4.52am Issue: 033 11th May 2017 The And The Hangnails Issue

TAPED: 1988 THE WONDERSTUFF
The Eight Legged Groove Machine
This week’s Tape-inspired blast from the
past, is prompted by a time-faded copy of
the Wonderstuff’s wonderful debut
album, ‘The Eight Legged Groove
Machine’ from all the way back in 1988.
Now, growing up in Brum we’d seen a lot
of the Wonderstuff back when places like
the Hare and Hounds were still pubs with
‘a band on’ upstairs rather than ‘Premier
Music Venues’ and Miles Hunt’s snarling
face was plastered on the door and
window of every bankrupt shop in
Moseley and Digbeth, Stirchley and so
many other places.
Because of course, in the shape of Mr
Hunt we knew that we had the wittiest,
sark-meister since John Lydon, with a
turn of phrase that never left you
anything other than laughing and lyrics
that alternated between being in your
face and wrapping their hands around
your throat. He wrote brilliant songs, had
a voice you could spot from the other side
of Aston and was definitely a pukka pop
star in waiting.
‘It’s Your Money I’m After Baby’ and
‘Give, Give, Give Me, More, More, More’
told the tale perfectly, but there was
always a glint of humour in the eye that
hinted at self-awareness, invited you in
so that you could share the joke.
And that was the key to it all, the
Wonderstuff were a fun band, a great
band that grew from this point into
something really special, but butterfly
different, and that is why listening to
this album is special too. The tragically
lost Rob ‘The Bass Thing’ Jones may
not have been the world’s best bass
player and as personnel changed,
musically the band got better and
better, but the simplicity of the first
album gave us something special all by
itself that takes you back to the pub
gigs, way before Miles started to take
fashion tips from Noddy Holder and
joined Vic and Bob on Top of the Pops.
‘The Eight Legged Groove Machine’
was a quite brilliant debut, a real
marker that it didn’t take a genius to
see that what would come next with
‘Hup’ and then beyond would be
special.
Go find out more HERE, they can still
make you Grin