In late 1990, Sarah Jane Morris visited New York to record three tracks with Mike Thorne at his studio in Greenwich Village. An intense week started with a cootie attack at the Chelsea Hotel (‘we’ve never had any complaints before,’ said the owner/manager Mr Bard). If we were bugs, we wouldn’t bite Sid or Nancy, so maybe the clientele varies in tastiness. Five days later, nicely in time for Friday kick-back dinner, the tracks were ready and some careful demo rough mixes prepared.

A few months later, and after a cynical mess-up by Sarah Jane's then manager (perhaps he can afford to fork over the money he owes her by now), there were no takers. (Er, what else is new for strong women in the music business?) The multitracks are now AWOL, but the rough mixes (as often happens when you do throw the musical elements together in a hurry) stand up musically to careful final mixes.

This rarity, offered for exclusive mp3 download (as well as streaming audition for your instant pleasure), is a mighty, horn-driven version of her song Cry (in her words, ‘Bruckner meets techno’), a timeless version with standout solo vocal and the mighty Uptown Horns. This recording fell between the cracks and was never included in any CD collection. It's too powerful and special to leave to rust away on the archive shelves.

The song itself was written for the artist of the oil painting on her Stereo Society home page home page. ‘After four years of romance, I wrote it as a way to get myself out of the relationship.’ A high-resolution graphic file of this painting, of Sarah Jane at home getting dressed and prepared for a performance in 1984, is available for download and printing

To Bronski Beat/Communards Central
To Thorne's commentary on the Communards' production
Download a free 'Cry' and other tracks

Sarah Jane Morris external:
The official Sarah Jane Morris website