Bachelor Kisses
Encyclopedia
"Bachelor Kisses" was the second single released by The Go-Betweens
from their third album, Spring Hill Fair
. It was released in August 1984 by Sire Records
. In the UK a 12" single was also released on Sire. "Bachelor Kisses" was the Go-Betweens' first real attempt at a commercial single.
In a review of the song on Allmusic, Ned Raggett, comments that such a comparison is both worthwhile and not misplaced. He goes on to state that the song "has the rich, world-weary beauty one might expect from that singer in her 1980s work, but the song is very much a Go-Betweens song through and through. There's the same gentle but clear tension in the rhythm section, the crystalline but never overbearing guitar, the sense of deeper roots but a clearly modern performance" In Mat Snow's review in the October, 1984 edition of NME
he states "Only when we're confronted with a song so perfectly turned, lines so finely balanced and a melody so achingly sweet as Bachelor Kisses are we forced to notice how hollow most contemporary pop rings."
The single and the album failed to chart in the UK or Australia resulting in the band being dropped by Sire Records.
Swedish band, The Radio Dept.
, recorded an exclusive cover of "Bachelor Kisses", for the August 2007 issue of the Swedish fanzine I Godan Ro. Only 10 copies of that issue were printed.
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
from their third album, Spring Hill Fair
Spring Hill Fair
Spring Hill Fair was released in September 1984 in the UK on Sire Records. It was The Go-Betweens' third album. The LP was recorded at Studio Miraval in Le Val, France. Prior to the recording of the album, bass player Robert Vickers had joined the group, enabling Grant McLennan to move to lead...
. It was released in August 1984 by Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
. In the UK a 12" single was also released on Sire. "Bachelor Kisses" was the Go-Betweens' first real attempt at a commercial single.
In a review of the song on Allmusic, Ned Raggett, comments that such a comparison is both worthwhile and not misplaced. He goes on to state that the song "has the rich, world-weary beauty one might expect from that singer in her 1980s work, but the song is very much a Go-Betweens song through and through. There's the same gentle but clear tension in the rhythm section, the crystalline but never overbearing guitar, the sense of deeper roots but a clearly modern performance" In Mat Snow's review in the October, 1984 edition of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
he states "Only when we're confronted with a song so perfectly turned, lines so finely balanced and a melody so achingly sweet as Bachelor Kisses are we forced to notice how hollow most contemporary pop rings."
The single and the album failed to chart in the UK or Australia resulting in the band being dropped by Sire Records.
Swedish band, The Radio Dept.
The Radio Dept.
The Radio Dept. is a dream pop band from Lund, Sweden signed to Labrador Records.-History:The band was conceived in 1995 by schoolmates Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson, who named the group after a gas-station-turned-radio-repair-shop called "Radioavdelningen"...
, recorded an exclusive cover of "Bachelor Kisses", for the August 2007 issue of the Swedish fanzine I Godan Ro. Only 10 copies of that issue were printed.
Track listing
- "Bachelor Kisses" (McLennan, Forster) - 3:33
- "Rare Breed" (McLennan, Forster) - 2:53
- "Uncare and Unwise" (instrumental) (UK 12" release) (McLennan, Forster) - 3:02
Go-Betweens
- Robert ForsterRobert Forster (musician)Robert Forster is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for his work with songwriting partner Grant McLennan, with whom he co-founded The Go-Betweens.Forster grew up in Brisbane, Australia attending Brisbane Grammar School...
— vocals, guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Grant McLennanGrant McLennanGrant William McLennan was an Australian singer-songwriter with the alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, which he co-founded with Robert Forster in Brisbane, Australia in 1977...
— vocals, guitar - Lindy MorrisonLindy MorrisonBelinda "Lindy" Morrison is an Australian musician originally from Queensland. She was the drummer in indie rock group The Go-Betweens from 1980 to 1989, appearing on all the band's releases from their first LP in 1981 until the band's first break up on 26 December 1989...
— drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Robert Vickers — bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Additional musicians
- Robert Andrews — keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Ana da SilvaAna da SilvaAna da Silva is a founding member of The Raincoats. In approximately 1984 she provided backing vocals on The Go-Betweens' "Bachelor Kisses". In February 2005, she released a solo album The Lighthouse on Chicks on Speed Records. Stuart Moxham of the Young Marble Giants collaborated on one of the...
— backing vocals
Releases
| Format | Country | Label | Catalogue No. | Year |
| 7" single | UK | Sire Records | W 9156 | 1984 |
| 12" single | UK | Sire Records | W 9156 T | 1984 |
| 7" single | AUS | Sire Records | 7-29156 |
1984 |