The Only Ones: Another Girl, Another Planet
[purchase]
If you are a regular, and long-time, reader of Cover Me, this piece may seem a little familiar. But I don't think that it counts as plagiarism if I steal from myself. Think of it as an "adaptation," OK? And this is a song that deserves a post on this blog, too.
It is somewhat ironic that most people know only one song by the Only Ones—
“Another Girl, Another Planet.” Originally released in 1978, it
received minimal airplay and attention (but it was pretty regularly played on WPRB during my time there), but its reputation has grown
exponentially over the years. The Allmusic review of the song
asserts that it is “arguably, the greatest rock single ever recorded.”
Of course, people will “argue” about anything, and choosing “Another
Girl” as the greatest rock single ever is a bit of a reach, but you have
to give the reviewer his due for taking a stand. It is a great song,
and it is fitting that it ultimately received the acclaim that it
deserved.
The Only Ones formed in London in 1976, led by distinctively
anguished vocalist and songwriter Peter Perrett joined by
guitarist/keyboard player John Perry, Alan Mair on bass, and drummer
Mike Kellie. Featuring strong songwriting by Perrett and surprisingly
(for punks of the era) competent playing by the band, they self-released
a single, “Lovers of Today.” It sold well enough that a bidding war broke out among major labels looking for the next big thing.
While the label battles raged, the band took refuge at Escape Studio,
run by producer John Burns, to record some tracks. The unlikely
marriage of Burns – who had started in the industry engineering albums
by bands like King Crimson, Jethro Tull, and Humble Pie, and who had
co-produced three decidedly not-punk Genesis albums – and the Only Ones
somehow worked. They finished their efforts at Escape with three
16-track demos, including “Another Girl, Another Planet.” In fact, after
signing with CBS Records, and re-recording “Another Girl” at a bigger,
fancier, 24-track studio, it ultimately became clear that the “demo” was
the right version, and it is the one that was released (with a bit of
additional overdubbing to take advantage of the additional tracks).
Despite the quality of the song, it encountered resistance, in part
because it was not punk enough for the purists and too punk for
mainstream play, but also because the song was perceived to be about
drugs. It wasn’t. As Perrett stated in a 2015 interview:
It was inspired by this girl from Yugoslavia. I didn’t go out
with her, but she was like a total space cadet, which when I was really
young I found interesting. She was just a bit weird – she’d say crazy
things, and it just got me thinking that every girl has something
different to offer.
As for the drug imagery? Perrett explains:
I put in drug-related imagery, but it wasn’t about drugs. At that
time I was more addicted to sex and infatuation than I was to drugs.
Although the band’s three studio albums were generally well received,
and they even opened for the Who, by 1982 the Only Ones had disbanded,
in large part due to Perrett’s drug problems. When Johnny Thunders
(who later, sort of, covered the song) suggests
that you need to clean your act up, you know you are messed up. There
was a short-lived reunion in 2007, and another in 2014. Perrett
released an album, How The West Was Won, in 2017 to excellent reviews, and is touring (although his US and Canada dates were cancelled due to visa problems).
Despite its lack of chart success, “Another Girl, Another Planet” has
become a regular part of Best Of lists, compilation albums, box sets,
and soundtracks over the years, and has become an often covered song. And if you want to here Five Good Covers of the song, and links to a few more, check out the Cover Me link above.
I'll try to write something new for next week.
