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
Getting Nowhere Fast
The Wedding Present Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've lost your warranty, you'll never get your money back
My baby's buying me another life, getting nowhere fast
I am finished when I don't do what they want me to
I know them more than you, that's what the general public think
My baby's buying me another life, getting nowhere fast
You've won a holiday, that'll help you sleep tonight
My baby's buying me another life, getting nowhere fast
We are not looking forward and we are not looking back
We've lost our warranty, we'll never get our money back
My baby's buying me another life, getting nowhere fast
My baby's buying me another life
The lyrics to The Wedding Present's Getting Nowhere Fast are rich in sarcasm and social commentary, providing insight into the modern human condition. The opening line, "You're not looking forward and you are not looking back," portrays a sense of aimlessness and a lack of direction in life. It suggests that the subject is merely existing, without hope for the future or regrets about the past.
The next line, "You've lost your warranty, you'll never get your money back," is a metaphor for the idea that life doesn't come with a guarantee, and the time and resources we invest in it cannot be refunded. It highlights the fleeting nature of our existence and the importance of making the most out of what we have.
The line "My baby's buying me another life, getting nowhere fast" is particularly poignant, as it reveals the subject's dependency on consumerism and materialism to escape their sense of dissatisfaction with life. They are buying into the idea that material possessions and experiences can provide them with a new lease on life, but they are ultimately left feeling unfulfilled and aimless.
The chorus, "We are not looking forward and we are not looking back, we've lost our warranty, we'll never get our money back," further emphasizes the theme of hopelessness and disillusionment. It seems to suggest that the subject is trapped in a cycle of dissatisfaction, with no way out.
Overall, the lyrics of Getting Nowhere Fast invite us to question our own motivations and desires, and to consider what truly gives our lives meaning and purpose.
Line by Line Meaning
You're not looking forward and you are not looking back
You are not focused on what's ahead nor the past.
You've lost your warranty, you'll never get your money back
You can no longer get any assistance, and your invest cannot be recovered.
My baby's buying me another life, getting nowhere fast
Although they think a material things could help, they're not making any progress.
I am finished when I don't do what they want me to
When an individual doesn't meet expectations, they feel as though they're a disappointment.
I know them more than you, that's what the general public think
People believe they have a greater insight into a situation than anyone else.
It makes you feel good, you've answered all the questions right
Correct answers lead to positive reinforcement and feelings of accomplishment.
You've won a holiday, that'll help you sleep tonight
A vocation could bring temporary relief, although it will not fix deep-rooted issues.
We are not looking forward and we are not looking back
We're not concerned with the future nor the past.
We've lost our warranty, we'll never get our money back
We can no longer expect assistance or reimbursement.
My baby's buying me another life, getting nowhere fast
Attempting to solve their issues with material items, but this isn't getting them anywhere.
My baby's buying me another life
The thrill of having new things is providing a distraction from their real problems.
Contributed by Isabella L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
mattthetoadlicker
The snare rolls are out of this world. Best drummer EVER
John Peel
What a great cover !!
madcapoperator
I honestly didn't know it was a cover until like a year ago! Shows what I know haha
terrypussypower
Ah thot you were deed?
jkrycz
Even when Gedge doesn't write a great song he insists on playing one.
Peter Choyce
originally by GIRLS AT OUR BEST
Bradley Clarke
ok returning to the real world DRUMS and GUITAR rewind play vol plusrewinwdrewind etc THAT WILL HELP YOU TO SLEEP.......
ML Cool600
Faster Gedge..
Noel Fitzsimons
Well an awful cover but at least they did it.