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  • Laughing Sun: The Centre of the Cyclone
    Centre of the Cyclone by Laughing Sun
    Words and music by S.Miller
    This arrangement by Laughing Sun
    Recorded 26th September 1985 at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, UK
    Pok: vocals, electric guitar
    George Davies: electric guitar, vocals
    Marc Greatorex: bass
    THE CENTRE OF THE CYCLONE
    In forlorn castles too brief for living
    We rose to catch the sound but were defeated
    Just around the corner beyond the eyes
    Beyond the skies we set ourselves as real
    Like spaceships casting cosmic lines, left behind
    With stars strewn from our astral selves and planets in our eyes
    You walk along the road of life too high to see
    The mountain you are climbing
    Casting seeds and scrolls from our outstretched hands
    The forgiven forget of the gift
    And it’s too late, the ladder stretches up and down
    And where do you stand in perspective to it all?
    Can you imagine a place, a space that you have not been before
    But which is not new to you?
    A place you can recall softly, push through bad dreams
    Make it real, remember
    Complications contradict but reality sticks
    And unbounded has its realms
    In everything you see
    Yes, what do you see?
    Push through the dark vales to the sea
    Cast your cosmic line wherever it may fall
    Maybe you will find some higher guidance there or
    Maybe you will find a place that you can truly rest
    Maybe you will find some friends who love you the best
    Listen
    Listen
    Listen
    The tides of swirling memories
    Are nearly gone but forgotten
    Would you choose to beg or loose
    The axis which you hold onto
    Thirteen is the number, twelve it is the rite
    Thirteen red eyed ravens
    Outside the house at night
    Outward, outward on out
    Cast light, cast light about
    Outward, outward on out
    Look out, which way is far out?
    Petty wages are falling like leaves, calling the master
    To apprenticeship again
    Will he recall the time, the chime of freedom
    Blowing through his keyhole
    Step down from your pedestal and mingle once again
    With the crowds that you shunned as a youth
    At the centre of the cyclone
    Where all our thoughts are real
    You’re cacooned in your mental egg
    Imprisoned inside your head
    If we look out the bars we’ve made
    Can we maybe follow just a little way
    To see there are no shackles to pass
    Yet more fresh air, green fields and grass
    And we are like the butterfly
    We can’t take off, our wings aren’t dry
    But soon if we shall heed the guides
    The caterpillar metamorphosise
    Words by Simon Miller.
    Copyright (c) Pok Songs 1984, (p) Wud Records 1985.
    http://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/indeed-1985
    http://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/indeed/the-centre-of-the-cyclone
    twitter.com/#!/WudRecords
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/
    8 min
  • Laughing Sun: Wear a Feather in Your Hat
    Wear a Feather in Your Hat by Laughing Sun
    Words and music by S.Miller
    This arrangement by Laughing Sun
    Recorded 26th September 1985 at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, UK
    Pok: vocals, guitar
    George Davies: bass, vocals
    WEAR A FEATHER IN YOUR HAT
    Well we came across some Indians they were sitting in our road
    And with careful words we offered peace and them our weapons showed
    They made it and said they sought a man with such purple skin
    If we had him there on board they’d scalp and do us in
    It’s a long time since I saw such a man I said and they replied
    “OK go on you tell the truth I can see it in your eyes”
    Later on our road there was a boulder in our path
    Meg the man said “What shall we do no way can we get past”
    I steamed a bit and thought a bit, said this man tells the truth
    So I gave up being leader and sat down to pick my tooth
    Meg took on the role and quickly had it sussed
    With forty pounds of dynamite the rock we did bust
    Soon the cook was heard to cry “There is no more water left in here.
