THE 12″ LUCKY DIP (16): Everything But The Girl – Night and Day

I’ve gone to the EBTG website for today’s intro:-

“Everything But The Girl was formed in 1982 by singer-songwriter-musicians Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt after the pair met as students, aged 19, at Hull University in October 1981. Coincidentally both were already separately signed as emerging artists to London independent record label, Cherry Red – Tracey with her lo-fi minimal girl group, Marine Girls, formed while still at school; Ben as a young guitarist and singer-songwriter. Their meeting had been suggested by Cherry Red A&R man, Mike Alway.

Intended as a one-off collaboration, their debut 7″ single – a stark and stripped-back cover version of Cole Porter’s Night and Day – was released in March 1982 on Cherry Red. The recording of Night and Day had been an afterthought, laid down in a spare fifteen minutes at the end of the session; the flipside cuts, Ben’s Feeling Dizzy and On My Mind (a Marine Girls song written by Tracey) were originally intended as the A and B side. Tracey’s unflashy autumnal voice over Ben’s jazz-folk chords stuck out in a year of punk-funk, and the release climbed to Number 6 on the UK Independent Singles Chart in June of the same year, staying on the chart for thirty weeks.”

mp3: Everything But The Girl – Night and Day
mp3: Everything But The Girl – Feeling Dizzy
mp3: Everything But The Girl – On My Mind

There really isn’t much to add, other than I can’t imagine that anyone listening at the time would ever have imagined Ben and Tracey going on to enjoy such successful and lengthy careers in the industry, constantly changing their sound and style with what always looks like great ease.  They are genuine national treasures.

JC