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The Flying Lizards (album)

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The Flying Lizards
Studio album by
The Flying Lizards
ReleasedFebruary 1980
Recorded1978–1979
StudioBerry Street Studio and Brixton Academy
additional recordings in
NYC, Munich, Maidstone
and in transit
Length42:07
LabelVirgin
ProducerDavid Cunningham
The Flying Lizards chronology
The Flying Lizards
(1980) 		Fourth Wall
(1981)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Record Mirror[2]
Smash Hits7½/10[3]

The Flying Lizards is the 1980 debut album[4] by The Flying Lizards and was released on the Virgin Records label.[5]

Preceded by two surprise hit singles, the album reached No. 60 in the UK Albums Chart.[6]

Background

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Following the unexpected success of the group's 1979 singles—covers of "Summertime Blues" and "Money"—David Cunningham and Deborah Evans were offered a deal with Virgin Records.[7] New material for the album featured improvisational musicians Steve Beresford and David Toop.[7]

The album encompasses "dub-style audio experiments" and "bent interpretations of pop music constructs."[7] Critic Simon Reynolds called it "an exercise in pop absurdism" which included "a Brecht-Weill cover, Sanskrit chants, found sounds, and unlikely instrumental textures" alongside "Cunningham's penchant for excessive studio processing and daft effects."[8]

Charts

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Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australian (Kent Music Report) 37[9]
United Kingdom UK Albums Chart 60[6]
New Zealand Official New Zealand Music Chart 28[10]
US Billboard 200 99

Track list

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1980 release

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All tracks by David Cunningham except as noted

  1. "Der Song von Mandelay" (titled "Mandelay Song" on UK release) (Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) - 2:27
  2. "Her Story" (Dave Solomon, David Cunningham, General-Strike, Vivien Goldman) - 4:37
  3. "TV" (David Cunningham, Deborah Evans-Stickland, General-Strike) - 3:51
  4. "Russia" - 6:11
  5. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart) - 3:09
  6. "Money (That's What I Want)" (Berry Gordy, Janie Bradford) - 5:52
  7. "The Flood" - 4:57
  8. "Trouble" - 2:46
  9. "Events During Flood" - 3:25
  10. "The Window" (Vivien Goldman) - 4:52

Bonus tracks on 1995 CD

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11. "All Guitars" ("Summertime Blues" single B-side) - 2:41
12. "Tube" (instrumental remix of "TV" - B side of "TV" single) - 5:09
13. "Money (That's What I Want)" (single edit) - 2:32

General Strike are David Toop and Steve Beresford, who also made the album Danger In Paradise with David Cunningham in the years 1979-1982[11]

Personnel

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References

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  • "The Flying Lizards" album cover
  1. ^ The Flying Lizards at AllMusic
  2. ^ Russell, Rosalind (2 February 1980). "Lounge Lizards". Record Mirror. p. 13.
  3. ^ Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (February 7–20): 31.
  4. ^ "Images for The Flying Lizards - The Flying Lizards". Discogs.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  5. ^ "The Flying Lizards - The Flying Lizards". Discogs.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b "flying lizards | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Deming, Mark. "The Flying Lizards – Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Penguin. p. 188.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 114. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "australian-charts.com - The Flying Lizards - The Flying Lizards". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  11. ^ "staubgold - music out of place - Danger In Paradise". Staubgold.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
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