Summer of Subway: Razorcuts

The end is drawing nigh, my friends... for the series and the summer. In fact, I thought this would be our last Saturday. The initial idea was 15 Subway bands in 15 Saturdays, but I ended up including very minor players in the label's story I didn't plan to highlight, such as Pop Will Eat Itself never having an actual release but appearing only on a Subway sampler. The final tally will end up being 17 bands in 17 Saturdays, which still works since summer doesn't actually end until Sept. 23. So, for the few of you who still remain, here is the antepenultimate post.

Razorcuts have appeared on these pages so many times in the last decade there isn't much more to say. You already know their name comes from the Buzzcocks' classic "Love You More," and you regulars certainly realize Gregory Webster is one of my heroes. Don't give me any crap about whiny vocals either. His pipes are perfect. I have followed him throughout his career, especially around the turn of the century when he assembled indie supergroup Sportique with Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Mark Flunder. I admit, for me, part of the the appeal of Razorcuts is their label pedigree. They split a flexi with Talulah Gosh for Matt Haynes on Sha La La just before he co-founded Sarah Records, had a single on Flying Nun's UK arm, released two long players on Creation during Alan McGee's golden age and even dug up a handful of delightful early demos for Bob Stanley's Caff Corporation just as the band called it quits.

That's the stuff of legends, and I love every one of those records dearly, but it's the two for Subway I spin the most. What can I say? The jangle of '86 will always warm the cockles of my heart. You'll notice plenty of '60s folk-rock influences (think Byrds), which is also in my wheelhouse. Here's the band's entire Subway output. "Big Pink Cake" peaked at No. 44 (absurd!), and "Sorry to Embarrass You" raced to No. 10 and hung around for 13 weeks on the UK indie chart. Now that's more like it.

"Big Pink Cake" 7" (Subway 5)
Big Pink Cake
I'll Still Be There

"Sorry to Embarrass You" 12" (Subway 8T)
Sorry To Embarrass You
Summer In Your Heart
Snowbirds Don't Fly
Mary Day

"Take The Subway To Your Suburb" sampler (SUBORG 1)
I'll Still Be There (Re-Mix)

So far in the Summer of Subway series:
The Groove Farm
Pop Will Eat Itself
Cowboy and Spin Girl
Choo Choo Train
Fastbacks
Sex Clark Five
The Charlottes
Bubblegum Splash
Shop Assistants
The Soup Dragons
Rodney Allen
The Rosehips
Korova Milk Bar
The Clouds