aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser
#061: The Mighty Wah! – ‘Come Back’ (Beggars Banquet Records ’84)
Dear friends,
1984 was a golden year for music, as far as I’m concerned. Obviously these definitions are somewhat a question of age (I was 16 then), but if you think back about the enormous number of bands who came up with brilliant tunes in this year, it certainly was special.
Some of those bands’ aims were easy to understand, ‘Rattlesnakes’ for example blew me away – and it was pretty clear that Lloyd Cole wanted to be seen as a fragile and thoughtful wordsmith with a Dylanesque attitude. Nothing wrong with that, of course – if that was how he wanted to come over to the public: I bought it, alright with me. Other bands’ presentations had a bit more complex approach, especially when they were so “English” that it was hard for me, as a non-Englishman, to understand what they wanted to tell the world. Pete Wylie, with all his big gestures and grand emotions was – and probably still is – one fine example.
The point I’m trying to make is: I am convinced that as someone from Liverpool you would have found easier access to Wylie (and Wah’s lyrics in particular) back then compared to me, coming from the middle of rural nowhere in Germany. It took me years (and the internet and the information it provided) to figure out that he is a man who always was incredibly proud of his home city, plus someone who always firmly followed his inner route and his targets.
‘Come Back’ was my intro to Pete Wylie in 1984, and somehow it made my summer: I just wasn’t able to take it off the turntable. Even though I didn’t know anything about Wylie and/or Wah! at the time (or indeed of any of the various incarnations, Wah! Heat, Shambeko Say! Wah!, Wah! The Mongrel, JF Wah! etc. pp – all of this came later, also all of the great tunes like ‘7 Minutes to Midnight’, ‘Somesay’, ‘Better Scream’, ‘Otherboys’ and especially the fantastic Peel Session on Strange Fruit), I knew immediately that this song is something very very special. Today pretty much every sound on it may be outdated, horrible even, from the plinky-plinky piano and reedy keyboard, through the female backing singers, to the huge, clumpy drums. But hey, it’s 40 years old, that’s the way things were done then!
Still, when the second verse kicks in, all of the above is forgiven in my books (and I’m no Liverpool FC follower) – and although this masterpiece is 40 years old, I still sing along to it each and every time:
“Well did you ever hear of hope?
‘Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!’
A small belief can mean you’ll never walk alone
And did you ever hear of faith?
Encouragement! Development!
And it’s all up to you! Yes, it’s all up to you!
mp3: The Mighty Wah! – Come Back
It was, Peel said, the kind of record that “knocks your socks off”, even it only made it to No. 20 in the proper chart. The very same chart that bloody ‚Careless Whisper‘ topped.
Isn’t life unfair?
Enjoy,
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Superb post, superb pop song.
SC
Such a great song – thanks for the reminder!!
The night Liverpool won their third European Cup in 1984, the football coverage on BBC Radio ended, and was immediately followed by this track, played by Peel, a Scouser and proud LFC supporter. Dated it may well sound now, I agree, but still WHAT A SONG! Wylie always knew a good tune when he wrote one.
I’ve always liked this song, but until now I thought it was by Queen. In fact, it’s the only Queen song I like. [sk]
One of my favourite songs by anyone
I don’t have nearly enough Pete Wylie! [2 CDs, a handful of records] But the records were scarce over on this side of the Atlantic! I have had a policy in the last 30 years of buying every one I come across. This one is missing from my Record Cell, sadly. Though I once saw a minute of the video.
What a great song and one of my all-time favorites. Pete Wylie was in these days far ahead of many others writing classics other ones would die for.
WyW