    I am making a casserole and the pot is burning dry”
    So I threw a coin into the air, said “This one I’ll try”
    A few words from the good old book and rain fell from the sky
    “What was the other choice you had” they asked, and I replied:
    “I don’t want to answer that now, let me out I want to pass”
    Faintly nightfall does it’s bit and we rattle on in dark
    Tootsie starts a singing he says “It’s for a lark”
    Unfortunate for him it wakes something to cause his demise
    A stowaway that was on board who pokes his head outside
    Tootsie gets a fright and falls down and dies
    But what was more was still to come. At night, colour lies
    Of the four of us left on the bus, Mook, Meg, Mos and I
    Not one of us did realise till the sun it did rise
    That the new man who spent the night explaining who he was and where he’d been
    Had a case of the most purple skin we’d ever seen
    We whistled nervously till mid afternoon
    Then Meg saw a bunch of Redskins, I feel down in a swoon
    Round about that time an eagle flies on down
    Says “We got to wrap it up here before we reach the next town”
    So he does a bit of act shifting, messes round with our scene
    The Indians become a film projection on a Hollywood film screen
    “What a pity they had to go like that, we could have made some friends”
    Purple man smiles, disappears and leaves a feather where he’d been
    (Chorus)
    Get up stand up be yourself, wear a feather in your hat
    If you truly believe in yourself you will remember that
    When you see your light a-coming, come to you it will
    Expose yourself to its full rays and just soak up your fill
    Take my advice my friend and wear a feather above your face
    (last time)
    You can be a man of Wud or you can go insane
    Take our advice my friend and wear a feather in your mane
    Words by Simon Miller.
    Copyright (c) Pok Songs 1985, (p) Wud Records 1985.
    http://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/indeed-1985
    http://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/indeed/wear-a-feather-in-your-hat
    twitter.com/#!/WudRecords
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/
    10 min
  • Laughing Sun: Wanted to Be a Singer
    Wanted to Be a Singer by Laughing Sun.
    EP: Cander
    WANTED TO BE A SINGER
    Wanted to be a singer
    In a rock and roll band
    Back home where my zodiac lay
    Wanted everyone to follow in my footsteps
    See like me and be a part of my creation
    Wanted the whole universe to follow
    Especially my guitar and room to practice in
    Wanted everything so shiny
    With respects to you
    Oooh I’ve wondered
    Oooh I’ve wondered
    Oooh I have wondered
    Just what’s going on
    And she breaks just like a little child
    ★
    Performers:
    Simon Miller – voice, guitar
    George Davies – guitar, voice
    Marc Greatorex – bass
    Credits:
    Music and lyrics by Simon Miller.
    This arrangement by Laughing Sun.
    Recorded live at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, 4th September 1985.
    Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2023.
    Originally released 12th September 1985.
    Cover art by Pok.
    Graphic design by Sam James.
    Copyright ℗ 1982 Pok Songs/Explicit Music.
    Copyright © 1985 Wud Records.
    About This Recording:
    This recording is from a bootleg cassette recorded nearly 40 years ago. The cassette machine was placed to hopefully capture as much of the sound as possible, whilst being in a convenient spot to turn on and off.
    Although we have managed a massive improvement to the quality of the audio, there remains a certain amount of hiss and rumble and ambient noise. Traffic can just about be heard passing by on the main road outside from time to time. There are various shufflings of feet and papers, clickings of effects pedals and machines, and so on. It’s a very genuine recording, and we love it for what it is.
    The audio quality was never going to match today’s squeaky-clean digital standards due to the nature of the source material. As such, we have come to embrace the remaining hiss and rumble. They are a crucial part of the organic atmospherics that contribute to making this EP such a special listening experience.
    Fun Facts:
    * Wanted to Be a Singer was one of the very first songs that Pok ever wrote.
    * It was composed in late 1982 or early 1983.
    * He once said that he considers it something of a mission statement for his life.
    * It begins on an F major chord, is largely in the key of A minor, and ends on an Fmaj9.
    * A studio version of Wanted to Be a Singer appears on Pok’s Anthology album.
    * It was also performed by Fooog Dinboffin and the Release, and Now.
    * It may have been performed by Now at their legendary Sidbury Colleseum show, although we are not sure.
    * Marc plays Excaliber, his short scale Kay bass, and doesn’t know the song terribly well at this time.
    * Nicky Ashby deserves an honourable mention for being Simon’s girlfriend at around the time of this song’s creation.
    * In early versions he would sing “Oooh Nicki I’ve wondered just what’s going on”.
    See also:
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/cander/
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/wanted-to-be-a-singer-2 (Cander version)
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/wanted-to-be-a-singer (Anthology version)
    https://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/cander/wanted-to-be-a-singer
    https://www.facebook.com/pokthebard
    https://twitter.com/WudRecords
    https://linktr.ee/wudrecords
    4 min
  • Laughing Sun: Indian Summer
    Indian Summer by Laughing Sun.
    EP: Cander
    INDIAN SUMMER
    Burning incense on the breeze
    Floats out of your room
    Falling down the corridors of yesterday
    Feel it in the air
    Maybe it’ll be coming your way
    Carry me away
    Indian summer
    Carry me away
    It’s been so long
    Carry me away
    Standing on the doorstep
    Dancing round the room
    Rainbow dancing showers on the lawn
    Never thought at all
    That it would ever fade away
    Carry me away
    Indian summer
    Carry me away
    It’s been so long
    Carry me away
    Passing places full of you
    No longer seems to be
    Too far behind, too far away to see
    If I close my eyes
    I can sometimes drift away
    Carry me away
    Indian summer
    Carry me away
    It’s been so long
    Carry me away
    ★
    Performers:
    Ken Staple – voice, then bongo
    Simon Miller – bongo, then lead guitar
    George Davies – acoustic guitar
    Credits:
    Music by George Davies and Paul Kay.
    Lyrics and vocal melody by Ken Staple.
    This arrangement by Laughing Sun.
    Recorded live at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, 11th September 1985.
    Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2023.
    Originally released 12th September 1985.
    Cover art by Pok.
    Graphic design by Sam James.
    Copyright ℗ 1985 Explicit Music.
    Copyright © 1985 Wud Records.
    About This Recording:
    This recording is from a bootleg cassette recorded nearly 40 years ago. Although we have managed a massive improvement to the quality of the audio, there remains a certain amount of hiss and rumble and ambient noise. Traffic can just about be heard passing by on the main road outside from time to time. There are various shufflings of feet and papers, clickings of effects pedals and machines, and so on. It’s a very genuine recording, and we love it for what it is.
    The audio quality was never going to match today’s squeaky-clean digital standards due to the nature of the source material. As such, we have come to embrace the remaining hiss and rumble. They are a crucial part of the organic atmospherics that contribute to making this EP such a special listening experience.
    Fun Facts:
    * Indian Summer was composed in 1985.
    * It is a cover of a Wud song that the trio must have spontaneously felt like playing.
    * It started out as one of George’s many guitar tunes, created using a riff that a guy called Paul Kay had shown him.
    * This riff is the slidey, pretty Am7 riff in the “Carry me away…” chorus section.
    * George gave a recording of this tune, and a few other pieces, such as the track that became So Begins the Crying, to Ken, so that he might write some lyrics.
    * Ken’s Flambeau, which George plays on this recording, was still strung with battleship chains and still very tough to play.
    * At the end of the third verse, Pok quickly hands the bongo to Ken and breaks into a beautiful improvised guitar solo.
    * The guitar break is played on Ken’s black Shaftesbury Les Paul copy.
    * Everything was recorded onto cassette, with the electric guitar and vocal mic running through an HH five-channel PA.
    * The acoustic guitar and bongo were simply picked up by the mic in the cassette recorder.
    * There is a lot of ambient noise, such as hiss from the PA and the occasional sound of a car or lorry going past in the background.
    * As far as we can tell, this is the very last recording we have of anything Ken ever sang.
    * He did a beautiful job but times were changing.
    * Cander marks the transition from Wud to Laughing Sun.
    * Goodness knows what became of Ken, nobody has heard anything of him since the late 1980s.
    See also:
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/cander/
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/indian-summer-2 (Cander version)
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/indian-summer (Wud’s version from their Daylight Demo)
    https://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/cander/indian-summer
    https://www.facebook.com/pokthebard
    https://twitter.com/WudRecords
    https://linktr.ee/wudrecords
    5 min
  • Laughing Sun: It's a Blue Sky Don't Hold No Rain
    It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain by Laughing Sun.
    EP: Cander
    IT’S A BLUE SKY DON’T HOLD NO RAIN
    I've tried and tried and tried and tried to get to you
    I've tried and tried and tried and tried again
    Try and try and try and try to get through to you
    I'll try and try and try and try forever
    Ever
    We came across some bones of men
    Scattered in the dust
    So many good souls turned to rust
    Within their shattered husks
    And these people had worn jewels
    And their heads had been held high
    Speckled foreheads touched the sky
    Behold the sparkling in their eyes
    Don’t you know it’s a blue sky
    Don’t hold no rain
    Don’t hold your love in vain
    Cos we’ve still got some loving left to do
    Some time ago the white man came
    Bringing Bible books and swords
    Bound them up in twining cords
    In the name of their great Lord
    They slew down the Aztecs
    Inca Ebu Maasai
    Now they hide in concrete lies
    To my Mammon side I cry
    What have we done
    To the Mother Goddess Gaia?
