Voice of the Beehive - Let It Bee (Anniversary Celebration)

UK release date: June 19th 1988
UK album chart peak: #13

Buy Let It Bee here (Amazon UK)

True story: I was in my favourite record shop (Andy Cash), just after my 14th birthday (early May 1988). I had an armful of Stock, Aitken and Waterman produced 7" and 12" (and sound-a-likes) in my arms, spending my birthday money up a storm. The guy behind the till asked if I wanted to try something a little bit different that he thought I'd like. Sure, I thought. One extra pound on a new sound won't hurt. That is when he handed me a brand new release - Don't Call Me Baby by a group called Voice of the Beehive. "It's pop with an edge" he informed me. "Think of them of the Anglo-GoGos. The British Bangles" (even though I would later learn that Tracey and Melissa were from California). It was the first of my purchases that I played when I got home and I was absolutely enchanted with the song. I called Andy Cash straight away, enquiring if they had any other of their music in stock (they did) and thus, I became a Voice Of The Beehive fan on the eve of their British success. Let It Bee, their debut album, turns thirty this week and revisiting it is a giddy treat of exhilarating instrumentals, clever lyrics and timeless hooks. Plus, it elicits all sorts of memories from my youth. If you haven't checked it out for a while, you could do a lot worse than starting with the singles...

• Just A City ~ The Voice Of The Beehive story started way before their UK chart breakthrough. Back in 1987, their debut single was released with a vibrant, colourful video - and did (criminally) nothing. I didn't discover this song until I bought the album (this was the days before you could look everything up on Wikipedia then view it on YouTube), but I fell hard for it on my first listen. The jangly, layered guitar riffs and live-sounding percussion perfectly encapsulated the manic, swirling atmosphere of the titular place, whilst the dual lead vocals imparted that sense of wonder and awe that being a small fish in a big pond can elicit. Ultimately, it is just a rather marvelous introduction to the band.
• Don't Call Me Baby ~ the group had 2 other singles before their breakout hit and I will surely return to those imminently (as they were re-released after the success of this smash). This, however, captured the attention of UK radio thanks to endlessly memorable chorus refrain and the empowering sass of the titular message. It was a slow but steady climb up the charts, aided, no doubt, by the thoroughly fun video clip. Not putting up with rogueish behaviour has rarely sounded so glorious, particularly the middle 8 build up to the final chorus. I was entranced, particularly by the cheeky, face-pulling drummer (feelings I would later realise were one of my first crushes). The song sounds as splendid today as it did thirty years ago. Rightly defined now as a classic of the eighties.
• I Say Nothing ~ kudos to London records for sticking with the group while they built a following and pursued chart success. I'm not sure such loyalty would exist in today's record business. I Say Nothing had a second shake of success, re-released after both Don't Call Me Baby and the parent album Let It Bee reached the top 15 charts here in Blighty. Looking back on this song, I am struck by how much fun the group seem to be having, thoroughly enjoying the process of putting their world view to music. This comes across in the invigorating chorus and exhilarating score, all coalescing to make this a rollicking romp for the ages. I have suppressed the memory of me being insufferably smug with friends that I owned the original 7" of this because I must have been unbearable (sometimes it is better to say nothing). Still, it was a song so nice I bought it twice. Gave the group another top thirty hit here (though should have done better) and their first notable US chart success on the modern rock charts (whatever that is). Hurrah!
• I Walk The Earth ~ pre-success, this song made number 42 then peaked at 46 on re-release. I'm gonna add the totals together and assume that this was a solid top thirty hit for them, as it should have been. At the time, I recall thinking that this song (and the band) was so unappreciated for how spectacular it was. Perhaps their rockiest effort to date (other than Just A City), the frenetic energy was contagious and left you with a frisson of excitement that lingered long after the music finished. A song full of adventure and anticipation, it also demonstrated what a cohesive unit all members of Voice of The Beehive were. Each note, beat and word knitted together to provide a layered experience that just got (and gets) better with each subsequent listen.
• Man In The Moon ~ quirky wit and mellifluous magic combined to ensure that this was actually quite a poignant single. Who hasn't dreamed about someone out there who will be the man (or woman) of your dreams. Their first real ballad, this failed to find the audience it deserved but this doesn't mean it is any less than the singles which proceeded it. I played this song incessantly (and was one of the first pop songs I learned on piano). A charming coda to the excellent album and actually a fitting finale to the stories the group told on their previous singles. Definitely kept me going until they released my favourite single of theirs as a comeback - Monsters and Angels(but you'll have to wait til August 2021 for the 30th anniversary review of that).