The Birthday Party | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1968 Re-Issues 1976, 2014 | |||
Recorded | 1967–68 | |||
Studio | Advision Studios, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 31:36 | |||
Label | Liberty Sunset (Re-Issue) Parlophone (Re-Issue) | |||
Producer | Eddy Offord, Gerald Chevin | |||
The Idle Race chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
The Birthday Party was the first album by The Idle Race, a psychedelic pop band, released in 1968 (see 1968 in music).
This quasi-concept album was the first to be composed almost entirely of songs by a young Birmingham guitarist/singer named Jeff Lynne. The LP came in a gatefold sleeve. The inside sleeve art included a mock birthday feast attended by many British celebrities, including most of the Radio 1 disc jockeys, the Beatles, the Duke of Windsor, actor Warren Mitchell in his role as Alf Garnett, and group leader Jeff Lynne as an eight-year-old schoolboy. In the U.S. the cover art was different with a rather psychedelic-styled paisley pattern behind the band. 18 year-old Liberty Records label-mate Mike Batt contributed string arrangements for "Follow Me, Follow" and "The Lady Who Said She Could Fly", and played accordion on "The Skeleton and the Roundabout" and "Don't Put Your Boys In The Army Mrs Ward"
While warmly received by critics, the record failed to chart in the U.K. or the U.S.
The album was re-issued in 1976 by Liberty on their budget-price label Sunset, although in a non-gatefold sleeve with different design, to capitalise on Lynne's success with Electric Light Orchestra. A further re-issue came in 2014 by Parlophone, as the Liberty back catalogue had long since been acquired by EMI Records, for Record Store Day, in a limited edition on gold vinyl.
All tracks composed by Jeff Lynne, except where indicated.
Side 1
Side 2
Jeffrey Lynne is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and currently the sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970, and as a songwriter has written all of the band's music past 1972, including the hits "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "Hold On Tight". He also has had a solo career, with two albums: Armchair Theatre (1990) and Long Wave (2012).
Three Imaginary Boys is the debut studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 11 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.
David Walker is an English singer and guitarist who has been front-man for a number of bands; most notably The Idle Race, Savoy Brown and Humble Pie, he also served briefly with Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath.
The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton. The profits from the event went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, an organisation founded by Harrison.
The Idle Race were a British rock group from Birmingham who in the late 1960s and early 1970s had a cult following but never enjoyed mass commercial success. In addition to being the springboard for Jeff Lynne, the band holds a place of significance in British Midlands' pop-rock history as a link between the Move, Electric Light Orchestra, the Steve Gibbons Band and Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders.
Hawkwind is the debut album by Hawkwind, released in 1970, originally on Liberty Records, later reissued on Sunset Records. This album is historic since it is one of the first space rock LPs.
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Idle Race is the second album by the Idle Race, the follow-up to the band's debut, The Birthday Party.
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Back to the Story is a 2CD compilation set by Sixties/Seventies band The Idle Race released in 1996 on EMI's short-lived "Premier" series. It contains all three official studio albums, non-album singles and B-sides. The original edition's 2nd CD included the earliest known tracks featuring Jeff Lynne in The Nightriders. In 2007, the set was re-released on EMI's newly reconstituted "Zonophone" label minus the Nightriders tracks. In 2013 the compilation was once again re-released - this time on Warner Music Group's "Parlophone" label, also without the Nightriders tracks
Time Is is the final studio album recorded by The Idle Race. It was recorded in 1970 after Jeff Lynne had left the band. He was replaced by vocalist Dave Walker and guitarist Mike Hopkins.
Oh, by the Way is a compilation boxed set by Pink Floyd released on 10 December 2007, by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States through Capitol Records.
Tinkerbells Fairydust were a British pop group in the late 1960s, who hailed from east London. They recorded three singles and one album for the Decca label.
Cass Elliot is the fourth studio album released by Cass Elliot and the first album recorded for RCA Records, being released in January 1972.
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The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach is a 1974 live album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) recorded on the evening of 12 May 1974 at the Long Beach Auditorium in Long Beach, California; its title lampoons "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence.