Before he partnered with gal pal Clare Ward to form the seminal Sarah Records, Matt Haynes authored a popular fanzine entitled, Are You Scared To Get Happy? The zine's stellar prose was described as being evocative, yet ethereal, as Haynes often tackled the hot-button issues of the day (such as the growing commercialism within the U.K. indie scene) with beautifully written aplomb. Remember Fun, a band Haynes was quite familiar with, took the same approach: mix the sweet with the scathing. During the late 1980s, the Glasgow-based band became known for their lovely, shimmering guitar pop and the way it contrasted nicely with their biting, socially charged lyrics.
The group's first single came about thanks to Haynes, who released it on his pre-Sarah Sha-la-la label. According to Haynes, the goal was to be "anti the status quo," so all releases on Sha-la-la were of the seven-inch, flexi disc variety, with each record featuring two different bands. Remember Fun's "Hey Hey Hate" was released in 1987, with Emily’s "The Old Stone Bridge" on the flip side.
Two more song releases then followed: "Clearly Blurred" on an Airspace charity LP later that year; then "Cold Inside" on Egg Records' A Lighthouse In The Desert compilation, which was released in November of 1989.
In 2001, Matinee Recordings stepped up and re-issued some of Remember Fun's catalog. The four-song Trains Journey EP can be purchased here. The music calls to mind contemporaries such as The Close Lobsters, as well as latter-day Scottish groups like The Trash Can Sinatras.
Hear it for yourself. Download: "Clearly Blurred" by Remember Fun.
