ABCs of My Vinyl Collection (Letter B, Part 19)

Bow Wow Wow is probably not the first band you think of when considering Malcolm McLaren's managerial achievements, nor should it be, but I had a soft spot for the band in a singles sort of way. In fact, in much the same way I whittled down my records from the Boomtown Rats (see Friday's post), these days I'm only left with a best-of collection and this one 12". Most of my old Bow Wow Wow wouldn't have helped this series today anyway because they were on tape. The band was closely identified with the cassette crowd, and I obliged.

If you're one that marks the success of a band in sales, then Bow Wow Wow were big in the UK but nothing more than a one-hit wonder here in America, and I use that term loosely because although their cover of "I Want Candy" seemed like a smash (due to large amounts of air time on music-video programs), the song only got to No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. Yet, I think it's fair to say "I Want Candy" was and still is one of the most immediately identifiable songs of the era. It has been used in more movies, television shows and commercials than just about anything from 1982. McLaren did a masterful job of assembling this band from early defectors of Adam and the Ants, and the choice of Annabella Lwin to front the whole thing was a masterstroke of business acumen.

Even though most Americans never heard UK hits like "Do You Wanna Hold Me" and "Go Wild in the Country," I think most music fans knew Bow Wow Wow anyway. Why? The controversial cover above certainly had at least something to do with it. Not only was it used for the single "Go Wild in the Country," but in America and Canada the same cover art was used for 'The Last Of The Mohicans,' the popular EP featuring "I Want Candy." I know that was the first record I bought by them, and I remember burying it under a couple of other purchases in case my parents asked me what I picked up that day. The slightly more mature me discussing the depiction of a naked underage Annabella feels icky today, but let's remember she was actually three or four years older than me. I think my eyes may have burned a hole in the cover as much as I stared at it as a young teen. That's enough of that. Let's listen to the 12" of "Go Wild in the Country." It clocks in at more than two minutes longer than the 7".

"Go Wild in the Country" (12")