The Wake - Testament: Best Of (2014)

Factory Benelux presents Testament, a comprehensive best of collection by influential Scottish group The Wake, including tracks recorded for cult labels Factory and Sarah Records.

The Wake formed in Glasgow in early 1981 after singer/guitarist Caesar left future pop stars Altered Images. Joined by Carolyn Allen (keyboards), Steven Allen (drums) and Bobby Gillespie (bass), the band joined Factory the following year, recording debut mini album Harmony at Strawberry Studios in Stockport and subsequently hailed as the missing indiepop link between Factory and Postcard Records. After Gillespie departed for Primal Scream and the Jesus and Mary Chain, The Wake issued second album Here Comes Everybody in 1985, with standout track O Pamela later covered by artful French ensemble Nouvelle Vague.

After leaving Factory the group joined cult Bristol imprint Sarah Records, releasing a brace of indiepop singles and albums in the Nineties before going on hiatus. Caesar and Carolyn reconvened as The Wake in 2009, releasing fifth album A Light Far Out three years later, with more new material due in 2015.

Testament combines key album tracks with popular singles including On Our Honeymoon, Something Outside, Talk About the Past, Of the Matter and Crush the Flowers. Also included are a previously unreleased 7 edit of Pale Spectre, and (on the CD only) 2012 outtake Clouds Disco. The vinyl edition includes a 54 minute bonus CD featuring 21 early live and demo recordings from 1981/82, preserved in the tape archive of Joy Division/New Order manager Rob Gretton. Among these priceless lost recordings are 7 songs never before heard even on bootlegs.