THE TESTIMONIAL TOUR OF 45s (aka The Singular Adventures of Edwyn Collins)

#3: Simply Thrilled Honey : Orange Juice (Postcard 80-6, 1980)

Postcard Records had come a long way in a very short space of time.  The first two Orange Juice singles had been critically acclaimed, likewise the two Josef K singles issued by the label and that of The Go-Betweens.  By the time it came to issue the third OJ single, the numbers being pressed were significantly higher than before, with the first 5,000 coming in a sealable polythene bag with the double-sided insert as pictured above.  A lot of the monies to support the expansion of the label’s activities came from a distribution arrangement with Rough Trade. And yes, the photo in the bottom right of the back of  the sleeve is that of Jill Bryson, then a very close friend of the band but soon to find fame as one half of Strawberry Switchblade.

mp3: Orange Juice – Simply Thrilled Honey

Once again, it was recorded at Castlesound Studios, but this time Malcolm Ross was on co-production duties alongside the band.  I’m not going to suggest that Simply Thrilled Honey is a duff record, but there’s something about it that comes up short in comparison to Blue Boy and Lovesick. In later years, James Kirk (not the Star Trek character), would accept the single fell a bit below expectations, possibly down to the fact that it was one of the band’s oldest and most-played tunes and the studio recording didn’t find the same levels of energy and enthusiasm of the live takes.

It was released in December 1980 and would make the Top 5 of the newly created Indie Singles chart.

mp3: Orange Juice – Breakfast Time

The b-side was a short and angular punky sounding effort, coming in at less than two minutes in length.  It would later, in 1982, be substantially re-recorded with some additional and different lyrics and in a cod-reggae style for inclusion on the album Rip It Up, running to more than five minutes in length:-

mp3 : Orange Juice – Breakfast Time (album version)

Nobody knew it at the time, but there would be just one more single for Postcard Records.

JC

PS : AND A VERY LATE ONE AT THAT……

It’s nothing at all to do with music….but it is something that absolutely and simply thrills me.  This particular post will appear as I set out on some travels again, and a trip that was arranged at extremely short notice.   I’m off, again, to Toronto, for what will be a very short visit – arrive at Sunday lunchtime and fly back on Tuesday evening – for the sole purpose of attending a significant baseball match on Monday for which a ticket was only picked up last Friday night.  It’s lucky I’m retired from work and can do things at the drop of the proverbial baseball cap, and also that I have a few pre-prepared posts to keep things ticking over for the next few days.  Only downside is that I’m dreading what it’s all going to do to my body-clock…………..