I picked up this 7" the same day I bought the Stay Beautiful 7" but paid more than three times as much for it (and at the age of 16 £10 was a lot to spend on a 7"!). The reason I was so keen to buy it was for the second song on the b-side - Suicide Alley, the title track from the Manic's first ever single. Apparently the original record was already going for hundreds of pounds, so the record label included the a-side here, which was very nice of them.
Little Baby Nothing was always a stand-out song on Generation Terrorists, mostly due to Traci Lord's vocals but also for how poppy it was. I always thought it made for a strange single, but given that it was the sixth from the debut album I imagine it was partly the label trying to get as much out of it as possible. Never Want Again is a pretty catchy song and could fit more easily on Generation Terrorist than most of the b-sides from that era (and even some of the existing album tracks).
Of course this 7" was always all about Suicide Alley; that's more than half the reason I bought it and most of the reason it was a tenner. It's a simple punk song but perfectly formed and builds up nicely towards the end. I can remember how excited I was to hear it and it was definitely the first record I played when I got home that day. It's no Motown Junk or Motorcycle Emptiness but I didn't buy it expecting it to be the greatest song they ever wrote. As a part of the Manics' history, it was of huge significance and that was reason enough to want to hear it and to love it.
Format: 7"
Tracks: 3
Cost: £10 second hand
Bought: Record Fair, Southampton Guildhall
When: 23/06/01
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
