The Pooh Sticks Featuring Alan Pt. 3

Later on in 1988, a CD box set of the debut Pooh Sticks release came out through Fierce, and included all 6 tracks from the box set and the 12''. It also contains a couple of weird into's and a rather charming photo of Hue Pooh with Hue's Pubes. 

The contents on this one is pretty basic: a CD and a booklet. The last of the Alan posts features a little more, but I might get Christmas out of the way before that one comes about. The next time I'll write about these songs will also be when I'm writing about my own copy of the Optic Nerve reissue! 

The inset comes as a stapled booklet; and this page has a couple of album recommendations. They take some of their influences to a pretty drastic level by the time The Great White Wonder LP rolls around; and that finally saw a Record Store Day reissue earlier this year. 

Finally, here is the CD from the box set with the track - listing printed alongside the original artwork. Normally, I wouldn't care much for a CD but for this release I'll make an exception.

The Pooh Sticks Featuring Alan Pt. 2

Alongside a set of single sided 7''s, the self titled Pooh Sticks release also came on a single sided 12'' with an etched B-Side. However, the track-listing sees a little change up, with the debut release 'On Tape' being traded in to the 12'' over '...Alan McGee...' 

The Pooh Sticks - The Pooh Sticks - 1st Press - Fierce Recordings - Single Sided 12'' release 

Back sleeve and etched B-Side 

The inner sleeve comes printed up with a comic that tells the story of Fierce Recordings; the first edition of this record comes in a black and white sleeve... 

The second pressing (shown here) comes in a pink sleeve with an identical insert. The last track also appears behind a locked groove, and I'm not too sure on whether this is true for both pressings... 

Finally we have the test press here, I'm not sure if this originally came in a sleeve of it's own but for now I've photographed it next to the 2nd press sleeve. The test press has a plain white label but an etched B-Side. There's a high chance that this was bought from Hue Pooh, or from someone that worked at Fierce Recordings. Surprisingly they're also not that expensive from previous Discogs sales, they just don't come up for sale very often... 

Another post on that was possible because of Alan's incredible collection. And after two posts in less than 24 hours, if nothing else I am thankful for his collection for bringing me some enthusiasm back in to this blog!

The Pooh Sticks Featuring Alan Pt. 1

As the year comes to a close, I suddenly got the feeling to do another post or two. Not for anything other than the fact that I received a box set that I felt was worth reviving this thing for. Following the 'On Tape' 7'' re-release from Optic Nerve, the label decided to go all out and do a reissue of the Pooh Sticks box set; with a twist on the original press. The reissue comes with a fun book and coloured vinyl and a bunch of B-Sides that the original press sacrificed in favour of etched B-Sides. 

But somehow I'm not posting about that today. In fact, the record I'm posting about doesn't even belong to me (although I really wish it did!). 

The Pooh Sticks - The Pooh Sticks - 1st Press - Fierce Recordings 021-025 - 5 x 7'' Box Set (Unknown quantity but assuming somewhere in the 100 -200 mark - maybe Alan knows?) 

So as I pull the reissue out and photograph it, you'll see some of the differences, but for now we have this one. All of the centre labels and the boxes were doodled on by hand, presumably by the band or label. Maybe a Hue Pooh solo job, who knows? 

The history of this band fascinate me, and over the last year I've slowly grabbed more and more releases from them. This photo is pretty incredible, and perfectly sums up the cool slacker twee indie vibe this band capture so well. 

POOH in big letters for the back of the box. I'm not sure if all of them had this on the back, but the reissue has a different design for sure. 

The whole contents of the box laid out, with a variation of A and B sides to show off the doodling. The A-Sides had track titles and on the B -Sides some squiggling. 

Here is a close up of some of the etchings. Etched B-Sides were a common theme in the early Pooh Sticks releases and there'll be a few more of them shown in this blog before too long. 

The insert contains a track - listing, band personnel, a fun anecdote on their trip to New York City (I'm sure the full story has tales of love, hidden club spots, a flat burning down, hanging out in Rick Rubin's apartment and some band getting upset over a false billing - but the history is out there to read I'm sure). 

The final thing I'll add here is why I'm writing about a record that doesn't even belong to me, and why I'm going to head down a Pooh Sticks rabbit hole for a few releases whether anyone likes them or not... 

I met Alan through an old friend years ago, and I'm sure that a massive percentage of my collection is through him. He has released music from my band on his label (Different Kitchen Records) and he has welcomed me in to his house for coffee and a deep dive in to his collection many times. In fact, I don't think I've ever ordered online from him; I just head to Different Kitchen HQ and that won't likely ever change. 

There's a history to these records, that I feel goes unnoticed unless you were there at the time, and I get to live vicariously through him. This box set came out before I was even born, but Alan seems to remember where he was when it came out, the store he got it from and the letters he received from the band. In fact, I've seen the letters from the band and they're pretty special! They provide a timeline to him, where he was, who he was dating and even down to him finding an old T-Shirt from the era with the classic cover art on the front. 

