Hup - Wonder Stuff

Nestled quietly South West from Birmingham off the infamous M5, sits Stourbridge. Unassuming and fairly shadowed by the great Midlands city, it presented to the British indie pop scene a misshapen motley crew of four young men in 1986 who called themselves The Wonder Stuff. It was the brain child of it’s front man Miles Hunt; a mop haired, opinionated student type whose tongue in cheek humour was to become very essence of this unique band. After a minor collection of flopped singles, the band caused an unusual stir with their highly acclaimed debut album ‘Eight Legged Groove Machine’ in August 1988, which ignited attention within the masses of public school ...  Read the complete review

When the Wonder Stuff came out with this, I was not particularly knowledgeable about their music, their cynical outlook on life and record companies, or the shithole that is Birmingham. I had just left school and my life was very much in transition and emotionally it was a disturbing roller coaster. The song 'Don't Let Me Down Gently' came out and I never realised it was about being dumped by a girlfriend till much (year or so) later. Another Brummie - Mike Skinner - made a more heartfelt plea in his moneyspinner. I sincerely didn't know what they were singing about, or who it was pitched at. Then in autumn 1989, I bought the album not knowing what to expect. ...  Read the complete review

I may be wrong, but I'm certain that this album was originally going to be called 'Moan Moan Bastard Moan' (corrections from Stuff obsessives welcome). Anyway, apart from the miscalculation of the new title 'Hup', this is a superb album, slick and more commercial than its predecessor 'The Eight-Legged Groove Machine'. I thought the Wonder Stuff would go ballistic after this, but it never happened, and they just stayed a kind of middling Top 40 band without ever quite hitting the bigtime. Anyway, the two standouts are the epic 'Thirty Years in the Bathroom' and the acid 'Radio Ass-Kiss', which recalls the marvellously ...  Read the complete review