Our 4 classic BBC sessions on 10’ vinyl,
There are also two double packs (under merch) splitting them up into 2x John Peel and 2x Janice Long. I’d expect to be able to ship in early December so not too long to wait. Oh, nearly forgot – these sessions are bloomin’ fantastic. Plenty of unreleased songs, different versions, cover versions… plus of course the usual sets of postcards and download codes.
What’s more, the Soup Dragons have all been closely involved. All the songs have been mastered for vinyl by Sean and Ross has been involved with the images – we’ve got Steve Double and Bleddyn Butcher, plus Splash One flyers/posters reproduced – while all four members of the group have penned sleeve notes.
Look, the truth is I’m beyond excited – so here’s hoping you like ’em.
Never before released on vinyl, this is the Soup Dragons’ very first session for John Peel, back in the legendary Scottish popsters’ formative days when they were indie kids finding their way via a barrage of spiky two-minute adrenaline-filled punk pop of a distinctly Buzzcocks-y vintage – and all the better for that. Features an early version of blistering single “Whole Wide World”, plus “Learning To Fall”, the single that never was – never even recorded again – with the Shop Assistants on backing vocals. NB – there are 4 Soup Dragons sessions altogether .
Songsheet:
Too Shy To Say, Whole Wide World, Learning To Fall, Just Mind Your Step Girl
So what do you do when you’ve had a run of BBC sessions and fancy trying something different? How about a session of cover versions, with each member of the band choosing a song? The Soup Dragons were changing before our ears – one listen to their version of “Purple Haze” tells you that. Also features a six-second arthouse prank that reportedly did not entirely amuse John Peel.
The Soup Dragons’ status as indie-dance pioneers is often overlooked; first, though, came a more rocky sound, as evidenced on their fourth session for the BBC (and the second for longtime supporter, the much missed Janice Long). Can’t Take No More, however, was actually one of their earliest songs; a re-recorded version went to No.1 on the indie charts and just missed the Top 50 in the UK. Session includes another future single in “Kingdom Chairs” and the instrumental “Cow Nest”, never before released, plus the gorgeous “Turning Stone”.
The Soup Dragons’ second BBC session (this time for the band’s longstanding friend Janice Long) reveals a group on the verge of change – as witnessed by the fact that most of these songs were never released in any shape or form. “Make My Day” is a prototype of the single “Head Gone Astray”, while “Lindy’s Realised” was named in tribute to the Go-Betweens’ drummer Lindy Morrison. It has never before been released. Sleeve notes by Jim McCulloch; mastered by Sean Dickson. Includes download codes and a set of postcards.
Boyracer session is due up in November, by the way, with The Orchids early in 2023 – and then The Bodines, One Thousand Violins, The Dentists and plenty more besides.
The Fat Angel Sings 