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).
For more information please visit www.scopitones.co.uk
Crawl
The Wedding Present Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just take these wings and fly up into the air
Oh, you're wondering where you heard this before
It wasn't really like that
This man is certain that this place is his home
It's time for him to crawl back under his stone
Oh remember when he said this before?
But it wasn't really like that
You stopped me once and you could do it again
Okay, you're right, I haven't changed from before
But it wasn't really like that
Just listen now instead of thinking over things I said
Oh, years and years ago
I stole and of course I lied, yes to you
But you must see why you couldn't just be told
There were some things I had to do
Say that again and I'll kill you!
The Wedding Present's song "Crawl" is a dark and moody track that seems to be about a struggling relationship. The lyrics suggest that the singer is trying to convince their partner that things can still work out between them, even though they've made mistakes in the past. The opening lines of "Everyone here can be a millionaire / Just take these wings and fly up into the air" could be interpreted as the singer telling their partner that they have the potential to succeed if they just believe in themselves. However, things quickly take a darker turn, with the singer admitting that they've lied and stolen in the past. There is a sense of desperation in the way they talk about their mistakes, almost as if they're pleading for forgiveness.
The line "I'm not even sure that we can still be just friends / You stopped me once and you could do it again" suggests that the relationship has been volatile in the past, and that the singer is worried that their partner might leave them again. They seem to be asking for another chance, despite the fact that they haven't really changed. The song ends with a violent threat, with the singer saying "Say that again and I'll kill you!" It's unclear whether this is meant to be taken literally or figuratively, but either way, it's a disturbing ending to the song.
Overall, "Crawl" is a haunting track that captures the despair and desperation of a failing relationship. The lyrics are cryptic and open to interpretation, but they paint a vivid picture of a couple struggling to keep their love alive.
Line by Line Meaning
Everyone here can be a millionaire
You have the potential to achieve great wealth.
Just take these wings and fly up into the air
There are opportunities available to you, reach for them and soar.
Oh, you're wondering where you heard this before
You may recognize this message, but it's being delivered in a new way.
It wasn't really like that
The message may have been misconstrued in the past, but this time it's different.
This man is certain that this place is his home
The subject feels comfortable and certain in his current environment.
It's time for him to crawl back under his stone
It's time to retreat to a comfortable and secure place.
Oh remember when he said this before?
The subject has expressed similar thoughts or feelings in the past.
But it wasn't really like that
The previous expression may have been misunderstood or misinterpreted.
I'm not even sure that we can still be just friends
The subject is uncertain about the current state of a relationship.
You stopped me once and you could do it again
The subject fears rejection or disapproval from a former partner.
Okay, you're right, I haven't changed from before
The subject acknowledges that they have not made progress or improvements.
But it wasn't really like that
The previous perception or expectation may have been inaccurate.
Just listen now instead of thinking over things I said
The subject wants the listener to pay attention to their current message, without being clouded by past experiences or misinterpretations.
Oh, years and years ago
The subject is referencing a past event that occurred a while ago.
I stole and of course I lied, yes to you
The subject admits to having committed deceitful actions towards a former partner.
But you must see why you couldn't just be told
The subject attempts to justify their dishonesty, believing it was necessary at the time.
There were some things I had to do
The subject had valid reasons for their actions.
Say that again and I'll kill you!
The subject becomes defensive or angry when their previous actions are questioned.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVID LEWIS GEDGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind