346) Wonder Stuff - Hup

Their debut, The Eight-Legged Groove Machine, had made the top twenty and  each single was selling more and charting higher, they were certainly on the up.

Hup would be the last record released with the original line up with Rob “The Bass Thing” Jones leaving the band and sadly dying in 1993 but before all that sadness the band continued their upward trajectory with this record making the top five.

Two singles were released Don’t Let Me Down, Gently wonderful opening and a brilliant raucous chorus and Golden Green which when I heard with the added banjos and fiddles was enough to convince me to shell out my 5,99, I’m trying to get it again now, no chance of just spending 5.99 but this idiot will buy it eventually. Miles Hunt, never one to hold back, would probably call me an arse.

30 Years in the Bathroom opens the record not as frantic as 8 Legged but a good groove throughout the song and a fine start.Radio Ass Kiss launches straight in, considering what we have heard about certain DJs in recent years The Wonder Stuff seem to have an insight that would take the rest of us years to know or it could just be about how crap the radio was.

The fiddle is back for Cartoon Boyfriend and Unfaithful the former still having the bands anger and the later the first big ballad, a maturity added to their cannon and Let’s Be Other People I like the fuzzed-up sound.

Good Night Though Martin Gilks (another sad loss) excels on the drums over a frantic guitar and the record ends with the interesting Room 410, it has a shimmering guitar throughout the samples cut through the song enhances  the song and does not work against it.

This was my final time with The Wonder Stuff as I really didn’t like the big hit Size of a Cow from their third album, not sure I have even ever listened to that record, I’ll let you know in the future if I was wrong, we all know that answer.

7/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Don’t Let Me Down, Gently