"Safety Net" is a song by The Shop Assistants

The Shop Assistants

Shop Assistants were an indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as Buba & The Shop Assistants. After achieving success with independent releases they signed to Chrysalis Records sublabel Blue Guitar, releasing their only album in 1986...

 which was recorded in 1985 and released as a single in 1986.

Recordings

The song was first recorded for the band's first session for John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

's BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 show on 8 October 1985. It was recorded for release on 24 and 25 October 1985 at Pier House, Edinburgh, and released as a single on guitarist David Keegan and Stephen Pastel's 53rd & 3rd Records in February 1986, the first release on the label.

Charts and reception

The single reached number two on the UK Independent Chart, spending seventeen weeks in the chart in total. The song was voted to number eight on the 1986 Festive Fifty

Festive Fifty

The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's fifty best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show...

, with only tracks by The Smiths

The Smiths

The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

, Primal Scream

Primal Scream

Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...

, The Fall and "Kiss" by Age of Chance

Age of Chance

Age of Chance were a British alternative rock-dance crossover band from Leeds, England active from 1985 to 1991. They were perhaps most known for their mutant metallic cover of Prince's "Kiss" which topped the UK Indie Chart in 1986, and peaked at #50 in the UK Singles Chart in January the...

 receiving more votes. "Safety Net" was described by David Sheridan of Trouser Press

Trouser Press

Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...

as "nothing short of brilliant". Gillian Watson of The Scotsman

The Scotsman

The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....

called the song an "early classic", which "captures how nervous and exciting it feels to be a young adult in the city at night".

Personnel

• Alex Taylor - vocals
• David Keegan - guitar
• Sarah Kneale - bass
• Laura MacPhail - drums
• Ann - drums

• Sleeve: Stephen Pastel & Shop Assistants
• Shop Assistants photos: Karen Parker