    Why can’t we nestle in her
    Warm aching bosom?
    Aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah
    Now the world’s a spinning ball
    Two thirds with none to eat
    While we chew our scrawny meat
    Can you hear those big bells bleat?
    What have we done
    To the Mother Goddess Gaia?
    Why can’t we nestle in her
    Warm aching bosom?
    Aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah
    ★
    Performers:
    Simon Miller – voice, guitar
    George Davies – guitar, voice
    Marc Greatorex – bass
    Ken Staple – acoustic guitar
    Credits:
    Music and lyrics by Simon Miller.
    This arrangement by Laughing Sun.
    Recorded live at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, 4th September 1985.
    Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2023.
    Cover art by Pok.
    Graphic design by Sam James.
    Originally released 12th September 1985.
    Copyright ℗ 1983 Pok Songs/Explicit Music.
    Copyright © 1985 Wud Records.
    Fun Facts:
    * This was one of the very first songs that Pok ever wrote.
    * There are probably not many 17-year-olds who would write such a thoughtful lyric as this.
    * Pok said that the idea for it came from listening to Cortez the Killer by Neil Young.
    * The very first time we heard this, it was played by Pok on a 12-string acoustic with only six strings late one evening.
    * He was sat on a bench along a footpath in the dark, just a short way down Church Hill from St Michael’s church in Honiton.
    * Its first proper live performance was at the Sidmouth International Folk Festival in the summer of 1983.
    * It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain was subsequently performed by the Spacegoats and Alchemeon.
    * You can hear their versions at Bandcamp, SoundCloud and the Wud Records website.
    * A studio version is in the works and will appear on Pok’s Anthology album when it is finished.
    * Credit should be given to Ken who was just about picked up on the vocal mics, redoubtably bashing out the Em7 – A7 rhythm on his Flambeau acoustic in the background.
    * Marc plays Excaliber, his short scale Kay bass, and doesn’t know the song well at this time.
    * One of the most definitve moments of the song are the three riffs that are repeated during the instrumental section.
    * In early versions of the song, these riffs were repeated four times each, but from Alchemeon onwards each riff was repeated only twice.
    * Simon invokes the power of his MXR Distortion partway through the riffs.
    * It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain is in the key of E minor and begins and ends with a big glorious Em7 chord (O22O3O).
    * The chords in the verses are Em7 – Am7 – C/G – B11#9.
    * There is a rather wonderful key change in the “What have we done” section, which is C7 – D7 – Gm7 – C7 – Am – C/G – Em7.
    See also:
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/cander/
    https://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/cander/its-a-blue-sky-dont-hold-no-rain
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/its-a-blue-sky-dont-hold-no-rain-2
    https://www.facebook.com/pokthebard
    https://twitter.com/WudRecords
    https://linktr.ee/wudrecords
    10 min
  • Laughing Sun: She's Beautiful
    She's Beautiful by Laughing Sun
    EP: Cander
    SHE’S BEAUTIFUL
    Well she’s walking with a sultry air
    Golden feather stuck in her hair
    Oh me oh my with her wake going by
    It occurred to me that I might fly
    Oh me oh my that’s something I spy with my eye
    She’s alright
    And these things going on inside my brain
    Won’t stop they only refrain
    They only refrain
    Only refrain
    See the world open before you
    It may even appal you
    Step back before you fall you
    Cos you got a road to travel
    A road to travel
    A road, yeah
    I said she’s beautiful
    Wanna make her mine
    I said she’s beautiful
    And she’s blowing my mind
    See the world open before you
    It may even appal you
    Step back before you fall you
    Cos you got a road to travel
    A road to travel
    A road
    I said she’s beautiful
    Wanna make her mine
    I said she’s beautiful
    And she’s blowing my mind
    ★
    Performers:
    Simon Miller – voice, guitar
    George Davies – guitar, voice
    Marc Greatorex – bass
    Credits:
    Music and lyrics by Simon Miller.
    This arrangement by Laughing Sun.
    Recorded live at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, 4th September 1985.
    Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2023.
    Cover art by Pok.
    Graphic design by Sam James.
    Originally released 12th September 1985.
    Copyright ℗ 1982 Pok Songs/Explicit Music.
    Copyright © 1985 Wud Records.
    About This Recording:
    This recording of She’s Beautiful is from a bootleg cassette recorded nearly 40 years ago. The audio quality was never going to match today’s squeaky-clean digital standards due to the nature of the source material. As such, we have come to embrace the remaining hiss and rumble. They are a crucial part of the organic atmospherics that contribute to making this EP such a special listening experience.
