delta 5, “anticipation”
from: see the what, 1981
“Days of your youth
Days of your dreams
Oh-Whoa!
Days and nights that might have been
Dreams reality has stolen
CHORUS:
Anticipation is so much better...
Time that was spent
In pleasant practices
Oh-Whoa!
No mood you realize
Made in advance
Oh-Whoa!
Those things that might have been
Are left to others
Oh-Whoa!
CHORUS:
”
Delta 5 was a post-punk group from Leeds, UK, active around the dawn of the 80s. They put out five killer singles, the first three on the legendary Rough Trade label. This is one of those A-sides. They also released a wonderful LP "See The Whirl" before disbanding in 1981, after a brief US tour that I didn't get wind of in time to see it.
They were part of the same scene as bands such as The Mekons, Scritti Politti, and Gang of Four, with the same sparse, fractured guitar sound as the latter. Their songs were more punk-funk though, as they employed dual bassists. The two female vocalists often seem to chat back and forth in rhythm; sometimes even singing verses in the round, most notably on their debut single "Mind Your Own Business" (which actually turned up on a US TV commercial not long ago).
Their music has been reissued as of late, and is readily available on CD and vinyl. They did not get as much hype as some of their contemporaries, but were a crucial piece of the UK scene. Leeds was economically depressed already, and Thatcherism didn't help improve things. As Trouser Press put it in a review back then, "Up-to-the-minute beat consciousness welded to songs of emotional discontent ... Jagged music for jagged times."
-Andy Cimino-