Actually….it’s not one, it’s four. And they’re for fans of witty, intelligent and catchy pop music no matter the genre.
I featured The Siddeleys back in 2015 during the year-long look at acts which had been on CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop. I said at the time they were are one of those bands that sometimes cropped up in conversation but of whom I knew nothing until I did some research on them for that series.
Debut single What Went Wrong This Time? is one of the real highlights on the CD86 compilation and as such begs the question as to what went wrong for The Siddeleys as they never enjoyed any real success. After all, the NME had described the debut, in July 1987, as a “gentle teasing lament with cool female vocals and a lilting backing which trickles around the back of the nervous system with deceptive charm”.
The main issue was that it took a full year for the follow-up to appear by which time the band were on a third drummer. They had also switched labels to Sombrero Records and in August 1988 a 12″ single was released :-
mp3 : The Siddeleys – Sunshine Thuggery
mp3 : The Siddeleys – Are You STILL Evil When You’re Sleeping?
mp3 : The Siddeleys – Falling Off My Feet Again
mp3 : The Siddeleys – Bribes and Bruises
The lead-track combines the best of Close Lobsters, June Brides and Orange Juice. High praise I know….but in this case it is merited.
The other three tracks are also great slabs of music that deserve to be much better known than they are.
As I mentioned last time out, the band recorded two Peel Sessions in late 88/early 89 but plans for a third single were dashed when the record label ran out of money and when no other offers emerged they soon called it a day.
Incidentally, anyone who has a vinyl copy of this 12″ is sitting on something of value. The only one for sale on Discogs just now has an asking price of £60. So I’ll mention that these mp3s are not ripped from any vinyl!
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I’ve been listening to My Favourite Wet Wednesday Afternoon by this band since I discovered it on a compilation a few weeks back. Just from looking at the titles of these, I can tell I’m going to enjoy them just as much as that. Cheers, JC.
Big fan. Loved your description of the music. All of the singles from the Siddeleys are difficult to find and expensive, but I always keep an eye out for them. Thankfully, we have the 2001 comp Slum Clearance to keep us company. Matinee Recordings sold out of the CD years ago, but at least you can find that one at a reasonable price on the secondary market from time to time.
Great post. That Slum Clearance CD is well worth tracking down. Every song’s a winner – a corking compilation.