The Ukrainians

"It all began as a lighthearted, one-off bit of fun," the Ukrainians wrote of their beginning, and truer words are rarely spoken. Who would have thought that the Ukrainian songs the Wedding Present played as a joke would turn into a full-fledged band with four albums to their credit? Leeds-based band the Wedding Present already had their reputation as the Energizer Bunnies of British indie rock by 1988, when they started playing the traditional Ukrainian song "Hopak" at rehearsals. It had been brought in by second guitarist Pete Solowka, whose father had emigrated from the Ukr...