Punk cover of Wuthering Heights

[min@waknuk.demon.co.uk (Araminta Thorne)]

kuyper@cfree.baps.com "Kuyper Hoffman" wrote:

> Just heard the most amazing thing on a Local Radio Station (5FM Countrywide
> in South Africa)
> 
> A Hidden track at the end of a CD, 30 min of silence before this Punk
> Cover of Wuthering Heights, sounds just like the Sex Pistols!
> Brilliant!
> 
> Band is called China Drum, missed the album name, maybe Kevin Savage
> can do a group reply to the list and let us all know?
> 

China Drum's Wuthering Heights is the B-side to their "Can't stop these
things" single (released in the UK in February or March on Beggars Banquet
Records).
It's pretty mindblowing.  It's still in the shops, or otherwise is 
available to order.  If anyone has difficulties getting hold of it I'm 
sure I could find it in me to lend a helping hand :-)

Their debut album (released a week or two ago) is called Goosefair - I 
haven't yet heard all of it but what I have heard I've liked.  So far as 
I can tell it is only the CD version of the album that includes the WH cover.
The vinyl version includes a China Drum fanzine that lists their discography 
- apparently they released a limited Wuthering Heights 7" in April 1995 
(only 800 copies).

I first heard it on BBC's Radio 1 in Jan. or Feb.  I was innocently sitting
down doing something innocent when I suddenly realised that I knew the
words of the song that was playing VERY WELL INDEED.  It does NOT try to 
sound anything like Kate (China Drum's vocalist, in fact the whole group, 
is male.  And, as Kuyper says, it's roughly punk in style.  Or should that
be punkly rough...  I saw a review which described them as punk-pop - 
but surely that's a contradiction in terms...?).  
The DJ who played it said that its B-side re-release had been in answer 
to the stir that it caused at their gigs.

Anyway, congratulations to China Drum for such an unpretentious, no-holds-
barred triumph of a cover.  And to a certain Kate Bush for writing such 
a masterpiece in the first place :-)

>From the recent de-lurker who's already let the cat out of the bag that
there are other styles of music apart from Kate's that get her all
excited :-)
-- 
Min Thorne
min@waknuk.demon.co.uk  or  araminta@quantime.co.uk