Peggy Suicide

Last updated

Peggy Suicide
Jcopepeggysuicidealbum.jpg
Studio album by
Julian Cope
Released22 April 1991
Recorded1990
Genre Art rock, psychedelic rock
Length75:44
Label Island
Producer Julian Cope, Donald Ross Skinner
Julian Cope chronology
Droolian
(1990)		Peggy Suicide
(1991)		 Jehovahkill
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Great Rock Discography 8/10 [3]
NME 8/10 [4]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Select 5/5 [8]
Sounds Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [10]

Peggy Suicide is the seventh album by Julian Cope. It is generally seen as the beginning of Cope's trademark sound and approach, and as a turning-point for Cope as a maturing artist.

Contents

Background

Peggy Suicide was recorded and released following two lo-fi Cope albums - Skellington and Droolian - which had not gained official distribution and caused friction with Cope's label Island Records. Cope's previous Island release, My Nation Underground, had not satisfied him, and he had rejected its heavily produced, pop-friendly sound in favour of a one-take, more politicised approach as expounded by former White Panther John Sinclair in his book Guitar Army. Cope was later to refer to this book as "my holy book", and it set the method for all of his subsequent recording. Several familiar Cope collaborators were on the record - multi-instrumentalist Donald Ross Skinner, drummer/percussionist Rooster Cosby and keyboard player/onetime Cope producer Ron Fair. There were also contributions by new associates in the shape of former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce and future Spiritualized lead guitarist Michael Watts (better known as Mike Mooney or "Moon-eye").

On the album's songs, Cope laid bare many of his personal convictions including his hatred of organized religion and his increasing public interest in women's rights, the occult, alternative spirituality (including paganism and Goddess worship), animal rights, and ecology. [11] He had referred in passing to these beliefs in previous songs, but never so directly. The album was written in the aftermath of the British anti-poll tax riots in 1990. Cope had taken part in the protest, and several songs on the album refer directly to its events. [5] Cope's forthright new political stance was reflected in the song "Leperskin", which refers to the contemporary British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (who resigned between the recording of Peggy Suicide and its release) as an "apostolic hag". For one particular track, the anti-police tirade "Soldier Blue", Cope sampled Lenny Bruce's live album The Berkeley Concert and mixed in samples of the Poll Tax Riot.

When released in 1991, the album featured extensive sleevenotes in which Cope explained the meaning of each song and stated that the entire album was a meditation on humanity's relationship to Mother Earth. [5] Many songs were given very idiosyncratic interpretations, such as Cope's account of "You" which asserts that the Conscious Mind "acts like a cross between Tony Wilson and Bill Drummond but looks a lot like Lew Grade. The Unconscious mind...looks like Iggy Pop playing Syd Barrett." [12]

Peggy Suicide generated two singles - the calypso-styled "Beautiful Love" (a minor hit) and "East Easy Rider". [5] Another track, "Soldier Blue", was re-mixed by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy's Michael Franti, who also provided a rap for the new mix. However, Island Records refused to release the song as a single due to it being considered too overtly political.

The album was heralded by critics as Cope's best work thus far, and has subsequently been considered an artistic rebirth for Cope. Paul Davies in Q Magazine described it as "a hugely diverse and enjoyable collection." [5] In 2009, a deluxe edition was released with a second CD of bonus tracks.

The album's title is a pun on the Buddy Holly song "Peggy Sue".

Runtime

Head was edited to fit on the limited time of LP and CD mediums for the album. The original unabridged version was later made available on the Head EP for the song and credited as a remix version. [13]

The Double LP album features slightly longer versions of the tracks "Safesurfer" (8.35), "Drive, She Said" (5.05) & "Not Raving But Drowning" (4.41), plus an extra track "Uptight" on the D side of the release. [14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Julian Cope, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Pristeen" 4:43
2."Double Vegetation" 3:52
3."East Easy Rider" 4:00
4."Promised Land" 3:40
5."Hanging Out & Hung Up on the Line" 4:44
6."Safesurfer" 8:07
7."If You Loved Me at All"Cope, Donald Ross Skinner 5:00
8."Drive, She Said" 4:37
9."Soldier Blue"Cope, Skinner4:49
10."You..." 1:49
11."Not Raving But Drowning"Cope, Skinner4:17
12."Head" 2:21
13."Leperskin"Cope, Skinner5:12
14."Beautiful Love" 3:13
15."Western Front 1992 CE" 2:01
16."Hung Up & Hanging Out to Dry"Cope, Skinner, Double DeHarrison, J.D. Hassinger4:48
17."The American Lite"Cope, Skinner4:03
18."Las Vegas Basement" 5:04
2009 deluxe edition disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Easty Risin' (East Easy Rider remix)" 8:23
2."Ravebury Stones"Cope, Skinner11:34
3."Love L.U.V. (Beautiful Love remix)" 6:53
4."Dragonfly" 9:18
5."Heed: Of Penetration and the City Dwellers (Head remix)" 6:12
6."Bring Cherhill Down (vocal)"Cope, Skinner6:58
7."Safesurfer (tour '91 7" version)" 7:01
8."If You Loved Me at All (tour '91 7" version)"Cope, Skinner6:30
9."Butterfly E" 6:37
10."Straw Dogs"Cope, Skinner5:32
11."Anyway at All" 3:54

