Now this was a compilation I really enjoyed putting together. All bands/artists start somewhere before making it, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the earliest releases by a number of the more well known bands that have graced some of the compilations I have posted this month. What was most interesting for me was how long some of the bands were plying their trade before finding success. Pulp being the most extreme by taken the best part of a decade.
Side 1
- It’s Not True – The Wonder Stuff
- Who Wants to Know – The Charlatans
- I Know (Single Version) – Blur
- You Can – Catatonia
- Sway (12” Mix) – Ocean Colour Scene
- The Last Days Of Winter – The Levellers
Disc 2
- It Happens – Primal Scream
- What’s The World – James
- Oasis – Happy Mondays
- Art – Suede
- Strange Ones (Backbeat Version) – Supergrass
- Same Old Story – The Farm
- Here It Comes – The Stone Roses
Side 3
- Give Me Less Time – Inspired Carpets
- Everybody’s Problem – Blur
- Heaven Can Wait – Salad
- Quite Content – The Soup Dragons
- Seance Sight – Lush
- Seems Like A Bad Day – Dodgy
- Endless – The La’s
Side 4
- Walking 5th Carnival – The Boo Radleys
- Columbia (White Label Demo) – Oasis
- One Way To Go – The Verve
- The Waning Moon – The Mock Turtles
It’s Not True – The Wonder Stuff – First song on their first EP (called ‘A Wonderful Day’), from 1986.
Who Wants to Know – The Charlatans – Second of the two B-Sides issued with their debut single from 1990. The A-Side was called ‘Indian Rope’.
I Know (Single Version) – Blur – B-Side of their debut single from 1990. This is the shorter version of the song which was initially only available on the 7’ single. The A-Side was ‘She’s So High’.
You Can – Catatonia – B-Side of the their debut single from 1994. The A-Side was called ‘Whale’.
Sway (12” Mix) – Ocean Colour Scene – ‘Sway’ was the A-Side of the bands debut single. This was the longer version that was released on the 12” version of that single. Released in 1990.
The Last Days Of Winter – The Levellers – The opening song on the bands debut release, a cassette EP called ‘All The Free Commons of England’ from 1988.
It Happens – Primal Scream – The B-Side of their debuts single from 1985. The A-Side was called ‘All Fall Down’.
What’s The World – James – The B-Side of the bands debut EP called ‘Jimone’ from 1983. This was the first of two B-Sides included on that release.
Oasis – Happy Mondays – The second of two B-Sides from the bands first EP from 1985. The EP was called ‘Forty-Five EP’. This song was not the inspiration for the band of the same name.
Art – Suede – The only song on this compilation to not be officially released, now or then. It got as far as a white label stage in 1989 but was rejected by the band as they were dissatisfied with it. The line up was included both Justine Freshman and Justin Welch who would later form the band Elastica. ‘Art’ was the B-Side of this release with ‘Be My God’ on the other. If this fantasy compilation release were to ever happen, to have a genuine rarity like this included would be a necessity.
Strange Ones (Backbeat Version) – Supergrass – The B-Side of their debut single from 1994. Re-rerecorded once the band had signed for Parlophone. The A-Side was ‘Caught By The Fizz’. I could have included a song by The Jennifers, as two members of Supergrass were in that band. However, I did not as I covered them for my fantasy Record Store Release back in April https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/rsd-special-the-jennifers-the-complete-recordings/.
Same Old Story – The Farm – The fourth song on their debut EP, called ‘Hearts & Minds’ from 1989
Here It Comes – The Stone Roses – This was the B-Side of the ‘Sally Cinnamon’ single, released in 1987.
Give Me Less Time – Inspiral Carpets – Inspiral carpets released two albums worth of songs on a couple of cassettes in 1987. Some of the songs were re-recorded for later records but this song was not (as far as I can tell), even though it did appear on a couple of cassette collections of demos in the same year.
Everybody’s Problem – Pulp – This was the bands second single, but unlike the first, this was a non album release. This was the A-Side and was released in 1983.
Heaven Can Wait – Salad – The third song on their debut EP called ‘Kent’ from 1993.
Quite Content – The Soup Dragons – The first song on their debut EP, ‘The Sun Is In The Sky’ from 1986.
Second Sight – Lush – Taken from their Mini LP, ‘Scar’, released in 1989. What was surprising is that the mini album came out before their released any singles.
Seems Like A Bad Day – Dodgy – The B-Side to the second single, released in 1991. The A-Side was called ‘Easy Way’.
Endless – The La’s – The B-Side to the debut single, released in 1987. The A-Side was called ‘Way Out’.
Walking 5th Carnival – The Boo Radleys – This was the sixth song on their debut LP, released in 1990. Like Lush, they released an album before they had released a single.
Columbia (White Label Demo) – Oasis – Released in 1993 as a single-sided white label as a way of introducing the band to the world.
One Way To Go – The Verve – The B-Side of their debut single from 1992. The A-Side was ‘All In The Mind’.
The Waning Moon – The Mock Turtles – The fourth song on their debut EP. Called ‘Pomona’ and it was released in 1987.
The cover is from the Twitter (or X, or whatever Elon Musk wants to call it this week) account of Images That Could Be Album Covers (@imagesalbum)