Number Ones: #125

• BOURGEOIS TAGG I Don’t Mind At All (Island)
• Week Ending 27th February 1988
• 1 Week At #1

The single which dethroned Tower Of Strength went back even further in rock’s illustrious history for its, um, inspiration. I Don’t Mind At All felt like it wanted to be on The White Album, a gentle rumination lasting less than three minutes that Lennon/McCartney (mainly McCartney) might have been reasonably proud of.

So yes, it sounds a lot like The Beatles. A good few years before Oasis swaggered into view. Though of course it would have been Noel on lead vocals. But we digress.

Bourgeois Tagg were a band of contradictions, misnomers and red herrings. The name sounded as though they ought to be a duo. They weren’t. This single gives the impression they specialise in acoustic, minor-chord gems a la the Fab Four. They don’t. In fact they don’t even have two distinct styles, more like half-a-dozen. And that’s just on the Yo-Yo album from which I Don’t Mind At All was lifted.

(There’s a detailed look at Yo-Yo elsewhere on the blog, which to my surprise has proved to be one of the most popular features on AFDPJ so far. Sometimes you just write about certain obscure music for the love of it, not imagining the reaction it might get).