| Strawberry Switchblade | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 April 1985 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 34:04 | |||
| Label | Korova / WEA | |||
| Producer | David Motion, Phil Thornalley | |||
| Strawberry Switchblade chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Strawberry Switchblade | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| No. 1 magazine | [3] |
| Paste | 9.2/10 [4] |
| Smash Hits |   [5] |
| Musik Express Sounds | [6] |
| Record Mirror | [7] |
| Sounds |  [8] |
Strawberry Switchblade is the only studio album released by the Scottish new wave duo Strawberry Switchblade.
The album did not live up to the high chart expectations created by the #5 (UK) [9] single "Since Yesterday". It entered and peaked at #25 on the UK Album Chart in April 1985, but dropped out of the top 40 after two weeks and spent just two further weeks at the lower reaches of the chart. [9]
The album was promoted by two additional singles: the first, "Let Her Go", peaked at #59 on the UK Singles Chart in April during a five week chart run [9] and the final single, "Who Knows What Love Is?", reached #84 in May. [9]
"Since Yesterday" also charted in Ireland and the Netherlands where it reached #6 [10] and #24 [11] respectively.
"Let Her Go" was considered a "sure hit" by the pan-European magazine Eurotipsheet [12] and gained enough airplay to reach number 45 on the European Airplay Top 50 chart. [13] Despite this, it did not became a major hit and did not chart on sales charts outside the United Kingdom.
The original Strawberry Switchblade LP has not been re-released in the UK (or in Europe) since 1985, though all of its tracks (apart from the short instrumental reprise of "Who Knows What Love Is?") appeared on the group's Platinum Collection compilation. In Japan, where the group were extremely popular, it was issued on CD for the first time in 1989, and released again there on CD in 1997 in a 20-track expanded version, including B-sides, remixes and non-album singles.
The album received mixed reviews. Smash Hits reviewer Chris Heath found that "Every song here has an irresistibly catchy tune", especially pointing out "the sad 'Who Knows What Love Is?'" as "quite lovely". [5]
No. 1 magazine was similarly positive, saying "there’s talent beneath the Alice’s Tea Party costumes. Singer Rose McDowall and guitarist Jill Bryson have put faith in their ability to write engaging, sometimes haunting pop songs." [3]
In contrast, Betty Page wrote in Record Mirror "this is desperately lightweight and quite relentlessly tedious" [7]
Melody Maker's Ted Mico was also dismissive: "Though their combined efforts are as frail and pasty as puff pastry, the Strawberries accentuate their vulnerability by juxtaposing flouncy, celestial harmonies swaythed in strumming semi-acoustics with the merciless sten-gun drum attack". [14]
Danny Kelly of New Musical Express was similarly disparaging, describing the band as "the Cocteaus’ trance dance stance in a less imposing frame. A confection of candyfloss and icing sugar. But great pop music? Even good pop music? I’m afraid not." [15]
All songs written by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Since Yesterday" | 2:55 |
| 2. | "Deep Water" | 3:54 |
| 3. | "Another Day" | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Little River" | 2:38 |
| 5. | "10 James Orr Street" | 2:55 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Let Her Go" | 2:45 |
| 7. | "Who Knows What Love Is?" | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Go Away" | 3:07 |
| 9. | "Secrets" | 2:49 |
| 10. | "Who Knows What Love Is?" (Reprise) | 1:03 |
| 11. | "Being Cold" | 4:11 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Beautiful End" | 4:01 | |
| 13. | "Poor Hearts" | 3:17 | |
| 14. | "Ecstasy (Apple of My Eye)" | Ray Barnes, Daisuke Inoue | 3:30 |
| 15. | "Jolene" | Dolly Parton | 3:52 |
| 16. | "Black Taxi" | David Balfe, Jill Bryson, Rose McDowall, Mulhearne [16] | 3:47 |
| 17. | "Trees and Flowers" (Extended Mix) | 6:43 | |
| 18. | "Michael Who Walks by Night" | 3:43 | |
| 19. | "Since Yesterday" (Extended Mix) | 6:31 | |
| 20. | "I Can Feel" | 3:41 |
| Title | Single |
|---|---|
| "Beautiful End" | "Let Her Go" |
| "Black Taxi" | "Jolene" |
| "By the Sea" | "Since Yesterday" |
| "Ecstasy (Apple of My Eye)" | "Ecstasy (Apple of My Eye)" (1985 Japan standalone single) |
| "I Can Feel" | "I Can Feel" (1986 Japan standalone single) |
| "Jolene" | "Jolene" (1985 standalone single) |
| "Michael Who Walks by Night" | "Let Her Go" (12" single) |
| "Poor Hearts" | "Who Knows What Love Is?" |
| "Sunday Morning" | "Since Yesterday" (12" single) |
| "Trees and Flowers" | "Trees and Flowers" (1983 standalone U.K. single) |
with:
"Thanks to David Balfe and Bill Drummond" [17]
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| European Top 100 Albums ( Music & Media ) [18] | 82 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [19] | 25 |
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | April 1985 | Korova / WEA | Vinyl | KODE 11 / 240525-1 | ||
| Korova / WEA | Cassette | 240525-4 | ||||
| Japan | 25 May 1985 | Korova | Vinyl | P-13120 | ||
| Korova | Cassette | PKG-3115 | ||||
| 10 July 1989 | Korova / WEA | CD | 18P2-2856 | |||
| 25 May 1997 | Korova / WEA Japan | CD | WPCR-1093 | Expanded edition | ||
| 22 November 2006 | Korova / WEA | CD | WPCR-75254 | Expanded edition; Repress | ||
| 24 July 2013 | Korova | CD | WPCR-78061 | Expanded edition; Repress | ||
| United Kingdom | 20 June 2017 | Domino Music | Digital Download | REWIG124D | Expanded edition | [20] |
| The 12" Album | |
|---|---|
| Remix album by | |
| Released | November 28, 1985 |
| Recorded | 1985 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 36:50 |
| Label |
|
| Producer | Various
|
The 12" Album was a remix album released in Japan in November 1985. The album contains 5 extended mixes, one standalone single and one B-side.
Despite the name of the album, only two of the remixes had previously appeared on 12" singles, these being the mixes of "Let Her Go" (from the 12" release of "Who Knows What Love Is?") and "Jolene" (from that single's 12" release). The other three mixes were specially done for this remix album and were not released in the United Kingdom.
The extended mix of "Since Yesterday" later appeared as the B-side of the Strawberry Switchblade's final single "I Can Feel" in 1986.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let Her Go" (Extended Mix) | 4:45 |
| 2. | "Trees and Flowers" (Extended Mix) | 6:40 |
| 3. | "Since Yesterday" (Extended Mix) | 6:30 |
| 4. | "Jolene" (Extended Mix) | 6:12 |
| 5. | "Michael Who Walks By Night" | 3:41 |
| 6. | "Who Knows What Love Is?" (Extended Mix) | 5:33 |
| 7. | "Ecstasy (Apple of My Eye)" | 3:29 |
| Total length: | 36:50 | |
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 28 November 1985 | Korova / WEA | LP | P-6219 |
| Cassette | PKF1034 | |||
| Canada | 2000 | Communique Records | CD | CDCOMM-5 |
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