Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

I don't think this one has come up before (certainly a search didn't yield any hits).

Anyone care to do a rundown on the first TFF album and what was used on it? I was just listening to a copy of their Peel Sessions recordings from '82, when The Hurting was the only thing they had in the can to draw from, and it got me thinking about what a gem that album is.

The two I remember being used on The Hurting was Jupiter 8 and a Prophet 5. Live in 83 they were also using a PPG wave and a Yamaha I can't figure out.

If they had those 2 synths for their first album, they certainly weren't "hurting".

I saw a video of a live performance of "Mad World" and remember spotting a Polysix. Don't know if that was used on the record, though.

To the best of my knowledge that album was recorded with a Prophet 5, Jupiter-8 and Movement drum computer (I think?).

there is Peter Gabriel's Fairlight, Prophet 5 Rev2 and Linn LM-1 all over that album. they were neighbours in Bath, and he borrowed them synths. i even remember an interview where this was mentioned.

just listen to PG III (the meltface), and then drop in "The Hurting" in your CD after..


i was a lot into PG, and still am, and in TFF when they came out, but was in my early teens then so i didn't pay much attention to these things. however, just recently, i played Hurting after maybe 15yrs or more, now with different ears it was a revelation - was suprised how many sounds i recognized from Gabriel's records, and how many production quirks/tricks are similar. even some harmonic solutions too.

never the less The Hurting is still one of my fav records of that early Brit synth pop era.

I didn't know they used Peter Gabriel's Fairlight and Linn LM-1 on that album, you learn something new every day

As for the Prophet, I believe it was a Rev 3 because to my knowledge Peter didn't own a Rev 2. He did
carry a rev 1 (#0047) on the 1980 tour (PG III), but that synth wasn't his.

Here's a pic of Gabriel's Rev 3 alongside Larry Fast's Rev 1 (from the PG 4 "security" sessions back in '81):
http://synergy-emusic.com/petergabrielp ... pg4pix.htm

Btw, Larry Fast's Rev 1 P5 is serial number #0106 and he still has it.

I second the PPG Wave inclusion - you can definitely hear it doing the chimey chords on "The Way You Are" - unmistakable.

"The Way You Are" was added to the remastered version of "The Hurting" in 1999 but the song wasn't recorded
for that album, it was recorded after the tour in the fall of '83. I believe Ian Stanley aquired the PPG Wave 2.2
sometime after The Hurting had been completed because I don't hink there's any PPG on the original album tracks.

As you can see, he did use one for the chimey chords when they performed this song at the Rockpalast in May '83:

Question - In the song "Change" at the 2:40 minute mark there is a synth bridge where they play what seems to be bass octaves back and forth rapidly.

Anyone ID this fat bass-oriented synth sound? Sounds Oberheim-esque but lots of synths can make this sound.

Thanks!

I remember thinking that the organ on "Suffer the children" sounded a lot like a preset on my Polysix.

Micke wrote:Btw, Larry Fast's Rev 1 P5 is serial number #0106 and he still has it.

I've got P5 Rev 1 #116.

It would be cool to find out where the other 184 of them are.

braincandy wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:31 am

I saw a video of a live performance of "Mad World" and remember spotting a Polysix. Don't know if that was used on the record, though.

I'm also looking for the Synth on that particular song, spanding some vids saw Jupiter 8 and a Dx7, Polysix makes perfect sense.
Wish TFF would reveal their Synth secrets abit more.

80snostalgia wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 06, 2020 7:49 pm

[...] Wish TFF would reveal their Synth secrets abit more.

They sold their arsenal to Uli Behringer -- the entire internet was full of this promotional stunt.

Stephen

braincandy wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:31 am

I saw a video of a live performance of "Mad World" and remember spotting a Polysix. Don't know if that was used on the record, though.

That's handy to know, this video shows someone
doing a Square wave on it, but is it the Synth that plays the famous square wave bit when Roland is dancing?