Disgraceful

Last updated

Disgraceful
Disgracefuloriginal.jpg
Studio album by
Released9 October 1995
Genre Synthpop
Length43:12
Label Food
Producer Stephen Hague, Graeme Robinson
Dubstar chronology
Disgraceful
(1995)
Goodbye
(1997)
Singles from Disgraceful
  1. "Stars"
    Released: 26 June 1995
  2. "Anywhere"
    Released: 18 September 1995
  3. "Not So Manic Now"
    Released: 25 December 1995
  4. "Stars"
    Released: 18 March 1996 (re-release)
  5. "Elevator Song"
    Released: 22 July 1996

Disgraceful is the debut album by British band Dubstar. It was released in October 1995 on the Food label, a division of EMI that was also home to Blur.

Contents

The album features two covers; "Not So Manic Now" which was originally recorded by Brick Supply on their 1994 EP Somebody's Intermezzo, and "St. Swithin's Day" which was originally recorded by Billy Bragg on his 1984 album Brewing Up with Billy Bragg .

All four singles released from the album were top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart.

Artwork censorship

Disgraceful's cover underwent a revision after some time on general release. The original cover—pictured here—contained a furry blue pencil case with a balloon inside, creating a somewhat labia-like effect. This was later revised to the current, slightly less blatant bunny slipper design.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Music Week Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
NME 7/10 [3]

A reviewer from British magazine Music Week wrote, "Delicate, poignant pop from the Gateshead [sic] trio, with Sarah Blackwood's voice soaring above synthesised melodies and strings." [2]

Track listing

All tracks written by Steve Hillier except where noted.

  1. "Stars" – 4:09
  2. "Anywhere" (Hillier, Chris Wilkie) – 3:39
  3. "Just a Girl She Said" (Sarah Blackwood, Hillier, Wilkie) – 4:39
  4. "Elevator Song" – 2:54
  5. "The Day I See You Again" – 4:20
  6. "Week in Week Out" (Blackwood, Hillier, Wilkie) – 4:28
  7. "Not So Manic Now" (Harling, Kirby, Mason, Robinson) – 4:29
  8. "Popdorian" – 2:53
  9. "Not Once, Not Ever" – 3:50
  10. "St. Swithin's Day" (Bragg) – 4:01
  11. "Disgraceful" – 3:50

Personnel

Dubstar
Additional personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Bragg</span> British singer, songwriter and musician (born 1957)

Stephen William Bragg is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His activism is centred on social change and far left-wing political causes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manic Street Preachers</span> Welsh rock band

Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire and cousins James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore. They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement.

<i>Talking with the Taxman About Poetry</i> 1986 studio album by Billy Bragg

Talking with the Taxman About Poetry is the third album by Billy Bragg, released in September 1986. With production by John Porter and Kenny Jones, Talking with the Taxman About Poetry featured more musicians than Bragg's previous works, which were generally little more than Bragg himself and a guitar.

Saint Swithin's Day is the feast day of Saint Swithun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Jones (poet)</span>

Patrick Jones is a Welsh poet, playwright, and elder brother of Nicky Wire from Manic Street Preachers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubstar</span> English indie-dance duo

Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo, performing songs with hints of Britpop, dream pop and synth, as well as the occasional pop ballad and guitar-laden rock with industrial twists. The group was formed in 1992 by Steve Hillier and Chris Wilkie in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Sarah Blackwood joined in 1993 as vocalist.

Technique were a British synthpop band from the mid-1990s featuring Kate Holmes of Frazier Chorus and singer Xan Tyler. The band was named after New Order's 1989 album of the same name, and they were signed to Creation Records, the record label owned by Holmes's husband, Alan McGee.

<i>Brewing Up with Billy Bragg</i> 1984 studio album by Billy Bragg

Brewing Up with Billy Bragg is the second album by Billy Bragg, released in 1984.

<i>Volume 1</i> (Billy Bragg album) 2006 box set by Billy Bragg

Volume 1 is a box set by alternative folk singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, released in 2006. The box set includes 7 CDs and 2 DVDs with a booklet containing song lyrics and an introduction by Wiggy, producer of several of Bragg's albums.

