Wire announces 2 new exclusive releases for Record Store Day
Wire announces 2 new exclusive releases for Record Store Day
A double LP edition of Wire’s “Nine Sevens” box set and a never released on vinyl update of WIR’s 1996 release now entitled “Vien +” will be available on Record Store Day, April 12.
“Nine Sevens” is a collection of their 7” singles first released in 2018. The only thing really that these tracks have in common (besides being by Wire) is that they were released or destined to be released on 7” by Wire in the period 1977-1980. WIR’s “Vien +” on the other hand is an updated version of their 1996 release that has never been available on vinyl until now
For those who don’t understand the WIR name, that is the moniker for Wire’s second chapter. WIR was created after drummer Robert Grey left in 1990 and to fulfil the final phase of Wire’s Mute Records contract. WIR was, however, not a long-term project and besides completing their only album,”The First Letter”, their only other activities were a very small number of gigs and two multi-artist conceptual happenings under the name ‘I Saw You’.
One of these was in Clapham in April 1992 on election night and the other in Vienna in Feb 1993. On tha Vienna trip, in addition to playing the gig, the band recorded a radio session for the Austrian nationa broadcaster ORF which was organised by the late Peter Rehberg – later the person behind MEGO. This was released in 1996 by Touch on CD and consisted of two long tracks with a running time of almost 25 minutes. Once the short run of CDs had sold out, the rights technically fell to the band, and pinkflag released it – digital only – in 2007. It has never been released on vinyl before now.
Below is a video of an edited version of “The First Letter”.
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