Tenement Steps

Tenement Steps
Studio album by the Motors
Released	January 1980
Recorded	September–December 1979
Studio	Record Plant, New York City
Genre	Rock
Label	Virgin (V2151)
Producer	Jimmy Iovine, the Motors; Peter Ker on "Here Comes the Hustler"
The Motors chronology
Approved by the Motors (1978) Tenement Steps (1980)

Tenement Steps was the third and final studio album by English rock band the Motors, released in early 1980. The album reached number 174 in the Billboard 200. ^[1] Four singles came from the album, "Love and Loneliness", "That's What John Said", "Tenement Steps" and "Metropolis". "Love and Loneliness" reached No. 58 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 78 in the Billboard Hot 100. ^{[1] [2]} The other singles did not chart.

After Ricky Slaughter and Bram Tchaikovsky had both left the Motors in 1978, they effectively became a 2-piece group with Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster. They used session musicians for the album: Martin Ace on bass, and on drums, Michael Desmarais on "Here Comes the Hustler" and Terry Williams on the rest of the album. ^[3]

The top left and bottom right corners of the front album were die-cut by Virgin Records on the original release. The red inner sleeve was also cut to match outer sleeve.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]

Trouser Press deemed the album "an appalling, overblown mess, reeking of self-indulgence and artistic confusion." ^[5]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writers	Length
1.	"Love and Loneliness"	Gordon Hann, Nick Garvey	4:48
2.	"Metropolis"	Andy McMaster	4:43
3.	"Here Comes the Hustler"	Garvey, McMaster	3:32
4.	"That's What John Said"	Jennifer Ward, McMaster, Garvey, Hann	5:05

Side two

No.	Title	Writers	Length
1.	"Tenement Steps"	McMaster	4:35
2.	"Slum People"	McMaster, Garvey, Hann	4:31
3.	"Nightmare Zero"	Garvey, McMaster	3:29
4.	"Modern Man"	Garvey, Hann	3:20

Personnel

The Motors

• Nick Garvey - vocals, guitar, bass on "Tenement Steps" and "Here Comes the Hustler", piano on "Love and Loneliness"
• Andy McMaster - vocals, keyboards
• Martin Ace - bass
• Terry Williams - drums

with:

• Michael Desmarais - drums on "Here Comes the Hustler"

References

1. "Motors - Tenement Steps". AllMusic . Retrieved 9 January 2016.
2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 381. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
3. "Motors - The Motors 1 / Approved By The Motors / Tenement Steps (Captain Oi Records)". Punk & Oi In The UK Limited. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
4. "The Motors – Tenement Steps". AllMusic . Retrieved 9 January 2016.
5. "Motors". Trouser Press. Retrieved 6 December 2023.