Rewind: Mansun - Being A Girl

20 years ago this week was quite a week for classic single releases. One of them was this terrific post-punk stormer from Mansun, reaching number 13 in the UK charts and taken from the band's bewildering post-punk prog masterpiece 'Six'. 

The single version of the track is a brief 2 minute excerpt which makes up the first part of the epic, eight minute album version, which lifts off into astonishing space rock territory instead of finishing abruptly like the single version does. What the single does give us is a brilliantly self-deprecating view of male insecurity and the mask of masculinity, as well as some fearsome drumming from the band's engine room, Andie Rathbone. Kicking off with some nice hi hat action, it's all about the snares in the second half of each verse, before the whole kit gets a thrashing during that explosive, angsty chorus. 

"'Being a Girl' was an allegory for not being happy in the situation I was in, and wanting something different" said frontman Paul Draper. "It was the last thing written, recorded and mixed during the sessions". Interestingly and rather hilariously, the ever-so-slightly homo-erotic video features none other than a young Danny Dyer, in his first major acting role. Featured below is the video, the full length album version, and the B sides that featured on the single. I'm also going to chuck in an astonishing live version of Being A Girl recorded at Brixton Academy in 1998, simply because it's too good not to feature.

A year earlier in 1997 they had a Number 1 with their debut LP 'Attack Of The Grey Lantern' as well as a string of hit singles. They returned in 1998 with the poignant, dark and beautiful 'Legacy' single (featured HERE), one of the bleakest Top 40 singles of all time. By the time 'Being A Girl' was previewed, it became clear that unless they were giving us some major red herrings, 'Six' was certainly not going to be as accessible as their chart-topping debut.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that whenever Draper would write anything resembling a conventional song that could've been a hit, he'd shove it to the side to use as a B side instead. Mansun were famous for this, hence their reputation for creating some of the best EPs of the decade. "The idea was to do enough material to make an album where we could have some relatively straight forward pop songs in case it all went tits up with ‘Six’," Draper told XS Noize. "That was made at the same time, we didn’t come back later and just throw together the B sides, it was all done together. We had been piecing together the ‘Six’ project and then we would come off it for a day and record those songs. The very first one we did was ‘King of Beauty‘ and I thought I don’t want to do another album of these pop songs, so the second thing we did was the song ‘Six‘... I was just trying to piss off the record company."

Releasing their singles across a variety of formats meant that fans were in for extra treats every time the band would bring out a new song. CD1 featured the riff-heavy 'Hideout', lyrically influenced by time spent in the band's Chester base "The Grey House", and featuring a beefy electronic loop not unlike the one that provided the climax to the classic 'Taxloss' from 1997. We also get the remarkable fan favorite 'Railings', a haunting, intense track written for the band by Magazine and Buzzcocks legend Howard Devoto, who duets on the track with Draper. "Howard sent me some demos he'd done on a cassette, and some sheets of lyrics which arrived at my house in Chester" remembers Paul. "Chad, Andie and I set about recording them. They were 'Everyone Must Win', which we did around the time of the 'Closed for Business' EP, and 'Railings' which we tackled later. Howard wrote the lyrics on both tracks. We recorded 'Railings' in London with Howard, a song he had written on piano on one of the cassettes. Chad, Andie and I recorded the backing track to 'Railings' using Howard's chords he'd used on the cassette demo. He came down to the studio to do the vocals, and we recorded them with all the studio lights down to get the right atmosphere for the song."

Meanwhile, the second CD brings us the atmospheric guitars and rushing chorus of 'I Care', a song which also shows the production skills of Draper and Mark 'Spike' Stent, as well as providing one of those "did he just say what I thought he said?" moments with the unexpected lyric "I want to get fucked like a whore in a porno". Addressing the experiences of deja-vu, the superb 'Been Here Before' is another Mansun B side that could've easily been another hit single, enticing with its winding passages and gritty chorus. With songs like these, it's clear to see why Mansun fans still regard the group's B sides to be better than the tracks that most bands were releasing as singles. The album 'Six' followed in September 1998, aptly making number 6 in the album charts. Although it baffled critics and fans upon its release, it has gone on to be a cult classic. After their third album 'Little Kix' and a half-finished fourth record, Mansun split in 2003. All members of the band disappeared from the music scene, and Draper would finally re-emerge over a decade later.
Following his long awaited return to the music world in 2016, and his acclaimed debut solo album 'Spooky Action', Paul Draper hits the UK later this year for a special, intimate acoustic tour. As well as songs from 'Spooky Action', he will be playing Mansun classics and rarities in addition to previewing brand new material from his next LP. Info can be found HERE.

Meanwhile, an exemplary reissue of Attack Of The Grey Lantern was released last month, reaching number 28 in the UK album charts and number 2 in the vinyl charts. You can pick up a stunning purple vinyl edition of the LP, or the lavish 3CD and DVD deluxe package, which features a 72 page book containing an in depth look at the making of the album. A similar treatment will also be given to 'Six' at some point in the future, with remastering work currently underway.