THE CINERAMA SINGLES (1)

I wrapped up writing the singles series on The Style Council a couple of weeks before it appeared on the blog and so I’ve had a bit of time to mull over who should be put under the singles spotlight next.

And I’ve decided it should be Cinerama.

For those who don’t know, the group came into being as a result of David Gedge deciding he wanted a new sound that was different from the guitar-pop he had been making with The Wedding Present. His new band started as a duo with his then-girlfriend Sally Murrell. Lyrically, it was still everything we had come to love about TWP and the music, once you got used to the idea of him composing complicated arrangements with strings, woodwind and all sorts, was delightful and immensely enjoyable to listen to.

The debut single appeared in July 1988 on the Cooking Vinyl label in the shape of 2×7″ singles and a CD single, each of which had a different and high quality b-side (the CD actually had two extra tracks). It was a very impressive way to announce yourself, but the single only reached #71 in the charts….which was never bettered by any of the subsequent singles:-

mp3 : Cinerama – Kerry Kerry
mp3 : Cinerama – 7X
mp3 : Cinerama – Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
mp3 : Cinerama – Love
mp3 : Cinerama – Au Pair

And yup,the co-vocalist on Love is none other than Emma Pollock, who was at the point in time one-quarter of The Delgados but is now of course a very well established solo artist.

The smoothless transition from one band to the next, and its acceptance by fans, can be evidenced by the fact that Kerry Kerry was voted in at #15 on the John Peel Festive Fifty for 1998.