The Wonder Stuff hadn’t quite come totally out of nowhere, but their ascendancy was very rapid. Formed in March 1986, they would release a self-financed EP within six months, after which Polydor Records came calling, which meant they bypassed all indie labels from the outset. It didn’t seem to do much damage to their credibility with the UK music press, with plenty of column inches devoted to their live shows, while frontman Miles Hunt seemed to be on speed dial with a few journalists.
The constant touring was a big factor in building up their fan base, with each of their first four singles for Polydor, in 1987/88, charting higher than the previous. Debut album, The Eight-Legged Groove Machine, went into the Top 20 in its first week of release in August 1988, and it was further promoted by a sell-out 19-date tour of the UK in October.
A test for any band that gets early hype is how good the follow-up material proves to be
mp3: The Wonder Stuff – Who Wants To Be The Disco King?
The growth in popularity continued, with this one providing their first Top 30 hit in March 1989. Before the year was out, they would have a Top 20 single with Don’t Let Me Down Gently, while their second album, Hup, would go Top 5.
The b-side to Disco King was a live version of debut single Unbearable, as recorded at the London show during the October 1988 tour. The difference being it was a stripped-back, acoustic take, which must have taken the capacity audience by surprise.
mp3: The Wonder Stuff – Unbearable (live)
Having said that, there were clearly plenty of cheers when the song ended. Looking now at some of the published set lists from 1988, it appears, the band had a habit of playing Unbearable in this acoustic fashion early on but would then play the more frantic and familiar version of the song towards the end of the show.
Apologies for the crackly nature of the tracks, but this was a 7″ single picked up second-hand for not a great deal of money.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I adored early Wonder Stuff’ s pop-punk adventures. It captured me at exactly the right time in my life. There was such an underground buzz about the band that very quickly went overground. I saw them at the QMU and then at the Barrowland with Zodiac Mindwarp (great stuff!). I was at a couple of the later Barrowland gigs for HUP! with Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. This is where the wheels came off. Size of a Cow is an awful song, yet… in a venue jammed with students, this received the loudest of cheers. It left me cold. I plead guilty to dancing to it a couple of times before coming to my senses. My copy of Who Wants… is rather battered. A rescued copy from Level 8, Strathclyde Uni. A reminder of better than HUP days.
Flimflamfan
I enjoyed The Wonder Stuff’s early music, but it all went downhill when I read an interview with Miles Hunt in NME or Sounds, then a few more elsewhere . I thought he was a prick and struggled to get beyond that and appreciate the music after that.
Maybe time for a revisit…?
Love love love The Stuffies. Those first four albums. The HUP era. Everything was so well done. The b-sides the sleeves within sleeves. The far out designs. I wore my IDIOT shirt with pride