Grand Prix (album)

Grand Prix
Studio album by Teenage Fanclub
Released	29 May 1995 (1995-05-29) [1]
Recorded	5 September–9 October 1994
Studio	The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell
Genre	Power pop [2] jangle pop [3] Britpop [4] [5] folk rock [6] country rock [7] [8]
Length	42:09
Label	Creation DGC
Producer	David Bianco Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub chronology
Deep Fried Fanclub (1995) Grand Prix (1995) Songs from Northern Britain (1997)
Singles from Grand Prix
"Mellow Doubt" Released: 27 March 1995 "Sparky's Dream" Released: 22 May 1995 "Neil Jung" Released: 21 August 1995 [9] "About You" Released: 1995

Grand Prix is the fifth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Teenage Fanclub, released in May 1995 via Creation Records.

Album cover

The now-defunct Formula One racing team Simtek provided the car that appears on the front cover. ^[10]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Entertainment Weekly	C+ [12]
The Guardian	[13]
Mojo	[14]
NME	9/10 [15]
Pitchfork	8.5/10 [16]
Q	[17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[18]
Spin	4/10 [19]
Uncut	8/10 [20]

Upon release, Grand Prix received almost unanimous critical acclaim. Writing for The Independent , Andy Gill called it "winsome and reflective", ^[21] while Angela Lewis of the same publication described Grand Prix as a "breathtakingly superb (album) with finely honed dynamics, nagging harmonies and deceptively simple lyrics". ^[22] In 2018, Q placed Grand Prix at number 72 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever". ^[23] It was voted number 624 in the 3rd edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2018). ^[24] In 2004, it made number 72 on The Observer Music Monthly's top 100 British albums list. ^[25] In 2013, NME ranked it at number 282 in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. ^[26]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"About You"	Raymond McGinley	2:41
2.	"Sparky's Dream"	Gerard Love	3:17
3.	"Mellow Doubt"	Norman Blake	2:42
4.	"Don't Look Back"	Love	3:43
5.	"Verisimilitude"	McGinley	3:31
6.	"Neil Jung"	Blake	4:48
7.	"Tears"	Blake	2:43
8.	"Discolite"	Love	3:07
9.	"Say No"	McGinley	3:12
10.	"Going Places"	Love	4:28
11.	"I'll Make It Clear"	Blake	2:33
12.	"I Gotta Know"	McGinley	3:27
13.	"Hardcore/Ballad"	Blake	1:48
Total length:			42:09

Australian bonus disc: Bonus B-Sides

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"About You" (acoustic version) (B-side of "Mellow Doubt")	McGinley	2:49
2.	"Between Us" (B-side of "Mellow Doubt")	Neil Innes	2:03
3.	"For You" (B-side of "Sparky's Dream")	McGinley	3:26
4.	"Try and Stop Me" (B-side of "Sparky's Dream")	Eddie Phillips, Kenny Pickett	2:27
5.	"Who Loves the Sun" (B-side of "Sparky's Dream")	Lou Reed	2:41
Total length:			13:18

Notes

• All bonus tracks produced by Teenage Fanclub. Tracks 1 and 2 recorded at Protocol Studios, London, engineered by Giles Hall, assisted by Delphine Carrier. Track 3 recorded at Protocol Studios, London, engineered by Giles Hall, and at The Greenhouse, London, engineered by Nick Wollage. Track 4 recorded at Riverside Studios, Glasgow, engineered by Duncan Cameron. Track 5 recorded at home by Norman Blake.

Grand Prix bonus 7" single

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Discolite" (demo)	Love	3:29
2.	"Voicemail from Rodney Bingenheimer"		0:37
3.	"I Gotta Know" (demo)	McGinley	4:14

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Coffee Morning" (instrumental)	2:55
2.	"Norman's Answering Machine Message"	0:23
3.	"Untitled" (instrumental)	3:22
Total length:		15:00

Note

• First vinyl pressing with limited edition bonus 7".

