Sequences

Mitten is described as the main composer and Mann wrote the lyrics, though we could not verify formal credits. It was first recorded as the 1981 instrumental on Live at the Target (20:10). Wikipedia also says Electra McLeod added lyrics in 1980, which Background Magazine contradicts. The vocal version with Mann was recorded at the Marquee on November 5, 1983 for Live and Let Live (17:16), and fans call it the most popular song, usually closing concerts. Per Mann, the lyrics tell of a young soldier from Warrington who serves in the First World War and returns injured and mentally changed. Mann wore a military uniform on stage.

A 2018 re-recording (23:24) with Mark Spencer on vocals, Dean Baker on piano and Andy Faulkner on bass came out on Armistice Day, the centenary of the end of the war, with part of the sales going to the Poppy Appeal; Geoff Mann appears as an archival voice. The Barbican performance of December 2012 runs 19:35. We cannot say which version our upload is; the length would tell.