Sock Free Hideaway

BEATS OF LOVE 

141. Blue – 80s Extended Unreleased Vocal Mix by Wham!

ORIGINALLY, A b-side track, the result of the eleven spare studio hours left after recording the mighty debut album Fantastic, and an obsession of mine in 2018. 

Its dubby synths evoke the DIY spirit and not the work of students of the chart takeover. Footage of George replete in his Borg Elites on The Russell Harty Show put him centre stage in a more intense pose.   

You forget it was basically Nothing Looks the Same in the Light with less production but instead get seduced by a melodic charm and hushed vocals. A tentative delivery by someone who has all but shut down the creative input of his partner to make their band massive. These were the last songs of theirs that felt like mine. Consequent releases would happily transfer into the cassettes my father would play in his car. My sister's. 

Its release coincided with the last time I felt naturally happy, so when I play their earliest records, it touches me personally. I can taste the fresh orange I drank before leaving the kitchen and picture my father's outstretched arms as I ruffled his neatly combed hair on my way to school. Life felt warm and playful, and I loved going to school and church. When their sophomore Make it Big album came out, I didn't. 

This edit works wonders with the vocals and turns this notion I have of it being a DIY tune on its head. It sounds crispy fresh and not unlike a smash. I love the tactile cover and the Lovevinyl bullshit that accompanies the release on their website. Especially the lie about it being a hundred only pressing. After two failed attempts, I've finally got a copy. 

There's nothing bullshit about ECLA, their mighty edit rocks, and like a nice pair of heavy duty velvet curtains, it shuts out the world today brilliantly.