RECALLING THE EXCELLENT DEBUT SINGLE (Part 1)

I’ve always, over the years, tried to come up with some new ideas for a series of postings.  Here’s another one which might take off…..

It’s usually the case that debut singles are among the best songs that any singer or band will release over the course of their career, whether that is one over in the blink of an eye or one which carries on for decades.  I thought it night be nice to share some of these with you.

I’m starting off with something from one of the finest combos to ever come out of the Irish city of Cork.

mp3 : The Frank and Walters – Fashion Crisis Hits New York

Originally released on Setanta Records in their native land, the song picked up a bit of airplay here in the UK.  My initial exposure came via its inclusion in one of the many compilation tapes put together for my in the early 90s by Jacques the Kipper.  I tracked down a CD version of it and fell in love, not just with the single, but the other tracks on the disc.

To my great delight, Mrs V also fell for the charms of The Frank and Walters and we soon got along to see them play live at small venues in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.  The support act was an up and coming English mob who called themselves Radiohead,  Then we got to see Frank & Walters play larger venues as they toured in support of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine.

The live shows got them excellent press and before long they had inked a deal with Go Disc! Working with producers as talented as Edwyn Collins and Ian Broudie, great efforts were made to turn them into a chart band, and eventually in December 1992 these bore fruit when After All hit #11 in the UK charts. Sadly, that was it as far as fame went.  A re-mix of the debut single narrowly missed the Top 40 in early 1993 after which the band disappeared from view for three years.  By the time they returned, the fan base had moved on.

There’s been a lot of excellent material released by the Frank and Walters – six LPs and countless singles in all – but I’m not sure if anything has ever bettered the debut.

Here’s the other tracks on the initial CD which are very much a sound of what was indie-pop in the UK around the time that grunge was taking hold….I remain very fond of the song Angela Cray.

mp3 : The Frank and Walters – Rasputin

mp3 : The Frank and Walters – Daisy Chain

mp3 : The Frank and Walters – Angela Cray

Enjoy.