    Fun Facts:
    * This was one of the very first songs that Pok ever wrote.
    * It is in the key of A major.
    * A studio version of it is in the works and will appear on Pok’s Anthology album when it is finished.
    * There is a lot of improvising in this performance, and yet we regard it as probably being the definitve version of the song.
    * The ending section was completely unplanned, improvised and an inspired moment of sublime delight.
    * Some of the lyrics had not been written, or at least not correctly recalled, at the time of this performance.
    * Pok later wrote some more definitive lyrics to end the song with in 2008, during the days of Alchemeon.
    * The lyrics published here are transcribed from the audio, rather than the ones published for Alchemeon, Pok’s Anthology album, and other places.
    * She’s Beautiful was subsequently performed by the Spacegoats and Alchemeon, although no recordings of their versions exist, as far as we know.
    * All instruments and mics are plugged into a 5-channel HH PA head and a pair of dual concentric speaker cabs elevated on their poles.
    * A large proportion of the hiss in the recording comes from the PA.
    * Simon plays Ken’s black Shaftesbury Les Paul copy and George plays the Ice Maiden, which was almost brand new at the time.
    * George always found the line he was asked to play by Pok rather curious and delightful.
    * It is not a particularly obvious line as it effectively makes a C major chord with an F# root.
    * Marc plays Excaliber, his short scale Kay bass, and doesn’t know the song very well at this time.
    See also:
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/cander/
    https://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/cander/shes-beautiful
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/shes-beautiful
    https://www.facebook.com/pokthebard
    https://twitter.com/WudRecords
    https://linktr.ee/wudrecords
    6 min
  • Laughing Sun: Master of the Universe
    Master of the Universe by Laughing Sun.
    EP: Cander
    This is a cover of a song by Hawkwind, from their 1971 album Xin Search of Space.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_Space
    https://open.spotify.com/track/3q4hJtKfWjpJrEFtSFmqAf
    MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE
    I am the centre of this universe
    The wind of time is blowing through me
    And it’s all moving relative to me
    It’s all a figment of my mind
    In a world that I’ve designed
    I’m charged with cosmic energy
    Has the world gone mad or is it me?
    I am the creator of this universe
    And all that it was meant to be
    So that we might learn to see
    Foolishness that lives in us
    And stupidity that we must suss
    How to banish from our minds
    If you call this living I must be blind.
    ★
    Performers:
    Simon Miller – voice, guitar
    George Davies – guitar, voice
    Marc Greatorex – bass
    Credits:
    Music and lyrics by Nik Turner and Dave Brock.
    This arrangement by Laughing Sun.
    Recorded live at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, 4th September 1985.
    Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2023.
    Originally released 12th September 1985.
    Cover art by Pok.
    Graphic design by Sam James.
    Copyright ℗ 1971 United Artists.
    Copyright © 1985 Wud Records.
    About This Recording:
    This recording is from a bootleg cassette recorded nearly 40 years ago. The cassette machine was placed to hopefully capture as much of the sound as possible, whilst being in a convenient spot to turn on and off.
    Although we have managed a massive improvement to the quality of the audio, there remains a certain amount of hiss and rumble and ambient noise. Traffic can just about be heard passing by on the main road outside from time to time. There are various shufflings of feet and papers, clickings of effects pedals and machines, and so on. It’s a very genuine recording, and we love it for what it is.
    The audio quality was never going to match today’s squeaky-clean digital standards due to the nature of the source material. As such, we have come to embrace the remaining hiss and rumble. They are a crucial part of the organic atmospherics that contribute to making this EP such a special listening experience.
    Fun Facts:
    * Master of the Universe is a cover of a song by Hawkwind.
    * Marc plays Excaliber, his short scale Kay bass.
    * Simon plays Ken’s black Shaftesbury Les Paul copy.
    * All instruments and mics are plugged in to an HH 5-channel PA head and a pair of HH dual concentric cabs mounted on their poles.
    * The audio was captured by a Phillips cassette machine located somewhere in the room.
    * There are various ambient noises, such as the click of pedals and the shufflings of feet and papers (possibly Rizla).
    * The filtering effect on George’s guitar comes from a Hohner Instant Funk.
    * This is now a very rare boutique pedal and was part of a quartet of effects, which included a Valve Overdrive, Chorus/Flanger and Phase Shifter.
