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NEW RELEASES FROM KATE FAGAN

Rev Up Your Playlist: ‘Go Faster' Just Dropped

"Punk rocker KATE FAGAN is not afraid to take a stand. When billionaires want you to shut up and do their bidding, it is high time to plug in and turn it up to 11. Kate shows no signs of slowing down or ageing gracefully." - Here Comes the Flood"

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Fall in Love: '2Good2BTrue' Blends Ska and Baroque Vibes 

“This new single is a testament to her roots in punk and ska, her love of retro pop, and her enduring ability to make every era sound like it’s her own.”

- Chad Connelly, STATIC

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This single marks Fagan’s latest offering since the reissue of her cult classic, “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool.” Originally self-released in the early ’80s, this punk anthem has become the stuff of Chicago legend, reigning as the best-selling single by a local artist at the iconic Wax Trax record store. When Fagan reissued the track in 2016—and again as an expanded edition in 2023—she rekindled the fire of her early work, introducing a new generation to her rebellious sound. But that’s just one chapter in Fagan’s sprawling musical history. In the early ’80s, she led the Chicago ska band Heavy Manners, whose daring sound and electrifying performances opened doors to high-profile gigs with the likes of The Clash, Grace Jones, The English Beat, and The Ramones. They played some of Chicago’s most storied venues, from Park West to the Aragon Ballroom, solidifying Fagan as a trailblazer in the Midwest music scene. As she steps into 2023 with “2 Good 2 B True,” Fagan’s knack for reinvention remains strong. Following her recent releases—2021’s “Ho Ho Ho Holiday Party” and the 2023 single “Say It” B/W “Cover it Up”—she’s proving that age and genre boundaries have no place in her ever-evolving musical journey. This new single is a testament to her roots in punk and ska, her love of retro pop, and her enduring ability to make every era sound like it’s her own.

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WHO IS KATE FAGAN?

Kate Fagan took the Chicago punk rock scene by storm in the early 80’s with her self-released single “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool, ” which became the best-selling single ever by a local artist at the legendary Wax Trax! Records. Today, Captured Tracks is thrilled to present an expanded, re-mastered edition of I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool as a full-length vinyl album, featuring four unreleased, ahead-of-their-time tracks.

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WHO IS KATE FAGAN?

Before she was opening shows for The Clash and The English Beat as the founder/ frontwoman of long-running Chicago ska trailblazers Heavy Manners, Kate Fagan released the cult new wave single I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool on the tiny local imprint Disturbing Records.


Upon its early-1980 release the pogo-ready “Too Cool” single was immediately embraced by local club DJs and radio stations and tastemaking record stores like Chicago’s legendary Wax Trax, where it became the best-selling release by a local artist ever. The flipside, “Waiting for the Crisis,” also gained notice for its raw musical style and politically charged Reagan-era lyrics, which still resonate today.

RECORDINGS/VIDEOS

Fagan bought a cheap bass guitar and started writing songs intuitively, recording them at Chicago’s Acme Studios. There, she’d meet the fellow artists with whom she’d form the Disturbing Records label, which released the “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool” single as well as early singles by Heavy Manners. 

TOO COOL

Manufactured Recordings is excited to present this seminal U.S. new wave/post punk single, reissued here with two unreleased bonus tracks Kate recorded in the early 1980’s with members of My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult and Scarlet Architect. “I thought the reissue was a prank,” says Fagan. “I didn’t fully believe it until I flew to New York to meet them in person. 

It’s particularly gratifying because after the original single sold out in 1980 I did a second run of 1,000 copies out of my own pocket, and they were all lost in a house fire that destroyed literally everything that I owned at the time. So this is like unfinished business, and I think the songs are as relevant today as they were then.”

SONGWRITER

Kate wrote the title track after moving to Chicago from New York in the late 70’s. “I pretty much came to visit Chicago and fell in love with the scene and never left,” remembers Fagan. “At the time I’d been working at New York magazine and was getting dismayed watching the CBGB scene give way to the whole Studio 54/velvet rope thing. So I spontaneously moved to Chicago, which was much more inclusive and everyone wasn’t standing around peering at each other from behind their shades. But eventually I saw that same kind of divisive hipster culture start to creep in. ‘Too Cool’ was my reaction to that.”

HEAVY MANNERS

Heavy Manners’ high energy performances live on as some of Chicago’s most legendary ska dance parties. Throughout the eighties audiences thrilled to their appearances with The English Beat, The Clash, Third World, Jimmy Cliff, The Ramones, The Go Gos, Grace Jones and Peter Tosh among others. The night they played with reggae legend Peter Tosh in a sold out show at Chicago’s famed Aragon Ballroom was especially memorable. The reggae superstar, often referred to as the “Mystic Man” was immediately grabbed by the impassioned live performance and the quality of Heavy Manners’ songwriting. Studio sessions were soon set up in Chicago and Tosh flew in from Jamaica to produce along with his guitarist Donald Kinsey and his engineer Dennis Thompson. 


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