WET WET WET – "With A Little Help From My Friends" / BILLY BRAGG ft CARA TIVEY – "She's Leaving Home"

As a regular freelancer — though only for a matter of weeks now — I used to have two sightly different copies of this LP; one — possibly now worth TRILLIONS — had an uncleared sample on it or something. Anyway, something that had to be withdrawn and pulped.

Being an idiot when it comes to money, I chucked out both copies years and year ago. I think I recorded the Sonic Youth version of “Within You Without You” for posterity, plus the Fall, obviously.

Would still rep for ‘Wishing I Was Lucky’ a little (key change an’ all) – part of the ‘dole queue’ pop pantheon along with ‘Wham Rap’ and ‘Money’s Too Tight To Mention’. Nothing good to say about these covers tho – 1 each.

Bragg: Wow, talk about ambushed-by-unexpected-emotion. An achingly beautiful re-weighting, perhaps a touch Wyatt-esque in its delivery… that little crack at “motor trade”?

Wet Wet Wet: Ye gods, what unspeakable Hootenanny-foreshadowing folly is this?

Sgt Pepper Knew My Father: Only The Fall’s “A Day In The Life” stays in the memory. This must have been the first of many NME covers projects, and I’d struggle to recall more than two or three decent results. The Foo Fighters, of all people, did a rather good “Live And Let Die”, and I seem to remember Suede doing a nice job on “Brass In Pocket” and the Manics having a decent stab at “Out Of Time”.

Two minor corrections on SLH – the length of Bragg’s cover is about the same length as the proper mono mix of the track on Pepper, which is sped up compared to the non-Beatles-supervised stereo mix, and the original’s arrangement wasn’t by George Martin – it was one of a *VERY* small number of non-Martin-arranged Beatles tracks, but was arranged by Mike Leander, who wrote, produced and arranged all Gary Glitter’s records.

If I had bothered to get a copy, I would have taped the Shocked/Mekon Lovely Rita before disposal. I get Cara Tivey confused with Lorraine Bowen. Am I sexist?

#10 Thanks Andrew, didn’t know that.

Yuk! A side of smarm smarm smarm, and a side of the usual foghorn sensitivity of Billy good-bloke-ideologically-sound-man-of-the-people-salt-of-the-earth Bragg. Neither makes their song sound any good. The public had clearly learned their lesson by the time that the Wets attempted their next Beatles cover version, a soulful very slow reading of I Feel Fine two years later, which only got to number 30.

Yes, I did buy Sgt Pepper Knew My Father off the NME in 1988. Like everybody else, The Fall are the only thing on it that I still listen to – although I rather like The Triffids version of Good Morning Good Morning, too. Wet Wet Wet are in suitable soulcialist company on side 1, which also features The Christians interminable reading of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and Fixing A Hole with Hue & Cry.

Light Entertainment Watch A: Many appearances fot the Wets on UK TV down the years;

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER: Wet Wet Wet (1999)

BIG WORLD CAFE: with Eagle Eye Cherry, Mariella Frostrup, Wet Wet Wet, Quincy Jones (1989)

BRUCE’S GUEST NIGHT: with Julie Grant, Natalie Cole, Wet Wet Wet, Frank Carson, Bobby Davro (1992)

DES O’CONNOR TONIGHT: with Freddie Starr, Lesley Joseph, Wet Wet Wet, Mark Hurst (1992)

DES O’CONNOR TONIGHT: with Phil Collins, Phillip Schofield, Wet Wet Wet, Naomi Campbell (1994)

DES O’CONNOR TONIGHT: with José Carreras, Brian Conley, Wet Wet Wet (1996)

DES O’CONNOR TONIGHT: with Shirley MacLaine, The Bee Gees, Wet Wet Wet, Johnnie Carson (1997)

MICHAEL BALL: with Wet Wet Wet, Ray Charles (1993)

THE MONTREUX ROCK FESTIVAL: with Steve Winwood, Bros, Wet Wet Wet, Mica Paris, Blue Mercedes (1988)

THE NATIONAL LOTTERY LIVE: with Bob Monkhouse, Alan Dedicoat (The Voice of the Balls), Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean), Wet Wet Wet, Anne Gregg (Reporter), Mystic Meg (1997)

NOEL’S HOUSE PARTY: with Noel Edmonds, Brian Blessed, Gordon Burns, Mr Motivator, Michelle Collins, Vanessa Feltz, Leslie Grantham, Tiff Needell, Wet Wet Wet, Ros Astengo (1997)

THE O ZONE: Wet Wet Wet On The Isle Of Man (1992)

THE O ZONE: with Capella, Wet Wet Wet, Rick Astley (1993)

THE O ZONE: Wet Wet Wet Special (1995)

THE SMASH HITS POLL WINNERS PARTY: with Phillip Schofield, Yazz, Wet Wet Wet, Climie Fisher, Salt ‘n’ Pepa, Rick Astley, Jane Wiedlin, Brother Beyond, Bananarama, Bros (1988)

STEVE WRIGHT’S PEOPLE SHOW: with Wet Wet Wet, Yasmine Bleeth, Gary Rhodes, Haddaway (1995)

