Originally released 15th September 2003
Porn Shoes/Gabriel in the Airport CD single and 7 inch. CD single includes two extra tracks ‘Punk Rock is going to Die’ and ‘Nasty and Mean’. CD SINGLE SOLD OUT.
Porn Shoes/Gabriel in the Airport
Category: Single shop pages
Alan Bean – single
Originally released 27th August 2001
A song about the fourth man to walk on the moon (‘the Ringo Starr of astronauts’, as Darren puts it), ‘Alan Bean’ was released on 2 CDs, the first including the b-sides ‘Horror Show’ (intended ‘to sound a bit like Missy Elliot’s “Supa Dupa Fly”’, claims Darren) and ‘A Better Man’ (a duet with Amelia Fletcher), the second alongside ‘Just Take Care’, and ‘Charlie Girl’ (with a drum loop ‘sampled from someone so incredibly famous I couldn’t possibly mention’). The 7-inch includes two remixes by Rothko and Munit.
Buy Alan Bean CD-1
Buy Alan Bean CD-2
Buy Alan Bean on 7-inch
Good Fruit – Single
Originally released 14th August 2000.
‘Our most successful song from our most successful album’, muses Darren. Featuring vocals from Amelia Fletcher (whose indie pedigree includes Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research and Tender Trap), the single achieved substantial radio play and was packaged as a 2 CD edition: disc 1 included the home-recorded b-sides, ‘Jubilee’ and the instrumental ‘Blackhorse Road’, while disc 2 featured ‘I Will Make Her Love Me’ and ‘Seafaring’. The 7-inch included two remixes by The Wisdom of Harry and Piano Magic.
Buy Good Fruit CD-1
Buy Good Fruit CD-2
The Greedy Ugly People – Single
Originally released 2nd October 2000.
Darren’s favourite Hefner song for its ‘simplicity of lyric and sentiment, but done in an original way’. The double CD edition featured, on CD-1, the b-sides ‘Milkmaids’ and ‘Kate Cleaver’s House’, and ‘Everything’s Falling Apart’ and ‘Don’t Give Up On Us Babe’ (a David Soul cover) on CD-2, while the 7-inch included two remixes by Baxendale (a band previously released by Darren on his now-defunct label Evil World) and Electric Sound of Joy. A rare twelve-inch also exists featuring a longer version of Baxendale’s mix.
Buy The Greedy Ugly People CD-1
Buy The Greedy Ugly People CD-2
Christian Girls – Single
Originally released April 2000 on Too Pure.
Released on CD and 7-inch with the b-sides ‘We Don’t Care What They Say About Us’ and ‘The Fear’ (omitted from the 7-inch), the single version of ‘Christian Girls’ represents the third recording of the song; having signed Hefner on the basis of its original recording, Too Pure placed pressure on the band to re-record it as a single. After recording ‘More Christian Girls’ (the same song with different lyrics), the band relented and released the final version of the single, which would subsequently appear on Boxing Hefner.
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I Took Her Love For Granted – Single
Originally released 11th October 1999 on Too Pure.
The third and final single from The Fidelity Wars, ‘I Took Her Love For Granted’ was released on CD and 7-inch with ‘To Hide A Little Thought’ (omitted from the 7-inch) and a Jonathan Richman cover, ‘A Bellyful Of Babies’, as its b-sides. The single’s video, shot by John Hardwick, featured the band running through a south London park, apparently naked (but wearing nylon body stockings). ‘I remember John, the director, making us watch The Magnificent Seven before the day to get us into character,’ recalls Darren.
Buy I Took Her Love For Granted CD
Hymn For The Cigarettes – Single
Originally released 21st June 1999 on Too Pure.
One of Hefner’s most well-loved songs, The Hymn For The Cigarettes showcases the rockier sound the band would begin to exhibit in The Fidelity Wars. It was released on CD and 7-inch with the b-sides ‘Grandmother Dies’ and ‘Lisa And Me’, as well as a cover of the Beach Boys’ ‘You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone’.
Buy Hymn For The Cigarettes CD
The Sweetness Lies Within – Single
Originally released 5th October 1998.
The final single from Breaking God’s Heart, ‘The Sweetness Lies Within’ was released on CD and 7-inch with the b-sides ‘Normal Molly’, ‘A Hymn For Berlin’, and ‘Hello Kitten’, a track as notorious amongst fans for its catchy chorus as for the fact that (in Darren’s words) ‘it is, of course, about wanking’.
Buy The Sweetness Lies Within CD