Saturday, February 22, 2014

'Played' Should Have Been Played By More

Of all the bands that were once part of Creation Records, the Bodines were probably the most perplexing. The fellas had three successful singles for the label, each peaking in the top 10 on the UK Indie Chart in 1986, and one of those songs, "Therese," appeared on NME's legendary 'C86' cassette. The lads were loaded with jangle and swagger. So much so, in fact, they wanted to leap to the big leagues before they even made a proper album for Alan McGee's outfit.

If you believe the stories from the label's staff, the Bodines signed with Magnet like they were already rock royalty, showing up in a Mercedes limo, trashing offices and generally causing a raucous. The band later told Melody Maker those tales were "bullocks." At any rate, with a rep like that, you had better have some hits. Instead of making a splash, the band's first release was a remix of "Therese." Now, I really like the production, but a slightly different version of their best known song from the Creation days was not a buzz-worthy move. Even the B-side was their third single from the Creation days.

The band's first and only full-length album for Magnet was released in the summer of '87. There were three singles from 'Played.' None of the trio, "Therese," "Skankin Queens" and "Slip Slide," charted. The album barely made a dent, peaking at No. 94. All of this sounds like piling on, but the truth is I love this album. Ian Broudie's production is crisp and clean. Honestly, there isn't a dud on either side, and it has aged well. Listening to it today, I can't believe it wasn't a smash. You probably already know "Therese," and I posted "Skankin Queens" several months ago. So, today we'll listen to the third single.

The Bodines - Slip Slide

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love this lp and the single heard it all. Although the fact that a lot of the tracks had already been released in some form or other turned the press against them. I read the bad behaviour stories were all a record company ruse to try and create some Jesus and marychain type notoriety which again would have done more harm than good. The tracks that came out after not half as good as what was on played

Brian said...

Greetings FORW. I remember being very happy to see this one on your favorite albums list. I'm not sure there are many of us out here. I have read the same thing about the bad behavior stories. Part of the liner notes for the 2010 reissue were done by a former Magnet scout that neither confirmed nor denied the tale of the contract signing. He at least did agree the Magnet signing was a bad move for both the label and the band. Keep in touch!