One would assume that there’d be at least one band who sounded like The Wedding Present going on to become the biggest in the world. I mean, it should be so simple, right? Guitar band playing absolutely delectable pop songs, what could possibly go wrong? And yet, The Beatles being the obvious exception, very few of these bands have ever transcended cult hero status.
However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Wedding Present themselves are especially are one of the United Kingdom’s true indie rock icons, and there’s comfort in the fact that they’re not headlining Wembley Stadium five nights running. Of course, that way of thinking is purely selfish, but knowing that they’re still around for indie rock fans to discover and fall in love with for as long as guitar music still lives does keep a little magic in the world in its way.
The band formed out of the ashes of Gedge and bass player Keith Gregory’s previous band The Lost Pandas. After the drummer and guitarist of The Lost Pandas both left the band in 1984, Gedge and Gregory both wanted to continue playing together. So Gedge and his girlfriend at the time renamed the band The Wedding Present (a homage to Nick Cave’s band The Birthday Party) and recorded a demo tape with a new guitarist, Peter Solowka, and a slew of drummers.
In 1985, Shaun Charman was picked to drum with the band full time and they went out on their first tour in their new incarnation. "Go Out and Get ’Em, Boy!" was picked as their first single, which along with their next two singles got them the patronage and praise of highly respected Radio One DJ John Peel. Their first session on Peel’s radio show is widely regarded as one of the most important points of their career, and with that, they had both major and independent record labels very interested in signing them.
Of course, the band weren’t interested in labels, all their previous material had been released on their own imprint Reception Records, and in 1987, that meant releasing their debut album “George Best”. The impact of that album resonated for years afterwards, shown by the highly succesful 20th anniversary tour that the band went on playing the album in full in 2007 .
By 1989 the band had signed with RCA Records. However, rather than being the sell-out move that many predicted it would be, the band instead became even more subversive, this time with a major label backing behind them. Their first album on the label, 1990’s “Bizarro”, was partially made with Steve Albini producing and the year after, they decided to forgo the album altogether and release twelve limited edition singles, one every month.
This leads to the unlikely statistic that the record for most U.K top 30 hits in a year is shared between The Wedding Present and Elvis Presley. The band would eventually split in 1997, but reformed in 2004 and have been making consistently good albums ever since. They’re a band that every fan of indie rock should respect at the very least, and should catch them live the next chance they get.
I came to the Wedding Present 15 years too late – courtesy of the impeccable taste of my much younger brother. Better late than never. David Gedge displays relentless energy in his guitar-driven indie rock when I see him – often at intimate venues, adding to the tightly-packed sweat-drenched buzz of the occasion.
I recall seeing The Wedding Present here in Tokyo – with Gedge standing beside his young new drummer, coaxing a truly powerful performance from him, challenging him to keep pace with his own high-speed guitar licks. They played the ‘Bizarro’ album in full that night – featuring a number of trademark self-deprecating observations on love-gone-wrong – check out ‘No’, ‘Thanks’, and ‘What Have I Said Now ?’
A pluspoint of the band’s tendency to play these tight little theatres, is that Gedge himself is often to be found by the merchandise stall, before and/or after the gig – so a warm word and a quick photo are quite possible. A Wedding Present gig is characterized by melodic, sometimes fast chopping guitar, songs that tell stories, and a voice understated in the mix, yet no less passionate for all that.
Oh, and remember to listen out for Gedge’s sharp one-liners between songs. It’s never too late – find out for yourself!
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