It was back in October 2022, when I featured On Our Honeymoon by The Wake, that I last mentioned Optic Nerve Recordings, the label specialising in offering up vinyl copies of long-lost or difficult to find singles, of an indie-bent, from the 80s and 90s.
One of their reissues in 2020 was Once More by The Wedding Present, which had originally come out on Reception Records in 1986, and was the band’s second ever 45.
mp3: The Wedding Present – Once More
As with all Optic Nerve 7″ singles, this one came with a little extra, in the shape of a postcard featuring a picture of the band from 1986, along with an A4 sized copy of the original promotional poster for Once More. Oh, and it was also pressed on white vinyl, and it felt like decent value for £10 including postage, which is still just about the going rate over on Discogs.
mp3: The Wedding Present – At The Edge Of The Sea
With its intro dominated by a bass guitar, it’s not immediately obvious that the b-side is a Wedding Present number. But it takes less than fifteen seconds before a more familiar sound comes to the fore, followed shortly after by David Gedge offering up a lovelorn lyric about being happy with someone while visiting a coastal town. It’s all rather charming.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I bought this one, and their reissue of Go Out And Get ’em Boy. Optic Nerve certainly know how to do a reissue.
There’s a very decent version of At The Edge Of The Sea on the Locked Down And Stripped Back Vol. 2 album with Melanie Howard taking lead vocal duty.
‘Charming’ is the right word. I never understood why someone as winsome as Gedge goes through band members like MES.
The reissue is indeed very well done, and I look forward to
hearing this Melanie take of At the Edge of the Sea. She
has brought something special to the band. Enjoyed this
post, JC.
Have an original issue but bought it again because Optic Nerve Is so damn good. Done that quite a few times since this series began.