Listen to the Wedding Present cover of The Beatles song ‘Getting Better’
Formed in Leeds in 1985, The Wedding Present used the awkward energy of outsiders to revitalise UK indie. With David Gedge’s earnest vocal at the centre, the group’s sound blends frantic, hooky riffs with post-punk ferocity. Early singles such as 1985’s ‘Go Out And Get Em’ Boy’ and 1986 effort ‘You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends’ carried the lyrical wit that would come to define the band’s best-loved singles. They earned The Wedding Present the support of cultural gatekeeper John Peel and the hearts of the national music press. Together, they breathed new life into guitar pop. Join us, then, as we revisit their brilliant cover of ‘Getting Better’ by the foundational British guitar group, The Beatles.
‘Getting Better’ carries John Lennon’s darkness and Paul McCartney’s light. A collaboration between the songwriting duo, the distinctly jovial music was composed mostly by McCartney, while the song’s confessional lyrics were a joint effort – though it is Lennon’s voice that cuts through. The track’s title phrase popped into McCartney’s head during a walk on Hampstead Heath with his sheepdog Martha.
Discussing the origins of the song, McCartney told Beatles biographer Hunter Davis: “Getting Better’ I wrote on my magic Binder, Edwards and Vaughan piano in my music room. It had a lovely tone, that piano, you’d just open the lid, and there was such a magic tone, almost out of tune, and of course, the way it was painted added to the fun of it all. It’s an optimistic song. I often try and get on to optimistic subjects in an effort to cheer myself up and also, realising that other people are going to hear this, to cheer them up too. And this was one of those.”
McCartney went on to note: “The ‘angry young man’ and all that was John and I filling in the verses about schoolteachers. We shared a lot of feelings against teachers who had punished you too much or who hadn’t understood you or who had just been bastards generally.”
But there was more lurking in Lennon’s schooldays. Explaining that the song was a sort of confession, John said: “I used to be cruel to my woman, and physically – any woman. I was a hitter. I couldn’t express myself, and I hit. I fought men, and I hit women. That is why I am always on about peace, you see. It is the most violent people who go for love and peace. Everything’s the opposite. But I sincerely believe in love and peace. I am a violent man who has learned not to be violent and regrets his violence. I will have to be a lot older before I can face in public how I treated women as a youngster.”
Given to the muckier hands of Wedding Present and the song takes on a brand new life. You can hear that vibrancy below as Wedding Present cover The Beatles’ song ‘Getting Better’.
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