Charts

Chart (1991)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [15] 134
UK Albums Chart [16] 23

Accolades

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [17]

Personnel

Technical personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Cope</span> English musician and author

Julian David Cope is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor and Black Sheep.

<i>Janet Jackson</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson is the debut studio album by American singer Janet Jackson, released in September 1982 by A&M Records. Janet Jackson is described as a dance and contemporary R&B record. Songwriters Angela Winbush and René Moore contributed to much of the album's lyrics. Moore and Winbush share production credits with Foster Sylvers, Jerry Weaver, and Bobby Watson. On release Janet Jackson charted on the Billboard 200 and in New Zealand. Three singles from the album had little impact on Billboard Hot 100 charts, among them "Young Love", "Come Give Your Love to Me" and "Say You Do", though these singles achieved success on the R&B charts. Jackson performed "Young Love" and "Say You Do" on American TV shows American Bandstand and Soul Train in 1982. The cover artwork of Jackson's body submerged in water was based on a photo of Elizabeth Taylor. Worldwide, the album has sold 300,000 copies.

<i>Zeit</i> (Tangerine Dream album) 1972 studio album by Tangerine Dream

Zeit is the third studio album by German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. A double LP, it was released in August 1972, being the first release featuring Peter Baumann, who joined then-current members Christopher Franke and Edgar Froese. Zeit is subtitled Largo in Four Movements.

<i>Songs</i> (Luther Vandross album) 1994 studio album by Luther Vandross

Songs is the ninth studio album by American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross. It was released by Epic Records on September 20, 1994. The album, a collection of cover versions, produced the singles "Endless Love", "Always and Forever", and "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". According to an interview both Vandross and Mariah Carey gave in Japan following the release of their duet "Endless Love", there was mention that Carey had given advice as to what songs Vandross would cover on this album.

<i>World Shut Your Mouth</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Julian Cope

World Shut Your Mouth is the debut solo album by Julian Cope, released on 17 February 1984.

<i>Fried</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Julian Cope

Fried is the second solo album by Julian Cope.

<i>My Nation Underground</i> 1988 studio album by Julian Cope

My Nation Underground is the fourth solo album by Julian Cope. It produced three singles including "Charlotte Anne".

<i>T.E.V.I.N.</i> 1991 studio album by Tevin Campbell

T.E.V.I.N. is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Tevin Campbell. It was released by Qwest Records on November 19, 1991. The album was certified platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1994.

<i>Jehovahkill</i> 1992 studio album by Julian Cope

Jehovahkill is the eighth album by Julian Cope, released in 1992. After the critical success of Peggy Suicide (1991), Cope's idea for Jehovakill was to incorporate a krautrock attitude into his music. He began recording the album with musicians Rooster Cosby and Donald Ross Skinner, while co-producing it with the latter. The sessions yielded what Cope considered to be his most sonically experimental material to date. Originally titling the record Julian H. Cope, he sent an eleven track version to Island Records, who initially rejected its release, but gave Cope extra recording sessions for the album. During the extra sessions, in which six extra songs were recorded, the album became harder and was retitled Jehovahkill.

<i>20 Mothers</i> 1995 studio album by Julian Cope

20 Mothers is the twelfth solo album by Julian Cope, released in August 1995 by Echo. The album's sub-title is "Better to Light a Candle Than to Curse the Darkness".

<i>Autogeddon</i> 1994 studio album by Julian Cope

Autogeddon is the eleventh solo album by Julian Cope, released in 1994 on The Echo Label. According to the album's sleeve notes, written by Cope, it was "inspired by Heathcote Williams' epic poem of the same name and a little incident concerning my pregnant wife and £375,000 of yellow Ferrari in St. Martin's Lane, London, England".

