SUPER FURRY SUNDAYS (aka The Singular Adventures of Super Furry Animals)

A guest series by The Robster

#6: If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy You (1996, Creation Records, CRE243)

As was the way back then, some months after an album was released, singles continued to be churned out from it. A fourth single from ‘Fuzzy Logic’ was put out in September 1996, and it’s fair to say it was probably the weakest of the lot. I’ve never been overly fussed about If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy You. I can’t say why for sure – it’s pleasant enough in many respects, a nice tune, a string section, it kind of ticked a lot of Britpop boxes. Maybe that was the reason – it was all a bit ordinary, and the one thing Super Furry Animals never were was ordinary.

mp3: If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy You

It also bugs me how, as the song reaches its natural conclusion, it actually starts to fade out. In fact, you can hear the actual ending before the fade finishes. I never saw the point of that.

Released in the usual three formats, it equalled their top chart position to date – number 18, the same as its predecessor. The picture on the sleeve tells a story. As Wikipedia puts it:

“The band spent their promotional budget for this single on a tank. [They] had the tank painted bright blue and used it to arrive at music festivals. A photograph of the tank is featured on the cover of this single, with the title painted on the tank gun barrel. The tank was later sold to Don Henley.”

Super Furry Animals selling a tank to an Eagle! That’s not a transaction you’ll come across on any wildlife documentary, I can tell you. Another quick tank fact – painted across the front of the gun turret was the phrase “A oes heddwch?” which means “Is there peace?” Anyway – the b-sides. All formats contained this raucous little number:

mp3: Guacamole

“I need a revolution because I can’t afford the price of cake” is one of the best lines ever written, don’t you agree? I love this one, it’s a lot of fun. Thing is, Guacamole nearly didn’t see the light of day – it wasn’t the original planned b-side. Early CD and cassette promos featured a different track that had to be replaced at the last minute. We pick that story up next week… The CD single also included a third track:

mp3: (Nid) Hon Yw’r Gân Sy’n Mynd I Achub Yr Iaith

This one was penned for a free single-sided 7” given away at a benefit gig in North Wales for the Welsh Language Society. The title translates as This Is (Not) The Song That Will Save The Language. Thing is, while they may be right about that, the Furries, along with some of their Welsh compatriots riding the crest of the Cool Cymru wave, probably did more for the advancement of the Welsh language than any political campaign achieved in decades. It took the language out of the province and into the consciousness of music fans across the UK, many of whom probably didn’t even realise Wales had its own language (like someone – a grown adult, no less – I once actually knew…)

For my money, both b-sides beat the a-side hands down. You are free to disagree, of course. If you do, then you’ll enjoy this week’s bonus track – it’s the demo of the title track, recorded in October 1995. Note the alternative (better?) lyrics in the chorus…

mp3: If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy To You [demo]

Next week, that discarded b-side I mentioned above finally makes its appearance.

The Robster