<i>The Great Western</i> 2006 studio album by James Dean Bradfield

The Great Western is the debut solo studio album by the Manic Street Preachers vocalist-guitarist James Dean Bradfield. It was released on 24 July 2006 by record label Columbia.

<i>Goodbye</i> (Dubstar album) Dubstar album

Goodbye is Dubstar's second album. It was released in September 1997 on the Food Records label, a division of EMI that was also home to Blur.

<i>Kenny</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Kenny Rogers

Kenny is the eighth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers, released in 1979. It includes the singles "Coward of the County" and "You Decorated My Life."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Con te partirò</span> 1995 song by Andrea Bocelli

"Con te partirò" is an Italian song written by Francesco Sartori (music) and Lucio Quarantotto (lyrics). It was first performed by Andrea Bocelli at the 1995 Sanremo Music Festival and recorded on his album of the same year, Bocelli. The single was first released as an A-side single with "Vivere" in 1995, topping the charts, first in France, where it became one of the best-selling singles of all-time, and then in Belgium, breaking the all-time record sales there.

<i>Stars: The Best of Dubstar</i> 2004 greatest hits album by Dubstar

Stars: The Best Of Dubstar is a compilation album by British dance-pop band, Dubstar, released in April 2004. The album contains a hidden track: a remix of "Stars", following "Self Same Thing". All songs written by Steve Hillier except where noted.

The Woody Guthrie Foundation, founded in 1972, is a non-profit organization which formerly served as administrator and caretaker of the Woody Guthrie Archives. The Foundation was originally based in Brooklyn, New York and directed by Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora Guthrie.

<i>Make It Better</i> 2000 studio album by Dubstar

Make It Better is the third studio album by British dance-pop band Dubstar. It was released August 2000 on Food, and spawned two singles: "I " and "The Self Same Thing". The single "I was released in the UK on 1 May. Some releases of Make It Better exclude the tenth and thirteenth tracks, "New Friends" and "Stay Together", respectively. Make It Better was recorded at Steve Hillier's house in Lansdowne, Brighton, Hove and the Newcastle Arts Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyre, with the band and Mike "Spike" Drake acting as producers.

<i>Ruby Trax</i> 1992 compilation album by various artists

Ruby Trax - The NME's Roaring Forty is a compilation album released by the 'rock inkie' (newspaper) NME in 1992 to commemorate 40 years of publication. The album features 40 cover versions of classic Number 1 songs by popular bands of the era, though as the NME based it on the NME's own chart, some songs did not reach number one on the British Market Research Bureau/Gallup chart. It was released in the following formats: three LPs (NME40LP), three CDs (NME40CD) or two cassettes (NME40MC), all having a total of 40 songs.

The Roland W-30 is a sampling workstation keyboard, released in 1989. It features an on-board 12-bit sampler, sample-based synthesizer, 16-track sequencer and 61-note keyboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Blackwood</span> Musical artist

Sarah Blackwood is an English recording artist. She came to prominence as the lead singer of Dubstar, and as Client B in the band Client.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stars (Dubstar song)</span> 1995 single by Dubstar

"Stars" is a song by English indie dance trio Dubstar, released in 1995 by EMI and Polydor as the debut single from their first album, Disgraceful (1995). The song received critical acclaim, peaking at number 40 in the UK. But after being re-released in 1996, it was far more successful, reaching number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 18 in Scotland, as well as number 69 on the Eurochart Hot 100. Outside Europe, the song was a hit in Israel, peaking at number-one for three weeks. It received a great deal of play time in clubs and many remixes were also created. There were produced three different music videos to promote the single. Italian metal band Lacuna Coil covered it on their 2000 EP Halflife.

References

  1. Hayes, Kelvin. Review: Disgraceful AllMusic. Retrieved 22 May 2019
  2. 1 2 "Reviews: Albums" (PDF). Music Week . 30 September 1995. p. 10. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. Dalton, Stephen (14 October 1995). "Long Play". NME . p. 37. Retrieved 14 March 2024.