    * There is a sublime moment where the funked-up guitar somehow sounds like a banjo.
    * Just in the middle of this passage of jamming, Pok comes back in with the vocal slightly unexpectedly, curtailing the solo.
    * George, who is in the middle of his flow in this moment, burbles and wobbles his way through the confusion and myrth.
    * Laughing Sun covered a few other Hawkwind songs, including Hassan-I-Sabbah, Spirit of the Age and Assault and Battery.
    See also:
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/cander/
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/master-of-the-universe-2
    https://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/cander/master-of-the-universe
    https://www.facebook.com/pokthebard
    https://twitter.com/WudRecords
    https://linktr.ee/wudrecords
    7 min
  • Laughing Sun: We Know You Well
    We Know You Well by Laughing Sun.
    EP: Cander
    WE KNOW YOU WELL
    I saw you dosing in your room last night
    You thought you were racing but your face it was white
    I’d like to make you but the wall’s in the way
    I’d like to take you but you’re drifting away
    And we know you well
    We know you well
    Wise master sat at your desk in school
    Who are you kidding?
    Who’s the fool?
    You like to push pens in the wisdom of your years
    Don’t you know yet that your mind is full of fears?
    And we know you well
    We know you well
    Wisdom of ages is there in your head?
    Would you use it or abuse it instead?
    That you knew the word you knew was all that was real
    Universe there in your hands, how does that make you feel?
    And we know you well
    We know you well
    ★
    Performers:
    Simon Miller – voice, guitar
    George Davies – guitar, voice
    Credits:
    Music and lyrics by Mark Drower and Simon Miller.
    This arrangement by Laughing Sun.
    Recorded live at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, 4th September 1985.
    Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2023.
    Originally released 12th September 1985.
    Cover art by Pok.
    Graphic design by Sam James.
    Copyright ℗ 1982 Pok Songs/MGD Music/Explicit Music.
    Copyright © 1985 Wud Records.
    About This Recording:
    This recording is from a bootleg cassette recorded nearly 40 years ago. The cassette machine was placed to hopefully capture as much of the sound as possible, whilst being in a convenient spot to turn on and off.
    Although we have managed a massive improvement to the quality of the audio, there remains a certain amount of hiss and rumble and ambient noise. Traffic can just about be heard passing by on the main road outside from time to time. There are various shufflings of feet and papers, clickings of effects pedals and machines, and so on. It’s a very genuine recording, and we love it for what it is.
    The audio quality was never going to match today’s squeaky-clean digital standards due to the nature of the source material. As such, we have come to embrace the remaining hiss and rumble. They are a crucial part of the organic atmospherics that contribute to making this EP such a special listening experience.
    Fun Facts:
    * We Know You Well was originally composed in late 1982.
    * There is a very early snatch of it on a bootleg recording of Now from 1982.
    * It begins with a long hypnotic rhythmic drone based on an Am11 chord (XO553O), which is a theme that repeats throughout the song.
    * A studio version of We Know You Well appears on Pok’s Anthology album.
    * It was also performed by Beyond the Pale, in a show that has subsequently gone down in the annals of legend.
    * There are a number of quirks in the Cander performance which led to it becoming the definitve version of the song, on which subsequent versions were based.
    * The tuning part became a little scene all of its own in later versions.
    * Pok’s furious pull-offs at the end were an early addition to the song.
    * In this version, Pok plays the Ice Maiden (which was only a couple of months old at the time) and George plays Ken’s black Shaftesbury Les Paul Copy.
    * The filthy dirt on the guitar probably comes from Simon’s MXR Distortion pedal.
    * This was the final song recorded on the day and has something of an ‘end-of-term’ joy to its vibe.
    See also:
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/
    https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/cander/
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/we-know-you-well-3 (Cander version)
    https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/we-know-you-well-2 (Anthology version)
    https://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/cander/we-know-you-well
    https://www.facebook.com/pokthebard
    https://twitter.com/WudRecords
    https://linktr.ee/wudrecords
    9 min
  • Wud: 1984 (live)
    Wudsongs by Wud
    Wud was a band based in Exeter in the mid-80s. The name ‘Wud’ comes from a special word that everyone used to say again and again when they were very stoned, which was often. The word stuck and we named our label after it.
