The Wake

The title song of The Wake was written by all five members and recorded at Falconer Studios in London in spring 1985. In the album's story the central character dies as Outer Limits ends, and Holmes has said the segue into this song is that moment, when the breathing stops. Nicholls described it as an angry song, sung by a lost and confused soul who cannot grasp what is happening to him. "My original working title for this track was Rant," he said. Asked by fans in 2003 about the line "little blue souvenir", he admitted he had no idea what it meant, and that sometimes words simply sound right or fill a space.

Live

IQ first played it at the Marquee in London on 18 April 1985, and by setlist.fm's count it is their most-performed song, 223 times, sometimes run into medleys with Headlong and The Last Human Gateway. It opens Forever Live, recorded at the Ever launch show in Kleve in 1993, and was part of the full performances of the album for its 25th anniversary in 2010. At the Camden Palace in 1985, Orford felt the band played everything too fast, while The Progressive Aspect heard the song that night as haunting and anthemic. The upload in the hypersongs web is a live performance from the Camden Palace, London, on 13 May 1985, filmed by ITV and later issued as Living Proof, in a fan's remastered upload.