Another Pretty Face – All The Boys Love Carrie [7''] (1979, New Pleasures)

 

Released in May 1979 on the tiny independent New Pleasures label, 'All The Boys Love Carrie' was the debut 7-inch by Another Pretty Face, an Edinburgh group led by Mike Scott a few years before he formed The Waterboys. At that point the group was still deeply rooted in the late-70s punk and new wave explosion, mixing sharp guitars, nervous energy and a huge sense of romantic urgency. The original pressing of the single was only around 1,000 copies, issued with a fold-out sleeve, which immediately gave it cult status among collectors and Scottish punk obsessives. 

 
The A-side, written by Scott, is one of those records that sounds both scrappy and completely alive, carrying echoes of power pop, punk and street-level rock’n’roll all at once. The B-side, “That’s Not Enough”, credited to Scott and guitarist John Caldwell, pushed further into the rough-edged new wave sound the group was developing at the time. John Peel picked up on the single quickly and gave it several spins on his BBC show during 1979, helping the band gain attention outside Scotland. 

 
Nobody saw it at the time, but Mike Scott had always proclaimed his love of Springsteen’s music and now, with the benefit of a quarter of a century’s hindsight, the first Another Pretty Face single is clearly a punked-up Bruce song. Mike Scott was to get more polished in The Waterboys, but at the expense of the kind of passion that spills out of "All the Boys Love Carrie". 

 
Another Pretty Face only lasted from 1979 to 1981, though they left behind a handful of terrific singles before briefly evolving into Funhouse. Looking back now, “All The Boys Love Carrie” feels like an early glimpse of Scott’s songwriting instincts before the grander sound and poetic ambition of The Waterboys took over. 

 

 

Label: New Pleasures – Z1 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Green Sleeve 

Country: UK 

Released: May 1979 

Style: New Wave, Power Pop, Jangle Pop 

 

Tracklist: 

A All The Boys Love Carrie 

B That's Not Enough 

 

Notes:  

Two editions: First pressing of 1000 copies with green poster sleeve. Second pressing of 5000 with red sleeve. 

 

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