Record Store Day Brings John Wesley Harding’s Here Comes The Groom Back to Vinyl
Here Comes The Groom vinyl
Harding, who now goes by his legal name Wesley Stace, has gone on to build a multifaceted career that spans music, literature, and university teaching. However, Here Comes The Groom marked a pivotal moment in Harding’s career, serving as his American debut and introducing audiences to his witty lyricism, distinct vocal delivery, and clever storytelling. The album features members of The Good Liars and The Attractions, the latter of which has sparked comparisons between Harding and Elvis Costello.
Stace describes the record as a turning point: “It does seem like an introduction, because I was suddenly speaking to possibly a much broader audience than I had been before.” The original vinyl was released during a time “when CDs were taking over,” he recalls. “Vinyl can only hold a certain amount of tracks, so we stuffed 12 songs onto the vinyl.” Thus, the expanded reissue does away with this limitation; “Side three contains the three songs that were only on the CD,” Stace says. “Ironically, they became three of the songs that people really like by me, which includes a duet with Peter Case, a song called “Bastard's Son”, which I recorded in England, and a long folky acoustic story song called “Red Rose in the Briar”.
Beyond the restored songs, the reissue also uncovers previously unheard recordings. “The fourth side is two long tapes of me and the band, which is half of The Attractions, and a couple of other guys from the Good Liars [...] The live stuff's never been released before in any format,” Stace explains.
Along with the bonus material, the reissue also benefits from upgraded sound and production. “It's going to be nice for people to actually have a vinyl copy of this album that is probably a lot better than the vinyl copy that was made in 1990,” says Stace. “I think they're going to really like the better treatment that will have been afforded this time. I think it's going to sound fantastic.”
The album’s path to that broader audience, however, wasn’t as straightforward. “It didn't suit the moment in England very much,” Stace remembers. “People weren't really playing the acoustic guitar.” Thus, Stace relocated to America. “They've got longer memories,” he recalls his manager saying. “They like acoustic guitars, and I know just the people who are going to like you and your energy and your words and your enthusiasm and your songs.” The shift proved transformative: “I was suddenly speaking to a much broader audience than I had been before.”
Remarking on the artistic intent behind the album, Stace says, “I realized, oh, I need myself to be more central in these records. I want these to be acoustic guitar and voice records more than I want them to be, as it were, rock and roll records.” That focus also shaped the collaborators he chose, particularly with American musicians. “There's a lot of English influences in it, but when I came to L.A., I got Dave Alvin to play on it, and I wrote a song with Peter Case that ended up on the album.”
Asked what he hopes new audiences will take away from the record, Stace points to the album’s energy: “What I hope they feel here is enthusiasm, the excitement of someone playing with a wonderful live band under some very clever, watchful production.”
Thirty-five years later, Stace looks back on the album as an introduction to a long and fruitful career: “It's an album I'm proud of while knowing that it was just the beginning. And of course, you know, I got a lot better, and my ability to do it got a lot better.” Reflecting on the album’s enduring significance, Stace notes, “What has endured somehow is me. It's a part of that story, you know, and I'm still making music, and that's the beginning of it.”
Here Comes the Groom will be available April 18th, 2026 on Record Store Day. Click this link for more details.
Adriana Stanzione
Blind Owl Records
blindowlsd@gmail.com
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