Telex Unveils Sonny & Cher Cover "The Beat Goes On/Off"; New Compilation Out April 30

TELEX   UNVEILS NEWLY DISCOVERED TRACK “THE BEAT GOES ON/OFF”   TAKEN FROM THIS IS TELEX OUT APRIL 30

credit: Frank Uyttenhove (hires)

“The Original Eurovisionaries” – Electronic Sound   “Telex’s work helped open up a new front for electronic music… and firmly placed it in the mainstream.” – MOJO   Telex today share their previously unreleased take on Sonny & Cher’s 60s hit, “The Beat Goes On.” The track, here renamed “The Beat Goes On/Off,” was recently discovered when Telex were compiling the first release in an ongoing partnership with Mute, This is Telex, a brand new 14-track compilation out April 30. Listen here.   This is Telex features singles from across the Belgian synthpop trio’s career from their debut single, “Twist à Saint Tropez” in 1978 through to their final album release, How Do You Dance? in 2006. Tracks on the compilation are newly mixed and remastered from the original tapes by band members Dan Lacksman and Michel Moers. These new mixes often involved subtracting from, rather than adding to, the original multi-track recordings. “We simplify,” explains Lacksman. “We take away, to create something more efficient, more Telex.”   The newly mixed and remastered tracks on the compilation include singles such as “Twist à Saint Tropez,” “Moskow Diskow,” and “Euro-vision,” alongside two recently discovered and unreleased tracks – Sonny & Cher’s “The Beat Goes On” and “Dear Prudence.” Also included are tracks from their writing collaboration with Sparks – “Drama Drama” and “Exercise Is Good For You” – and their cover of the Sparks hit “The Number One Song In Heaven.”   This is Telex will be released on limited edition shrimp pink and fern green colored vinyl, cassette, CD, and digital platforms. Limited edition t-shirt bundles are available. Sleeve notes are by David Stubbs.   Pre-order This Is Telex here.   MORE ABOUT TELEX Telex are Marc Moulin (1942- 2008), Dan Lacksman and Michel Moers. The band formed in 1978 in Brussels, just one of a handful of synthpop pioneers at a time when electronic pop was regarded as novelty, with suspicion, as a harbinger for future dystopia and alienation. Telex were concerned about the consequences of new technology for human communication, their name taken, ironically, from a now obsolete piece of communications technology, adding a retro-futurist air to their legend.   The band famously entered the Eurovision Song Contest representing Belgium with “Euro-vision.” Moers says he regarded their entry as “very Situationist International, the worm in the apple” and they resolved either to come first or last. They didn’t achieve that goal but became part of the Eurovision saga. Moers saw Johnny Logan (who went on to win the contest twice for Ireland) and told him, “you’re going to win.” Logan replied “Yeah. But if I win it’s good for me. If you win, it’s good for music.”   Telex announced their retirement in 2008 following Moulin’s death. This new partnership with Mute will see a comprehensive reissue series of the back catalogue, starting with the new compilation. “We’re so glad to have signed with Mute. We couldn’t have done better,” says Moers. “It’s like a dream, fantastic,” adds Lacksman.   (hires) This is Telex Tracklisting 1. The Beat Goes On/Off (Unreleased) 2. Moskow Diskow (New mix) 3. Twist à Saint-Tropez (New mix) 4. Euro-vision (New mix) 5. Dance To The Music (New mix) 6. Drama Drama (New mix) 7. Exercise Is Good For You (New mix) 8. L’Amour Toujours (New mix) 9. Radio-Radio (New mix) 10. Rendez-Vous dans L’Espace (New mix) 11. Beautiful Li(f)e (New mix) 12. The Number One Song In Heaven (New mix) 13. La Bamba (New mix) 14. Dear Prudence (Unreleased)   Pre-order This Is Telex Watch the video for “Moskow Diskow” Watch the video for “Dear Prudence” Listen to “The Beat Goes On/Off” TELEX: SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC MUTE: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM