Voice of the Beehive: I Walk the Earth/This Weak

Format: 10" picture disc
Label: London
Country: UK
Year: 1988
Price paid: $3
Location purchased: Jack Wolak's Rare Necessities

 

When I think of Voice of the Beehive (VOTB) I always think of England. If I ever wrote a book on the late 80's UK music scene  I'd be torn as to whether to include them or not. The sister duo are Californian, BUT the band was formed in the UK, had exclusively UK backup musicians, performed primarily in the Britain, had most of their chart action there, and much of their 'weirder' vinyl output (such as this 10") were released solely for British consumption.

To give you a sample of their sound here's a cover of the Partridge Family's 'I Think I Love You.' Covers are a great way to measure the individuality and mettle of the band, as the listener instinctively strips away all the baggage/intent of the song and can concentrate on pure style. A crap band is quickly caught out; VOTB are anything but crap IMO:

Voice of the Beehive- 'I Think I Love You'

VOTB had no delusions of artistic depth; even though they were known for their clever often thoughtful lyrics, they were perfectly comfortable making jangly aggressive power-pop.

'I Walk the Earth' peaked at number 42 on the UK charts. The band had eight top-50 hits in the UK over their three album lifespan, most from their debut album 'Let it Bee' (of which this single is from.)

The 10" itself is a great example of period UK vinyl production. At the time of this single's release UK vinyl sales in general were lagging so companies pulled out all the stops in an effort to make an impression with the consumer. If you think about it the 10" is a pretty useless size. I suppose it has its uses... if you're putting together an EP and need more space than a 7" but less that a 12". Maybe. But that's not the case here as this is merely a 2 track single. The vinyl is clear, but instead of the usual practice of inserting a paper element between two sheets of vinyl, there's simply two stickers laying on the surface.

Probably limited to 5,000 pressings, this is numbered 4480. The B-side is exclusive to this disc.