A Flock of Seagulls (album)

A Flock of Seagulls
Studio album by A Flock of Seagulls
Released 30 April 1982
Recorded Battery Studios, London, England Summer-Late Autumn, 1981
Genre
Length 39:45
Label Jive
Cherry Red Records (2011 remaster)
Producer Mike Howlett, Bill Nelson
A Flock of Seagulls chronology
A Flock of Seagulls
(1982)		 Listen
(1983)
Singles from A Flock of Seagulls
  1. "Telecommunication"
    Released: 16 September 1981
  2. "Modern Love Is Automatic"
    Released: November 1981
  3. "I Ran (So Far Away)"
    Released: April 1982
  4. "Space Age Love Song"
    Released: 28 May 1982

A Flock of Seagulls is the debut studio album by the new wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released in 1982 on Jive (see 1982 in music), and featured the international hit single "I Ran (So Far Away)", which reached the Top 10 in the US and New Zealand, as well as No. 1 in Australia. The song "Space Age Love Song" also managed to score radio play. On the success of the singles, the album reached No. 10 in the US.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[3]
The Village VoiceA−[4]

The album received good reviews upon its release and significant radio airplay.[5] [2] In his review for AllMusic, Tom Demalon gave the album 4.5 stars, calling it "great fun and a wonderful collection of new wave ear candy."

Prominent critic Robert Christgau was also happy with it, giving it an A- and saying that it is "so transparently, guilelessly expedient that it actually provides the hook-chocked fun most current pop bands only advertise."[4] Other reviews pointed out the bands "pioneering sounds, compelling hooks and undeniably addictive gimmicks."[2]

The band, and particularly this album, were influential during the 1980s, for their image[6] and also for their production techniques, which at one point garnered the respect of record producer Phil Spector, who in the 1980s called the album "phenomenal."[7]

The album track "D.N.A." won a Grammy Award in 1983 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Track listing

All tracks written by Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, except where noted.

Original UK LP
No.TitleLength
1."Modern Love Is Automatic"3:50
2."Messages"2:52
3."I Ran (So Far Away)"5:07
4."Space Age Love Song"3:48
5."You Can Run"4:26
6."Telecommunication"2:32
7."Standing in the Doorway"4:40
8."Don't Ask Me"2:46
9."D.N.A."2:31
10."Tokyo"2:54
11."Man Made"5:40
2011 remaster CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Pick Me Up"3:07
13."Windows"3:30
14."Tanglimara"4:30
15."Intro"3:24
US track listing
No.TitleLength
1."I Ran (So Far Away)"5:07
2."Space Age Love Song"3:45
3."You Can Run" (Don Covay, Willie Dennis, A Flock of Seagulls)4:28
4."Don't Ask Me"2:46
5."Messages"2:51
6."Telecommunication"2:31
7."Modern Love Is Automatic"3:49
8."Standing in the Doorway"4:41
9."D.N.A."2:30
10."Man Made"5:38

Personnel

A Flock of Seagulls
Production
  • Mike Howlett - producer (all tracks except "Telecommunication", "Tanglimara" and "Intro")
  • Bill Nelson - producer ("Telecommunication")
  • Steve Lovell and A Flock of Seagulls - producer ("Tanglimara" and "Intro")
  • Mark Dearnley - engineer
  • Mike Shipley - engineer
  • "BillBo" - mastering

Chart performance

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 19
Canada Albums Chart[9] 5
German Albums Chart[10] 26
Swedish Albums Chart[11] 32
UK Albums Chart[12] 32
US Billboard 200[13] 10

References

  1. ↑ Demalon, Tom. "A Flock of Seagulls – A Flock of Seagulls". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Considine, Mac; Randall, J. D. (2004). "A Flock of Seagulls". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 304–05. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  3. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  4. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (30 November 1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  5. ↑ US college radio, the New British Invasion and media alterity N Rubin – Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast
  6. ↑ "Never mind the hair bands, here's a Flock of Seagulls!". Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  7. ↑ Wall of pain: the biography of Phil Spector. D Thompson – 2003 – Sanctuary Pub Ltd
  8. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ "Canadian Collections". Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "German charts". Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  11. ↑ "A Flock of Seagulls Swedish Charts". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  12. ↑ "A Flock of Seagulls Chart Stats (UK)". Chartstats.com. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  13. ↑ "A Flock of Seagulls Billboard charts". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
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