Pele were ill served by Polydor records (not the first time that had happened to a band). It will forever puzzle me that no-one at that company thought to suggest them to The Wonder Stuff as at least possible touring partners. We were blissfully unaware of them and when those two entities finally collided in the early 2000’s a lasting bond/friendship/appreciation society was formed.

“This Time Next Year” should have been their 3rd album but was lost to history when Pele were dropped by the Polydor group. It finally got a release in early 2023 when the excellent independent Kitchen Disco Records, who these days release Ian Prowse’s solo records, finally issued it. 

In much the same way I feel about Amsterdam’s album “The Curse” (see tomorrow pop kids !)”This Time Next year” feels like a step on the road to somewhere else. “Bye Bye John” was seemingly recycled into “You’re A Phoney” on Amsterdam’s album “The Journey” a few years later which seems to have happened to more than one song in here, like I suspected a step to someplace else. The overall sound here points toward to what Ian Prowse would develop with Amsterdam 5 or 6 years later.

This Time Next Year - https://youtu.be/UA9Dk2Jzaps?si=cNxlCrIZuE3pN30b