| Strange Boutique | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1980 | |||
| Studio | Sound Suite, Camden, England | |||
| Genre | Post-punk | |||
| Length | 35:24 | |||
| Label | Dindisc | |||
| Producer | Bob Sargeant | |||
| The Monochrome Set chronology | ||||
| ||||
Strange Boutique is the debut studio album by English band The Monochrome Set. It was released in 1980, through record label Dindisc.
All tracks are written by Bid except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Monochrome Set (I Presume)" | 5:12 | |
| 2. | "The Lighter Side of Dating" | Bid, Lester Square | 2:42 |
| 3. | "Espresso" | 3:11 | |
| 4. | "The Puerto Rican Fence Climber" | Square | 2:59 |
| 5. | "Tomorrow Will Be Too Long" | Bid, J.D. Haney | 2:59 |
| 6. | "Martians Go Home" | Bid, Square | 2:01 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Goes Down the Drain" | 2:27 | |
| 2. | "Ici Les Enfants" | Haney, Bid | 3:06 |
| 3. | "The Etcetera Stroll" | Square | 4:42 |
| 4. | "Goodbye Joe" | 2:42 | |
| 5. | "The Strange Boutique" | Bid, Square | 3:09 |
| Total length: | 35:24 | ||
The album reached number 62 on the UK Albums Chart. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Smash Hits | 6/10 [3] |
Writing for Smash Hits in 1980, Red Starr, in a mixed review, described Strange Boutique as "virtually impossible to pigeonhole. Starr described the lyrics as an "odd mixture of amusing fantasy and sudden seriousness". Starr finished by saying the album was "light, modern and attractive, but difficult to take too seriously". [3]
AllMusic gave the album a mildly favourable review, writing "amid the austerity of post-punk England, and before we became awash with irony and archness, we needed a band who could raise their eyebrows and smirk at it all without ever being condescending (or maybe only a little bit condescending)." [2]
Three Imaginary Boys is the debut studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 8 May 1979 by Fiction Records. It was later released in the United States, Canada, and Australia with a different track listing as a compilation album titled Boys Don't Cry.
Seventeen Seconds is the second studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 18 April 1980 by Fiction Records. The album marked the first time frontman Robert Smith co-produced with Mike Hedges. After the departure of original bassist Michael Dempsey, Simon Gallup became an official member along with keyboardist Matthieu Hartley. The single "A Forest" was the band's first entry in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
Freedom of Choice is the third studio album by the American new wave band Devo, released in May 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. The album contained their biggest hit, "Whip It", which hit No. 8 and No. 14 on the Billboard Club Play Singles and Pop Singles charts, respectively. Freedom of Choice peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
Black Rose: A Rock Legend is the ninth studio album by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Released in 1979, it has been described as one of the band's "greatest, most successful albums". It was the first time that blues rock guitarist Gary Moore remained in Thin Lizzy long enough to record an album—after previous brief stints in 1974 and 1977 with the band. The album peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts-- making it the band's highest-charting album in the UK. It was their fourth consecutive album to be certified Gold by the BPI.
Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple is a compilation album by the English hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1980 on LP. It features the original hits of Deep Purple before their 1984 reunion. Aided by a TV advertising campaign it would become Purple's third UK No. 1 album. In 1984 this compilation additionally was published on CD.
Lester Square is the former lead guitarist for The Monochrome Set. He joined the first incarnation of Adam and the Ants as lead guitarist, after meeting Adam while studying at Hornsey College of Art, writing Ants staples "Fall In" and "Fat Fun" during this period. He left in 1978 to form The Monochrome Set with singer-songwriter Bid, a band cited as "a major influence on the Smiths, Franz Ferdinand, Orange Juice, Fire Engines and a whole host of UK indie and post punk bands." He has also briefly played guitar with The Invisible (1985–1987), ...And the Native Hipsters, and Jesus Couldn't Drum.
"I Can't Tell You Why" is a song by the American rock band Eagles that appeared on their 1979 album The Long Run. It was written by band members Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Recorded in March 1978, it was the first song finished for the album and the first Eagles song to feature Schmit on lead vocals. Released as a single in February 1980, it became a Billboard top 10 hit in April, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the group's last top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk/new wave band, originally formed in London in January 1978. The most recent line-up consists of Bid, Andy Warren, Athen Ayren and Stephen Gilchrist.
Beat Boy is the third studio album by the British synth-pop band Visage. It was recorded at Trident Studios between 1982 and 1983 and released on Polydor Records in October 1984. Reaching No. 79 on the UK album chart, the album was poorly received by critics and would be the band's last studio album for almost thirty years.
The Anvil is the second studio album by the British synth-pop band Visage, released in March 1982 by Polydor Records. The album reached No. 6 in the UK and was certified "Silver" by the British Phonographic Industry in April 1982.
Visage is the debut studio album by the British synth-pop band Visage. It was recorded at Genetic Sound Studios in Reading, Berkshire and released in November 1980 by Polydor Records.
Where There's Smoke... is a 1979 album by Smokey Robinson, released on Motown Records' Tamla label. It contains his Billboard Top ten pop hit single "Cruisin'".
Scarlet's Well were a British pop band formed in 1998 by Bid of The Monochrome Set, after the latter band amicably split for the second time.
Slade Smashes is a compilation album by the British rock band Slade. It was released 1 November 1980 and reached No. 21 on the UK charts. The album was issued by Polydor in the wake of new interest in the band following their successful appearance at the 1980 Reading Festival, filling in for Ozzy Osbourne. The album featured most of the band's big hits from their early and mid 1970s heyday in the UK as well as three of the band's singles from post-1977. This collection, alongside the band's subsequent 1981 studio release We'll Bring the House Down, further cemented Slade's comeback in the UK and Europe.
Love Somebody Today is the fourth studio album by the American R&B vocal group Sister Sledge, released on March 16, 1980, by Cotillion Records. The album includes three singles: "Got to Love Somebody", "Reach Your Peak", and "Let's Go on Vacation", which all charted on the US Pop and R&B/Soul charts from late 1979 until 1980.
Mix-Up is the debut studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released on 23 October 1979, through record label Rough Trade.
Love Zombies is the second studio album by English band the Monochrome Set. It was released on 17 October 1980, through record label Dindisc.
Diamond is the second studio album by English band Spandau Ballet, released on 12 March 1982 by Chrysalis Records. As with their debut album, Journeys to Glory, all songs were produced by Richard James Burgess and written by band guitarist Gary Kemp. The music was inspired by a variety of genres, including the renewed interest in funk around Soho, American film scores with roots in eastern Europe, the second side of David Bowie's Low album, Pink Floyd records and the mood pieces of another English new wave band, Japan.
Reality Effect is the second album by the British band the Tourists, released in 1979.
Suzi ... and Other Four Letter Words, released in 1979, is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter, bass guitar player, and actress Suzi Quatro. By August 2012 this was still Quatro's highest-charting album in Norway and her second-highest-charting album in the United States .
