Pele’s 2nd album was originally released in December 1993, this version I have is a 2018 25th Anniversary release. It will forever stun me that I hadn’t heard them before the mid 2000’s. The opening four songs are all absolute belters, “Beside The Fields”, “Don’t Worship Me”, “Hey America” and particularly “Fat Black Heart (Natural Born Enemy)” are songs anyone would be proud of and many would give up a limb to have written. They convincingly demonstrate what a great songwriter Ian Prowse is. Considering it’s 30 years old now “Fat Black Heart…” is as relevant today as it was back then

“How can you close your eyes to the pain, Of someone's loss helping your gain

Greed and jealousy apart, What beats in your fat black heart”

and finishing on the almost spoken lines “As far as I’m concerned the rich should not even be spoken to, These are your natural born enemies” #fuckthetories indeed.

“Understanding Sadness” is an utterly beautiful ballad, the closing title track is another Republican anthem we should all take to heart. We’ve seen Ian Prowse play countless times in recent years and he’s still playing the Celtic rave-up that is “Name And Number”. How did this record/band/songwriter go so under the radar for all that time ?

But never fear there’s still time to get on board the good ship Prowsey. He’s still making great records, we’ll get into some of those shortly, and he’s touring the UK in March 2024 (tickets for his Shrewsbury show available from the White Rabbit Records Facebook page BTW). Jump in anywhere, Pele, Amsterdam or his solo records, they’re all great. And if you find that you don’t get it then maybe check your pulse and see a doctor…

Fat Black Heart (Natural Born Enemy) - https://youtu.be/C_sSY-4Csuk