Cars and Girls

McAloon wrote it in February 1985, soon after finishing Steve McQueen, at the same time as The King of Rock 'n' Roll. He described both as a reaction to the idea that his work was precise and delicate. The lyric is a comment on Springsteen's romantic metaphors, which McAloon felt used a poetry an Englishman cannot understand. He said in 1992 that he did not think Springsteen was bad, but that part of his audience read him as patriotic. He wanted to write about someone listening to Springsteen and thinking that our lives are not like that.

Jon Kelly produced it, after Dolby declined because he thought any producer could do the job as well as he could. Released in February 1988, a month before the album, it spent five weeks on the chart and peaked at 44. The sleeve shows a burning matchstick effigy of Springsteen. McAloon was shocked and stunned that it was not a hit. The B-sides, including Vendetta and Nero the Zero, were recorded quickly in Newcastle, and the two named songs date from the band's early years.