aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser
#076: The Popguns – ‘Still A World Away’ (Midnight Music ’91)
Hello friends,
I have to be rather careful here, because strong parts of my love for The Popguns were always based on my never-ending love for Wendy Morgan, the singer. The problem is that Wendy is no longer Wendy Morgan, she is Wendy Pickles for quite some time now, wife of Simon Pickles, guitarist, pictured above in the middle. And Simon, lucky him, has visited The Vinyl Villain in the past and left comments (this was years ago, yes, but still I’m quite jealous of him (not so jealous like I am of that midget of The Jesus & Mary Chain for having stolen the one and only Hope Sandoval from me, but jealous enough, believe me)), so I’d better watch out and don’t praise Wendy too much!
But I digress, as usual. In the late 80’s, as you know, there was a flood of great indie bands from the UK, basically heading towards more accessible music than their precursors from four or five years ago. The list of those bands would be endless, but in the long run The Popguns always kind of led it, as far as I’m concerned. And it was a well deserved leadership, because they came up with five wonderful singles between ’88 and ’91, each one of them a true masterpiece!
So it would have been rather hard to pick a favourite if it weren’t for the video that accompanied their fifth single, today’s choice. I mean, obviously the song itself is stunning enough, but watching Wendy in its video makes it even more special!
To me it was never a question that something from The Popguns had to be included in the 111-singles-box. It could easily have been a different 7“, ‘Waiting For The Winter’ for example, because of its B-Side, ‘Because He Wanted To’ or, for that matter, their take on ‘Harley Davidson’ from a few years later. But no, it turned out to be this gem:
mp3: The Popguns – Still A World Away
Bloody brilliant, isn’t it? ‘They don’t make ’em like that no more’, as my mother says. And with this I certainly don’t mean The Popguns, but today’s music per se, because The Popguns, mind you, are still going strong: they released a single last year for example, which is worth listening to, the same is true for their recent album(s).
If you liked the song above as much as I do, check out their other stuff: as well their early work as their recent releases – you could spend your time a good deal worse!
Take care,
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Glorious. My eternal thanks to Strangeways for introducing me to the band all of those years ago. Just beautiful indie power pop of the best possible kind. When newer releases began to filter through I was highly sceptical and avoided them – in a vain attempt to protect the ‘legacy’. How wrong I was. Newer songs are just as magnificent as the earlier relations.
I played the single this morning and immediately began singing along (maybe not the best of compliments) but I just couldn’t help myself. Magic.
Flimflamfan.
Was lucky enough to see The Popguns play at the Hug & Pint in Glasgow last year…..in the company of Strangeways, as it so happened.
And yup, the newer songs are, as FFF has said, just as magnificent as the older tunes.
Great pick, Dirk.
I’m a fool for having drifted from the Popguns around the time of the 1995 LP Love Junky.
But after the gig JC refers to – and it was a super from the first moment – I bagged a load of Popguns stuff new to me, via Bandcamp, and for buttons. Also included was material from the related group The Perfect English Weather. Inevitably, I’m still working my way through this trove, and it is a joy.
The thing about that gig though is that loads of songs I didn’t know were played, and every one of them hit instantly. That’s so rare. It happened with Hinds earlier this year too – but it doesn’t occur often.
So Dirk’s right to implore further listening. And if anyone else is in my Popgun predicament, I recommend the song Still Waiting For The Winter. Towards the end, there’s a delightful and clever little twist for Popgunners of yore. It’s a friendly ghost from the past and a truly magical and emotional moment.
And FFF, if I helped you out with this band, I still remain heavily in your debt.
Strangeways
Those early singles and the debut album ‘proper’ still sound wonderful to my ears. Even much of what came later is very very good, including the new stuff. Waiting For The Winter would be my personal choice (and Strangeways’ tip about Still Waiting For The Winter is on the money).
I think I’m going to dig (my original vinyl versions of) Eugenie and Snog out at the next opportunity…
Still a band that I can listen to again and again with joy. It’s great that this band made it into the 111 box set.