D3) The Open Mind – Magic Potion
D4) The Swinging Medallions – Double Shot of My Babys Love
D5) Simon Dupree and The Big Sound – I See the Light
D6) The Action – Ill Keep on Holding On **
D7) The Creation – How Does It Feel to Feel
D8) The Third Eye – Pass Myself

** = Exclusive tracks to Vinyl Format