Play loud and blow away those Monday morning cobwebs.
mp3: The Wedding Present – Kennedy
It entered the Top 40 at #34 on 7 October 1989. One week later it had rocketed up to #33. It was the first time The Wedding Present cracked the higher(ish) end of the charts as the previous two singles, Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm and Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now? had stalled in the 40s.
It was their first single on a major label and it probably did more than anything else up to this point in time to being the band to the attention of a wider audience. It was certainly the first record of theirs that I ever bought.
In 2015, David Gedge, having been told by an on-line interviewer that Kennedy had been one of the defining songs of the decade, was asked if was dearth/death of the American Dream? Here’s his full answer:-
I’m not really one for explaining my lyrics. That’s usually because they’re so obvious but ‘Kennedy’ is different from my usual style. It’s a lot more vague, for one thing. I wrote it after reading about the Kennedy assassination and the theories about mafia and CIA involvement… so draw your own conclusions!
Three tracks on the b-side of the 12″ – these have also been ripped at 320kpbs. The middle of them is particularly good, while the last of them is a cover, one of a substantial number that Gedge has recorded over the years, either with TWP or under the banner of Cinerama.
mp3: The Wedding Present – One Day This Will All Be Yours
mp3: The Wedding Present – Unfaithful
mp3: The Wedding Present – It’s Not Unusual
And remember, I’m more than happy to take requests and/or guest postings for this series.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
A sublime song from a sublime e.p. I can’t recall any band with a similar sound to The Wedding Present – that almost machine-gun guitar sound – definitely a one off. Indie is possibly as specific I can get to describing their sound in terms of cliques at that time.
Kennedy, I think, propelled the band further within the indie scene and to a wider audience. Rightly so.
I’m quite the fan of The Wedding Present cover versions and It”s Not Unusual has to be up their as one of my favourites.
The last LP I properly devoured was Seamonsters. I’ve heard Watusi and Saturnalia but not what came after.
Time for too much apple pie and a TWP refresher.
This was a steesher of a 12″ and maybe – arguably – the beginning
of the band’s absolute creative peak. Certainly this was, as JC
writes, the moment the Weddoes began popping up in the mainstream
UK charts.
JC is right also to single out – no pun intended – Unfaithful.
There’s a cracking Peel version of it too – worth a listen as it’s a bit
more ragged than the studio cut.
FLimflam: I’d try the Take Fountain LP if you’re game.
Great post, Jim – and sorry to prattle on.
Magnificent choice JC. Can only echo the thoughts of the others about the b-sides as well.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t an immediate fan of The Wedding Present, but I have a girl I lived with to thank for my belated enlightenment. She was a big fan and I got to hear their back catalogue and see them live and have loved them ever since. This is a great EP, thanks for sharing.