When I was a teenager falling in love with the Manics, I was given (and still have) a biography of the Manics by Mick Middles. It was an interesting read, even moreso when I re-read it a couple of years ago and understood the references a lot better. But the thing I found most interesting at the time was a comprehensive discography at the back of the book, detailing all the singles, the formats and b-sides. For a long time, I was using that as a checklist with little pencil ticks next to the ones I had. I bought a bootleg copy of Suicide Alley and put a very small tick mark next to that one. As much I as I never thought I'd own this one, I'm incredibly doubtful I'll ever own a legit copy of that 7". I hope to prove that sentence wrong one day though.
The other week I was browsing eBay and saw an auction for this record. In all my years of buying Manics records on there, I'd never seen a copy come up for sale before (I'm sure they have come up, but I've not checked every day and there were certainly large periods of time when I was free of my eBay addiction). I put in a little bid and thought nothing of it. I checked Discogs to get an idea of how high to go and was quite surprised to see that you can get a copy for £60. Near the end of the auction I got outbid a couple of times, so with a few minutes left I put in a bid of £46. I was fully expecting to get outbid, and in my usual, petty way I figured the best-case scenario was that the other person was going to pay a higher price for it, and I could at least take some comfort in knowing that (I am a terrible person). However, I won. I'd had a fairly cheap month, so figured I could justify spending nearly £50 on a 7", so felt pretty happy with my purchase. The more I thought about it, the more pleased I was to have this illusive record in my collection.
The most important thing to know about Uk Channel Boredom is that it is basically a very early recording of the song that became A Vision of Dead Desire, a b-side to You Love Us. We all know this, because the band kindly added it as a track on the Generation Terrorist boxset (albeit omitting the voicemail (or "answering machine", as it would have been known then) recording at the start). I remember being really excited to hear that song, then surprised that it was actually a song I already knew. Not only was it a b-side I knew, it was one of the very first I heard - my first three Manics singles were The Masses Against the Classes (cd), Motorcycle Emptiness (7") and You Love Us (re-release cd). I always preferred We Her Majesty's Prisoners on that cd (and never cared that much for the G'n'R cover), but it was a nice enough punk song. It sounded scrappy compared to production of the album version of You Love Us (but, at the same time, was probably the most appropriate song to be a b-side to), which makes this one sound even worse. Sure, being on a flexidisc doesn't help anything, but it's really not much more than a demo. That first line of "Primary prole MP judge general policeman" is a jumble on both recordings; their writing would come a long way in both the lyrics and the music. Aside from the chorus, most of the lyrics are the same.
It's worth mentioning the other song on this record - I Don't Know What the Trouble Is by The Laurens. Their song plays first, so if anything, the Manics are the double a-side to them, not the other way around as it is almost always listed; I doubt even the members of The Laurens have their sleeves folded such that their side is facing out. It's a fine song, but not remarkable in the slightest. I've played it a few times, but nothing really sticks with you.
Speaking of the sleeve, I sent a picture of it to a friend when I got my copy and he described it as the most punk-looking Manics record he'd ever seen. It's a more-than-fair comment - the cut-out letting of the band name, the bold, large font of the song title and that picture - they look so young and so punk. I've seen countless images of the band in their spray-painted white shirt era, but this one is great. Richey's cigarette is barely still in his mouth and neither James nor Sean can be bothered to look at the camera; so few fucks appear to be given. I love it.
Format: 7" flexidisc
Tracks: 2
Cost: £48.80 second hand
Bought: eBay
When: 11/03/20
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