Personnel

Teenage Fanclub Norman Blake – vocals, guitar Gerard Love – vocals, bass guitar Raymond McGinley – vocals, guitar Paul Quinn – drums

Additional musicians David Bianco – occasional guitar, piano and vocals Nigel Hitchcock – alto saxophone on "About You" Jamie Talbot – tenor saxophone on "About You" Chris White – baritone saxophone on "About You" Steve Sidwell – trumpet on "About You" and "Tears" Dinah Beamish – cello on "Tears" Jules Singleton – violin on "Tears" Sonia Slany – violin and string arrangement on "Tears" Jocelyn Pook – viola on "Tears" Dave Barker – handclaps on "Sparky's Dream" Chas Banks – handclaps on "Mellow Doubt" Jim Parsons – handclaps on "Mellow Doubt"

Technical personnel David Bianco – producer, engineer, mixing (at Larrabee North, Los Angeles) Teenage Fanclub – producer, sleeve design Julie Gardner – assistant engineer (at The Manor) Jamie Seyberth – assistant engineer (at Larrabee North) Stephen Marcussen – mastering (at Precision Mastering, Los Angeles) Marcus Tomlinson – front cover photography John Andrews – cover shoot co-ordinator Robert Fisher – "Grand Prix" logo designer Toby Egeinick – sleeve layout

Charts

Chart performance for Grand Prix

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [27]	57
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [28]	33
UK Albums (OCC) [29]	7

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [30]	Silver	60,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 20 May 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
2. Iai (9 August 2007). "Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix (album review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
3. Hyden, Steven (1 May 2020). "The Oral History Of Guided By Voices' '90s Indie Classic 'Alien Lanes'". Uproxx . Retrieved 24 October 2021.
4. "The 50 Best Britpop Albums". Pitchfork . 29 March 2017. p. 2. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
5. Pearis, Bill (13 April 2021). "Teenage Fanclub share "In Our Dreams" from upcoming album".
6. Collar, Matt. "Teenage Fanclub Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic . Retrieved 24 October 2021.
7. "Hiatus From Hype Benefits Columbia's Teenage Fanclub". Billboard . Vol. 109, no. 26. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 28 June 1997. p. 28. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
8. Robbins, Ira; Kaplan, Matthew. "Teenage Fanclub". Trouser Press . Retrieved 12 February 2022.
9. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 12 August 1995. p. 15. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
10. Grand Prix sleeve notes
11. Ankeny, Jason. "Grand Prix – Teenage Fanclub". AllMusic . Retrieved 18 June 2009.
12. Eddy, Chuck (14 July 1995). "Grand Prix". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 8 July 2016.
13. Sweeting, Adam (2 June 1995). "CD of the week: Teenage Fanclub". The Guardian .
14. Eccleston, Danny (September 2018). "Whatever you want". Mojo . No. 298. p. 100.
15. Cameron, Keith (27 May 1995). "Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix". NME . Archived from the original on 14 October 2000. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
16. Sodomsky, Sam (11 August 2018). "Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque / Thirteen / Grand Prix / Songs From Northern Britain / Howdy!". Pitchfork . Retrieved 11 August 2018.
17. Collins, Andrew (July 1996). "Teenage Fanclub: Grand Prix". Q . No. 118. p. 129.
18. Sisario, Ben (2004). "Teenage Fanclub". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p.  805. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
19. Cohen, Jason (July 1995). "Teenage Fanclub: Grand Prix". Spin . Vol. 11, no. 4. p. 76. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
20. Deusner, Stephen M. (September 2018). "Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque / Thirteen / Grand Prix / Songs from Northern Britain / Howdy!". Uncut . No. 256. p. 51.
21. Gill, Andy (26 May 1995). "Review: Teenage Fanclub, Grand Prix". The Independent . Retrieved 18 June 2009.
22. Lewis, Angela (2 June 1995). "Feature: Teenage Fanclub Preview". The Independent . Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
23. "100 Greatest British Albums Ever". Q . No. 165. June 2000. p. 64.
24. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 206. ISBN   0-7535-0493-6.
25. "Observer Music Monthly's top 100 British albums". The Observer . 20 June 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
26. Barker, Emily (24 October 2013). "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 300-201". NME . Retrieved 24 October 2021.
27. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 276.
28. "Swedishcharts.com – Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
29. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
30. "British album certifications – Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 5 May 2025.