The Rose of Avalanche - Velveteen

The Rose of Avalanche were one of those silly commercial goth bands of the mid-1980s, like the Sisters of Mercy and Gene Loves Jezebel. The type of band it would be embarrassing now to admit to ever listening to - except that this song is still really quite good. At least if you ignore the lyrics. And stop before it gets to the "woo ooo ooo" part.

Anyway, nothing embarrasses me, that ought to be obvious by now.

Danse Society - 2000 Light Years From Home

The Danse Society, from darkest South Yorkshire, made brief waves in the early '80s as a band bridging the gap between dance music and goth. They had a more commercial sound than the likes of, say, Cabaret Voltaire, but apart from a few minor club hits they never really captured the public imagination. I had a re-listen recently to what was meant to be their breakthrough album, 1984's Heaven is Waiting, and a lot of it is pretty awful if I'm honest.

The title track was decent enough though, and I'm still quite fond of this Stones cover.

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Mother/Oh Mein Papa

Possibly the oddest Siouxsie tune ever, a lovely, haunting ballad sung over music that should be familiar to anyone who was ever a little girl. It's from their underrated second album Join Hands.

Dead Can Dance - Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book

One of my favourite tracks on DcD's breakthrough album Aion, although it's quite different from most of the others, featuring Brendan Perry's rich vocals and sounding a little closer to the goth style they'd previously been known for (although much better). Apparently the lyrics are a translation of a 15th century poem by Luis de Gongora.

Not an official video, but nicely done nonetheless.

Rubella Ballet - Slant and Slide

Always had an odd fondness for this band. Their origins lie in the anarcho-punk scene (there are musical and family ties to the likes of Poison Girls, Fatal Microbes and Flux of Pink Indians) but I always thought there was a bit more of a goth element to their own sound. At times, though, they could also be surprisingly poppy, though those weren't necessarily their best times. Think All About Eve, if they weren't crap.

This is a B-side to their 1984 single "42°F".

Tones on Tail - Performance

Back in my gothier days, I used to really love Tones on Tail but listening to them now I find them pretty cringeworthy. I bet there are a lot of people thinking "I told you so". Yes, so you did.

Still think this one's pretty cool though.

Bauhaus - She's In Parties

OK, so I went through a bit of a goth phase as a teenager. I can admit it now. I can even listen to some it again, though there were a few bands (names will be withheld to save me some serious blushes) about whom I can only say - what was I thinking?

Bauhaus are one of those I still enjoy the odd track from. They were ridiculous, of course, but they actually did have some talent and weren't totally cartoonish in the way that, for example, most of the Batcave bands were.

I don't think I would listen to a whole album at a time, and I wouldn't be rushing off to the reunion gig or anything. But I'm not completely embarrassed to admit to kind of liking them. Any more.