Hollywood Vice Squad

Rhino Presents Smash Hits 80s Mixtape [3CD] album 60 original hits and the original artists. Includes tracks by Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Brother Beyond, Roxette, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, A-Ha, Blue Zoo and more.

Action Time Vision opens with the Damned’s “New Rose,” which Cherry Red declares “the first British punk 45” and which hasn’t lost a shred of its power. Things proceed more or less chronologically from there, with a healthy dose of sides from trailblazing labels like Stiff, Chiswick, Small Wonder and Step Forward. That latter label was founded by Miles Copeland, brother of Police drummer Stewart Copeland and a man who deserves more credit for cobbling together a US club circuit for “alternative” touring bands (British and American) that exists to this day.