Single Review - Saint Etienne "You're In A Bad Way"

SAINT ETIENNE "You're In A Bad Way"
HEAVENLY HVN 25
Chart Position #12
Released Feb 1993

A fun throwaway SE track which has become a staple of indie discos since. Reworked from the basic version on "So Tough", the single version has the magical credit of "Additional production by Alan Tarney" - the man behind the best A-ha and Cliff Richard singles. His additional keyboard flourishes make this the pop gem it should always have been.

How can you not love a song which opens with:
"Toast is burned, / and your coffee's cold, / and you leave all the post `cause it's nothing but bills again. / Home from work, / put the TV on. / Get your kicks watching Bruce on the old Generation Game"

I've got fond memories as I saw them live for the first time around the time of this release, at Manchester University, supported by a little known group called... Pulp. Also, they did a couple of great appearances on "The Word" and "TOTP" for this single, where they looked fantastic, (well, Sarah did anyway).

Plus it's got 3 of the best additional tracks they've ever done on the CD & 12", with "Archway People", "California Snow Story" and "Duke Duvet", all interspersed with dialogue ala the first two albums ("Spongbake!")

And it was their highest chart position at the time.

Still, the band didn't like it: here they are talking about the track from Melody Maker:

Sarah: It was supposed to be a joke, but Alan McGee said "Brilliant! Got to be an a-side!" And it was our biggest hit.
Bob: He placed this huge millstone around our necks. Placed a huge albatross round our necks. Hahahahahaha! It was a big hit, though, wasn't it?
Pete: Albatross? Yeah, it was Number One.
Bob: No, You're In A Bad Way.
Pete: You're In A Bad Way was our Albatross.
Bob: It was supposed to be a cheesy Herman's Hermits thing, stupid lyrics and that. We wrote it in about ten minutes. We were in a big A-ha phase, and we thought it was going to sound like Cry Wolf, but instead it sounded like...
Pete: Cheese Wolf.
Bob: Oh dear.

Anyway, here's an NME cover from that time and the TOTP appearancea: