Magic Fly by Space (1977)

Title - Magic Fly

Band - Space
Publisher - Repertoire Records
Format - CD
Year - 2010
Original Cost – ??

So what I've got here is the 2010 CD version of the album Magic Fly by French synth band Space which was originally released on vinyl in 1977.  I picked this up from eBay a couple of weeks back for just under a tenner. A reasonable going price.

We never had the album back when it first came out but we did have the 45 rpm single of the titular track; Magic Fly which was a pretty big hit in its own right.  It spent 12 weeks in the charts, I've just read, and reaching as high as number 2.  And it used to get played an awful  lot in my house.

As a pre-teen back in 1977, I used to borrow my brother's copy of the single and play it on near repeat on the large stereo cabinet in the back room.  This thing was massive with a lift up top, a built in turntable and radio, storage space for albums and lots of twiddly nobs and buttons... Some of which would light up.  The joy of playing a futuristic electronic soundtrack on that beast of a thing was that it felt like you were at the controls of a space ship.  Which as every 9 year old sci-fi fan back then would tell you; Twiddly nobs and light up buttons were the one consistent feature of any space or time machine on TV.

I was reminded of this memory while parked up in my car late one evening and playing the newly purchased CD.  It struck me how much that kid that I used to be would have been delighted to see this dashboard view.

What I will also add is that I still seem to be able to play the main track an infinite amount of times without getting bored of it and it still sounds ..."science fiction"  even though I have a much more sophisticated idea of what that means now.

There is also something strangely melancholic about the music  that has not been earned through the passage of time but was always embedded in its DNA.  The single's B side "Ballad for Space Lovers" is the strongest example of this, although back then I would have described it as causing a funny little ache inside that was sad but also sort of nice.  Actually I'm not sure I've come up with a better description of the feeling since, I just know I'm not the only one  feeling it now and that its well worth seeking out the things that make you feel that way even if you still cant explain why.

There are only 7 tracks on the album that total just over 30 minutes of mid to late 70's electronic dance music... or disco, to use the vernacular of the time.

1. "Fasten Seat Belt"
2. "Ballad For Space Lovers"
3. "Tango In Space"
4. "Flying Nightmare"
5. "Magic Fly"
6. "Velvet Rape"
7. "Carry On, Turn Me On"

What things like this reveal to me when I return to them is that much of who we grow up to be; of our emotions and tastes, is formed really really early or perhaps even hardwired in from birth.  We may put it down and walk away for years at a time but we remain inexplicably drawn back to those things, potentially even seeking them out that very first time, as a matter of instinct.  Did I find the Magic Fly or did it find me?

Steve