ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN SINGLES : #106

aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser

# 106: The Wedding Present – ‘Once More’ (Reception Records ’85)

Dear friends,

‘Don’t Try And Stop Me, Mother’ was a 12“ compilation of the first two 7“ singles by The Wedding Present, their A-Sides and B-Sides. Also, it was the first record by the band that I managed to get my hands on in 1985.

You know, I really made a long pause before starting this second paragraph, contemplating whether there has been another record in 1985 which spent nearly as much time on my turntable as this one did. I did not come up with a satisfying answer, which might or might not show you how outstandingly brilliant this 12“ was. And still is, of course! I played it to death, believe me, frantically trying to figure out what the hell the lyrics might mean in detail – to no great avail, of course. I mean, the boy Gedge certainly was not really ‘Abba-esque’, that much I could understand, in fact his lyrics quite profoundly seemed to mirror me and my unmet teenage desires … something I could instantly cope with, of course.

But back to the 12“, the B-Side, confusingly enough, featured the first single, ‘Go Out And Get ‘Em Boy!‘ plus ‘(The Moment Before) Everything’s Spoiled Again’ whereas the A-Side had the second single on it, which was ‘Once More’ backed by ‘At The Edge Of The Sea’. I’m pretty sure all of you know all these tunes by heart and as great as both 7“ B-Sides are, the A-Sides are even better.

Now, from 1985 to 2025 is 40 years, even it’s hard to believe. But still, and I am brutally honest, in those 40 years, even up to this very day, I never, never, never have been able to decide whether ‘Go Out’ is better than ‘Once More’ … or vice versa! To me, both songs are total killers, always were – and they were the reason why I followed The Wedding Present quite religiously in the earlier stages of their career. Well, this 12“ and the fact that the band played my home town Aachen a year or so later, shortly after ‘George Best’ had been released. It was a tiny little venue, I was there early, and I stood right in front of the stage (which was just a few inches in height anyway, but let’s call it ‘stage’ nevertheless, shall we?) – and I was fully, completely and utterly blown away by this gig!

Musically and/or song-wise it really had everything you’d wish for, but in hindsight there was another thing which astonished me most: the sheer velocity Gedge and Salowka (but mostly Gedge) managed to strum their guitars with: I remember that I stood there literally open-mouthed, my eyes were not capable to follow Gedge’s hand, it moved just so damn quickly when he started playing … you’d see him placing his plectrum correctly – and then, all of a sudden, his hand exploded above the strings!

Perhaps my battered brain likes to believe that he was even faster with this when doing ‘Once More’ in comparison to ‘Go Out’, I don’t know. But as there can only be one single in the box by a band, I had to make a choice:

 

mp3: The Wedding Present – Once More

Mind you, on a different day it could well have turned out to be ‘Go Out’, I’m still unsure! Or, for that matter, basically anything they put out before ‘Kennedy’. Or ‘Kennedy’ itself, for what it’s worth …

Fun fact: some twenty years ago I was in a Peel-related Yahoo forum and out of the blue I got a private mail from Gedge, asking about some CD I had of some specific Peel show – I must have mentioned it in said forum. I could be wrong, but I think it was the last broadcast before his death. Anyway, I posted a copy of this CD to Gedge and he – very kindly – asked me whether he could send me something from ‘Cineramaland’ (his words, not mine) in return. I politely declined and told him about the above gig, saying that with this experience – and of course everything he did with The Wedding Present – he made my life rich enough. What a prick, me, right? I’d like to think that this statement was the reason for him to reform The Wedding Present, but hey, I might be wrong here … oh, I’m a friend of the stars!

Enjoy,

 

Dirk