Today's random pick is Wheels Over Indian Trails by Stanton Miranda aka, er, Miranda Stanton, perhaps better known for her collaborations with Carter Burwell as Thick Pigeon.
Wheels Over Indian Trails was originally released in May 1986 as a single on Factory Benelux which, as you may have guessed, was the Belgian counterpart of the legendary Factory label founded by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus and home to, amongst many others, Joy Division and New Order.
The JD/NO connection doesn't end there. Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris perform on the record, as does Gillian's sister Kim, who was also a member of Thick Pigeon. The single was co-produced by film producer Michael Shamberg, Factory and New Order's "eyes and ears" in the United States, and remixed by John Robie, who had reworked Sub-Culture the previous year.
A quick trip to YouTube has revealed that an official video was commissioned for Wheels Over Indian Trails. A lot of it is Miranda playing in the wardrobe and video effects sandbox, with a few visual motifs that later appeared in New Order videos. It's a very lo-fi 80s video and all the better for it.
The vinyl 12" single is on offer on Discogs for a seemingly reasonable starting price of under six quid...until you have a proper look and factor in shipping charges. The sole copy available from a UK seller for example will set you back £35.50, all in.
Digital copies are available at a much more reasonable price. The dub mix on the B-side of the 7" and 12" single is featured on the excellent 2012 compilation, Trevor Jackson presents Metal Dance Industrial/Post-Punk/EBM: Classics & Rarities '80-'88.
At the same time as launching Factory Benelux in 1980, Michel Duval and Annik Honoré also co-founded Les Disques Du Crépuscule with artist Benoît Hennebert. The label has been reissuing much of it's back catalogue via Bandcamp this year and in March offered up the 2021 Thick Pigeon compilation Subway (Singles). The 12" mix of Wheels Over Indian Trails is included as a bonus track.
Not an obvious song to cover, but in January 2023, French Radio Constellation gave it a go. A largely faithful reproduction, it's worth a look just to see the video of dancing bats.
If you like that, French Radio Constellation currently have another 222 releases available on Bandcamp.
Speaking of cover versions, and to bring this post full circle, in 1995 Stanton Miranda covered Love Will Tear Us Apart for a Joy Division tribute album. The video weaves visual excerpts from Wheels Over Indian Trails with clips and photos of (mostly) Ian Curtis and, bizarrely, it kind of works. As does the song. And the pause at 2:40 is just brilliant.
It's nice to be reminded, occasionally, that not everything Factory Records were involved in was an essential listen or purchase.
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