Vee VV – Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness [LP] (1988, Payola)

Vee VV were a New Wave/indie rock band that came out of Blackpool in the early 1980s and stayed active through to around 1990. They sat firmly in that rough-edged UK underground scene where bands mixed jangly indie guitars with post-punk tension and a bit of noise. Their sound wasn’t polished or radio-friendly in the mainstream sense -it was sharp, urgent and very much part of the late-80s independent spirit. The lineup shifted a lot over the years, but Martin Reynolds and Mark Ormrod stuck around for most of the band’s life. One of the founding members, Ian Butterworth, left toward the end of the decade, around 1988.

 
They built their reputation mainly through live gigs rather than big commercial releases. Around the North West and across the UK they developed a cult following and ended up sharing stages with some seriously important bands of the era -Jesus and Mary Chain, New Order, James, My Bloody Valentine, A Certain Ratio and others. That gives a pretty good idea of the musical territory they lived in: noisy, independent, intense and slightly left-field. 

Their mini-album 'Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness' came out on vinyl in 1988 on the Payola label. It’s a six-track release and feels very much like a snapshot of that raw, scrappy indie moment. The first four songs actually came from a Piccadilly Radio session recorded in Manchester, which adds to its live-in-the-studio energy. The remaining tracks kept the same gritty feel. Production was handled by Nick Garside at Out of the Blue Studio, and the artwork was done by Rachael Ball. Over time the record became a bit of a collector’s piece, especially since the vinyl has been sold out for years. 

Musically the mini-LP captures Vee VV at their most direct -loud guitars, tight rhythms, slightly abrasive textures and that restless late-80s indie urgency. It isn’t glossy or carefully layered; it sounds like a band pushing hard in real time, which is exactly why fans of that era love it.

 
Years later, interest in the band resurfaced and a retrospective called 'Payola' was released in 2019, pulling together recordings from 1982 to 1989 and showing how the band evolved through different incarnations. More recently, a 2024 release called 'Crackerjack!' appeared under the Vee VV name, suggesting the project (or at least the name) carried on in some form with newer recordings and a cleaner modern production style.

 

 

Label: Payola – PAYLP1 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Mini-Album 

Country: UK 

Released: May 8, 1988 

Style: Post-Punk

 

Tracklist: 

A1 Red Shelley 

A2 Fish On Friday 

A3 Better The Devil 

B1 Shoot The Moon 

B2 Romance Is Over 

B3 Love Canal 

 

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