The Saints This Perfect Day Single & Show # 461

 

The year 1977 was a very different time. While the Punk scene in the UK was affecting music all over, Brisbane’s The Saints were trying to find their own voice within the London music scene. After relocating to London, England following the popularity of their first single “(I’m) Stranded”, The Saints released the single This Perfect Day as a precursor to their second full length album Eternally Yours, which would come out in 1978. The single version of “This Perfect Day” would be a rawer version than the version that would eventually wind up on Eternally Yours. Lyrically the song addressed the situation that the band was going through at the time in London. The band’s label was trying to have them fit into the Punk mould at the time, even creating a “Saints suit” which was not something that the band agreed with. With lyrics such as “I've seen them drive around in cars/All look the same get drunk in bars/And don't talk back we got no social rights” and "Oh perfect day/What more to say?/Don't need someone to tell me what I don't already know", you can sense the hostility, frustration and separation that they were feeling at the time.

The song itself was recorded at Wessex Studios in London in June of 1977. It was produced by Ed Kuepper and Chris Bailey, but engineered by Bill Price. The b-side “L-I-E-S” was recorded at EMI studios in Sydney, Australia in February of 1977. The single itself was released in July of 1977. There was also a UK edition that was released as 12 inch single as opposed to a 7 inch single adding the song “Do The Robot”, which was also recorded at EMI Studios at the same session as “L-I-E-S”. This Perfect Day climbed the UK single charts going to number 34 earning the band an appearance on Top Of The Pops. Despite this good success, the single was out of stock nationally for two weeks and caused the singles momentum to stall. This prevented the band from getting the attention that they deserved. The Saints would go on to expand their sound adding more elements of R&B and Soul, but after their release of their third full length album Prehistoric Sounds, Kuepper and Bailey would go their separate ways. Bailey would continue with The Saints with different band members into the 80’s, and Kuepper would go on to form The Laughing Clowns and perform as a solo artist. The This Perfect Day single is a perfect embodiment of The Saints. Lyrically it is an example of The Saints trying to do their own thing not being attached to the popular Punk trends of the time, which is itself a very Punk attitude whether intentional or not. Musically it is the initial beginnings of the expansion of The Saints future sound.

This Week's Play List:

1. Result – Suburban Addicts
2. Jagwar Pirates - Planet Claire
3. The Human Beings – Evil Hearted You
4 The Knaves – Leave Me Alone
5. The Orwells – Suspended
6. Get Smart – Eat, Sleep A-Go-Go
7. The Beastie Boys – Eggman
8. Chang-A-Lang – Thom’s Song
9. Actual Water – Open Votes
10. The Hentchmen – West Side Brat
11. Ramblin’ Ambassadors – Superlungbucket
12. The Bell Peppers – Batman
13. Mike Jones Group – Funny Feeling
14. Rolling Stones - Rip This Joint
15. Sex Pistols - The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
16. The Rezillos – It Gets Me
17. Wasted Lives – Wirehead
18. Active Dog – Nothing Holding You
19. The Saints – This Perfect Day (Single Version)
20. The Saints – L-I-E-S
21. Richard Hell & The Voidoids – Betrayal Takes Two
22. Dead Ghosts - I Can't Get No
23. Young Rival – Black Is Good
24. The Ketamines - Don't Stop (Go On)
25. Bob Dylan - From A Buick 6
26. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
27. MC5 - High School

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 18. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.