This was the final record that Peel played on 22/5/93. He admitted that when he received a copy of The Glory Strummers EP, Retrograde Steps, he had been unenthusiastic about listening to it, because he found the band’s name off-putting. However, he really enjoyed the EP, of which Neglected ‘N’ Blue was the opening track.
If you’re cynical about bands trying to do the whole 70s punk sound a decade or more after the original scene had happened, you may find it difficult not to snigger at Neglected ‘N’ Blue. Listening to the drum roll that accompanies the opening riff, you may find yourself thinking, “I bet the singer’s going to shout Hey! any second….now!” and you’d be right to do so. I confess that I blew hot and cold on it when initially re-listening to it, but I was finally won over by The poor little rich kid refrain and a gradual understanding about what the song was about. I say gradual because while some parts of the lyric ring out loud and clear, other parts are too garbled to fully make out.
If punk rock’s principal lyrical qualities were anger and piss taking, then Neglected ‘N’ Blue mixes a smidgin of the former with a dollop of the latter. The target of the song appears to be affluent students who are able to delay having to go out and work by taking a year out. The line You don’t care about people suggests that The Glory Strummers have particular contempt for those who use their time out to have an ongoing holiday, rather than use the time to help those less fortunate than themselves. I could be misinterpreting the song, and in a way I hope I am given that my reading of it suggests righteous anger on one hand and unattractive envy on the other.
Ultimately, I think it takes a slightly superficial line of thinking that money should insulate you from unhappiness, which it can in terms of not needing to worry about paying your next bill, but it also labours under the misapprehension that mental health anxiety is a myth when applied to the well off. If it wasn’t for the fact that the performance is so electric, I might have left Neglected ‘N’ Blue off on the grounds of a shitty attitude. Emotional uncertainty is no respecter of bank balances after all.
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