A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #31

2025-11-21
Categories: substack

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A Head Full of Wishes newsletter #31

Cheval Sombre - Althea 10”

So, another appearance for Cheval Sombre and one that nearly slipped through the net, This is a 10” single released by Fat Elvis Records in 2021.

The single contains three tracks, Althea on the a-side and Are You Ready and So Far Away on the flip. The credits for the single are written on the label, in tiny, tiny type and ill-chosen colour contrast so I almost missed that ‘Are You Ready’ credited Dean Wareham on ‘electric guitars’.

Seriously, my eyes aren't good enough for this!

Are You Ready had also been released on Cheval Sombre’s Days Go By the version on the single is described as a “Sonic Boom AM remix” although is not all that different (to these ears) from the album version, if pushed I’d say that I might prefer the single version.

So Far Away is a cover of the track from Dire Straits’ massive Brothers in Arms album and Cheval Sombre’s cover is a gloriously gentle and very low-key solo version.

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/092
Artist: Cheval Sombre
Title: Althea
Format: 10” single
Bought from Norman Records in November 2021 for £15.99 plus postage - £21 for a three track single - ouch!
Buy ‘Althea’ on Bandcamp

Previously in my record collection:

Luna - Smile (CD)

This is the CD version of Smile, and is because of that one of my earliest Luna acquisitions, after Lunapark. It was released in 1993, one of three exceptional EPs the band released between Lunapark and Bewitched (although one of them I don’t own and was an amalgam of the other two). I’ve already written about the 12” single.

The EP has the album versions of Smile and Slash Your Tires, Rollercoaster which I covered in the previous post, and in a lost tracks post a few years back. But it’s the fourth track that really made this EP essential…

Hey Sister was recorded by Dave Fridmann at Toxic Shock Studios in NYC. Grasshopper of Mercury Rev played guitar and pre-Stanley drummer Byron Guthrie played drums, and the middle eight wig out is sensational - the Lunapark Hey Sister is great, but the rawness of this version means I love it all the more… I love Dean’s counting “six {beat / beat / beat} seven {beat / beat / beat} eight {beat / beat} OK”.

Luna - Hey Sister (Toxic Shock demo) (play on YouTube)

I paid £4.50 for this at Rough Trade in Covent Garden - the price sticker has an “071” number and the 071 codes were discontinued in 1995… although I’d be very surprised if I didn’t buy this in the first few weeks of release in 1993!

Last time out I was just about to go and see the EP cover star Kim Novak in “Bell, Book, and Candle”… again, this time I’ve just watched “Vertigo”… again - I only have the two copies of the single so no “Pal Joey”!?

Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/069
Artist: Luna
Title: Smile
Packaging: Slimline jewel case
Format: CD
Bought from Rough Trade Covent Garden in 1993 for £4.50 (which seems quite pricey!

Previously in my record collection:

[203] Luna - Smile EP

This coming week in history

22nd November 2024

… the first anniversary of the release of A Peace of Us and release day was celebrated with a 15 minute live stream on Instagram from Dean & Britta’s living room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_myrS3Tw3Q

25th November 2007

Damon & Naomi played The Scala in London… the only time I took a half-decent camera to a show so there are a stack of pics on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/2121/2063363107_10febc8382_b.jpg

This weeks discoveries and rediscoveries

Damon & Naomi Cafe Oto residency in January

Damon & Naomi will be coming to London in the new year to play a three night residency at the lovely Cafe Oto in Dalston.

They play the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of January and will have “friends” guesting - including Stewart Lee, Laetitia Sadier, Richard Youngs and Gina Birch, “and more tba!”

Tickets are available now - either for individual shows or a discounted three day pass.

The first of 16 Galaxie 500 test pressings up for auction now

A test pressing of Galaxie 500’s debut album is now being auctioned. The test pressing is the first of sixteen test pressings that will be made available via auction and all will come in unique one-of-a-kind sleeves hand-made and signed by Naomi Yang.

The test pressing is from the first issue of the LP on Aurora records in 1988.

The auction runs for seven days and has a starting price of $300.

This is number 01 of 16 Galaxie 500 test pressings, each in a unique sleeve designed by Naomi as a series in 2025. The sleeves feature images from Naomi’s archive of sketches and mechanicals used to create the commercial cover art for each corresponding Galaxie 500 release. In the same way that a test pressing is needed to make a final LP, these sketches and mechanicals were used to create the final artwork for the original release.

The image created for each album's test pressing has been mounted on an piece of original Pantone color paper from the late 80’s, also from Naomi’s archive, then stamped and hand labeled and signed by Naomi in 2025. Pantone color papers were crucial to the pre-digital design work that Naomi employed on all the original Galaxie 500 releases. Each test pressing in the series uses a different Pantone color - each number in the series is unique.

eBay auction listing

The other items in the series will be auctioned over the coming weeks and are:

01 Today (Aurora, 1988)
02 Today (Aurora, 1988)
03 Today (Rough Trade UK, 1991)
04 Today (20|20|20, 2009)
05 On Fire (Rough Trade UK, 1989)
06 On Fire (Rough Trade US, 1989)
07 On Fire (Rough Trade US, 1989)
08 On Fire (Rough Trade US, 1989)
09 On Fire (20|20|20, 2009)
10 Blue Thunder (Rough Trade UK, 1990)
11 Blue Thunder (Rough Trade UK, 1990)
12 Blue Thunder (Rough Trade UK, 1990)
13 This Is Our Music (Rough Trade UK, 1990)
14 This Is Our Music (Rough Trade US, 1990)
15 This Is Our Music (20|20|20, 2009)
16 Fourth of July (Rough Trade UK, 1990)

SubstackA Head Full of Wishes newsletter #31