Never Loved Elvis - The Wonder Stuff

"Never loved Elvis and never sung the blues"

Whilst the former may be true, I suspect the latter may not be;

There was a time when the highlight of our weekend was, on a Sunday, to cycle up the road to a local wood. Once there we would get out the cooking stove and heat up some beans and sausages. Looking back it was a ridiculous thing to do but, for a short while at least, we thought we were being particularly rugged and outdoorsy. Beans for Sunday lunch. Mmmm mmmm. So over the period of a few weeks the woods at the back of a lay-by near Trimdon became our primary destination.

After a while we decided that eating warned through beans was not enough and what we really should do was shoot a pop video in the woods. So a week or so later we trundled up there with cameras and a guitar to capture the next pop sensation. Or so we thought; we weren't going to let a lack of musical knowledge or primitive editing equipment get in the way of creating out masterpiece. I can't recall the exact tune that I butchered but I think it was some old blues song.... either that or 'Faith' by George Michael.

Whether it was eating beans or creating pop videos the time in the woods was well spent. At least it kept us off the streets.

Despite the anti-king sentiment 'Never Loved Elvis' finds The Wonder Stuff in fine pop form, although it was too poppy for some - they couldn't see past 'Size of a Cow'. Which is a shame because this album contains some of their finest songs; 'Sleep Alone', 'Here Comes Everyone' and 'Caught In My Shadow'. But the best song by Miles is the opening track 'Mission Drive'. It's a fantastic opener and arguably one of the best ever.

'Never Loved Elvis' accompanied my on my European Inter-rail holiday; it was one of the chosen tapes that I lugged around northern Europe. There are also several photos of me looking bedraggled on station platforms but proudly wearing my 'Never Loved Elvis' T-shirt. Being one of only three t-shirts for a three week holiday it never fully recovered and was soon consigned to the dustbin.

So have I never loved Elvis and never sung the blues? Well I don't own any records by Mr Presley soon guess I don't. And for singing the blues? Well that not for me to say.