<i>Rite</i> (album) 1993 studio album by Julian Cope & Donald Ross Skinner

Rite is an ambient album by Julian Cope and Donald Ross Skinner, released in February 1993 on Cope's own Ma-Gog label. It is the first album in the Rite series and has been described as "a series of lengthy, mostly instrumental jamming freakouts influenced by both Krautrock and psychedelic funk." The album was available as mail-order only.

<i>Mirror Image</i> (Blood, Sweat & Tears album) 1974 studio album by Blood, Sweat & Tears

Mirror Image is the seventh album by the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, released by Columbia Records in July 1974.

<i>Black Sheep</i> (Julian Cope album) 2008 studio album by Julian Cope

Black Sheep is a double album by Julian Cope, released on Head Heritage in 2008. It is Cope's twentyfourth solo album and features 11 protest songs across two half-hour CDs. Each CD represents "one side of an LP" with their own titles, Return of the Native and Return of the Alternative. Cope described the album as "a musical exploration of what it is to be an outsider in modern Western Culture".

<i>Everybody Wants to Shag... The Teardrop Explodes</i> 1990 studio album by The Teardrop Explodes

Everybody Wants to Shag... The Teardrop Explodes was the third and final studio album by neo-psychedelic Liverpool band The Teardrop Explodes. When the band reconvened to record their third album, they were reduced to the trio of Julian Cope, Gary Dwyer and a reinstated David Balfe.

<i>You Gotta Problem with Me</i> 2007 studio album by Julian Cope

You Gotta Problem with Me is the twenty-third solo album by Julian Cope, released in 2007.

<i>Tommy</i> (soundtrack) 1975 soundtrack album by The Who

Tommy is a soundtrack album by The Who with contributions from numerous artists. The soundtrack was used in the 1975 Tommy film that was based on the original album that was released by The Who in 1969. Pete Townshend oversaw the production of this double-LP recording that returned the music to its rock roots, and on which the unrecorded orchestral arrangements he had envisaged for the original Tommy LP were realised by the extensive use of synthesiser.

Donald Skinner is a guitarist, songwriter and producer primarily known for his work with Julian Cope. Skinner is commonly known by the name Donald Ross Skinner with the addition of the middle name of Ross attributed to him by Cope after Glenn Ross Campbell, the pedal steel player from The Misunderstood. He is currently a guitarist for Love Amongst Ruin and DC Fontana.

<i>Psychedelic Revolution</i> 2012 studio album by Julian Cope

Psychedelic Revolution is a double album by Julian Cope, released in 2012 on Head Heritage. It is Cope's twenty-seventh solo album and contains 11 songs across two half-hour-long CDs. Cope dedicated the album to Che Guevara and Leila Khaled.

<i>The Skellington Chronicles</i> 1993 studio album by Julian Cope

The Skellington Chronicles is the tenth solo album by Julian Cope, released in June 1993 on Cope's own Ma-Gog label. It contains the previously released 1989 album Skellington and its sequel Skellington 2, released here for the first time. Skellington 2 was, like its predecessor, recorded in just two days on April 21–22, 1993.

References

  1. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Peggy Suicide". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Cope, Julian". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2004). "Julian Cope". The Great Rock Discography (7 ed.). Canongate Books. p.  335. ISBN   1-84195-615-5.
  4. ↑ Swift, David (2 March 1991). "Buy My LP – Or the World Gets It!". NME .
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Paul Davies. "Peggy Suicide". Q . March 1991. pg. 66, issue 55
  6. ↑ Peacock, Tim (28 March 2018). "Saint Julian, My Nation Undergound, Peggy Suicide, Jehovahkill". Record Collector . Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Considine, J. D. (1992). "Julian Cope". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. pp.  161. ISBN   0-679-73729-4.
  8. ↑ Griffiths, Nick (April 1991). "Julian Cope: Peggy Suicide". Select . No. 26. p. 70.
  9. ↑ Mardles, Paul (2 March 1991). "Call the Copes!" (PDF). Sounds . p. 44. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  10. ↑ Pinnock, Tom (15 May 2018). "Julian Cope – Peggy Suicide/Jehovakill". Uncut . Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "The S.P.A.C.E.R.O.C.K.E.R.’s Guide to Julian Cope", Aural Innovations magazine #23, April 2003
  12. ↑ Julian Cope, Peggy Suicide, 1992
  13. ↑ Julian Cope – Heed: Of Penetration And The City Dweller (1991, Vinyl) , retrieved 12 December 2021
  14. ↑ Julian Cope – Peggy Suicide (1991, Vinyl) , retrieved 12 December 2021
  15. ↑ "Julian Copy ARIA chart history". ARIA. Retrieved 21 July 2024– via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  16. ↑ "Julian Cope - Peggy Suicide". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  17. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN   0-7893-1371-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.