    Ken Staple – vocals, guitars
    George Davies – guitars, vocals
    Marc Greatorex – bass
    Graham Barbe – buckets, tambourines, bowls, grass bucket, round files, mic stand legs, etc
    Recorded live using a cassette machine in the room. Everything was plugged into an HH 5-channel PA with spring reverb, circa 1975.
    Graham had no drums but was so keen to play we arranged an assortment of things, including the grass bucket from the lawnmower, various buckets, Ken’s tambourine, George’s young sister’s toy tambourine, some crockery and kitchen equipment, and an assortment of other objects for him to play. The results were surprisingly good.
    Everything you can hear here was recorded as follows:
    19th August 1985 – What’s Going On, Take It Or Leave It, The Sidewalk Song, Planets, Dream, Planet Earth, So Begins the Crying, White Noise – ending Side 1 of the cassette.
    21st August 1985 – Jamming…, Magic, Hard Times (Flashback Part 2), Fading, New Socks and Underwear, Losing Your Grip, Indian Summer, This Time Tomorrow, The Mirror, That’s No Way to Pay a Bodyguard, Julia (curtailed)- ending Side 2 of the cassette.
    21st August 1985 – Julia, Flashback, Leaving Me Here, 1984 (the start of Side 1 of what became Laughing Sun’s Cander cassette.
    22nd August 1985 – Piestnia Za (just George and Marc, nobody else present).
    4th September 1985 – I Know I Know You, Frog, Change (Change didn’t fit on Side 1 of the cassette and was placed at the beginning of Side 2, before Laughing Sun started playing their Cander songs later that same day).
    Wud was just on the brink of becoming quite good when the band folded not so very long after this, due largely to the personality clash between Ken and George.
    We tend to feel that Wudsongs is probably the most definitive collection of Wud’s songs, even though some of them are arguably not the best versions recorded. It shows what potential the band did have, even though it was never fulfilled.
    The trio of Marc, Graham and George would go on to perform together again in Laughing Sun and The Ug Brothers, among others. A few months after the band broke up, Ken became a born-again Christian and disappeared even further up his own fundamental orifice. He has not been seen or heard of for decades.
    7 min
  • Julia
    Wudsongs by Wud
    Wud was a band based in Exeter in the mid-80s. The name ‘Wud’ comes from a special word that everyone used to say again and again when they were very stoned, which was often. The word stuck and we named our label after it.
    Ken Staple – vocals, guitars
    George Davies – guitars, vocals
    Marc Greatorex – bass
    Graham Barbe – buckets, tambourines, bowls, grass bucket, round files, mic stand legs, etc
    Recorded live using a cassette machine in the room. Everything was plugged into an HH 5-channel PA with spring reverb, circa 1975.
    Graham had no drums but was so keen to play we arranged an assortment of things, including the grass bucket from the lawnmower, various buckets, Ken’s tambourine, George’s young sister’s toy tambourine, some crockery and kitchen equipment, and an assortment of other objects for him to play. The results were surprisingly good.
    Everything you can hear here was recorded as follows:
    19th August 1985 – What’s Going On, Take It Or Leave It, The Sidewalk Song, Planets, Dream, Planet Earth, So Begins the Crying, White Noise – ending Side 1 of the cassette.
    21st August 1985 – Jamming…, Magic, Hard Times (Flashback Part 2), Fading, New Socks and Underwear, Losing Your Grip, Indian Summer, This Time Tomorrow, The Mirror, That’s No Way to Pay a Bodyguard, Julia (curtailed)- ending Side 2 of the cassette.
    21st August 1985 – Julia, Flashback, Leaving Me Here, 1984 (the start of Side 1 of what became Laughing Sun’s Cander cassette.
    22nd August 1985 – Piestnia Za (just George and Marc, nobody else present).
    4th September 1985 – I Know I Know You, Frog, Change (Change didn’t fit on Side 1 of the cassette and was placed at the beginning of Side 2, before Laughing Sun started playing their Cander songs later that same day).
    Wud was just on the brink of becoming quite good when the band folded not so very long after this, due largely to the personality clash between Ken and George.
    We tend to feel that Wudsongs is probably the most definitive collection of Wud’s songs, even though some of them are arguably not the best versions recorded. It shows what potential the band did have, even though it was never fulfilled.
    The trio of Marc, Graham and George would go on to perform together again in Laughing Sun and The Ug Brothers, among others. A few months after the band broke up, Ken became a born-again Christian and disappeared even further up his own fundamental orifice. He has not been seen or heard of for decades.
    4 min

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