Song of the Day: 'Union City Blue' by Ride, Featuring Alex Taylor

A recent fan Q&A in the Guardian with Debbie Harry led me down yet another music rabbit hole: First introducing me to a sweet cover of "Union City Blue" by a British band called Ride featuring vocals by Alex Taylor -- which in turn finally got me to explore Taylor's two bands: Shop Assistants (whom I'd heard of back in the '80s but never had access to) and her subsequent group, the Motorcycle Boy. No sooner did I listen to and love "Shop Assistants" (1986), the indie Scottish band's sole LP, and the Motorcycle Boy's only LP, "Scarlett," which apparently only came out in 2019, some 30 years after the group had broken up, did I learn that Taylor had actually died with no fanfare back in 2005, news that only came to light when bandmate Michael Kerr tried to reach her to discuss finally putting the band's shelved LP out. (Any of that make sense? I'm expecting a text from my DJ friend Taffy to tell me how behind the times I am by noon!) Look for more Shop Assistants, Motorcycle Boy and obscure Blondie covers in the weeks ahead!