Newlyn was the port but the Mousehole boat, Renovelle is the real star of this music video shot in the early 1980s. Like many 50 footers in the fleet the boat was longlining - mainly for ling, pollack, ray and skate. On deck you can see mainly fibreglass tubs that by then had largely replaced the traditional withy baskets and the latest Spencer Carter line hauler. The eagle-eyed amongst you will no doubt spot the Ocean Pride passing the Renovelle as they pass in the gaps, she is also loaded with baskets of lines. Each basket or tub contained around 120 hooks which were baited by hand, usually with mackere as the line was shot away.
It was February 6th, 1983, when the band Blanchmange released the single Waves,
Waves remains a timeless, sublime classic that has a heart as big as the ocean; a track that radiates warmth and arguably one of the prettiest electro-ballads ever written.
Interviewed in 1983, Neil Arthur commented on the song, "Our new single — and this isn't to say, Oh, yes folks we've got a new single — but 'Waves' was written quite a while back, and the original version was done in quite a serious way. It had slightly different lyrics in it and I used to take it quite seriously. Now I just laugh at it because of the line in it, 'All these waves coming over me, it must be my destiny'.”
"It's the most obvious thing; you listen to any Abba record. People are going to hate that line, but I think it's great to put it in. So corny."
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A good song to play in the morning when you can't be bothered getting out of bed,” wrote Sharon Owen in her novel ‘The Ballroom on Magnolia Street. “Waves by Blancmange From the Happy Families album. I love male singers with deep voices and Neil Arthur's was so rich and distinctive. A real anthem for lost youth, this one, with all the synthesizers and drumbeats that were typical of the 1980s. Strangely erotic too.”
