Released in October 1985, See The Day by D.C. Lee sold more than 250,000 copies and climbed to #3 in the UK singles chart. This was at a time when The Style Council were at their most popular having enjoyed a run of hit singles and two top selling albums in Cafe Bleu and Our Favourite Shop.D.C. Lee was an integral part of The Style Council, and indeed by 1985 was the partner and soon to be wife of Paul Weller - it was all a long way removed from her first brush with fame as a backing singer with Wham!
At the time, I wasn't all that impressed with See The Day. I thought then that it was a lumpen, messy and over-produced ballad, and so it wasn't a single that I set out to get a hold of. But I couldn't resist paying 99p for it in a second hand shop a few weeks back and giving it a spin almost 25 years on to see if I had changed my mind. I haven't.
mp3 : D.C. Lee - See The Day
As I hint in the title of this post, I've a feeling a lot of TSC fans bought this because of the b-side. It featured all the other members of the band performing one of their most popular tunes - a song that had previously featured vocals by Tracey Thorn on the Cafe Bleu LP and then by Weller himself on the b-side to Long Hot Summer - and now it was the turn of Diane Catherine Sealy:-
mp3 : D.C. Lee - The Paris Match
Musically, it's not far removed from the version that featured Weller on vocals, but overall, all it does is confirm for me that while she is a fine singer, she isn't truly instinctive enough to stand out from the crowd. I'm probably damning her with faint praise to say that if she was waiting to be discovered nowadays, she would probably get a fair way on the X-Factor.....but not be the winner.
Incidentally.....time to nail a wee bit of an urban myth. I've read in some places that Paul Weller played drum on See The Day. He didn't. Instead it was Paul Waller, who was a member of jazz-pop combo Animal Nightlife....
Happy Listening.
5 comments:
b-sides arn't better, if done correctly, they are fun, or interesting.
Nice blog.
I agree JC.
I knew the B Side song well - indeed it was me and Mrs Van Dyke's wedding song!
Perhaps we could have a 7 pint discussion on 'B-sides which are better than their A-sides'? (Weller always worked hard on them).
Interesting X Factor comment. I suspect most of the unpolished gems fall away unnoticed at the auditions.
Live, DC Lee was an absolute peach of a looker back in the day - particularly in the naval style gear.
25 years on, I hope she is happy and doing well.
I thought her version of Luck was the b-side. Was that the 12 inch or what?
Christian.
'Luck' was indeed one of the tracks on the 12".
Sorry, I can't fault DC Lee for much anything really. She was the perfect vessel for Weller's jazz instincts. Her version of Angel on The Cost of Loving is standout!! While I agree Save The Day is as you aptly put, lumpen, there is a beautiful plaintive and emotion quality to DC's vocals. I loved her Weller/Dr. Robert/Danny D solo album and it is an interesting partner to Weller's eponymous first solo outing.
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