st elmo

Description

I always say that if there was a Nobel Prize for pop music I would have given it to Saint Etienne. Just take a look at their immense back catalogue and you'll know what I mean. The London trio has just completed a gorgeous, deluxe reissue program of all their studio albums, spanning 20 years of the best and most tasteful pop one could possibly imagine. Immersing myself in these reissues has been one of the most rewarding record buying experiences of 2010. "Andrew McCarthy" is sadly not part of this reissue program. It is, however, found in a different version - titled "Hill Street Connection" - on the bonus disc of the 1998 album, Good Humor, originaly released as a b-side on the first disc of the Sylvie cd-single. The track "Andrew McCarthy" - the version presented here - is taken from a fanclub release from 1999, titled "Built on Sand", compiling Saint Etienne rarities from the period 1994 to 1999. The track also appears in a box set reissuing remastered versions of three fanclub compilations and an added fourth compilation bonus disc: The very limited "Boxette" from 2008. So, who's Andrew McCarthy and what's the Hill Street connection? Well, Andrew Thomas McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1980's film St. Elmo's Fire. "Hill Street Connection" refers to Hill Street Blues, a US serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. David Anspaugh - an Emmy-winning director-producer of Hill Street Blues - directed the feature film Fresh Horses, starring Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy, in 1988. These are the scattered facts I've managed to collect about this lovely little track... Enjoy!