The Wedding Present bringing the gift of music to Cambridge
The popular band was formed in Leeds in 1985 by David Gedge, who has remained the only constant member throughout its existence.
The collective’s debut album, George Best, was released in 1987 and their most recent long-playing effort, Going, Going... came out in 2016.
Hits, the majority of which came in the late 80s, early 90s, include Kennedy, Three, Silver Shorts, California and Come Play with Me.
The Storey’s Field Centre at Eddington will be hosting the current Wedding Present lineup on Wednesday, October 3.
David tells the Cambridge Independent that since the launch of Going, Going... two years ago, it’s been “non-stop,” adding: “We did the normal tours for that, and then last year was the 30th anniversary of George Best, which was the first album, so we were doing stuff for that as well.
“Then this year it’s been the 30th anniversary of Tommy, which was a compilation of really early singles, so we’ve been on tour for two years with different sets.”
He continues: “I think the longer you keep on doing something like this, there’s more opportunity for retrospectives and things.
“So we had a book that came out last year, which was a fan-sourced history of The Wedding Present, and somebody made a film about George Best as well which is getting screenings around the country now.
“I was involved in both of those things quite heavily so it’s been a busy couple of years.”
Listening back to some of The Wedding Present’s singles from more than 25 years ago, their guitar-based sound could be seen as pre-dating the mid-90s Britpop explosion by a few years.
“I think a lot of bands who started in the ’80s into the early ’90s were kind of a pre-cursor to Britpop, if you like,” says David, “and I think there was resentment in a way because suddenly all those bands in the ’90s got massive, and some of the originators felt a bit miffed that they missed out on that – but it’s never really bothered me that much.
“I think a lot of those things, with culture in general and pop music, is it’s being in the right place at the right time, and I know loads of bands who made great records and never got anywhere.”
The Cambridge gig next month will be a Tommy anniversary show, “so we’ll be performing Tommy in its entirety,” says David, adding: “It’s 12 tracks, but some of them are quite short and fast, so it only takes up half the set. The rest of the set will be composed of tracks from the rest of the 30-odd years of The Wedding Present, including some new ones, I imagine.”
He is impressed with the group’s current incarnation. “I’ve been very happy with the way the band’s been sounding over the last year or so,” he enthuses, “I think it’s come together very nicely.
“We had a couple of lineup changes over the last few years, but the lineup we’ve had since Going, Going... came out has gelled really well, and you can see that from the reactions from other people – fans seem to really like this lineup as well.
Storey’s Field Centre, 7pm, Wednesday, October 3. Tickets £22, visit storeysfieldcentre.org.uk.