Friday, May 30, 2014

UK Indie Hits: 1980-89 (No. 7)

I'm counting down my top 50 singles from the golden age of the UK Independent Charts.

7. Orange Juice - "Blue Boy"

Other Contenders: As I imagine most of you know, there were three other charting singles (for Postcard, of course) before the move to the majors. I love two of the four A-sides, and I like the other two an awful lot. If you're curious, possibly the least popular of the lot, "Poor Old Soul," is the other one I happen to fancy.

Chart Entry: Sept. 13, 1980

Peak Position: No. 15

Comment: Here's a little clue about what's coming up on this list: The followup to "Falling and Laughing" -- and the first Postcard single to use the cowboy design sleeve -- is my SECOND favorite of the charting Postcard singles. As I hinted earlier in the countdown, the Postcard through the back door "Sorry for Laughing" would claim the title of the label's best 7"... if it was eligible. Unfortunately, the song didn't chart.

The self-deprecating Edwyn Collins told Simon Goddard that the lyrics to "Blue Boy" "are kind of crap. The record's good but the words are kind of back-of-the-envelope type stuff." That's a smile, but, the words of OJ aficionado and pal JC at the (new) vinyl villain felt truer when he rated "Blue Boy" his top Postcard A-side:
"[It's] the song that today still fills me with joy every time I hear it... and which even now, more than 30 years on, still has the ability to have me lose it completely on the dance floor whenever it gets aired at one of the Little League nights."

Buy "Blueboy" add the rest of the band's Postcard output on 'The Glasgow School.'

2 comments:

Echorich said...

excellent choice!

Séamus Duggan said...

Great single - as you'd expect at these lofty heights.