Forthcoming release from the recently revived Factory Benelux label is a highly-desirable Best-Of from The Wake. A must have for any fan of this very fine Glasgow band which will be available in early September.
TESTAMENT (BEST OF) - CD / vinyl LP + bonus CD - FBN 95 CD / FBN 95 - 8 September 2014
"Factory Benelux presents Testament, a
comprehensive ‘best of’ collection by influential Scottish group The Wake, including tracks recorded for
cult labels Factory and Sarah Records.
The Wake formed in Glasgow in early
1981 after singer/guitarist Caesar left future pop stars Altered Images. Joined
by Carolyn Allen (keyboards), Steven Allen (drums) and Bobby Gillespie (bass),
the band joined Factory the following year, recording debut mini album Harmony at Strawberry Studios in
Stockport and subsequently hailed as the missing indiepop link between Factory
and Postcard Records. After Gillespie departed for Primal Scream and the Jesus
and Mary Chain, The Wake issued second album Here Comes Everybody in 1985, with standout track O Pamela later
covered by artful French ensemble Nouvelle Vague.
After leaving Factory the group
joined cult Bristol imprint Sarah Records, releasing a brace of indiepop
singles and albums in the Nineties before going on hiatus. Caesar and Carolyn reconvened
as The Wake in 2009, releasing fifth album A
Light Far Out three years later, with more new material due in 2015.
Testament combines key album tracks
with popular singles including On Our Honeymoon, Something Outside, Talk About
the Past, Of the Matter and Crush the Flowers. Also included are a previously
unreleased 7” edit of Pale Spectre, and (on the CD only) 2012 outtake Clouds
Disco. The vinyl edition includes a 54 minute bonus CD featuring 21 early live
and demo recordings from 1981/82, preserved in the tape archive of Joy
Division/New Order manager Rob Gretton. Among these priceless lost recordings
are 7 songs never before heard even on bootlegs.
The artwork for Testament is based on the artwork for an unreleased cassette
edition of Here Comes Everybody,
designed by Peter Saville." (Text courtesy of Factory Benelux)
