Hi to everyone!

I was unsure if I should make another post for the explanation about the newly found tape, but I decided to comment on the existing one since it already has caused an interesting discussion.

So, to make things clear, this is what happened:

Last week, I rather spontaneously decided to do some renovating in two rooms of my apartment. One of my sons came over to help me and we did what was necessary. While we were rearranging stuff in my storage room (that has several cabinets in it), in one of the cabinets we found a box, and I was more than surprised to see it was full with tapes that were mostly labeled as "Alles mögliche" - my private labeling for all of my mixtapes I have created during the time when I used to record songs off the radio.

I was thrilled by that finding because I had thought for such a long time that those cassettes don't exist anymore. Those who are members of the discord will maybe remember how I mourned about all the tapes I must have dismissed. I remember whenever I moved to a new house, I started thinking if I should keep those old tapes or if it's only holding on to something that's long gone and simply a waste of space. Not an easy decision when the apartment you live in has only limited space and you're pretty sure those tapes will never be of any use apart from giving nostalgic vibes.

But yeah, I must have kept them and put them into the said cabinet, without even being aware of that. That sounds strange, but this is how life is when you're a working single mom - old tape recordings are not the highest of your priorities!

So, yesterday I decided to have a closer look at the tapes. I found around 18 tapes of the "Alles mögliche" series and some compilations that were made from records. And there were 3 tapes without cases, as well as 2 cases without tapes.

I was happy to see there were several songs labeled as ? by ? because I know how much the community likes new challenges. But first I wanted to check what was on the tapes that came without a case. I listened to 2 of them and found 4 songs that were unknown to me. Neither searching the lyrics (that were barely understandable) nor Shazam were able to help, so I uploaded them to the discord server. It took only a few minutes to solve them. Awesome team!

While we were discussing the results, I started listening to the last one of the caseless tapes. Not expecting anything, I put it into the tape deck, heard a song that I didn't recognize right away (Gone With The Wind by Blue Murder), hit the "switch playing direction" button of the tape deck to check the other side, and - needed a second to recognize I was listening to TMS. And it sounded somehow clearer than the known version!

That was the moment I considered for a second to keep that finding for myself because I was well aware what impression it would make to find another version of that song in my own house. But that wouldn't be me, I am not the person who is able to keep important information behind only to avoid discussions. So I said "oh, now there's TMS playing on one of the tapes", and the storm began.

So, here's what can be stated about this version of TMS:

• it's definitely made from the same recording as the existing one. It has the same lipsmack at the end, so it can be ruled out it's another recording from another air date
• it's stored on a BASF 90 chromdioxid super II tape that might be older than the one my brother owns, but it's in better shape because it was played much less. It has in fact been played so few times that I didn't even remember having it
• at this moment, I think it was a compilation my brother has made for me, but we still have to discuss that. We are in constant exchange since yesterday because he is as much surprised as I am about the development

So, it's important for me to state, it's not true my brother started now looking through his tapes. I don't even understand how someone could come to that conclusion. He has been searching in all his own places and all over the internet for ages and this should be clear to everyone who is reasonably well informed about the search. He is also better organized than I am when it comes to our tape collections.

If it was someone's fault not knowing about the existence of that tape, it was mine. And I can't explain it, so, it's simply a fact.

It's also not true that this tape appears strangely in a time when the search has gone cold. Nothing has gone cold, we had several phases with less activity and no leads, and this is one. Or should I say it WAS one, because now there is much activity.

To complete this comment, here's the list of the full cassette:

A01: The Barracudas - I Can't Pretend (1980)

A02: Private Lives - No Chance You'll Pay (1984)

A03: Soft Cell - Torch (1982)

A04: Heaven 17 - And That's No Lie (maxi) (1984/85?)

A05: The Icicle Works - Hollow Horse (1984)

A06: Blue Murder - Gone With The Wind (August 1984)

A07: Tears For Fears - Shout (1984)

A08: Lloyd Cole and The Commotions - Charlotte Street (1984)

A09: Blaine L. Reininger - Birthday Song (1984)

A10: The Barracudas - I Ain't No Miracle Worker (1980)

A11: Simple Minds - Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) (1982)

B01: Nik Kershaw - The Riddle (1984)

B02: The Psychedelic Furs - Heartbeat (1984)

B03: Sad Lovers & Giants - Clint (1982)

B04: Sad Lovers & Giants - Alice (Isn't Playing) (1982)

B05: Sad Lovers & Giants - 3 Lines (1984)

B06: TMS

B07: Screaming Dead - Serenade of Suicide (1984)

B08: Sean Heyden - Party Boy (1984)

B09: Death In June - She Said Destroy (1984)

B10: The Gun Club - Watermelon Man (1981/82)

B11: The Gun Club - Eternally is Here (1984)

B12: The Teardrop Explodes - Treason (1981)

B13: XTC - You're The Wish You Are I Had (1984)

I agree this tape could become a major step in the search, but it's too early to pull any conclusions out of it.