The Wedding Present – Pillars of the C86 scene.
Ending up the week in Chicago. This time, its The Wedding Present at The Double Door on March 27, 2012 – and like everything else this week, it’s anothere stellar contribution from the Aadam Jacobs Archive for the AJC Project at Archive.org.
The Wedding Present formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, by members of the Lost Pandas. The band has been led by vocalist and guitarist David Gedge, the band’s only constant member.
Closely linked to the C86 scene, the band has charted a total of eighteen singles in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, including a historic run of twelve singles – one for each month – in 1992, which tied Elvis Presley‘s record for most top 40 hits in a single year.
During 2012, the Wedding Present toured a set which usually featured the whole of Seamonsters, performed live and in album order. The rest of the set was a mixture of songs from Valentina and the back catalogue. In April of the year, the Wedding Present toured Australia for the first time, playing concerts in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne.
On 25 October 2012, the 4 Songs Extended Play was released on download only. These four new songs (“Journey Into Space”, “Pain Perdu”, “1000 Fahrenheit” and “Can You Keep a Secret”) recorded during the Valentina sessions could be downloaded following the purchase of Valentina: The Story of a Wedding Present, a book documenting the making of the long player itself. Valentina itself was re-released in May 2015 after being re-interpreted and re-recorded by David Gedge’s other band Cinerama.
The band’s sound is described as a “warp-speed take on jangly, bittersweet indie pop.” According to Jason Ankeny AllMusic, “Though the cast revolves around him, Gedge’s devotion to quickly strummed guitars, lively tempos, and sharp hooks has stayed the same since their first single in 1985. The band ‘s early singles are described as “awkward and energetic.” Throughout their career, they have also explored sounds that have been variously described as “noisy,” “happily grungy,” and “light and fizzy.” The tone of David Gedge‘s vocals are described as “insistent,” and his lyrics are described as “earnestly lovelorn.”
Okay – grab lunch – Press play and relax – the weekend is coming and it’s coming fast. Thank god.