This box set has sold for as high as £250 on Discogs, and grabbing an original press is about as likely as grabbing a shirt from the time. But the next best thing is to hold one in my hands, hear the history of it all and be able to capture a moment in time and romanticise it a little. It makes hearing the songs that more special to me. 

The next few posts are about The Pooh Sticks, so I apologise if you're not a fan. But even if you're not, these DIY releases with their hand embellished packaging and short run pressings are just as fun as any punk record. So what's the harm right?

Pinwheel Wicca Phase

As a precursor to the release of the new Wicca Phase Springs Eternal release 'Suffer On' (due out via Run For Cover records in February 2019 (I have preordered and hopefully i'll get around to posting about it); RFC also reissued previous LP 'Secret Boy' in August of this year. 

Wicca Phase Springs Eternal - Secret Boy - Run For Cover Records / Dark Medicine - 1st Press - Hot Pink / White Pinwheel /200 (RFC Store Exclusive Variant) 

This LP was originally released by Disposition Collective in 2016. The label also put out a WPSE 7'' and a split 7'' featuring Spur and Jake Clarke from Superheaven in 2017. But since then they have become quiet/ inactive sadly. 

This pinwheel variant is pretty stunning and definitely the best example of this kind of colour split I own. The new album comes on a black/ gold version of this pinwheel effect too. 

Single sheet insert with all the production credits listed and a photo on the reverse that you can see below. 

This record flows way better than I remember it doing before I bought a  physical version. I let the first press really pass me by, probably because ordering overseas is a massive hassle nowadays. Plus the physical bonus track (See You as a Dove) is probably the bet thing here. Either way, I'm glad that Run For Cover have a UK Store and I'm really intrigued to hear what Will Yip's production can add to this type of music. 

The Pooh Sticks (not) On Tape

Well it's been a while right? And I'll apologise in advance if you've come here hoping for a similar theme to my last post. We've got from 6 inches of screamo/ power-violence to 7 inches of pure twee indie pop brilliance! 

The Pooh Sticks - On Tape - 1st Press - Optic Nerve - 1st Press - /250 (Blue Vinyl) 

Although this is the first press through Optic Nerve, this is technically the 3rd press and follows almost 30 years since it's original release. Optic Nerve have also released a copy on Pink also /250 with matching art and extras (following a similar pattern of the first press artwork; although at the time there were only 50 made of each). 

Optic Nerve have made a singles club of sorts titled Optic Sevens; releasing 12 classic Indie 7"s over the course of 12 months and I'm kicking myself for not getting involved. This copy is only here today because Alan at Different Kitchen grabbed it for me. Now all of the releases have been announced; I'm really regretting letting this singles club pass me by. The latest release is the first The Wedding Present 7'' and if I ever end up with that I'll post it for sure! 

Back Cover and B-Side 

The B-Side here actually contains an instrumental of the song 'On Tape' that features on the A-Side. This is different from previous pressings; as the original Fierce pressing has a blank B-Side and the 2nd pressing has an etched B-Side. 

Held up to the light this record also has a kind of marble quality; which matches the centre labels quite nicely. As well as looking great it sounds marvellous too, and I've listened to it a good few times in the 24 hours or so that I've had it! 

Inserts! 

I think most of these Optic Sevens come with a fold out poster, and this release is no different. Obviously this is the cover art, and the cover art isn't The Pooh Sticks at all! Mostly this is due to the fact that The Pooh Sticks weren't a band at the time. Essentially it was Hue Pooh and a completely made up lineup; and the cover art is of the band FLESH! (I've never heard of them either). I had a bit of a history lesson on this one from Alan; and it just added to the fun and mystery of this band. 

The pink variant of this new pressing comes with pink dots over the faces on the poster; not that you can really see features for all the hair anyway! 

Finally we have a couple of postcard sized inserts; and again the Pink copies comes with pink tinged (and completely different) inserts! If you stumble across a copy I would definitely recommend grabbing one, especially as you'd be lucky to find a previous pressing for under £150 nowadays; and with the RSD reissue of The Great White Wonder recently out there's no reason to not add some Pooh Sticks for your collection! 

Whilst I was picking this up yesterday, I also got the chance to rifle through Alan's other Pooh Sticks stuff, and there's a lot! I also stand little to no chance of owning any of it, as most of them were released in short runs and the box sets/ extra cool bits are probably trashed by now. Alan's are pretty much mint and are some of the most interesting releases i've seen with my own eyes. If you like this post and would be interested in seeing more similar stuff, I'll try and arrange a couple of guest entires as they're really worth seeing in my opinion! 

Maybe my next post will be something a little louder and fast, maybe it'll be an old post that's been saved in my drafts for months that I forgot to post. Regardless; i'll try not to leave it so long next time!