the wake
ltm catalog

The Wake formed in Glasgow (UK) 1981 and released two albums and several singles on Factory Records, before moving to Sarah label for two further albums between 1989 and 1994. Caesar and Carolyn Allen now record as part of The Occasional Keepers. To read full band biography click here. To purchase CDs and DVDs click here.


HARMONY + SINGLES (LTMCD 2323) £10
Full length (72 minute) 15 track CD comprising hard to find material by this collectable Factory/Sarah signing from Scotland. The disc includes all eight tracks from the Harmony mini album from 1982 (including the outtake Chance, only previously released on the Factory Benelux pressing), as well as the first two singles on Scan 45 and Factory Benelux, plus the legendary John Peel session from July 1983. Booklet includes liner notes, interview and original artwork. Full tracklist: Favour, Heartburn, An Immaculate Conception, Judas, Testament, Patrol, The Old Men, Chance, Something Outside, Host, The Drill, Uniform, Here Comes Everybody, On Our Honeymoon, Give Up.

Reviews: "The Wake excel in melancholy... raising sparseness to an art form... a kind of rain-spattered beauty" (Philadelphia Weekly, December 2001); "The Wake were as immersed in Glasgow's Postcard pop as they were in Mancunian angst... There's a distinct Josef K gnarling here, while the circular radiance of Favour foretells Primal Scream's Imperial" (Uncut, March 2002); "The songs veer from unsteady, joyous defiance to a broody keyboard-drenched bruised melancholy. Great stuff! The charm of Harmony still hits the spot and has one dancing around the living room" (Tangents, November 2001); "The Drill is an affectionate eulogy to New Order's Everything's Gone Green as if played by Josef K" (In Love With These Times, In Spite of These Times, March 2002); "A fine example of dour, slow and sombre" (eMusic, 09/06)




HERE COMES EVERYBODY + SINGLES (LTMCD 2332) £10
The band's first full album originally released by Factory in November 1985, plus all tracks from the three related non-album singles for Factory. Full tracklist: O Pamela, Send Them Away, Sail Through, Melancholy Man, World of Her Own, Torn Calendar, All I Asked You to Do, Here Comes Everybody, Talk About the Past 12", Of the Matter, Gruesome Castle, Pale Spectre, Furious Sea, Plastic Flowers, Everybody Works So Hard 12", Of the Matter (Version). 16 tracks, 70 minutes, full sleevenotes. Please note that owing to loss of original mastertapes the majority of the tracks on this CD have been mastered from mint vinyl and re-mastered using the CEDAR process.

Reviews: "My favourite Wake record for a variety of reasons, and most of those reasons are quite simply delicious songs. The opener O Pamela is a gorgeous hymn... Send Them Away is equally sublime, aching and reaching into the stratosphere" (Tangents, 2/2002); "Driving compositions with bass-lines that form and direct the melodies. Behind a driving pop beat that teeter's on punk's edge, Caesar's vocals are deep and dark" (othermusic.com, March 2002); "O Pamela is a beautiful pop song that went completely unnoticed at the time. The naive melody and lyrics really got to me" (Nouvelle Vague, 2006)




ASSEMBLY (LTMCD 2334) £10
The superb compilation includes the January 1984 BBC session for the David Jensen show, 8 live tracks desk-recorded at Ayr Pavilion on 15 April 1983 while supporting New Order, and both sides of the two non-album singles recorded for Sarah, Crush the Flowers (1989) and Major John (1991). Full tracklist: Talk About the Past, The Calendar, Make You Understand, Rise and Shine, Host, Recovery, Uniform, The Drill, Heartburn, Country of the Blind, Something Outside, The Old Men, Crush the Flowers, Carbrain, Major John, Lousy Pop Group, Brit Mix. 17 tracks, 70 minutes, full sleevenotes.

Reviews: "Assembly is a fantastic record of a group playing with an awesome amount of measured confidence... The band sound taught, scratchy and dynamic" (Tangents, February 2002); "A raw, driving Wake in their infancy - beautiful" (othermusic.com, 3/2002)




HOLY HEADS (LTMCD 2336) £10
Extended 'twofer' compilation which gathers together both post-Factory studio albums recorded for the Sarah label ie Make It Loud (1991) and Tidal Wave of Hype (1994). Full tracklist: English Rain, Glider, Firestone Tyres, American Grotto, Joke Shop, Holy Head, Henry's Work, Cheer Up Ferdinand, Shallow End, Obnoxious Kevin, Crasher, Selfish, Provincial Disco, I Told You So, Britain, Back of Beyond, Solo Project, Down On Tour Knees, Big Noise-Big Deal. 19 tracks, 72 minutes, full sleevenotes.

Reviews: "The Sarah days were great days because The Wake appeared to have been freed from the shackles of caring any more" (In Love With These Times, In Spite of These Times, March 2002); "With their Sarah albums, the Wake were making oddly personal political Protest albums... What was always so great about the Sarah era Wake songs was that it was the sound of a band enjoying themselves. English Rain and Cheer Up Ferdinand were terrific, pounding Pop gems, prickling with terrific keyboard riffs, like tinny Italo House pianos dubbed over naive electro New Wave" (Tangents, February 2002); "These two albums possess an innocence and tunefulness that is highly likeable" (Leonard's Lair, 6/03); "The Sarah-era Wake is significantly more polished, refined and - hey! - are they smiling in those pictures? It seems the clouds have cleared, and you're at a picnic with Felt and the Field Mice" (othermusic.com, March 2002)


LIVE AT THE HACIENDA 1983/84 (LTMDVD 2422) £12
70 minute, 16 track Region 0 DVD featurning two complete live sets by The Wake at the legendary Hacienda club in Manchester, recorded in July 1983 and January 1984. Ikon promo clip for the single Talk About The Past is also included as a bonus. All footage has been carefully restored, making this DVD a real treat for fans of the band. Full tracklist: Something Outside, Recovery, Uniform, The Drill, Host, Heartburn, Here Comes Everybody, Talk About the Past. Everybody Works So Hard, Something Outside, Make You Understand, Rise and Shine, Torn Calendar, Here Comes Everybody, Send Them Away, Talk About The Past (promo). 16 tracks, 70 minutes, full sleevenotes.

Reviews: to follow!

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