The Adventures of the Hersham Boys is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1979.[1][2] It is their most successful album, peaking at No. 8 in the UK.[3]
The Adventures of the Hersham Boys | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1979 | |||
Genre | Punk rock, Oi! | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Producer | Jimmy Pursey, Peter Wilson | |||
Sham 69 chronology | ||||
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Reception
editReview scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
It was not universally well received, with David Hepworth of Smash Hits describing it 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 and self-satisfied a record as anything they supposedly set out to replace."[6] Trouser Press called it "a break with the punk scene, but no less aggressive than usual."[7]
Track listing
editAll songs by Jimmy Pursey and Dave Parsons unless noted
- "Money" - 3:13
- "Fly Dark Angel" - 3:03
- "Joey's on the Street Again" - 3:04
- "Cold Blue in the Night" - 2:47 (Dave "Kermit" Tregunna)
- "You're a Better Man Than I" - 3:10 (Mike Hugg) (Yardbirds/Manfred Mann Chapter Three cover)
- "Hersham Boys" - 4:46
- "Lost on Highway 46" - 3:35
- "Voices" - 2:52 (Ricky Goldstein, Pursey)
- "Questions and Answers" - 3:14
- "What Have We Got" (Live) - 2:54
- CD reissue bonus tracks
- "Questions and Answers" (Single Version) - 3:18
- "I Gotta Survive" - 1:31
- "With a Little Help from My Friends" - 2:36 (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) (The Beatles cover)
- "Hersham Boys" (7" Version) - 3:25
- "I Don't Wanna" (Live) - 2:06
- "Rip Off" (Live) - 2:43
- "I'm a Man, I'm a Boy" (Live) - 2:10
- "Tell Us the Truth" (Live) - 2:06
- "Borstal Breakout" (12" Single Version) - 8:25
- "If the Kids Are United" (12" Single Version) - 16:20
- Tracks 11-13 from "Questions and Answers" single, March 1979
- Tracks 14-18 from "Hersham Boys" single, August 1979
- Tracks 19 and 20 released as 12" with initial copies of The Adventures of the Hersham Boys
Personnel
edit- Sham 69
- Jimmy Pursey - vocals, producer
- Dave Parsons - guitar
- Dave Tregunna - bass
- Ricky Goldstein - drums
- Mark "Doidie" Cain - drums; vocals on "With a Little Help from My Friends" (departing Sham 69 soon after the completion)
- Technical
- Peter Wilson - producer
- Jo Mirowski - art direction, design
- Peter Lavery - photography
- Tim Turan - mastering
- Brett Ewins - illustrations
References
edit- ^ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Miller Freeman Books. p. 613.
- ^ Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970-1982. Backbeat Books. p. 239.
- ^ "Sham 69". Official Charts. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ The Adventures of the Hersham Boys at AllMusic
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
- ^ Hepworth, David (1979) "SHAM 69: Hersham Boys", Smash Hits, EMAP National Publications Ltd, 4–17 October 1979, p.29
- ^ "Sham 69". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 December 2023.