The Lost Pandas fell apart in 1984 when guitarist Michael Duane (later of dustDevils) was sacked, and Panda's drummer Jaz Rigby followed in protest. Gedge and the Pandas' bass player, Keith Gregory, decided to continue the band, renaming it The Wedding Present.
Gedge wanted to use the name "The Wedding Present" in honour of one of his favourite bands,The Birthday Party.
Gedge and Gregory recruited an old schoolmate of Gedge's, Peter Solowka, to play guitar and auditioned a string of drummers, including Mike Bedford, with whom they recorded a demo tape, before settling on Shaun Charman. The country's clubs and bars were toured as the band prepared for the recording of their first, self-financed single.
After some consideration, "Go Out and Get 'Em, Boy!" was chosen over early favourite "Will You Be Up There?". The A-side features drumming by hired hand Julian Sowa with Charman on its B-side. The single was released on the band's own Reception Records label with distribution through Red Rhino. Although Reception was only intended to be a vehicle for the release of their own material, it also released a number of singles by This Poison! and Cud.
Two more singles followed that did well on the independent charts and the band was spotted by veteran BBC radio DJ John Peel, who immediately started championing them and invited them to do a radio session, starting a long collaboration.
By the time the band started work on their debut album, a number of independent and major record companies showed interest, but the band declined all offers and decided to keep releasing their material themselves. The album was released in 1987 and titled George Best after the well-known Northern Irish football player. Disagreement on production values with the record's producer, Chris Allison, led to the product being remixed by the band and their engineer, Steve Lyon. The larger part of these conflicts seemed to lie with the personal and musical incompatibility of Allison and Charman.
Upon its release, the album was critically acclaimed and the band were soon lumped in with some of their peers as the 'shambling' or C86 scene, a categorization that they vehemently declined (although they were featured on the original C86 compilation). Musically, the album featured fast-paced rhythm guitar attacks; lyrically, apart from a few tentative excursions into social critique ("All This and More") and politics ("All About Eve"), Gedge's main concerns (which would become his trademark) were love, lust, heartbreak and revenge. Soon after the release of George Best, the early singles and radio sessions were compiled and released as Tommy (1985-1987).
With the departure of Charman very early on in 1988, Simon Smith took up the drum stool and follow up album, 1989's Bizarro was again popular with the music weeklies.
When Solowka, who has Ukrainian roots, started fooling around with a Ukrainian folk tune during one of their many Peel sessions, the idea arose to devote some of their radio time to recording their versions of Ukrainian and Russian folk song, encouraged by Peel. To this end, two guest musicians were invited, singer/violin player Len Liggins and mandolin player Roman Remeynes, and three Peel sessions were recorded with Gedge temporarily limiting himself to playing rhythm guitar and arranging the songs.
The band planned on releasing eight cuts from the Ukrainian sessions on a 10" LP and an initial batch was pressed when Red Rhino went into receivership. Rather than trying to find a new distribution company, the band decided to fold their Reception label altogether and sign with a regular record company: RCA. Solowka, Liggins, and Remeynes later split from the band to concentrate on the Ukrainian material as the band The Ukrainians.
Seamonsters is the third studio album by English rock band The Wedding Present. It was recorded in ten days in 1991 by American producer Steve Albini at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Albini had previously recorded two EPs with the group, Brassneck and 3 Songs and, like those records, Seamonsters has a rougher, harsher overall sound than the group's earlier two albums.
Solowka was replaced by Paul Dorrington and the band in 1992 released a single every month, and each of these songs charted before being released as compilations of both the A and B-sides. Each of these 12 singles hit the UK Top 40 and the band tied Elvis Presley's record of most Top 40 singles in the span of a year.
Following a quiet 1993 in which Gregory left and was replaced by Darren Belk, they followed up their record-breaking 1992 year with a new LP in 1994 called "Watusi". Following this, Dorrington left, Belk moved to guitar and they temporarily became a 3-piece before Jayne Lockey arrived. A mini LP, helpfully called "Mini" drove up early '96 shortly before "Saturnalia" zoomed in Summer '96 (along with the addition of new guitarist Simon Cleave after Belk's depature).
Following a gig in January 1997, Gedge decided to rest the Wedding Present name and started performing as Cinerama however while recording a new Cinerama album in 2004 he decided to resurrect the name the Wedding Present.
