Wire in the 80s - Classic Or Dud?

my long-held assumption is that 'kidney bingos' is a reference to the idea of there being a 'postcode lottery' for health care provision in the UK i.e. your access to certain services or treatments depends on where you live

never really tried to decipher the verses before but they're cut-up 80s uk media stories afaict

Sometimes I wonder if A Bell is a Cup Until It Is Struck is the best Wire album.

God, no.

It’s great, but I wouldn’t say best. It took me years to realize that ‘80s Wire were almost great too, just different. I like Manscape even! The First Letter is not so hot, though.

-almost-

Much prefer The First Letter to Manscape tbh.

is there anything more wistful than the kidney bingos outro

― the absence of bikes (f. hazel),

My favorite Graham Lewis vocal performance too.

Much prefer The First Letter to Manscape tbh.

They're about equally modestly underrated. Manscape is cluttered and busy, with occasionally gripping textures; the first letter is cleaner and clearer and actually has some hooks.

My favorite Graham Lewis vocal performance too.

The coda of this song was possibly the highlight when I saw them in 2011.

I prefer the minimalism of their 90s output