Tell Us the Truth | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 1978 | |||
Venue | Marquee Club, 90 Wardour Street, London; The Vortex, 203 Wardour Street, London | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Punk rock | |||
Length | 34:52 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Sham 69 chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [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.
Tell Us the Truth and the band's second album That's Life were re-released in 1989 as a double LP.
All songs written by Jimmy Pursey and Dave Parsons
Sham 69
with:
Technical
Chart (1978) | Peak position |
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UK Albums (OCC) [3] | 25 |
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK | 1978 | Polydor Records | LP | 2383 491 | |
US | 1978 | Sire Records | LP | SRK 6060 | |
UK | 1996 | Dojo Records | CD | DOJO CD 256 | Features one bonus track ("What Have We Got (live)") |
US | 1996 | Dojo Records | CD | DOJO 3000-2 | Features one bonus track ("What Have We Got (live)") |
UK | 2000 | Castle Music | CD | CMRCD 020 | Features two bonus tracks ("What Have We Got" and "Borstal Breakout (single version)") |
UK | 2005 | Captain Oi! | CD | AHOY DPX 611 | Features eight bonus tracks |
Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The group's popularity saw them perform on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, and they appeared in the rockumentary film, D.O.A.. The original unit broke up in 1979, with frontman Jimmy Pursey moving on to pursue a solo career.
The Psychedelic Furs is the debut studio album by English rock band the Psychedelic Furs, released on 7 March 1980 by Columbia Records. It was reissued with bonus tracks in 2002 by Columbia/Legacy. In 2020, Rolling Stone included the band's debut studio album in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the musicians for sounding like "a grand art project".
Savin Hill is the first album by punk band Street Dogs. This is the first new material featuring lead singer Mike McColgan since he quit Dropkick Murphys in 1998. The album is named after Savin Hill, a small area within the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.
That's Life is the second album by English punk rock band Sham 69, released in November 1978.
The Adventures of the Hersham Boys is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1979. It's their most successful album to date, charting at #8 in the UK.
The Complete Sham 69 Live is a live album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1989.
Live at the Roxy Club is a live album by punk band Sham 69, recorded at the Roxy and released in 1990.
Kings & Queens is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1993. It contains two new tracks; the remaining tiles are re-recordings of 70s material.
Life on the Line is the second studio album by English rock band Eddie and the Hot Rods. The album was mixed by Ed Hollis and Steve Nicol, produced by Ed Hollis, and engineered by Steve Lillywhite. This release is considered a step in the Punk direction for The Rods sound.
The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80 is a compilation album by Sham 69. It was originally released by Cleopatra in 1998. It features all of the singles, with their b-sides, released by the band from their start to their first break-up. It was re-released in 2006 by Captain Oi!, this time featuring the four missing live b-sides.
"Hersham Boys" is a single released by English punk rock band Sham 69 in 1979 from their third studio album The Adventures of the Hersham Boys. It was the band's biggest and most well-known hit, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart and at nine on the Irish Singles Chart. This success was despite the song's poor review in pop magazine Smash Hits; music journalist David Hepworth described the song as "A tired, hollow effort struggling between weary attempts at rabble-rousing and blush-making pseudo-Springsteen 'street' songs that reek of desperation and contract fulfilling. As empty self-satisfied a record as anything they supposedly set out to replace". The song is included on live and compilation albums. Two live tracks, "I Don't Wanna (live)" and "Tell Us The Truth (live)" appear as b-sides on this single, recorded in 1978. In the music video the sign that Pursey, the rest of Sham 69 and a young boy are sitting next to is the sign for Hersham Road.
"I Don't Wanna" is a song by English punk rock band Sham 69, which was released as the band's debut single on 28 October 1977. It was their only release on independent label Step Forward Records before signing with Polydor, and was successful on the independent chart. Two B-side tracks, "Ulster" and "Red London" appear on the single. "I Don't Wanna" was written by frontman Jimmy Pursey and guitarist Dave Parsons and produced by John Cale, a founding and former member of experimental rock band The Velvet Underground. The songs were recorded in August 1977 at Pathway Studios in London. Jill Furmanovsky took the cover photograph.
Live and Loud!! Volume 2 is a second live album by the punk rock band Sham 69, recorded in 1977-1979 and released in 1988.
Live in Italy is a live album by punk rock band Sham 69, recorded at the Live in Bo Festival, Italy in summer of 1996 and was released on 1 October 1999.
BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert is a 1993 live album by Sham 69. It was recorded by the BBC during the band's concert at the Paris Theatre in London on 21 February 1979 and released as a live album in 1993.
Shams Last Stand is a live and compilation album by Sham 69 and Sham Pistols, was recorded in 1977–1979 at Rainbow Theatre, London, England. It was released as live album in 1989 and on 24 August 1999 as compilation album. The tracks includes "Pretty Vacant" by Sex Pistols and "White Riot" by The Clash was later featured on compilation album and was covered by Sham 69.
The Best of & Rest of Sham 69 Live is live and compilation album by punk rock band Sham 69. It was released as a compilation album in 1989 and live album in 1994.
Green Eggs & Sham is a live album by punk rock band Sham 69, released in 1999. The album title itself is a parody of Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss.
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.