SUNDAY, SUNDAY: with Wet Wet Wet, Ian Charleston, Pauline Collins, Jim Davidson, Leo McKern (1989)

WHISTLE TEST: with The Smiths, Wet Wet Wet, Glasgow Gunslingers (1987)

WOGAN: with Dave Clarke, Julie Fitzherbert & Penguins, Unity Hall, Engelbert Humperdinck, Peggy Makins, William Rushton, Wet Wet Wet (1988)

WOGAN: with Hilary Jago, Sandy Millington, Patricia Warren, Bob Geldof, Wet Wet Wet (1990)

WOGAN: with Tom Conti, Andrea Newman, Stephen Rashbrook, Wet Wet Wet (1990)

WOGAN: with Wet Wet Wet, Annette Bening, Cliff Richard (1992)

You know those end-of-term talent shows where the teachers get up on stage and do a “turn” much to the amusement of the pupils…not all schools did it, but some did. That’s the feeling I get from Billy Bragg (cool woodwork teacher) and Cara Tivey (approachable RE teacher). But even that overshadows the desperate blandness of Wet Wet Wet.

I had never heard this version of SLH before and it conveys all the gut-wrenching emotion of family schism, almost as much as Paul and John had. I quite like Bragg’s Essex twang and the rare TOTP performance on YouTube from which I’m appraising this, has Billy’s voice almost breaking more than once, notably on the “motor trade” line. Kudos for singing live in the studio (Marti Pellow lip-synchs) but live vs lip-synch is an age old argument which I’m sure has been played out more than once in the Blogosphere.

Marti & co try to strengthen WALHFMF, which kind of defeats the object simply because that vulnerability and fragility conveyed by Ringo is a major part of the song’s appeal. That Cocker bombast is thankfully absent all but for a few Pellow inflections as Tom mentions above, but this is barely enough seasoning on a bland and stodgy dish, served lukewarm by a grinning waiter expecting a massive tip.

I love both of the originals. Neither of these covers do anything for me, and, assuming there’s no charity angle here, I say it really would be better if neither existed. Only the WWW is seriously unpleasant to listen to (note that, as with someone above, my only experience of WWW’s track is the gurning-laden TOTP vid that’s on youtube – bloody hell…), but I honestly fail to see why anyone would ever listen to Bragg’s cover more than once (i.e., you listen once to hear if it’s one of those rare covers that goes beyond being functional/routine, confirm that it isn’t, and skip it ever after). Next!
2 (1,3)

Marti Pellow might insist on singing with that aural smirk, but his histrionics are fairly restrained here and his voice suits the altruistic tone of the song better than Joe Cockers hair ‘n’ sweat growling. He even finds an original angle for the ” would you believe in love at first sight?” bit. Surely the real drawback on this version of WALHFMF is that cut-price backing track. Wasn’t this Wet Wet Wets fifth hit? Surely they could afford a better mix. It brings a double meaning to the phrase ” charity single “.
On ” She’s Leving Home ” Cara Tivey steals the show. Her piano playing is remarkable and her vocals go right to the heart of the songs lonely, melancholy Englishness. Billy Bragg sounds a bit nervous as if he’s all too aware the song is a test for his technical range.

Is this the first shared double A side to appear on Popular?

Weird that the first and only NME-sponsored Number One should be so un-NME-like (if we accept that this was a double A-side in name only; obviously Bragg was as NME-friendly as they come). I can’t think of any other hits that have been brought so directly into being by the UK music press – have there been others?

#25 Manic Street Preachers’ Suicide is Painless was also taken from an NME charity album (Ruby Trax)

Like Punctum (whose skewed take is a lovely counterpoint to Tom’s perceptive write-up), I’ve got the cassette version of Sgt Pepper Knew My Father and now – goddammit – I’m going to have to reacquire a tape player to find out if I have the sample.

I’d be pleased with myself too if I was that handsome.

Without doing some memory research I can’t remember what I was doing in 1988 but the last few chart toppers passed me by without leaving a mark. I remember them but have no strong feeling either way about them and I don’t think I did at the time. An indication of their ordinary nature but I’ve a feeling I was hitting the point when I just didn’t care that much about the charts and was more interested in club music. A few years before this sort of thing would have annoyed me intensely and led to a few rants in the pub but now (or rather, then)… I couldn’t care less.

@wichita. Worth a look in case you haven’t seen it is a relationships-y film for which Bragg did a lot of the soundtrack, Walking and Talking, the 1996, first film from Nicole Holofcener (it introduced the world to Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Liev Schreiber, Todd Field). There are a couple of well-known Bragg songs incl. “She’s got a new spell”, but there are also a bunch of nice noodly guitar bits that soundtrack driving home, rows in the the kitchen, when someone stares at themselves in a mirror originally just morosely then more intently as she notices a new mole that looks dark, and so on. Anyhow, I thought W&T was pretty fab at the time, and it fitted brilliantly with the slightly bruised, prosaic romanticism that was Bragg’s signature (non-political) mood. Bragg-land transplanted to NYC. As far as I know, however, Bragg has never worked with Holofcener again.

