45RPM: #110 The Story of the Blues - Wah! (1982)

The Story of the Blues Part One / The Story of the Blues Part Two (Talkin' Blues)

Eternal

Produced by Mike Hedges

Released December 1982

UK Chart #3

When it came to making Singles there was no one who quite did it like Pete Wylie. Prior to this release he'd already released two legendary 45s with Better Scream and Seven Minutes To Midnight. Whilst they didn't impact the chart (they were "hits" on the Indie chart) I still think they can (and should) be considered Great Singles.

With the release of his sixth single, The Story of the Blues, under the banner this time of Wah! he got himself a "real Hit Record", not just Top 20, or Top 10 but Top 3!

The B-Side, The Story of the Blues Part Two Talkin' Blues is Wylie telling us what we should do in the face of people putting us down and about reclaiming who we are (you didn't hear this kind of thing too much in pop records!):

 I remember how it was, how every medium - T.V. and papers and
radio and all those people were saying:

 "you're on the scrapheap, you're useless"

I remember how easy it was to start believe in that, 

I remember how you'd hear people take it for granted that it was true 

- just 'cause
someone with an ounce of power' said so.

So listen, when the smile, the condescending pat-on-the-back comes and says: "we're sorry, but you're nothing, you've got nothing for us 

and we've got nothing for you", 

you say: "no",and say it loud: "NO!"

John Peel declared that The Story of the Blues was his Single of the Year in 1982.

Basement Blues /Story of the Blues

John Peel Session

First Broadcast 17th September 1984