Grand Prix b-sides

Released in 1995 on Creation Records, Teenage Fanclub's Grand Prix album is home to some of the bands most beloved songs. About You, Sparky's Dream, Mellow Doubt, Neil Jung, Don't Look Back, Verismilitude, Discolite and Going Places are among the very best of their extensive back catalogue. Not to mention Tears, an underrated gem and Say No - surely one for Raymond to consider bringing back when the band tour later this year.

Teenage Fanclub were on fire. Remarkably, a further 11 original Blake, Love or McGinley originals are spread across the b-sides of the Neil Jung, Mellow Doubt and Sparky's Dream singles! In addition, there are choice cover versions of songs by Yo La Tengo, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Rutles, The Buffalo Springfield, The Creation and Velvet Underground.

Back in the 90's, record labels chose to release multiple versions of the single with different b-sides to capitalise on the huge interest in CD singles. They were great value for money, tending to cost only £1.99 if you bought them on the day of release/first week of release. 

As someone who was regularly in HMV Sauchiehall Street most Monday lunchtimes, this meant I had rich pickings! With The Grand Prix singles being a real treasure trove.

My Neil Jung single

and signed Grand Prix CD above

Teenage Fanclub were prolific through the 1990's. Releasing 7 albums (including The King) and (by my reckoning) 20 singles or EP's. 

The CD singles from the bands Grand Prix were released in 2-parts, each with different b-sides. They also had slightly alternative versions of the lead song. There is another stunning album in there! 

Reflecting on their career and particularly the era of b-sides, the band could consider a trilogy of b-sides compilation records. Or a box-set of rarities - sessions, live songs, songs that were on compilation records  ... many have never been release on vinyl. I have heard through a number of sources that Raymond has an extensive (and carefully curated) archive of everything that the Fanclub has recorded.

Teenage Fanclub recorded Grand Prix in just 5-weeks. As a result, there is a warmth and freshness to the album that also comes across in the b-sides. I'm guessing that the covers (and even some of the others) were recorded live or within a couple of takes.

Here is a run through the 18 b-sides from the Grand Prix singles. An interview from around this time suggests that the band considered a b-sides album entitled Pit Stop ... or Pits Top! 

Also, check this YouTube playlist of Fanclub b-sides and rarities. Enjoy.

Neil Jung b-sides

My Life (McGinley)

Every Step Is A Way Through (Love)

The Shadows (Blake) 

Traffic Jam (Blake)

Hi-Fi (McGinley)

I Heard You Looking (Yo La Tengo cover)

The Neil Jung b-sides see Norman sounding beautifully melancholic and reflective on The Shadows. Traffic Jam has a gorgeous sparseness to the verses, Blake delivers a really relaxed vocal performance that I love, before the song bursts into life for the chorus; things are changing, can't you see? the lights are turning green for you and me Raymond's guitar solo is glorious.

Speaking of Raymond. He delivers a couple of gems. My Life sounds almost demo like, with McGinley in typical autobiographical form. So many of his songs start with I ... Here, among other things, he is singing;

I'm tired of philosophy

I think that I know where I wanna be

Gerry's Every Step Is A Way Through is spellbinding, absolutely beautiful. I'd forgotten about this song until the band played it at Oran Mor in 2008 and I was convinced it was a cover. But no, it's a Gerard Love original that is sprinkled with the same fairydust quality of the 60's choice cuts that he loves. Look at the fun Norman is having on the outro from their Manchester show in 2018 HERE

Meanwhile, TFC's epic cover of Yo La Tengo's instrumental I Heard You Looking is 12 minutes 47 seconds of guitar heaven. Your spine will tingle as the intensity builds and your emotions will be heightened by the sound of Blake, Love, McGinley and Quinn at their very best. If you've never heard this then CLICK HERE to check it on YouTube. If you have, then I'm sure you won't need any encouragement to listen again. I'd love the band to play and jam on this live.

Mellow Doubt

Getting Real (Love) 

Some People Try To Fuck With You (Blake)

You're My Kind (McGinley)

About You (acoustic) (McGinley)

Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)

Between Us (Rutles cover) 

The Mellow Doubt CD singles contain 2 of my very favourite Fanclub flip sides. Gerry's Getting Real is a garage guitar pop banger, the band fly through it and the energy leaps out to grab you, shake you and lift you. A gem.

Speaking of gems, Norman's Some People Try To F**k With You is a sparkling example of author and band at their best. Blake has written so many songs about love that his fans can relate to. Here, he cuts to the chase with the chorus; 

Some people try to fuck with

They'll get down on your luck with you

For covers, I'm pretty sure that this was my introduction to Creedence Clearwater Revival, resulting in me buying their exceptional Chronicles compilation album.

Sparky's Dream

Burned (Buffalo Springfield cover)

For You (McGinley)

Headstand (Love)

Try And Stop Me (The Creation cover)

That's All I Need To Know (McGinley)

Who Loves The Sun (Velvet Underground cover)

God bless Teenage Fanclub and their b-sides. They turned me on to so much good music. Burned is incredible guitar pop music and resulted in me buying some Buffalo Springfield albums from FOPP. 

Try And Stop Me is a cover by The Creation (the band that gave Alan McGee the name for his label). It was really Ride's cover of How Does It Feel To Feel? that prompted me to buy their best of compilation. Norman's voice is beautiful on The Velvets Who Loves The Sun.

Raymond's For You is pretty emotional, his voice and guitar sounds really tug on the heart strings, while his That's All I Need To Know has a beautiful hook - it's your love, I dream of and that's all I need to know. I love his voice on this.

