A GOB AS WIDE AS THE MERSEY TUNNEL

There’s some folk out there who will put Pete Wylie on a pedestal and then kneel down and worship him. There’s others who would gladly nail him to a tree...

The fact he can produce such contrasting reactions and opinions tells you that he’s certainly someone it’s impossible to ignore.

He’s now had a recording career that spans the best part of 30 years, either under his own name or some sort of variation with the word Wah! It’s a career that has had a number of commercial highlights, but these have been well outweighed by flop records. Among the serious music press, he’s always had a band of supporters, partly because of the music, but also because he’s the type of bloke always able to give you a brilliant one-liner on anything under the sun and he’s not afraid to speak his mind while lashing out at many in the industry.

I’m really not quite sure what to make of Pete Wylie. I’ve bought quite a number of singles, LPs and CDs over the years, but I’m not sure I could really classify myself as a dedicated fan.

I’m hugely fond of a lot of songs but I’ve also found far too much of his stuff rather ordinary and even bordering on the mundane. However, while I don’t think he’s as talented a performer his two old sidekicks - Julian Cope and Ian McCulloch – I’m of the view that his greatest moment outshines anything they’ve ever done:-

mp3 : Wah! – Story of The Blues (Parts 1 & 2)

I adored this song so much that I even rushed out and bought a white silk scarf similar to the one Pete wore on his Top of The Pops appearances back in 1982 when the 7” version of the song raced its way into the Top Three here in the UK. It’s just a pity that while Pete looked quite cool in his rig-out of scarf, black leather jacket and sailor’s cap, I was just too much of a weedy geek to pull it off. Actually, it probably had a lot to do with the fact that my scarf wasn’t silk but some sort of cheap imitation that began to fray from the moment I put it round my neck..

At that point in time, Pete Wylie had a great chance to become both famous and successful. Instead, he had a number of rows with WEA, then one of the world’s biggest and most powerful record labels, which led to him being dropped in 1984. He signed to Beggars' Banquet and soon returned to the charts with this:-

mp3 : The Mighty Wah! - Come Back

And in typical Wylie fashion, he was soon thumbing his nose at his old label, with this re-recorded version of his new hit with lyrics mocking some WEA hit acts:-

mp3 : The Mighty Wah! – Come Back (Return Of The Randy Scouse Git)

Unbelievably, there were more rows with label bosses and he was forced to seek another new home, which he found in 1986 on MDN Records just in time for another bona fide chart smash:-

mp3 : Pete Wylie – Sinful (Tribal Mix)

Three stunning hit singles spread out over a four-year period on three different record labels – that’s got to be some sort of record.

Pete Wylie actually spent most of the 90s recovering from life-threatening injuries he received after a fall in late 1991, and it wasn’t until 1998 that more songs emerged, including the anthemic Heart Big As Liverpool which has become part of the pre-match ritual at Liverpool FC, despite never being a commercial success.

That one of his songs has been adopted in this way, and the fact he performed at the opening concert to mark his home city being European City of Culture 2008, is evidence that Pete Wylie is adored by many Liverpudlians - I imagine he’s held in the same regard by them as Glaswgian music fans hold Edwyn Collins (long regarded as a ‘Weegie’ although he was born 45 miles away in Edinburgh..).

But its clear from that run of hit singles in the 80s that he could have been much much more than a mere local hero...

Oh, and I recommend a visit to his official website. Its entitled Pete Wylie : Part Time Rockstar, Full Time Legend, which says it all really. CLICK HERE

Happy Listening.