If you don't want to read my views about the once-great P!O!P! group Hurrah!, then stop reading. But Adam asked about Hurrah!'s best stuff... Bit of a sad story, really. Sons of the (then) very depressed North-East of England, Hurrah signed to Kitchenware, home to such Geordie luminaries as The Kane Gang, The Daintees and Prefab Sprout (later, King Cathal Coughlan of course, but that's another issue). All of these bands had their moments, but Hurrah! were the ace in the pack, no doubt. The first four singles on Kitchenware, 'The Sun Shines Here'. 'Hip Hip', Who'd Have Thought' and 'Gloria' are all spankingly sparkling prime pop gems which no self respecting person of taste should find themselves without. (Almost all of these songs were collected on the mini LP 'Boxed'.) There were various trials and tribulations, they nearly signed to a major label a few times (as I remember). I believe that Hurrah!, like the Go Betweens, signed to UK Elektra (what an A&R dept *that* must have been), but UK Elektra went under and the bands found themselves dropped pretty much unceremoniously). Then...nothing, for what seemed like ages. Horrible tales of them having sold their guitars to pay for food. And a reappearance on Kitchenware through Arista Records (of all labels), all buffed up and mid Atlantic and classic rock iconography and bad leather jackets and (worst of all) coming over all proud of it, eschewing P!O!P! past and...oh god, I think their press even called the the Last Great Rock Band. It was horrible. That album, 'Tell God I'm Here', had lots of songs which had sounded brilliant live or in demo form, but which had been run through thr rocknroll mincer and come out sounding coompletely uninteresting. Not long after 'TGIH', Kevin Pearce, Hurrah!'s number one fan and most eloquent advocate, released a cassette-recorded (I think) LP of a live date they played when the still burned, 'Way Ahead' (Esurient Communications). Kevin swore he had permission from Kitchenware to release it. Kitchenware/Arista denied all knowledge. No doubt it got in the way of their carefully-constructed release schedule, their plot to take Hurrah! to the very to of the rock tree. Which really worked, didn't it? 'Tell God I'm Here' and the last LP, 'The Beautiful' (anything but...) are interesting for archival reasons, I reckon, textbook examples of how not to behave when signing to a major record label. I dunno, maybe they thought corporate rock was their only way of getting any sort of payday after years of being skint and making some of the best music anywhere. Whatever, they managed to alienate most of their old fans and failed to win many new ones. I sort of lose track here, there were singles and comebacks and this and that I guess, but it never really happened again. Too damn late. Creation's reissue arm, Rev-Ola, issued a CD, 'The Sound Of Philadelphia', which reflects how it was, when it *was*. Pretty much all the stuff from those first four singles, plus demos and radio sessions and stuff. If you're the sort of musical listener who wants their music vacuum-packed and CD-shiny, then perhaps this is the package for you. Otherwise, I'd recommend you start at the singles or an old copy of 'Boxed' (you can still find them for pennies if you search hard enough). The P!O!P! should shine through the crackles sure enough. and hey! If you don't like it then give it away or throw it out...you won't be burdened with the lifetime's commitment of having a CD. Sorry for boring you, if that bored you. But you can't say I didn't warn you. Apologies for any historical inaccuracies. Bye for now, Tim ----------------------------------------------------------------------- . This message was brought to you by the Sinister mailing list. . To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". . For subscribing, unsubscribing and other list information please see . http://www.majordomo.net/sinister . For questions about how the list works mail owner-sinister@majordomo.net . Somos todos conejitos felices que tararean . consonancias felices del conejito - no somos? -----------------------------------------------------------------------