TOTPWatch A: Wet Wet Wet twice performed With A Little Help From My Friends on Top Of The Pops. The Christmas edition I’ll document in the fullness of time;

12 May 1988. Also in the studio that week were; Harry Enfield, The Adventures, Narada, Starturn On 45 Pints and Fairground Attraction. Mike Read and Simon Mayo were the hosts.

Re my post no 28 and others. Very sad to hear today of the passing of Chris Sievey, a.k.a. Frank SIdebottom. RIP Chris.

fatgit at #19 – vulnerability and fragility were just words in the dictionary for the Wets, and not on the well-thumbed pages either. This is unpretentious karaoke, never analysing the meaning of what they’re singing, never striving for sincerity and throwing in a few variant vocal flourishes towards the end – but as a pop performance it does its job pretty well. Lightweight and throwaway, and you move onto the next song without a backward glance – but then that’s some people’s definition of pop. I wouldn’t make any great claims for it, but it’s fun to spend time with (and even the perma-grin is toned down).

Billy Bragg’s voice suits soulful material (the aforementioned “Levi Stubbs’ Tears” being a total standout) but yes it’s a pity the wonky TOTP appearance is the main version available on YouTube. The world’s a much better place for the existence of both Bragg and “She’s Leaving Home”, but maybe they were better apart. Agree with Anto #23 about Cara Tivey though.

Still, a very worthy charity – I didn’t give Childline much thought and wasn’t exactly a fan of Esther Rantzen until one year she turned up as the recipient of the Biggest Hero award at a Smash Hits poll winners party. To get that from a constituency that encompasses the people you’re working to help – fair play.

Oh, and Marcello at #2 – I only understood the reference to Pastor Jack Glass through having read about his fury at Billy Connolly’s routine on the Crucifixion. Apparently at gigs after this spat Connolly did a reworking of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” that went “Pastor Jack Glass is an ass, ass, ass…”

i picked up a copy of ‘sgt pepper knew my father’ from my local oxfam today (£2.99, if your interested). here’s what i reckon, typing pretty much as i listen

side one
1.the three wize men – sgt pepper: who on earth are the three wize men for a start? actually suprisingly enjoyable in a sub-pwei sort of way, i quite like the bloke’s voice. reminds me a bit of a rap version of the thomas the tank engine theme tune that my son was very into for a while.
2. wet wet wet: what everyone said; too perky by half
3. the christians – lucy in the sky with diamonds: i’ve a bit of a soft spot for the christians, but this doesn’t seem to feature any of the stuff that was ever good about them and is not good. mind you, it’s not exactly a great song to begin with.
4. wedding present – getting better: not so bad – i think i always liked the wedding present more when they were doing covers (i.e. with decent songs). for some reason david g confesses to beating his brother rather than his woman – political correctness gone mad.
5. hue and cry – fixing a whole: to give h&c their due, they clearly spent some time thinking about this and genuinely have made the song their own. unfortunatley they’ve done this through turning it into a sort of waltz-time pseudo soul abomination. fascinatingly horrible.
6. billy bragg – she’s leaving home: not a big billy fan, but this is quite affecting and yes, cara tivey is the best thing about it.
7. frank sidebottom – mr kite: i think maybe you had to be there to get much out of poor frank.
side two
1. sonic youth – within you without you: i was dreading a bit because i’m not normally a fan of their covers – ‘superstar’ is hateful and even’into the groovy’ isn’t all that. but this is excellent. it misses the brilliant tablas and strings and whatnot from the original, but the, ahem, feedback storm they whip up instead has some real dynamics and drama to it. if i just heard this as a standalone record, not knowing of the original i’d be totally blown away. much the best thing so far.
2. courtney pine – when i’m 64: starts off pleasant but uneccessary. but then goes of at a tangent and becomes really quite good, before going on a bit too much. i’m *really* not a jazz expert.
3. michelle shocked – lovely rita: blimey: EXACTLY the sort of shit folky cover that everyone goes crazy about these days. i’m amazed it hasn’t been in a john lewis advert.
4. the triffids – good morning, good morning: oh dear. if you want a brilliant sneering canter, listen to the original. if you want awful hamfisted gothery though, this is perfect.
5. three wize men – sgt peppar reprise: seems less good this time round. some okay vocoder.
6. the fall – a day in the life: www apart, the only one i knew before. i like the echoeyness and the way he says ‘hat’. (and the way he says everything else, being mark e smith.)

so the winners are….sonic youth.

not sure it’s a record i’ll be returning to too often. now, did we ever establish how to tell if it’s a super-valuable copy?

Morrissey – Every Day Is Like Sunday (#8 peak) and Sabrina – Boys (Summertime Love, #3 peak) were released on the same week (June 11, 1988.) Now they’re the two polar extremes of Western pop culture.

#43. One’s a saucy little number about sun, sea, sand and the removal of clothing. The other one’s by Sabrina.

Pretty routine stuff from the Wets, but I quite like Billy’s take on She’s Leaving Home. For the total package, a generous 5/10 from me.