I knew this record was a bootleg copy when I bought it - the eBay listing was very clear about that and, for £11.40 (including postage!), it was definitely not priced with any implication of it being the real deal.
But I was fine with that - I was hugely into the band and I'd read so much about that first 7" I just really wanted to hear it. Both of the songs made their way onto other records as b-sides, but I think I had neither at the point when I bought this. I also knew, from the New Art Riot EP, that I shouldn't have high hopes for their musical talent at this early point; that EP was quite the shock on the first listen. Suicide Alley and Tennessee (I Get Low) are similar, if not worse, in how hard they are on the ears. James' vocals on the start of each verse of Suicide Alley are so far off-key it's almost funny; I'm glad he learnt to sing better. I love their passion and dedication to making music at this early point, but I love more that by the time they recorded Generation Terrorists they'd learnt a lot more about how to write and record great songs.
Both songs show huge potential, which I guess is all the 7" needed to show. As a song, Suicide Alley does a few interesting things, the only problem is that it does them quite badly! The bootleg is numbered, which seems strange - mine is #42/480 - and the name of the band is underlined where it isn't on the original. Both labels say "side a" despite otherwise having the correct song titles; I have no idea if the original pressing has the same thing. Looking on Discogs, it seems that this bootleg sells for about £40 these days - I definitely didn't see this as an investment when I bought it, I was just eager to hear the first record they released.
Format: 7", bootleg, numbered
Tracks: 2
Cost: £11.40 new
Bought: eBay
When: 02/12/02
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
