'Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father' - Various (1988)

"A crowd of people turned away.

But I just had to look,

Having read the book."

Cult bands covering classic albums. It seems MOJO magazine glues one of these to their covers every month now – most recently ‘Pet Sounds’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’. But back in 1988, the NME’s ‘Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father’ was the first of its kind. (Or was it? Perhaps not. Let me know if I’m wrong.)

Released to celebrate 21 years of the original ‘Sgt Pepper’s’ album and to raise some cash for the charity Childline, this tribute is probably most remembered for its chart-topping cover of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ by Wet Wet Wet.   

Now here’s a revelation for you: I’ve never really cared for Wet Wet Wet. Shocked? Well, here’s another: I’ve never much liked The Beatles either. Beyond one or two songs. The rest just sound like nursery rhymes to me. So the appeal of this album was primarily The Fall’s cover of ‘A Day In The Life’. Every second a marvel. I’d never heard it before, so this became the definitive version for me. (Yes, I’m quite sure that’s some kind of sacrilege and I’ve lost all you Beatles fans from today.) Cracking covers by the Weddoes, Bragg, Sonics and Frank Sidebottom were all bonuses.

Although the shine of novelty has lost its luster, I still find these cover albums inordinately compelling. I’m really hoping MOJO is now working on a tribute to The Thompson Twins’ ‘Quick Step & Side Kick’.    

Spotify linkys:

Billy Bragg – She’s Leaving Home

Frank Sidebottom – Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kyte

Sonic Youth – Within You Without You

Wedding Present – Getting Better

'Paintwork' - The Fall (1985)

"And sometimes they say,

"Hey, Mark. You’re spoiling all the paintwork.""

Has anyone ever actually been stranded on a desert island with just a few records for company? I’ve never seen that on the news. An air rescue team spot a lone shipwrecked survivor stumbling out of the jungle clutching a half-eaten coconut and a copy of Beethoven’s’Ode To Joy’ (apparently the most requested song, fact fans).

It’s a wonderful quandary though. Which songs would you pick ? The mistake most people seem to make is they choose their all-time favourites. There seems little point in this. All my favourite songs I can remember note for note in my head - I won't need them with me. I’d suggest picking something completely new from your favourite artist – with the risk that you may hate it. Or something completely perplexing. Which is why I’d choose 'Paintwork’ by The Fall.

I’ve listened to this song for over 25 years now and it continues to puzzle and bemuse me. From the ramshackle opening, where it appears we’ve turned up early and everyone’s still chatting in the studio (or impersonating a pantomime horse in to the mic). Through to the moments where it sounds like two other songs are battling to intrude in to this ballad of the absurd – cue the flute!? Notoriously, just as the song gets going, we cut briefly to a TV documentary about stars. Legend has it that Mark E. Smith was listening to a tape of the song in his hotel room and hit ‘record’ instead of ‘stop’ – he quickly realised his mistake, but liked the result so much that it stayed on. Genius.

The song clocks in at just over six and a half minutes, but is endlessly fascinating – I’ve yet to find a site that can even fully interpret the lyrics. It would keep me perfectly entertained on that desert island – in between dodging smoke monsters and pressing that button down the hatch.

Don't we all miss inner sleeves like this?

‘Hex Enduction Hour’ – The Fall (1982)

"White collar hits motorway services;

It’s the hip priest.

From the eyes he can see they know;

It’s the hip priest."

"What’s this meant to be?!" That was pretty much the shared reaction from the sixth form common room whenever my friend Chris or I popped an album on the stereo. Which just encouraged us further. Climaxing in us attending a Prince-themed party with a copy of ‘Hex Enduction Hour’. Yes, I know. Let’s rewind. A lot to take in there.

One: Why am I at a party? Well, I think I went to about three parties in total between the years 1980 and, well, present day really. I like to go to one every decade to remind myself why I don’t go to more. Two: Prince-themed? Really? Yep, Chris and I had a mutual friend named Christopher ("Well, that's just confusing") who loved Prince and had a birthday bash every Christmas Eve. I think I’ve mentioned him before. Yes, I have, in my very first post. Keep up. Anyhoo… he lived on a steady diet of Prince. He had every record by his Purple Majesty you could imagine. ("Even the Black album before it was officially released?" Yep, even the Black album before it was officially released.) So any party Christopher held was in effect a Prince-themed party. Three: You’re taking 'Hex Enduction Hour' to a party? Well, it would seem so. But I can’t quite recall why. I think Chris and I were just so captivated by it at the time that we carried it around to share with people at every opportunity. Just look at that wonderful sleeve for starters. Banned from the windows and shelves of Virgin record stores at the time for being too amateurish, fact fans.  

Now after three hours of non-stop Prince records, I think you’ll agree it was about time someone hi-jacked the stereo. But I guess what you may not agree with is us hi-jacking the stereo to play such party floor fillers as ‘Jawbone and the Air-rifle’ and ‘Mere Pseud Mag. Ed’. We actually never made it that far through the album – from memory we got to about track three (‘Hip Priest’) before the revelers broke through our makeshift sofa cushion barrier and Prince was restored. You can perhaps now see why it was another ten years before I ventured out to my next party. But I left ‘Hex Enduction Hour’ at home that time.    

Spotify linky: 

The Fall – Hip Priest

‘Cruiser’s Creek’– The Fall (1985)

“See the street-litter twisting in the wind,
Crisp bags turning.”

Watching mid-80s US Brat Pack movies warned me off house parties. You know the ones … you invite a few friends over when your parents are away, they tell everyone at school, a rabble of older kids gatecrash and wreck your house while listening to Tears For Fears, and the kid who’s good at science drives your dad’s car into next door’s pool.

My parents couldn’t leave their house in safer hands when they went away. I hated parties. I rarely enjoyed being around more than one person at a time. And my tinnitus stopped me playing music too loudly. Yep, I sound like a real fun teenager, don’t I? Thing is, I’m exactly that way now too.

Only once did our neighbour come round to complain about the noise and he was quite surprised to find me in on my own. It was the summer of 1989 and John Peel had decided to play every session by The Fall over three nights. So I was listening to the latest show with all the windows wide open while doing some dusting. Yes, dusting. This is how I chose to spend my nights home alone as a teenager. I think my neighbour had rather hoped I was having a party so that he could report back to my parents that I was perfectly normal. Instead, he had to tell them he found me singing along to ‘Cruiser’s Creek’ with a feather duster in my hand. Very little changes in my life.

Spotify linky:

The Fall – Cruiser's Creek - Peel Session 3/6/85

'Joker Hysterical Face' - The Fall (1983)

“He made a mistake three times at least,
Let’s face it, you don’t make the same mistake twice”

For about 6 months in 1987, I refused to make friends with any one who didn’t own a white vinyl German import copy of the Fall’s ‘Room To Live’ album. This is because I’m an idiot.

This is certainly the group that annoyed my Dad the most when I was growing up under his roof. Which made them my favourite. Daubing ‘Victim of Educated Aimlessness’ (a quote from the album sleeve) in Tipp-Ex on my school bag didn’t exactly amuse my teachers either.

Oh, and as you’ve guessed, I made exactly no new friends in that 6 months. But it taught me to be more open-minded about peoples' musical tastes. Who am I kidding? I still secretly wish all my friends owned this on white vinyl.

Spotify linky:

The Fall – Joker Hysterical Face