Jamie Wednesday – THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

THE OCCASIONAL DIP INTO ANCIENT INDIE HISTORY (1)

New features. Just like buses. You wait ages for one to appear, and two decide to come along back-to-back.

I initially gave this latest series the title of ‘Weekly Dip Into Ancient Indie History’. It actually might turn into that, but I’m hoping I’ll get enough inspiration from other things to make it just a regular rather than strictly weekly thing. Oh, and I reserve the right to put up a song that has previously appeared on the blog, but I’ll only do so if the last time was more than five years ago.

Jamie Wednesday have featured before. Back in 2014 when the song Vote For Love was used to commemorate the day when the people of Scotland took part in a referendum on whether we wanted to declare our independence and break away from the rest of the United Kingdom. The vote was 55-45 saying ‘No’, but it’s looking likely that a second referendum will be called in the next couple of years, with all the indications of a different result. But that’s not for the here and now. It’s all about what was said about Jamie Wednesday in the booklet accompanying the C88 box set issued by Cherry Red Records in 2019.

Now a fascinating footnote in the pre-history of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Jamie Wednesday were born as a five-piece in 1984 in Streatham, South London, hinged around singers James Morrison (guitar) and Leslie Carter (bass). Like Half Man Half Biscuit and Pop Will Eat Itself (whose name, coincidentally, came from an NME quote about Jamie Wednesday), the band laced their theatrical, horns-and-guitar pop with humour, evinced on two EPs across 1985/1986 for Pink Records, Vote For Love and We Three Kings Of Orient Aren’t. When Jamie Wednesday dissolved, Morrisson and Carter fulfilled a gig a duo and, reinvented as Jim Bob and Fruitbat, Carter USM were born; meanwhile, drummer Dean Leggett joined BOB.

We Three Kings.….was issued on 7″ and 12″. Copies of the former go for £20 on Discogs, while the latter will see you needing to part with £30. I’ve not got either Jamie Wednesday single on vinyl, and haven’t been tempted to shell out. A mate has both of them on 12″and a few years I borrowed them and it’s from his vinyl that you’re able to have a listen to, and perhaps enjoy, the b-sides:-

mp3: Jamie Wednesday – We Three Kings Of Orient Aren’t
mp3: Jamie Wednesday – I Think I’ll Throw A Party For Myself
mp3: Jamie Wednesday – Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream

I think it’s fair to say that the music, while made by people common to the two bands, is a fair bit removed from the manic, sample-filled, noise associated with Carter USM.

JC

Carter USM, Jamie Wednesday

THE BURNING QUESTION OF THE DAY

Today is the day that the people of Scotland get the chance to head over to a polling station, pick up a pencil and put their mark against either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in response to the question of whether Scotland should be an independent country.

This is just a simple, small and hopefully enjoyable music blog. I therefore have no wish to take up any of your time asking you to have a read over the reasons why I have decided to vote in a particular way. But it would be remiss of me not to at least acknowledge this most historic of days in modern history in the small corner of planet earth where I spent the overwhelming majority of my time. It’s been a contentious campaign and a lot of people all over Scotland are going to wake up tomorrow feeling battered, bruised and deflated by the outcome and with a bitterness that could lead to them saying the wrong things at the wrong time and so putting friendships in jeopardy.

I’m going to accept the outcome and live with it. If I ‘pick’ the winning side I will not gloat, and if I end up on the wrong end of the result then I will be sad but not to the point of despair. Today’s song is for everyone in Scotland:-

mp3 : Jamie Wednesday – Vote For Love

Jamie Wednesday formed in London in 1984, and released a grand total of eight songs on two EPs. The band consisted of James Morrison (acoustic guitar, lead vocals), Leslie Carter (bass guitar, backing vocals), Dean Leggett (drums and percussion), Lindsey Lowe (trumpet) and Simon Henry (saxophone).

Neither record sold well and the band remained virtually unknown until after they split up. A final scheduled gig never happened but band members James and Leslie took to the stage as a duo and improvised for the most part. Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine had just been born and before long the main main were better known as Jim Bob and Fruitbat respectively.