The first Wedding Present single in 7 years was released in November 2004 followed by an album in February 2005. This line-up was Gedge, Cleave, bassist Terry de Castro and drummer Kari Paavola. Paavola declined to tour and subsequently left replaced by Simon Pearson and then Graeme Ramsey. Simon Cleave left early 2006 but rejoined in 2009. His 3 year void was filled by guitarist Christopher McConville.
In more musical chairs, guitarist Cleave departed again later in 2009 due to ill health. The vacant guitar position was actually snabbed by the drummer, Ramsay, who was replaced on the drum stool by Charlie Layton (who had previously served for a very short time in 2006). Following this in Summer 2010, long-serving bassist, Terry de Castro, also vacated to be replaced by Pepe le Moko. A year later, in late 2011, after the recording of the band's 8th studio album, Valentina, Ramsay departed to be replaced by (ex-The Young Playthings and The Pipettes), Patrick Alexander.
The band emerged in February 2013 with yet another new line-up after the sacking of le Moko and Alexander - bassist Jen Schwartz (from Me of a Kind) and guitarist Geoff Maddock (from Goldenhorse).
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Better Than You
The Wedding Present Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am from further north than you!"
With that you kissed me full on the mouth
And that was when I knew you were either drunk or you wanted me
And, you know, either way I wasn't going to disagree
But how did one crazy night turn into six weeks
How can we be going out if neither of us speaks
And I admit we had some memorable days
But just not very many
I just think we both need more, and we can't ignore how unhappy we were
I'd been abandoned by her and you needed a friend
All right the night we walked into the sea I guess that was okay
And when we bought that weird pornography yeah that was a good day
The first time I saw your red bikini I just couldn't help but stare
And when we counted planets in the sky I was just happy you were there
The lyrics to The Wedding Present's song "I Found You" depict a complicated and uncertain romantic relationship. The singer reflects on their initial encounter where the other person revealed they were not from the south but actually from further north. This unexpected revelation, combined with a passionate kiss, left the singer questioning whether the person was intoxicated or genuinely interested in them. Regardless, the singer confesses that they were willing to go along with it either way.
As time progresses, the singer explores the puzzling nature of their relationship. They wonder how one wild night managed to extend into six weeks, all while acknowledging the lack of verbal communication between them. Despite this, they discover that they share many similarities and have had some memorable experiences together. However, the singer recognizes that these moments were few and far between, and both parties require more from the relationship.
The lyrics reveal the complexities of love and human emotions. The singer has been abandoned by someone they were once close to, while the other person seeks companionship. They have shared both good and strange experiences, such as walking into the sea, buying peculiar pornography, admiring a red bikini, and stargazing together. Ultimately, the singer appreciates the presence of the other person, but it is evident that the relationship lacks the fulfillment they both seek.
Line by Line Meaning
And then you said "No, I'm not from the south,
And at that moment, you clarified that you weren't from the southern region,
I am from further north than you!"
But in fact, you revealed that you originate from a location even more northern than me!
With that you kissed me full on the mouth
With that revelation, you kissed me passionately on my lips
And that was when I knew you were either drunk or you wanted me
And it was in that moment that I realized you were either under the influence of alcohol or you had a deep desire for me
And, you know, either way I wasn't going to disagree
And honestly, regardless of the reason, I had no intention of objecting
But how did one crazy night turn into six weeks
However, I can't comprehend how a single wild night transformed into a span of six weeks
How can we be going out if neither of us speaks
It's perplexing how we can maintain a relationship if both of us struggle to communicate
I think we're the same in many ways
I believe we share numerous similarities
And I admit we had some memorable days
I must confess that we experienced a few remarkable days
But just not very many
Although, truthfully, those were in quite limited supply
I just think we both need more, and we can't ignore how unhappy we were
I simply believe that both of us require something more fulfilling, and we cannot overlook the significant unhappiness we endured
I'd been abandoned by her and you needed a friend
I had been deserted by my previous partner, and you were in need of companionship
All right the night we walked into the sea I guess that was okay
Honestly, it was acceptable for us to venture into the sea on that particular night
And when we bought that weird pornography yeah that was a good day
Additionally, it was a positive experience when we acquired that peculiar pornography
The first time I saw your red bikini I just couldn't help but stare
The initial occasion when I laid eyes upon your red bikini compelled me to gaze at it, unable to look away
And when we counted planets in the sky I was just happy you were there
Furthermore, the moment we counted the planets in the night sky, it brought me joy simply because you were present
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: David Lewis Gedge, Simon Christopher Cleave
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind