Huh, me and my headings, eh, always the smart arse..... But, y'know, I think the performers of this song would want that, being ineffably smart, as they arse around, enjoyment their gift to listeners. So then, is this the debut of the Wonder Stuff to SMM? It sure looks that way. Let's hear the song.
Give, Give, Give Me More, More, More
Anyone familiar with the term "Grebo"? Actually a word that is better known as a word rather than necessarily for its meaning, let me here explain. Or, let the Guardian explain. I like Stourbridge. It isn't that far away from me, a good deal nearer when I lived in Birmingham, the U.K. one. In fact the brother of an ex-squeeze lived there, owning a parrot that pecked a big hole in one of my fingers, but that's another story. A fading town on the edge of the Black Country, the old heartlands of the Industrial Revolution, smog and smoke the rationale for the soubriquet, rather than the influx of afro-caribbeans and asians across the West Midlands in the '60s and onward. Which is what the latter-day ignorant have tended to think. Actually, and I apologise to anyone resident reading, it was much less a hub for newcomers than its neighbours, thus retaining a good old sheen of white trash, which contrasted with the relative affluence of the town, at least compared to other towns nearby. It even has a posh grammar school, attended by Robert Plant. But the main clim to fame of late has been the residency of the bands mentioned in that article and, for the purposes of this piece, The Wonder Stuff. For it is they who wrote and sang the featured song.
Size of a Cow
The Wonderstuff, arguably the brainchild of main songwriter and singer, Miles Hunt, came together in 1986, in, of corse, Stourbridge. A traditional four pice, guitar, guitar, bass and drums, at least to start, they kicked off with a flourish, releasing a slew of singles, including the featured song. Debut album, The Eight Legged Groove Machine, collated these and more, and stamped their mark on a interested market. If none of the songs actually broke the charts wide open, it was enough to establish a headlining tour. No shortage of material, with 15 trucks, rising to 19 on a later re-release, rising to 24 for the 20th anniversary re-re-release. Second album, Dup, has them first breach the top 20, with lead single, Don't Let Me Down Gently. More to the point, for this listener, the album added fifth member, Marin Bell, on fiddle and banjo, both instruments guaranteed to spark my enthusiasm. By the time album three came along, led by the single, Size Of A Cow, I was hooked. This their peak period, although a fourth album appeared, it never quite hit the same heights. The band split in 1994.
Welcome to the Cheap Seats
I was disappointed never to catch them live, maybe a little wary of their reputation for a well-lubricated and lively fan base; in the 90's I was still pretty much Mr. Straight. I didn't even catch the first of their inevitable reformations, Hunt never quite able to replicate the mood and memory of the band on his own or in subsequent projects. However, after their second, possibly third break up, I did catch Hunt as part of a duo. In around 2005, Martin Bell left the still extant Wonderstuff, leaving the fiddle position open. Erica Nockalls, a violin prodigy trained at Birmingham's Conservatoire, was spotted busking in Stratford-Upon-Avon, and was in, albeit to a band that was about to fizzle out once more. Hunt and Nockalls then toured considerably, as a duo, performing both old hits and new stuff, and it was they I caught. The acoustic guitar and violin arrangement suited the material, with Hunt's self-deprecating sneer foiled by the charm and skill of Nockalls. Since then the duo and a version of the band have continued, in turns, to tour and, intermittently, release new material, the duo often touted as Wonderstuff Acoustic.
Be Thy Name
More, More, More (Give, Give, Give Me)
P.S. So what about the other original grebo triumvirate?
