The Railway Children - A Gentle Sound (1990)

The Railway Children formed in Wigan in the summer of 1984, being fronted by singer and guitarist Gary Newby, alongside Brian Bateman on rhythm guitar, Guy Keegan on drums, and Stephen Hull on bass. They started playing the then buoyant music circuits of Wigan and Manchester, and the buzz created by the band was immediate, resulting in them signing to the enigmatic Factory Records, home of Joy Division and New Order. A mini album 'Reunion Wilderness' was recorded in 1987, and featured their first single 'A Gentle Sound', and the follow up 'Brighter'. Both singles were an instant hit with the thriving indie scene and the critically acclaimed album went straight to number one in the independent charts. A string of tours and radio sessions quickly followed and as the band saw their fan base grow dramatically, inevitably major label interest grew. Virgin America was one such label who saw the chart potential of The Railway Children and signed them, and the the resultant album 'Recurrence' showed the band at their peak. The singles lifted from it, 'Over And Over', 'Somewhere South' and 'In the Meantime', all managed to skirt around the edges of the top forty, but a hit in the UK national charts remained elusive. During the following years the band spread the word, particularly in the U.S, where tours of college towns with The Sugarcubes and The Hearthrobs saw them achieve considerable success, as well as plays on college radio. A support slot with REM across Europe and a UK tour with Lloyd Cole also followed - now all that was missing was that elusive chart hit. 1990 saw the band take a more pop-orientated direction with the release of the 'Native Place' album, which had keyboard textures coming more to the fore than previously. 

The strategy worked, and 'Every Beat Of The Heart' became a top 40 hit in the UK, peaking at No. 24. However at this point the relationship between band and record company deteriorated, as the group became increasingly unhappy with the overly commercial direction the label were pushing them in. Inevitably the next recording session proved to be much more of a band affair, a kind of reaction to the polished pop sound of 'Native Place', and so it was no surprise that the result of the new sessions, the single 'So Right', a raw edgy track and completely different to anything on 'Native Place', failed to repeat the chart success of 'Every Beat Of The Heart'. Around the same time EMI took over Virgin and a number of bands including The Railway Children found themselves without a record label, and following their departure from Virgin, they decided to call it a day. Keegan later had a spell in the Wigan-based folk rock band The Tansads, The Crash Band, and The Ultras, while Hull and Bateman left music for good. After a lengthy hiatus Newby released his next album under the Railway Children name, with 'Dream Arcade' coming out on his own Ether Records label in 1997. It was far more melodic than the 'So Right' sessions, but not as produced as earlier albums, although it does boast many fine moments, and is a must-hear for fans of the band. The Railway Children deserve to be more well-known than they are, but the lack of chart success has resulted in them being consigned to the huge list of also-rans who made some good, but little-known, music at the height of the indie revolution of the 80's. Hopefully this collection of singles and b-sides from their six-year lifespan will bring them to the attention of the wider public. 

Track listing 

Disc I - 1986-1990
01 A Gentle Sound (single 1986)
02 Content (b-side of 'Gentle Sound')
03 Darkness And Colour (b-side of 'Gentle Sound')
04 History Burns (b-side of 'Brighter' 1987)
05 Careful (b-side of 'Brighter' 1987)
06 Second Nature (b-side of 'In The Meantime' 1988)
07 I Caught You (b-side of 'In The Meantime' 1988)
08 You Can't Follow The World (b-side of 'Somewhere South' 1988)
09 Waterfall (b-side of 'Somewhere South' 1988)
10 Union City Blue (live) (b-side of 'Over And Over' 1988)
11 So Right (single 1990)
12 Kinds Of Fuel (b-side of 'So Right')

Disc II - 1990-1991

01 Everybody (b-side of 'Every Beat Of The Heart' 1990)
02 Give It Away (b-side of 'Every Beat Of The Heart' 1990)
03 Strange Attractor (b-side of 'Every Beat Of The Heart' 1990)
04 What She Wants (b-side of 'Music Stop' 1990)
05 Tell Me (b-side of 'Music Stop' 1990)
06 I Feel (b-side of 'Music Stop' 1990)
07 Flight (b-side of 'Music Stop' 1990)
08 Incarnation (b-side of 'Music Stop' 1990)
09 Hours Go By (b-side of 'Something So Good' 1991)
10 After The Rain (b-side of 'Something So Good' 1991)
11 Step Aside (b-side of 'Something So Good' 1991)
12 Go Ahead (b-side of 'Something So Good' 1991)
13 Standing Too Still (b-side of 'Something So Good' 1991)