The Pop Group Y Definitive Edition

Mute is happy to announce the 40th Anniversary Edition of The Pop Group’s highly influential and innovative debut album Y, originally released in 1979, remastered (from the original tapes) and cut half speed at Abbey Road. The Vinyl and CD deluxe sets will also include the debut single “She Is Beyond Good And Evil”, the 10 track album Alien Blood, and the album Y Live. The Pop Group’s Y regularly appears in ‘Greatest Album’ lists - such as #35 on Pitchfork’s Greatest Albums of the 70’s, The Wire’s 100 Most Important Records Ever Made, and Uncut Magazine’s 100 Greatest Debut Albums. Alien Blood is the result of the band’s meticulous process of revisiting the original 2” tapes of their studio sessions and recordings, unearthing never-before-heard material, whilst exposing the raw skeletons of iconic tracks such as the original velocity of “Thief of Fire (Bass Addict)”. Alien Blood reveals the life of Y before everything was finalized, exposing revelatory dimensions within these iconic works. The Y Live album is an essential addendum to the original release, one that captures all the fierce urgency of The Pop Group’s live performances at the time. Comprised of Y era recordings captured at a variety of locations including New York, Manchester, and Brussels – the latter on a bill with William Burroughs and Joy Division – Y Live exemplifies what had proved so thrilling about The Pop Group. The Pop Group went on to release two further singles and one further studio album, For How Much Do We Tolerate Mass Murder, before splitting up in 1981. Mark Stewart from the band then embarked on a solo career, releasing his pioneering album Learning To Live With Cowardice in 1983. Gareth Sager and Bruce Smith went on to form Rip Rig & Panic alongside Neneh Cherry. The Pop Group reformed in 2010 to tour and have since released two new studio albums. The band will be touring at the end of 2019 and throughout 2020 in support of the album.