Return of Countdown Records

It's the early part of the 80s and the second wave of the Mod Revival is at its most vibrant and productive. A young, entrepreneurial Eddie Piller, via his Extraordinary Sensations fanzine, has his first record label Well Suspect running. A meeting with Stiff Records and Terry Rawlings, as well as Eddie, results in Stiff releasing The Untouchables – Free Yourself, a top 20 single hit. Countdown Records, a subsidiary, is launched under the Stiff umbrella and overseeing guidance. First release was the iconic compilation 5-4-3-2-1 Countdown, which showcased Makin' Time, The Prisoners, Long Tall Shorty, Fast Eddie, The Kick, The Moment and The Reflection, among others. The two major signings for Countdown were Makin' Time and The Prisoners, whose respective line-ups included musicians and artists who are still delivering the goods some 36 years on from that seminal 1985 Countdown compilation release. Following the demise of

Stiff, Eddie set up his shortlived Re-Elect The President label, before launching Acid Jazz Records some time later. Which brings us more or less up to date, as April 30, 2021 sees the first single release on the reactivated Countdown label after a 30-year lay-off. And what a return it is, with the debut single that never was in '85, from Makin' Time, with The Truth/Nine Below Zero's Dennis Greaves and Mick Lister on production credits. The back-toback tracks are early, possibly the first (?) recordings made by the original Makin' Time line-up; both sides were live favourites that featured heavily in early Makin' Time performances. Honey, penned by the keyboard khaleesi herself, the undisputed queen of 80s Mod, Fay Hallam, is a Hammond-driven psychepop soul stomp duet. While the flipside, Take What You Can Get, written by Martin Blunt (who would go on to find fame and fortune with The Charlatans), is a frenetic R&B-flavoured, hand-clapping workout. Two slices of Mod Revival history that capture Makin' Time in their early days, prior to Stiff Records' A&R department leading them towards poppier, more commercial pastures. There is a limited edition of 250 copies of this single issued on honey-coloured vinyl, along with a unique sleeve, with subsequent issues on good old-fashioned black vinyl. The first release on the reactivated Countdown imprint.