THE MONDAY MORNING HI-QUALITY VINYL RIP : Part Seven : BREAKING POINT

Repeat posting alert (in edited form) as I said it all when I included it as part of the 45 45s @ 45 rundown back in 2013.

Paul Quinn was initially the lead singer with the first line-up of Jazzateers, but was relegated to backing vocals while his role was taken on by Graeme Skinner (later to find success with Hipsway) when the material was recorded and released. Then in 1984 came Bourgie Bourgie, an act signed to a major label in the shape of MCA Records and of whom great things were anticipated. Sadly, it only amounted to a couple of majestic singles in Breaking Point and Careless.

Around the same time, Paul recorded some vocals for Orange Juice, and his efforts can be heard on Tongues Begin To Wag, a b-side to the single I Can’t Help Myself as well as Mud In Your Eye, a track on the LP Rip It Up. Oh and he also does some backing vocals (uncredited) on the hit single of that name…..

1985 was a bit of a prolific year for Paul.

There was a solo deal with Swamplands Records which produced two bits of magic. First, there was a duet with Edwyn Collins covering Pale Blue Eyes. Paul sang while Edwyn strummed and plucked his guitar. It’s a song that has been covered by many an artist, but the Quinn/Collins effort is, in my opinion, the definitive version, including that of The Velvet Underground. Then there was a solo single called Ain’t That Always The Way, a song that was also recorded and released as a b-side by Edwyn…

Neither Swamplands single made the charts.

He also recorded One Day, which was a single with Vince Clarke, which was in effect the follow-up to the Top 3 single Never Never by The Assembly (which had featured Fergal Sharkey on vocals). Sadly, it flopped.

Next came the formation of Paul Quinn & The Independent Group on the reincarnated Postcard Records at the beginning of the 1990s. This was a Glasgow super-group of sorts and there would be two ridiculously wonderful albums, accompanied by two ridiculously wonderful singles, but yet again, no commercial success.

Aside from an appearance (on backing vocals and with a writing credit) on the 2001 LP You Can Make It If You Boogie by James Kirk, nothing has been heard from Paul this century with his life seemingly becoming a constant battle against a particularly severe case of Multiple Sclerosis.

I’m not sure why Bourgie Bourgie imploded after just two great singles – whether it was a case of the record company losing faith in the band, or the band just decided they couldn’t continue, I really have no idea.

Breaking Point remains one of my favourite songs of all time, one that should be owned and cherished in millions of households the world over. And if you can’t get a physical copy of the vinyl, then feel free to grab a copy of this hi-res rip

mp3: Bourgie Bourgie – Breaking Point (Extended Version)

It’s not just the stunning vocal performance that makes this such an outstanding record – listen to the fantastic production that sees some great guitar and keyboards work beefed-up by a cello and strings that aren’t a million miles away from the sound that would appear years later on Monkey Gone To Heaven by Pixies. And wouldn’t you know that Breaking Point was a Kingbird Production…..one of the names used by the soon to be famous Ian Broudie……

Oh and finally (as I could go on all day and night about this song, band and singer) Breaking Point was almost the name I took for the blog back in 2006 before settling on The Vinyl Villain on the basis it sounded vaguely superhero-ish, in an anti-establishment sort of guise.

And while I’m here……

mp3: Bourgie Bourgie – Careless (extended version)

JC