I'd never heard this until now, but immediate view is bpm too low and percussion too intrusive to be the hit thet may home-towner had in the UK.
Good song though.
What happened at the end of the track on the mp3?

that marshall crenshaw song was once cited by my friend plasket as his favorite sounding recording ever.

That's not a glitch in the MP3—That's how the track is supposed to end, in a wash of messed-up musique-concrete tape garble.

Crenshaw recorded most of his early stuff in a home studio, with whatever equipment was to hand, and his percussion tracks were usually composed of miscellaneous shakers and crockery, rather than a proper drumkit—he used to get his kick-drum sound by wrapping a rag around a microphone and tapping it with a ball-point pen.

In a sense, he was one of the originators of the lo-fi movement (though he had far more craft than most of those who later took up the banner); the oddness of the sound and the crudity of the mixing were part of the charm.

Whilst no embittered cynic when it comes to matters of the heart, i would contest that *anything* is better than watching the Penguin Parade at Edinburgh Zoo.

I would guess that this production, fades, harmonies, in and out volume and insistent rhythm section with a frequent pedal point e,
Should be thought of as a hat tip-acknowldgement/ tribute to George Martin/Sgt Pepper/Beatles

I rather like this version, I like Marshall, and I remember ASTAGAFA was the best bar band I saw in 74-75. Marshall had it together then.

The Beatles thing is obvious, and he'd agree completely with that, Myles. I remember an interview with Marshall where he talked about writing that song walking around backstage at a production of "Beatlemania." (He was playing John, of course.)

You may go the rest of your life without finding a bigger Marshall Crenshaw fan than me. His recording methods may have been slapdash, but his songcraft was impeccable, and the guy can play the living daylights out of his guitar.

I have 2 versions of this song by MC - one is his 1979 demo version from the "9 Volt Years" album. He explains: "when I did this demo, I wanted the beginning to sound like the bass drum break on The Best Part of Breaking Up by the Ronettes. During the early '70s, at a time when I worked at a snowmobile factory and smoked pot all day long, I ussed to listen to Phil Spector singles obsessively".