Well not by me at least.
It was back in 1983 that Care were formed in Liverpool by Paul Simpson, who had previously been vocalist with The Wild Swans together with Ian Broudie who had been a member of Big In Japan but was probably better known for his production work under the moniker of Kingbird (his most famous work prior to 1983 was with Echo & The Bunnymen - afterwards he would be responsible for the gem that is Breaking Point by Bourgie Bourgie).
But I digress......this post is about Care.
During the latter half of 1983 and the early part of 1984, the band released three astonishingly good singles, none of which troubled the charts. All three featured majestic vocals, imminently hummable tunes and as you would expect, damn near perfect production.
Undaunted by the failure of the world to recognise his genius, Ian Broudie retreated to the production booth for a few years, before emerging back into the spotlight newly incarnated as The Lightning Seeds which before long became a proper band that enjoyed all sorts of chart success in the late 80s and 90s. Sadly, Paul Simpson never found anything beyond cult-fame, which is a bit of a disgrace given he is one of the most unique and talented singers of his era.
I thought long and hard about which particular songs to post here today, but in the end I just couldn't make up my mind, so what you're getting is all three singles.
mp3 : Care - Flaming Sword
mp3 : Care - My Boyish Days (12 inch version)
mp3 : Care - Whatever Possessed You
Now if you like all of these - and I don't have reason to doubt otherwise, then can grab a bargain by spending just £4 on a 1997 compilation CD which brings together all the singles (7" and 12" versions), the b-sides and some tracks recorded for an LP that was shelved by the label as the singles had flopped.
Click here to learn more. Believe me - you won't spend a better £4 all year long.
I watched a lot of music shows on the telly around this time, but can only ever recall seeing Care on one occasion. It was on a BBC2 programme called The Oxford Road Show which went out, if memory serves me correctly, on a Friday night. I have a copy somewhere on VHS tape gathering dust under the stairs, but thankfully, someone with some savvy has already taken their copy and converted it so that it can be seen on you tube....as can be seen below.
They were awfully good weren't they?
5 comments:
JC....thank you so much. I remember them well...listening to Billy Sloan championing them at the time on Clyde. Quality. Will investigate the cd. Cheers mate as always for another great post.
I've very clear memories of that ORS appearance, too. Bloody loved those Care singles at the time, & they've aged well. Ta v-much!
yrs
DMcA
simpson has recorded some very good albums under the name of Skyray,well worth checking out.
Great stuff - coincidentally I was listening to Wild Swans a few days ago. I started thinking about Whatever Possessed You and made a mental note to dig through my 45s. A couple days later what should appear... Thanks
Wonderful songs! There's a Lightning Seeds version of "Flaming Sword" that was released as a b-side in 1990. It's on a US promo CD single for "Sweet Dreams."
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