Mansun 'Wide Open Space'

Chart Peak: 15

YouTube

Mansun are Paul, Chad, Stove and Andie... They have hit the singles chart with titles such as 'Take It Easy Chicken', 'Stripper Vicar' and this track, the pulsating Top15 hit 'Wide Open Space'.

It might have seemed more logical to use the bigger and more recent hit 'She Makes My Nose Bleed', but posterity has rather vindicated this selection. Though far from their biggest chart hit in the UK, 'Wide Open Space' is perhaps their most-remembered song nowadays - it's also the closest they came to a hit in the US, although that's still not very close to be fair.

Not unlike James, there was always something rather self-admiring about Mansun, and their obsession with gimmickry and in-references. Nonetheless, I have to hand it to Paul Draper, who wrote produced and sang this (apparently he claims to have played all the instruments as well): this is a brilliant piece of record-making, cleverly arranged for multiple guitars, pianos and Mellotron. Importantly there's enough variation in the arrangement to hold your attention without it distracting from the melody. The words were apparently an afterthought, which is a good excuse for me not to try and make sense of them - but don't think I didn't notice you slipping the word "bugger" into the backing vocals, Draper! Tut tut. It's not the rudest word ever on a Now! album but that's another story.

My one complaint is that the edit featured here (and on other compilation albums) has a rather inadequate fade (presumably because somebody was afraid of running into the next track) rather than the full close of the original single and video.

Also appearing on: Now 40
Available on: Attack Of The Grey Lantern (Collectors Edition)

Mansun 'Legacy'

Chart Peak: 7

YouTube

Mansun came stright out of Chester to notch up 6 Top 40 hits in just over a year [April 1996 to May 1997] - they also shot to straight to No.1 with their album... [Attack of the Grey Lantern] "Legacy raced into the chart at No. 7 in early debut July '98 ["early debut July"??]

Well, I've at last justified the 50p I spent on this album; not only can I quote the above sleevenote, but I can reveal  that the version of 'Legacy' featured isn't the six-minute "radio edit" that seems to be available now, nor the even longer "bridge master" but a shorter version closer to the duration of the video. My research suggests that this is no bad thing all told.

I'm pretty sure I never bought a Mansun single, although I do have a clear memory of once being unable to choose between two formats of one of them and ending up with neither. I did buy a vinyl copy of that first album complete with free poster (relax girls) and was mildy disappointed, finding it overlong and a little too in love with Carry-On-style humour. I didn't much care for Paul Draper's voice either. What with their insistent and knowing gimmickry, and their insistence on pretending they were releasing EPs instead of singles, they were always an easy band to dislike and by the time this second album rolled around I was dead set against them, despite the amusing video to this single. In truth, there's a lot to like about this, especially the chiming arpeggiated guitars that the song is set around. But it does have to be one of the most thoroughly miserable songs ever to become a major hit: it's not upset or complaining or dramatic as so many indie songs are, but it seems to come from a persuadedly dark place. One of their later singles was called 'Negative' but this could have been too. Of course it'd be foolish to treat this as any statement on the real lives of the band, especially when it's the penultimate song on a concept album, but there is something a little chilling about it.

This proved to be their highest-charting single ever, perhaps because rules about the length of a chart-eligible single format were tightened the week after this single entered. They had one more Top 10 hit to come in the shape of 'I Can Only Disappoint U', and then against all expectations they just seemed to fade away. If there was ever a band who seemed likely to go out with a bang, it was Mansun, but in the end they just started a fourth album and never finished it. It's tempting to quote the lyric "nobody cares when you're gone" as a conclusion, but enough fans remembered to launch a campaign for the outtakes to be released. And time's been kinder than I expected to this.

Also appearing on: Now 36
Available on: Legacy: The Best Of Mansun