This reissue came in at least two different variations:
- Releases with the original gatefold sleeve. As well as a sticker stating 'Special Low Price' on the front sleeve, another
smaller sticker on the reverse, stating the new catalogue number, was placed over
the original catalogue number.
- Once the gatefold sleeves were exhausted, they were replaced with a glossy
non-die-cut sleeve with no gatefold. These sleeves featured the new catalogue number on the reverse and on the spine. The record labels were also replaced with generic green/red Virgin labels. Some releases also featured a customised inner listing Virgin's mid-price range.
Radio Prague is a radio recording from the Czechoslovakian radio station Radio
Prague.
Genetic Engineering was the first single released from the album.
ABC Auto-Industry features a recording from Czechoslovakian radio, actually by
a presenter called Vladimir who presented a weekly economic talk on Radio Prague.
The theme was the use of robots in Czechoslovakian industry. The 'ABC' and '123'
are by Paul Humphreys.
Telegraph was the second single released from the album but had originally been
considered as the first release.
This Is Helena uses a recorded broadcast by a presenter from Radio Prague.
International was originally a much more specific song about international politics.
It was to have featured a lot more radio samples. The theme was to have reflected
Andy's distaste at the time for the stupid things done by different countries
due to differing political attitudes. The opening radio intro is the only remnant
of that original idea. "I think that countries are a very inefficient way
of organising the world" Andy (1983)
Dazzle Ships (Parts II, III and VII) was a sound collage designed to give the
impression of ships in war. Most of the sound effects of ships and submarines
were taken from a company that specialises in film soundtracks. The break in the
middle, punctuated by a lone bass sound is actually Andy saying "Blue"
but the sound has been fed into an Emulator.
The Romance Of The Telescope and Of All The Things We've Made were 'rescued' as
the band considered them too good to leave as B-Sides.
The Romance Of The Telescope had been remixed from the original recording.
Silent Running was originally called Walking On Air. It takes its title from the
science fiction film Silent Running (1971) which starred Bruce Dern. The film
dealt with a fleet of spaceships preserving the last remaining forests of Earth
and deals with Bruce Dern's actions when the order comes through to destroy them.
The song itself has nothing to do with the theme of the film but the band simply
liked the title.
Radio Waves is a reworked version of an early song by The Id, hence the credit
for former Id member John Floyd who wrote some of the lyrics. The opening intro
is actually a short wave radio digitally scanning radio frequencies. Radio Waves
was considered as a possible single.
Time Zones uses a collection of telephone 'speaking clocks' from around the
world.
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