Pete Wylie & The Mighty Wah! / Songs of Strength and Heartbreak

Pete Wylie and the Mighty Wah! will reissue Songs of Strength and Heartbreak next month, appearing on vinyl for the first time.

Wylie built up an extensive body of work, (and various line-ups of the Mighty Wah!) throughout the Eighties, finding Top 20 success with the singles ‘Come Back (The Story of the Reds)’ and ‘Sinful’, with his biggest hit, ‘The Story of the Blues (Part One), reaching No 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1982.

Songs of Strength and Heartbreak was supposed to be Wylie’s first record for Sony via Columbia, although this was never to be the case, as despite costing £1m to record and featuring one of Wylie’s most notable songs in ‘Heart As Big As Liverpool’, it would be shelved on its completion in 1998. It would later be released by Castle Communications in 2000, following Wylie’s acquisition of the master tapes. 

This reissue is available as a 2CD deluxe set which leads with 14 previously unreleased demos (CD 1), alongside the original album (CD 2). These demos include three never-before-heard tracks: ‘Stop The World’, ‘Cancer Or A Car Crash’, and a cover of Gilbert O’Sullivan’s ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’. The vinyl version album is a 2LP set, although it does not include the demos or unheard tracks.

Songs of Strength and Heartbreak will be released on 7 February 2025 via Chrysalis.

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Pete Wylie & The Mighty WAH!

Songs of Strength and Heartbreak - 2CD set

Shop Price gbp Stock Amazon uk   17.25 Pre-Order Rough Trade uk   16.99 pre-order

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Pete Wylie & The Mighty WAH!

Songs of Strength and Heartbreak - 2LP vinyl

Shop Price gbp Stock Amazon uk   31.63 Pre-Order Rough Trade uk   32.99 pre-order

Currency: GBP USD EUR CAD AUD JPY

Tracklisting

Songs of Strength and Heartbreak Pete Wylie & The Mighty Wah! /

• 2CD
  • CD 1 The Demos
    1. Never Loved As A Child
    2. Sing All The Saddest Songs
    3. Disneyland Forever
    4. I Still Love You
    5. Hope You Fall (In Love)
    6. Loverboy
    7. Je T’Aime, Je T’Aime
    8. Hey! Mona Lisa
    9. Alone
    10. Alone Again (Naturally)
    11. Stop The World
    12. Cesspool
    13. Cancer Or A Car Crash
    14. Your Mother Must Be Very Proud
  • CD 2 The Original Million Pound LP!
    1. Never Loved As A Child
    2. Sing All The Saddest Songs
    3. Disneyland Forever
    4. I Still Love You
    5. Hope You Fall (In Love)
    6. Hey! Mona Lisa
    7. Loverboy
    8. Alone
    9. Heart As Big As Liverpool
    10. Je T’Aime, Je T’Aime
    11. The Return Of Rock And Roll
    12. The Country Epic (Can’t Stop Cryin’)
• 2LP
  • Side A
    1. Never Loved As A Child
    2. Sing All The Saddest Songs
    3. Disneyland Forever
  • Side B
    1. I Still Love You
    2. Hope You Fall (In Love)
    3. Hey! Mona Lisa
  • Side C
    1. Loverboy
    2. Alone
    3. Heart As Big As Liverpool
  • Side D
    1. Je T’Aime, Je T’Aime
    2. The Return Of Rock And Roll
    3. The Country Epic (Can’t Stop Cryin’)