"Spring is Coming With a Strawberry in the Mouth / Rapid Eye Movements" - Operating Theatre

Single

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Full Track Listing

  • Spring is Coming With a Strawberry in the Mouth (12-Inch Version) (05:17)
  • Part of My Make-Up (03:31)
  • Queen of No Heart (03:51)
  • Atlantean (02:41)
  • Satanasa (03:55)
  • There Are Loves (03:51)
  • Spring is Coming (Morgan Buckley’s MIDI-Suite Remix) (05:58)
  • Rapid Eye Movements Pt. 1 (14:24)
  • Rapid Eye Movements Pt. 2 (15:17)

Background Information

Operating Theatre’s single “Queen of No Heart” / “Spring is Coming” was the fourth single on U2’s Mother Records in 1986. The single was released in 7-Inch and 12-Inch formats, and Bono was credited as executive producer on the single, as well as contributor to guitar on the song “Queen of No Heart”. Although credited as the executive producer on the 12-inch single, Bono was only present for the recordings of “Queen of No Heart” and “Spring is Coming”, and the other three tracks were recorded at a separate session.

In 2006, a collection titled Operating Theatre: The Early Years collected the 7-Inch version of “Spring is Coming”, as well as “Queen of No Heart”, “Part of My Make-Up” and “Satanasa”. The collection was released with the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival program in 2006, and was later issued through Bandcamp in 2019. The 2019 release included the 12-Inch version of “Spring is Coming” as a digital bonus track.

This new 2023 version of the single was released on March 21, 2023 via Bandcamp by Allchival. It is a double 12-Inch LP with a newly remastered version of “Spring is Coming With A Strawberry In the Mouth” on one disc as well as a few additional tracks under the name of “Rapid Eye Movements”, originally released in 1979 on the second disc. As well as vinyl, the single was also released digitally via Bandcamp. The new single includes the 12-Inch version of “Spring is Coming” and the full original 12-Inch. It also includes a remix of “Spring is Coming” which had not previously been released.

On Bandcamp, where the new version of the single was sold it is shared, “Doyle’s work on the newly released Fairlight sampler had brought him to the attention of U2’s Bono who had seen a feature about his sampling experimentations and reached out to him for piano lessons. This led to a deal on the bands embryonic Mother records for what Doyle calls his first “popular song” – Queen of No Heart – which alongside “Spring is Coming” made up the backbone of the EP which was released some years later (1986) on the Mother Records label. Established by U2 in 1984 and initially intended to launch Irish bands, many of the acts – including this one – were subsequently unhappy about the label’s haphazard approach to releases and lack of promotion. The record was released as a die cut 7 inch with the two main tracks and a 12 inch EP with additional tracks – ‘Part of My Make-Up’ / ‘Atlantean’ / ‘Satanasa’. The Mother experience was for Doyle and the rest of the group a frustrating one with no promotional plan and no tour. After that Operating Theatre as a quasi pop project ‘just kind of fizzled out’ says Doyle.”

Liner Notes

Photos by Amelia Stein. Design by Aidan Moore.

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