Wire Reveal “23 Years Too Late” From Upcoming Record Store Day EP

Wire will release Read & Burn 03+ via Pink Flag Records for this year’s Record Store Day, the release is an expanded reissue of the third Read and Burn EP, which was originally released in 2007. In advance, they’re putting out the single 23 Years Too Late along with a video comprised of archive footage and photos that was meticulously compiled by director Malcolm Boyle. 23 Years Too Late is unique in Wire’s history, the song actually started life as a highly transformed cover of their vintage single, Dot Dash, that was performed under the name Dip Flash. As the ensuing 2002 headline tour unfolded, unbeknownst to the band, some of the tour dates covered cities that had been on the routing of a cancelled 1979 tour, as someone pointed out, they were 23 Years Too Late, a concept that stuck. Fast forward to 2007 when they put out the third of the Read & Burn trilogy of EPs, the last release from the band’s original line-up. Dip Flash was transformed into 23 Years Too Late, with new text based on Graham Lewis‘s diary of that 2002 European tour, with a double speed chorus and live drums to keep the motorik beat, but essentially a machine-based piece, which was not easy to play with a conventional band, making the release a bit more special.

“Although its length is unusual for the band, there are plenty of other Wire pieces (“Crazy About Love” & “Harpooned” to name just two) that are also long. It’s more the combination of its genesis, its subject matter and the fact that it has a special place in the affection of both band and core fans, and by core fans I mean people who know all the catalogue and not just a couple of selective releases, that makes it unique.”