Win : Uh Tears Baby UK Vinyl Rare Signed By Band Nr Mint W/Poster Tennents Ad

	£		40
	$		53

Had this signed by the band in Glasgow HMV !!!

You’ve Got The Power as heard in the classic Scottish Tennents Lager Advert

This Win vinyl LP record titled "Uh! Tears Baby - Pink Titled ... UK" is a rare find. Signed by the band and in near mint condition, it's a must-have for any serious collector of pop music. The 1987 release features the iconic UK Records label and is made of high-quality vinyl material.

This LP is a 12-inch record with a pink colour and comes with a poster of the Fire Engines. The sleeve grading is also near mint, adding to the overall value of this piece. Don't miss out on the chance to own this amazing addition to your vinyl collection.

Uh! Tears Baby (A Trash Icon) by Win

Sometimes the best popstars are the ones who start off in another genre, whose viewpoints and perspectives differ from traditional pop performers, and as a result have a new take on an old form. It doesn’t always land. Punks going pop has a sort of condescending attitude about it, that somehow they feel it’ll be effortlessly easy to just write hit songs, that pop is a lowly format and an easy code to crack. Likewise, the reverse isn’t always the case; popstars going punk often feels like sonic cosplay. Some artists can win with pop, others fail. But Davy Henderson of iconic post-punk legends Fire Engines? He did both…

Starting off on Fast Product, the legendary Edinburgh label of no choice, Fire Engines were always willing to commodify themselves, get some melodic snap in their wiry guitar rhythms, juttering lines that were played like fingers having fits along the strings. The cover art for Big Gold Dream depicts the band bare-chested on black tiles with a box of soap powder and meat. We’re a product, they’re screaming out. Use us! Somehow, like most influential bands, the shockwaves they created in their music and art felt louder than the initial impact itself. Singles were released, charts were untouched. Davy, a proper popstar in the making, wanted to cross over into the mainstream.

Fire Engines weren’t around for long, though it probably felt much longer to the band themselves, who were already singing songs with lyrics like the band is my survival/I’m tired of this song. Apparently, Alan Horne recognised Davy’s appeal early on and eventually got him signed to his snazzy new London Records subsidiary Swamplands. A brand new band with a sleek pop sensibility borne from his experiences in punk, Win released songs that would have been hits if other bands put them out. Uh! Tears Baby (A Trash Icon) is a lost classic of the ’80s, a collection of ultra odd indie pop that predicts the future drift towards guitars and beats being mixed, while not quite fully committing to it. This still feels like a punk perspective. Jesus Jones and Pop Will Eat Itself it is not. Davy’s Scottish accent sits alongside songs about sorcery, overcoming fear, propaganda, and that thing you get when shampoo stings your eyes in the shower. All accessible subject matters for pop songs, eh? But my goodness, what an album. The standout is, of course, You’ve Got The Power. There are remixes too, each one immense at any volume. Some may remember it as being the soundtrack to a blockbuster beer advert. This clip is ingrained in many bairn’s brains from the ’80s. I’m teetotal and this video made me want to be an alcoholic just because the song is so good.

Win and Davy never quite touched the mainstream despise near misses. Another album followed this one, but it wasn’t quite as amazing. Then Davy split the band and formed others, all of them fully worth your time. Uh Tears! is no longer in print, unavailable to stream, and too expensive to buy secondhand. A real shame for anyone with an interest in weirdo pop music. This is a proper cult classic, with an emphasis on cult. Find it, hear it, and love it like I do.

February 21, 2023

Blog, Hall of Fame, Music

Davy Henderson, Fast Product, Fire Engines, post punk, punk, Win