Honky Tonk Women

[Dodgerer]

Was honky Tonk Women ever a single release?? I've just seen the video for this song but I only recall this as a B side to Yeah Yeah Yeah

[Low D]

Yes, although it was recorded with Lilywhite in 1988, and as you say released as a b-side, in 1992 it got its own single release. A real mish-mash, with the Joe Strummer-produced "Curse of Love" and "Infinity" and the Chevron-produced "Parting Glass" as the b-sides.

[htw]

7" Honky Tonk Women [sic]/ Curse of Love
12" & CD5 Infinity
CD5 The Parting Glass
WEA YZ673 (7")
WEA YZ673T (12")
WEA YZ673CD (CD5)

(1992)

[htw]

[Mike from Boston]

I seem to recall a cassette release with Jack's Heros here in the US??

[Low D]

The story with "Honky Tonk Women" is slightly different. As 50 million bar bands (who can't be wrong) will tell you, "HTW" is fun to play. In our case, it was only a short step from this to recording it for a B side. Which is what we did. Some time later the Brothers Warner noticed it and reasoned it had simply been "lost" on a B side. Hence the reissue as an A side. I actually quite like our recording and I like Spider's vocal on it, but not in a million years would I have volunteered it as a Single. It was decisions like these that made the singles market ultimately collapse. The record companies have only themselves to blame. It's not just the majors either. Myself and the Men They Couldn't Hang had to fight Demon Records to keep "Green Fields Of France" as the A side of that single. Demon wanted to flip it for "Whiskey With Me Giro" or "Donal Where's Your Troosers?", I can't actually remember which.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8144&p=133317&hilit=honkey+tonk#p133317

[Low D]

Also this from Carol Clerk's "The Story of the Pogues". Despite owning it, I don't think i'd realized that the single had anything to do with the 2nd best-of collection, as I never owned any.

The Rest of the Best, a second volume released in June 1992... included 'Honky Tonk Women', a song that the lads had cranked out in a soundcheck once, with Spider singing, and thereafter played at gigs as an encore. It was issued as a single just a few weeks before The Rest of the Best, not only to draw attention to the album but to introduce the idea of Spider as the band's new vocalist. Backed with Jem's 'Curse of Love' and accompanied by 'Infinity' and 'The Parting Glass' on the 12-inch and CD formats, it charted at Number 56.