The album celebrates The Pocket Gods' 20th anniversary of making indie pop records. They were discovered by the late John Peel and been championed by likes of Huw Stephens and Tom Robinson who call's frontman Mark Christopher Lee a wilful maverick. They are also featured in the current Guinness Book Of Records alongside Justin Bieber for their 100x30 album which holds the record for most tracks on a digital album and was featured in Billboard, ITV, and BBC Radio 6.

Since their immaculate misconception in 1997 they have recorded and released over 40 albums, 20 EPs and 30 odd singles. They mix genres at will - country, indie, psyche rock, prog and folk. Frontman Mark Christopher Lee writes all the songs and has been heralded by Billboard as a genius, and by others as the UK's Daniel Johnston. Some say there is a curse around the band as shortly after John Peel had discovered the band he died. A few years later Tony Wilson of Factory Records also discovered them and then he himself died. More recently the band were managed by ex MTV star Steve Blacknell who had a near fatal asthma attack a few weeks after taking on the band.

In 2007 the band won the first ever BBC Radio 1 Gods of The Pod award and where asked by DJ Huw Stephens to record a podcast on how to record a demo - it was hailed by Radio 1 as classic radio! The band live in a small village outside of St Albans and hail themselves as the 3rd biggest band in the village after 60's rockers The Zombies and Dappy. They are also stars of their own Nub TV music show on Sky TV in the UK - where they are the house band and have played with legends such as Joan Armatrading, Junior Giscombe & even Paul Hardcastle.

This new album features new songs and is about the time frontman Mark Christopher Lee played bass very briefly with Scots indie legends The Jesus And Mary Chain. Other songs reveal a search for truth, love and God in a increasingly baffling fraught and troubled world. Other songs deal with their neverending love affair with the paranormal and esoteric matters.

Few bands are so ingrained into the notion of the BBC radio session as The Wedding Present. Long time favourites of the late, great John Peel, David Gedge and his band appeared regularly on that legendary presenter’s BBC Radio 1 show and have continued their association with “Auntie” by performing many unforgettable sessions on the popular ‘Marc Riley Show’ on BBC Radio 6 Music.

Due to the popularity of these sessions, The Wedding Present, in conjunction with Hatch Records and the BBC, have joined forces to produce a trilogy of releases featuring every momentous track performed for Marc’s award-winning show over a ten-year period. Marc Riley Sessions Volume 2, released October 6, includes songs taken from no less than eight of the band’s celebrated albums, including Seamonsters, the record-breaking Hit Parade releases and band’s most recent album, the critically acclaimed Going, Going...

Over twelve tracks [performed across three sessions from 2012, 2013 & 2014] the undeniable song writing brilliance of David Gedge is clearly evident. From the bounding, propulsive recklessness of ‘Back A Bit... Stop’ (Valentina) to the harsh edges and sudden tempo changes of ‘Heather’ (Seamonsters), The Wedding Present’s bass-driven, muscular riffs are a constant theme throughout. Gedge’s bittersweet lyrics and honest take on love are highlighted in such tracks as ‘The Girl From The DDR’ (Valentina) and ‘Little Silver’ (Going, Going...). Other memorable moments include a frenzied cover of The Monkees' ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ and a rapturous performance of ‘Flying Saucer’ [both taken from the Hit Parade series of singles] along with a rousing ‘It’s A Gas’ and a heartfelt ‘Spangle’ - complete with an apologetic Gedge clearing his throat mid-verse - from the Watusi album.

The Wedding Present are set to perform their ninth studio album Going, Going… in its entirety at the historic Cadogan Hall, London on the 14th October. For this special ‘one-off’ performance, The Wedding Present will be joined by a full string section, 20-piece choir and video projection screen showing accompanying short films. Support for the evening comes from David Gedge’s ‘other’ band Cinerama, The Membranes and Such Small Hands.

Tracklisting:

Tracks 1-4             Recorded 19/11/12

                                Back A Bit… Stop (Valentina 2012)

                                Heather (Seamonsters 1991)

                                You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends (Tommy 1987)

                                The Girl From The DDR (Valentina 2012)

Tracks 5-8             Recorded 21/10/13

                                Flying Saucer (Hit Parade 2 1993)

                                Two Bridges (Going, Going… 2016)

                                Pleasant Valley Sunday (Hit Parade 1 1991)

                                Montreal (Saturnalia 1996)

Tracks 9-12           Recorded 3/11/14

                                It’s A Gas (Watusi 1994)

                                Spangle (Watusi 1994)

                                Birdsnest (Going, Going… 2016)

                                Little Silver (Going, Going… 2016)