Hurrah! - Tell God I'm Here [2CD Set] (1987/2009)

One of the brightest hopes to emerge from Newcastle- Upon-Tyne’s bespoke Kitchenware label in the early 80s, Hurrah! were one of a select breed of acts from that era whose influence far outweighed record sales. Pursuing an idea instead of a career, they bravely failed to make the transition from magical indie 45s to corporate album sales. Tell God I’m Here was their first stab at the latter, an impassioned clutch of songs which seemed to promise widespread appeal. In Sweet Sanity, Hurrah! boasted a radiofriendly anthem somewhere between U2, Wah! Heat and The Waterboys (only better). But it bombed.

This deluxe edition couples the 10-track album with a bonus disc, which, though not stated here, heavily leans on an earlier Rev-Ola CD, The Sound Of Philadelphia, compiling early (pre-Arista) Kitchenware 45s, demo’s and outtakes (also reactivated as a download-only release, along with Hurrah!’s live album The Way Ahead). That CD was marred by tinny sound quality which hasn’t been fully rectified here. Still, the 18 tracks include such gems as rousing debut 7” The Sun Shines Here and the rousing Gloria – an inspiration to the likes of Creation’s Alan McGee and a generation of indie bands. But perhaps we’re still waiting for Hurrah!’s work to be properly anthologised…