Tell Us the Truth

Last updated

Tell Us the Truth
Sham69-tellusthetruth-cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1978
Venue Marquee Club, 90 Wardour Street, London; The Vortex, 203 Wardour Street, London
Studio
Genre Punk rock
Length34:52
Label
Producer
Sham 69 chronology
Tell Us the Truth
(1978)
That's Life
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Christgau's Record Guide B [2]

Tell Us the Truth is the debut album by English punk rock band Sham 69, released in 1978. The first side of the album was recorded live in concert, while the other was recorded in the studio. Tell Us the Truth includes one of Sham 69's biggest hits, "Borstal Breakout", on the live side of the album. The album peaked at number 25 on the UK Albums Chart.

Contents

Tell Us the Truth and the band's second album That's Life were re-released in 1989 as a double LP.

Track listing

All songs written by Jimmy Pursey and Dave Parsons

Live side
  1. "We Got a Fight"
  2. "Rip Off"
  3. "Ulster"
  4. "George Davis Is Innocent"
  5. "They Don’t Understand"
  6. "Borstal Breakout"
    Studio side
  7. "Family Life"
  8. "Hey Little Rich Boy"
  9. "I’m a Man, I’m a Boy"
  10. "What About the Lonely?"
  11. "Tell Us the Truth"
  12. "It’s Never Too Late"
  13. "Who's Generation!"
    Captain Oi! bonus tracks
  14. "What Have We Got" (live)
  15. "I Don't Wanna" produced by John Cale
  16. "Red London" produced by John Cale
  17. "Ulster" (single version) produced by John Cale
  18. "Borstal Breakout" (single version)
  19. "George Davis Is Innocent" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by Steve Lillywhite
  20. "They Don't Understand" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by Steve Lillywhite
  21. "Borstal Breakout" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by Steve Lillywhite

Personnel

Sham 69

with:

Technical

Charts

Chart (1978)Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC) [3] 25

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalogNotes
UK1978 Polydor Records LP2383 491
US1978 Sire Records LPSRK 6060
UK1996 Dojo Records CDDOJO CD 256Features one bonus track ("What Have We Got (live)")
US1996Dojo RecordsCDDOJO 3000-2Features one bonus track ("What Have We Got (live)")
UK2000 Castle Music CDCMRCD 020Features two bonus tracks ("What Have We Got" and "Borstal Breakout (single version)")
UK2005 Captain Oi! CDAHOY DPX 611Features eight bonus tracks

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References

  1. Deming, Mark. "Tell Us the Truth – Sham 69". AllMusic . Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN   0-89919-026-X . Retrieved 12 March 2019 via robertchristgau.com.
  3. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2020.