| Killer Lords | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1982-1985 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:37 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| The Lords of the New Church chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 1993 reissue cover | ||||
Killer Lords is a compilation album by the English/American rock band The Lords of the New Church, released in 1985 by Illegal/I.R.S. It features material from their three studio albums, two previously unreleased songs and a non-album single. [1] The album peaked at #22 on the UK Indie Chart. [2]
Killer Lords includes two previously unreleased tracks, "Lord's Prayer" and a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Hey Tonight". The songs were originally recorded for a planned single release that never materialized. [3] "Lord's Prayer" was written by T. V. Smith of the Adverts, who offered the song to the Lords of the New Church. "He just came to us and said, "I've got a song for you blokes", explained guitarist Brian James. [4] The two songs were produced by Steven Van Zandt in London. "l'd already known Steven for two or three years," singer Stiv Bators said in 1985. "And then the last time the Lords were in New York, he came to one of our gigs and did the encore with us." Afterwards, Van Zandt was told that the concert had been recorded for a possible live album. "We met up a couple of days later and hung out and he says 'I wanna produce the live album'," Bators said. However, the live album was subsequently abandoned by the band's manager and label boss, Miles Copeland. As a result of the changes of plan, Van Zandt selected instead to produce the planned single. [3]
When asked what prompted the band to record their infamous and amusing version of Madonna’s "Like A Virgin", [3] [5] which had been released as a single in 1985, Brian James recalled: "That was Miles' idea. It got nothing to do with us at all. We saw him in the office one day and he said, "I got this great idea." [4] Copeland then sent Bators and James to William Orbit's Guerilla Studios in London to record the song. [6] James: "And it's like, "Right, here's the backing track, now put some guitar on it". [4] Bators was having some difficulty with his vocal arrangement, so he turned to his friend, Michael Monroe from Hanoi Rocks, for help. "Michael came into the studio with me and we stayed there for about 12 hours getting the hang of it," recalled Bators. "And it was Michael who guided me through it. I ended up doing things I'd never even thought of, hitting notes I didn't know I could hit." [3] [7] The single subsequently gained the band some attention and radio airplay, taking it to #2 on the UK Indie Chart. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [9] |
Gary Hill of AllMusic gave the album 4½ stars out of 5 and wrote: "Some of this material will definitely be objectionable to certain listeners, but to fans of the group, or of the early goth sound in general, this release is definitely a treat." [8]
Adapted from the album's liner notes. [10]
All tracks are written by Stiv Bators and Brian James, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Place of origin | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dance with Me" (Remix) | Is Nothing Sacred? , 1983 | 3:25 | |
| 2. | "Hey Tonight" | John Fogerty | Previously unreleased | 4:55 |
| 3. | "Russian Roulette" | Tony James, Terry Chimes | The Lords of the New Church , 1982 | 3:47 |
| 4. | "M-Style" | Bators, James, Dave Tregunna | The Method to Our Madness , 1984 | 4:12 |
| 5. | "Lord's Prayer" | T. V. Smith | Previously unreleased | 5:39 |
| 6. | "Live for Today" | Mogol, Shel Shapiro, Michael Julien | Is Nothing Sacred? | 3:38 |
| 7. | "Method to My Madness" | The Method to Our Madness | 3:16 | |
| 8. | "Open Your Eyes" | The Lords of the New Church | 3:27 | |
| 9. | "I Never Believed" | The Method to Our Madness | 3:38 | |
| 10. | "Black Girl White Girl" | Is Nothing Sacred? | 3:39 | |
| 11. | "New Church" | The Lords of the New Church | 3:30 | |
| 12. | "Like a Virgin" | Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly | Non-album single, 1985 | 3:47 |
| Total length: | 47:37 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Place of origin | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Girls Girls Girls" | B-side to "Open Your Eyes", 1982 | 3:02 | |
| 14. | "Opening Nightmares" | B-side to "Live for Today", 1983 | 3:40 | |
| 15. | "Dreams & Desires" | Bators, James, Tregunna, Nick Turner | B-side to "Live for Today" 12" | 4:14 |
| 16. | "I'm Not Runnin' Hard Enuff" | B-side to "Dance with Me", 1983 | 3:37 | |
| 17. | "Fresh Flesh" | The Method to Our Madness UK version, 1984 | 3:34 | |
| 18. | "Sorry for the Man" | Derrick Simpson, Michael Rose | B-side to "M-Style", 1984 | 5:53 |
| 19. | "Gun Called Justice" | B-side to "When the Blood Runs Cold (Special Remix)", 1985 | 3:35 | |
| Total length: | 74:36 | |||
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Indie Chart [2] | 22 |
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [10]
The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, lead guitarist Cheetah Chrome, and drummer Johnny Blitz in 1975, with the later two having splintered from the band Rocket From The Tombs. The original Dead Boys released two studio albums, Young Loud and Snotty, and We Have Come for Your Children.
Steven John Bator, known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Girard, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.
Brian James is an English punk rock guitarist, who is best known for being a founding member of The Damned as well as of The Lords of the New Church.
The Lords of the New Church were an English/American supergroup with a line-up originally consisting of four musicians from 1970s punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators, guitarist Brian James, bassist Dave Tregunna and drummer Nick Turner. Launched in 1981, the band released three studio albums prior to their dissolution in 1989. During this time, they underwent several line-up changes.
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The Wanderers were a short-lived British punk rock band consisting of Stiv Bators and members of Sham 69, and active between 1980 and 1981. They recorded one album before splitting up.
The Lords of the New Church is the debut studio album by the English/American rock band The Lords of the New Church. It was released in 1982 by Illegal Records in the UK and by I.R.S. Records in the US.
Is Nothing Sacred? is the second studio album by the English/American rock band The Lords of the New Church, released in September 1983 by I.R.S. Records. The album's two singles, "Live for Today" and "Dance with Me", reached #91 and #85 on the UK Single Chart, respectively.
The Method to Our Madness is the third studio album by the English/American rock band The Lords of the New Church, released in November 1984 by I.R.S. Records. It is also the last studio album to feature the band's original line up of Stiv Bators, Brian James, Dave Tregunna and Nick Turner. The album peaked at #158 on the US Billboard 200.
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"Open Your Eyes" is a song written by Brian James and Stiv Bators of English/American rock band The Lords of the New Church, and released in July 1982 as the second single of their debut studio album The Lords of the New Church (1982).
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