NOTES

Virginia had signed to the independent label Why-Fi with a view to establishing a broader platform for her music. Other artists on the Why-Fi roster included Troy Tate and Robert Ellis Orrall.

The A Bao A Qu sessions took place in 1981 at producer/engineer Phil Chapman's home studio in London. Virginia's brother Jon Astley also provided co-engineering and production skills.

'We Will Meet Them Again' featured words taken from a translation of Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder (Songs On The Death Of Children). “I first heard the song years ago when I was playing flute in some youth orchestra" commented Virginia in an interview for the NME in 1983, "but the way I do it bears no relation to the Mahler original. I just chose it because the words are so moving. There is nothing sadder than the death of a child.”

The melody for 'We Will Meet Them Again' was also used by Virginia for the song 'Joy' which features on the Richard Jobson album The Ballad Of Etiquette.

'Arctic Death' was one of the compositions that featured in the live set of The Ravishing Beauties. The newly-formed live outfit would perform the song at Club Zoo in Liverpool that December (as part of their support slot for the Teardrop Explodes) and during all their subsequent shows during the first half of 1982. 'Arctic Death' was also performed for two BBC Radio 1 programmes that Spring: Walters Weekly and also John Peel's show.

The melody for 'Angels Crying' was also used as incidental music on the track 'A Long Absence (Un Entetien Avec Marguerite Duras)' from the Les Disques Du Crépuscule compilation album The Fruit Of The Original Sin.

During the various sessions at the Hammersmith studio, other demos would also emerge, including 'Another Lonely Soul', 'I'll Fight The Battle All Alone' and 'The Soldier's Song'. None of these songs were ever officially released.

A Bao A Qu was released as part of a series of 10" EPs by Why-Fi, which included Lifeline (Hold On To That) by Troy Tate and Call The Uh-Oh Squad by Robert Ellis Orrall.

The tracks on this EP would later appear on the 1983 compilation album Promise Nothing.

TRIVIA

The title 'A Bao A Qu' is taken from The Book Of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges and refers to a legendary animal taken from Indian folklore. The A Bao A Qu exists in the Tower Of Victory in the city of Chitor.

Pilgrims climbing the stairwell bring the A Bao A Qu to life and as they continue their ascent, the A Bao A Qu's shape approaches perfection and the blue colour it radiates becomes more intense. If the climber is a person who "has achieved Nirvana and whose acts cast no shadows" then the A Bao A Qu will achieve perfection. According to legend, the A Bao A Qu has only reached the tower's pinnacle once.

Many of the songs (with the exception of 'Sanctus') featured on this EP were performed live by The Ravishing Beauties during their support slot for The Teardrop Explodes.

Virginia's best-known single, 'Love's A Lonely Place To Be', was also recorded at the Hammersmith studio the following year and was released in 1983.

A 12" version of A Bao A Qu was released in Australia. It uses the same sleeve artwork (with some minor additions) but with an RCA-branded label.