I’d heard
rumours for years that this infamous 1979 EP with Wobble, Levene
& Don Letts had been released on 7” as well as 12”
but until as recently as 1998 I’d never saw it!
It’s exactly the
same as the 12”, same sleeve, same tracks. Though due to
time constraints the last track, 'Unlikely Pub', is edited down
from 4:30 to just 3:00 mins. The catalogue number is also slightly
different.
I paid £15 for
it, which is a lot of money for an obscure single with loose PiL
connections, but I wouldn’t have thought many 12” versions
were pressed, let alone many 7” copies, so this a definite
PiL rarity.
I actually quite like
the single anyway, especially ‘Haile Unlikely’ with
Letts on vocals. Most of it is very PiL like, not surprising when
you have the guitarist & bass player on it! If you’re
a fan of the classic PiL line up then I’d certainly recommend
getting it. I don’t ever see it getting a CD release, so
if you want it, best try find an old vinyl copy. You can usually
pick up the 12” copies for around £5-10, obviously
the 7” will be dearer...
Incidentally when I
mentioned the 7” to Wobble he actually told me who the mysterious
'Steel Leg' was! It turns out it wasn't John Lydon or even Leo
Williams (as I had previously thought), it was Wobble's mate Vince
Bracken. I always thought it was Wobble taking the piss on vocals
on the first track, but it turns out it was Vince. Now we know...
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