Wire's debut album, Pink Flag (1977), contains songs which are diverse in mood and style, but most use a minimalist punk approach, unorthodox structures, and several songs are under a minute in length; "Field Day For The Sundays" is only 28 seconds long.
Chairs Missing followed in 1978, and found Wire stepping back from the stark minimalism of Pink Flag, with longer, more atmospheric songs and synthesizer parts added by producer Mike Thorne. The experimentation was even more prominent on 154 (1979). Many of the songs had bassist Graham Lewis on lead vocals.
In 1979, creative differences pulled the band in different directions, leading to the Document and Eyewitness LP (1981), a recording of a performance that featured, almost exclusively, new material. The LP came packaged with an EP of a different performance of more new material. Some of these songs, along with others performed but not included on the album, were included on Colin Newman's post-Wire solo albums ("5/10", "We Meet Under Tables"), while others were released by Gilbert and Lewis' primary post-Wire outlet Dome ("And Then...", "Ritual View"). The band disbanded for the first time in 1980
Between 1981-85 Wire ceased recording and performing in favour of solo and non-Wire collaborative projects such as Dome, Cupol, Duet Emmo, and several Colin Newman solo efforts. In 1985, the group reformed as a "beat combo" (a joking reference to early 1960s beat music or even possibly beatniks), with greater use of electronic musical instruments. It released It's Beginning To And Back Again (IBTABA) in 1989, a "live" album of mostly re-worked versions of songs from The Ideal Copy and A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck, heavily re-arranged, edited, and remixed. A new song from the album, "Eardrum Buzz", became the band's biggest charting single.
Gotobed left the band in 1990, after the release of the album Manscape. After his departure, the band dropped one letter from its name, becoming "Wir" (still pronounced "wire"), and released The First Letter in 1991. Once again, the band disbanded in 1992 There followed a further period of solo recordings, during which Newman founded the Swim ~ label, and later Githead with his wife (ex-Minimal Compact bassist Malka Spigel), while Wire remained an occasional collaboration. It was not until 1999 that Wire again became a full-time entity.
With Gotobed back in the line-up (now using his birth name, Robert Grey), the group initially reworked much of their back catalogue for a performance at Royal Festival Hall on 26 February 2000. Wire's reception during a short tour of the US, and a number of UK gigs, convinced the band to continue. Two EPs and an album Send (2003) followed, as well as collaborations with stage designer Es Devlin and artists Jake and Dinos Chapman. In 2004 the band split once more.
In 2006, Wire's 1970s albums were re-released with original vinyl track listings. Rumours abounded of a renewal of activity to mark the 30th anniversary of the band's debut as a 4 piece and the re-release of Pink Flag in 2007. A third Read & Burn EP was released in November, 2007.
A full-length album of new material entitled Object 47 was released in July 2008. Bruce Gilbert was not involved in this recording, although according to Colin Newman, he did feature in a minimal capacity on the third Read and Burn EP. 2011 saw the release of the band's twelfth studio album Red Barked Tree.
Field Day for the Sundays
Wire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fuck up my life
Embarrass my wife
And leave a bad taste
Striped toothpaste can't remove on Monday mornings
I want to be a target for the dailies so they can show
Pictures of me with a nude on page three
So lacking in taste
Touched up near the waist, looking as limp as Monday morning
The song "Field Day for the Sundays" by Wire is a commentary on the media's impact on our lives. The singer wants to be a "field day" for the Sundays, referring to the newspapers that were commonly published on Sundays. By being a field day, the singer wants to be the subject of sensationalized stories that will make headlines and sell newspapers, even if it means ruining his life and embarrassing his wife. The singer wants to be a target for the dailies, referring to the newspapers that are published every day. He wants to be featured on page three, which was known for featuring topless models in British tabloids. The singer is aware that his image will be manipulated, yet he still wants to be the subject of this attention.
The lyrics also mention "Monday mornings," which could represent the aftermath of the media's attention. The toothpaste cannot remove the bad taste left behind, symbolizing the lasting impact of media attention. The lyrics suggest that the media's attention is damaging and that it can leave a lasting impression on a person's life.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to be a field day for the Sundays so they can
I desire to become such an easy target for people who just have relaxation and no objectives on Sundays so that they can use me as a punching bag.
Fuck up my life
I want them to ruin my life completely by mistreating me or by other means.
Embarrass my wife
I want them to humiliate my wife and make her feel ashamed of me.
And leave a bad taste
I want their actions to leave an unpleasant impression on me or cause enduring consequences.
Striped toothpaste can't remove on Monday mornings
The negative experience will remain within me, just like the stripes on a toothpaste tube, which cannot be removed even on Monday mornings.
I want to be a target for the dailies so they can show
I aspire to become a focus for newspapers published every day for their headlines.
Pictures of me with a nude on page three
I want them to publish my photos in such a way that it attracts people's attention, such as featuring a naked person on the third page.
So lacking in taste
However, these pictures must not have any aesthetic qualities and should be deprived of good judgement.
Touched up near the waist, looking as limp as Monday morning
Furthermore, the images should be edited by making the person appear slimmer at the waist yet looking lifeless like Monday morning.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BRUCE CLIFFORD GILBERT, COLIN JOHN NEWMAN, GRAHAM LEWIS, ROBERT SELWYN GOTOBED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Boston Guy in the midwest
Sing along with Colin Newman now:
I want to be a field day for the Sundays so they can fuck up my life
Embarrass my wife, and leave a bad taste
That striped toothpaste can't remove on Monday mornings
I want to be a target for the dailies so they can show
Pictures of me with a nude on page three, so lacking in taste
Touched up near the waist, looking as limp as Monday morning
Touched up near the waist, looking as limp as Monday morning
jelt110
This was such an awesome album, still totally listenable 35 years later.
Benedetto Bruno
29 December 2018. Always and forever, thank you to Great Britain and the British people whose creativity, since the 1960s, has given the rest of the World hundreds of unique bands such as the Wire and music of unparalleled beauty, quirkiness and atmosphere. What would our lives have been without British bands? Thank you from Sicily.
Dougie Traill
Love it
katoness
Really? 28 seconds, maybe I should listen to the full album
loki burnel
Its a good one.
lyonslaforet
It's the shortest song on Pink Flag. And yes: a highly influential album still fascinating today.
HashMagician
Hell yeah!
Smerington Weeps
Goes on a bit
ჯუზეპე
Nice
Flur Chorrein
straightforward