BONUS POST : ADDITIONAL WYLIE

Not too long ago, I posted a review of the Pete Wylie and The Mighty Wah! gig at King Tut’s in Glasgow.  In truth, it was a hurried review, piggybacked onto a review of a gig by Yard Act a few days later, and I didn’t really do it justice.

I’ve finally been catching up with lots of things that have been written at some of my favourite blogs these past weeks – the trip to Vienna and a few other things to deal with on my return resulted in me missing out a fair bit at the time – and I was delighted that Adam over at Bagging Area posted a much more detailed review of Pete’s show in Manchester.  Please click here to have a read.

Adam arrived slightly late and missed a couple of songs, including Come Back, one of the few hits in Pete’s back catalogue, and which he seems to be airing as the second tune in the current tour.  I thought, as a way of thanking Adam for his review, that I’d return to part of a TVV posting from back in October 2015, when I wrote about the three chart hits under the heading of ‘BIG, BOOMING AND MEMORABLE’

1983 : Come Back

“Pete was infamous for being a bit of a gobshite who loved to spout opinions about everyone and everything, and an unwillingness to play by the record industry rules and regulations. Nevertheless, he was regarded as such a talent that WEA, the biggest label in the world at the time, signed him up after The Story of The Blues. He delivered an album that horrified them, and they refused to release it, and in doing so nullified the recording contract.

In due course the album was partially re-recorded and eventually released on Beggars Banquet as A Word To The Wise Guy. There was a Top 20 hit single from it, released in a number of formats including this 12″ version:-

mp3 : The Mighty Wah! – Come Back (The Story Of The Reds)/The Devil In Miss Jones (combined and extended)
mp3 : The Mighty Wah! – Come Back! (The Return of the Randy Scouse Git)
mp3 : The Mighty Wah! – From Disco Dicko to A Kid in Care

This was an almighty two fingers gesture to WEA. It was the big sound they had demanded of the album but only provided after Wylie had gone to pastures new…and in the b-side version the lyrics were altered to enable a sideways swipe at WEA singers and bands who were enjoying regular chart success.”

I’ll throw in the 7″ edit of the song for good measure, along with the b-side as a stand-alone track in additional to how it was offered up on the 12″:-

mp3 : The Mighty Wah! – Come Back (7″ edit)
mp3 : The Mighty Wah! – The Devil In Miss Jones

The Randy Scouse Git has a biting lyric, one that Pete must have had great fun composing.  I can’t find them anywhere on t’internet, but I’ve done my best to work them out, albeit there are a couple of gaps.

Well did you ever hear of hope?
A small belief can mean relief when troubles start
Well did you ever hear of faith?
Encouragement, development,
and it’s all up to you, yes it’s all up to you

Come Back! It’s been over a year
Come Back! When you’re gone I’ll be here
Come Back! Well, it is your career
Come Back
Come Back! Howard Jones can have hits
Come Back! The Pretenders have hits
Come Back! even The Truth can have hits
Come Back!

We’ll get to shoot some videos
We’ll bribe the shops ? change
Cos money talks
We’ll get you on the Sooty show
Exposure is ???
And Annabel Lamb..it’s a battering ram

Come Back! It’s been over a year
Come Back! When you’re gone I’ll be here
Come Back! Well, it is your career
Come Back
Come Back! Howard Jones can have hits
Come Back! The Pretenders have hits
Come Back! even The Truth can have hits
Come Back!

There’s then an outro in which the wall of sound production makes it difficult to work out all the names being shouted, but there’s certainly mention of Aztec Camera and Yes among others.

Feel free to offer up suggestions as to who is missing (or if I’ve got things badly wrong!!!).

JC