Clean Tables Have To Be Burnt is a new compilation of previously unreleased works from cult UK cold wave combo Hard Corps.

In recent years there’s been a huge resuscitation of interest in crepuscular 1980s synth pop, spearheaded by the curatorial efforts of Veronica Vasicka. The latest long-forgotten act to benefit from the ongoing revival is Hard Corps, a Brixton-based quartet fronted by French performance artist and provocateur Regine Fetet. Now, Vasicka’s Minimal Wave label will release a collection of lost and discarded material from the band’s archives.

Unlike many of the amateur oscillator-twiddlers recently brought to light, Hard Corps, who released a number of EPs and singles between 1984 and ’89, actually came within spitting distance of success. They signed to Polydor, recording with Martin Rushent and Daniel Miller. In the end, however, only one single from those sessions – the glacial ‘Je Suis Passée’ – ever saw the light of day at the time. They also opened for Depeche Mode and The Cure, and enjoyed support from John Peel.

Clean Tables Have To Be Burnt is due out in April. The record will be available on vinyl, and strictly limited to 999 copies.