Gerry was quite simply on fire during this period. Look at his songs on the album, plus his b-sides. Headstand is a 3-minute rush with Gerry sounding chilled while singing about sunlight in your head, before a beautiful line while you get so high coming down leading into the chorus;

She wants to be thrilled by you, she wants to be thrilled by you

And every morning sun feels like number one

Grand Prix by Teenage Fanclub - 20th anniversary

Grand Prix by Teenage Fanclub was released 20-years ago on Creation Records; it is an album jam packed with all of the things I love about the Fanclub and listening back it still seems to have a special zip and zest to it.

From the opening chords of About You, through guitar pop gems like Sparky's Dream and Discolite, reflective moments on Mellow Doubt and Tears and the outstanding Don't Look Back - Grand Prix is the sound of a band at their very best.

Norman Blake, Gerry Love and Raymond McGinley share the songwriting duties and Grand Prix is an album that reflects magnificently on their progress as writers and musicians. In many ways Grand Prix was the start of another stage in the Fanclub journey, leading on to Songs From Northern Britain and Howdy!

The quality was always there from the debut single Everything Flows, through A Catholic Education, Bandwagonesque and Thirteen. However it is turned up a notch - the songs, the musicianship and production are sublime.

Quinn, Blake, Love and McGinley - 1995

About You sets the tone for the album, warm sounding guitars, upbeat, harmonies and a sense of urgency - all wrapped up in well under 3-minutes. It is almost un-McGinley like; not only for its lyrical simplicity but also for the fact it is so upbeat and urgent; Raymond's work is usually more melancholic and reflective.

Gerry Love contributes 4 exceptional songs to Grand Prix, beginning with Sparky's Dream, the playful riff at the start suddenly explodes into life and Love is (or has been) head over heels but has discovered that love isn't always so easy.

If she lived in space, man

I'd build a plane....

Need a crystal ball to see her in the morning

And magic eyes to read between the lines

I took a wrong direction

From a shooting star

In a love dimension

Fading fast from taking this too far

Sparky's Dream quickly became a live favourite and the band still play it to this day. Love is full of hope and also reflection as the song builds into the flowing chorus, backed by beautiful backing vocals.

The Quietus described it thus;
It never stops ascending. Even where pop songs usually calm down, in the bridges and buffers between the major melodic attacks of verses and choruses, there is no break in the skywards gradient. In some genres this might be more common, but pure pop onslaughts as unrelenting as this one are rare and exhilarating in indie rock.

The opening trilogy concludes with the Mellow Doubt and the three songs remain staples in most Fanclub sets.

I remember going to see the band at King Tut's on the Mellow Doubt 'tour' when they played 3 gigs in Glasgow. As always, there was a degree of humour with the Fanclub, especially when Norman whistled the solo to huge applause. This happens at their shows to this day.

Mellow Doubt is a beautiful song, full of love and heartbreak and aptly named as it is by far the most 'mellow' song in the Fanclub cannon up until that point. I listened a lot to Teenage Fanclub when I went travelling back in 2007 and into 2008 and the song took on a new meaning when I was thinking of proposing to my girlfriend through the lines.

There is no choice, in what I must do

Nothing is greater, than to be with you

Norman's voice is soulful and true throughout the song, particularly in the line;

these feelings don't go away

Gerry Love is in sensational form through Grand Prix. Don't Look Back is a song of pure beauty, shining like the sunshine that Love mentions early on and containing the gem of a line;

I'd steal a car to drive you home

The pace, structure and feeling on this song is just perfect and the guitars that kick in at the end just lift the song superbly to conclusion.

Raymond can be very playful with his lyrics and melodies and that is highlighted on Verisimilitude, although it is the simplest lines that get me when listen back.

I always feel good when I look at you

In you I know our needs are the same

Neil Jung was written by Norman for a very dear friend of his. The guitar chords are warm with a melancholic riff picked out over them. At almost 5-minutes, it is the longest song on the album, allowing the band time to create some gorgeous sounds on their guitars and for Norman to get his message across to his friend.

Norman reaches out to another friend, Creation Records boss Alan McGee, on the piano based ballad Tears. The strings are beautiful and horns come in to just give the song that little edge.

Gerry Love has written some exceptional songs in his time and Discolite is one of my very favourites. Classic Love; it starts with nice warm chords and you can almost hear Gerry chewing his gum as the beat kicks in, the guitar speeds up and the band are off- flowing superbly. There are ooh's, there are aah's as the song speeds up only to return to the warm slow chords at the start before the beat kicks back in and we are off again.

Love takes the song to a new euphoric level with the section below; something that will leave you punching the air in delight, especially if you have the good fortune to catch Teenage Fanclub playing it live.

When the DJ plays your tune

There's a light inside your moon

If the takes don't take you

And the breaks don't break you

Get the train on time, I've waited much too long

The pace slows for Raymond's Say No and he displays his incredible talent for song structure and feeling with clever rhymes allowing the song to flow.

Gerry Love is on fire again with the stunning Going Places; a chiming guitar riff ushers things in gently and Gerry is in a reflective mood yet also finding the space and time (as always) for a lovely romantic line;

I've requested the stars to shine

The song slows superbly for the got the notion... section before lifting to glorious conclusion.

I'll Make It Clear bursts immediately into life; Norman is hopelessly in love and it is the two of them against the world, no-one else understands.

Raymond's last song on the album is the mellow I Gotta Know before Grand Prix closes with the appropriately titled Hardcore/Ballad that explodes into life with a furious jam before dropping to a delicate acoustic guitar with Norman sounding in love but hurt and reflective.

You're my friend but that's not all

We're above them all

Staying here, staying dear

And love is easy to define

Mine is yours as yours is mine

Through the pain, through the pain

20-years down the line Grand Prix remains an astonishing album with real depth to the songwriting, playing and production - timeless.