All the Rage (General Public album)
All the Rage is the debut studio album by English band General Public, released on 28 January 1984 by I.R.S. Records. It was recorded digitally.[1] After his expulsion from the Clash, Mick Jones was a founding member of General Public. Though he is listed in the credits of the album as a member, Jones left General Public part way through the recording process and was replaced by Kevin White. White's picture appears on the back cover; Jones' picture does not. Jones did play guitar on many of the album's tracks however, including "Tenderness". The album spent 39 weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart and reached its peak position of No. 26 in mid-February 1985.[2] However, it failed to chart in their home country.
All the Rage | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 28 January 1984 | |||
Recorded | 1983–1984 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:48 | |||
Label | I.R.S. | |||
Producer |
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General Public chronology | ||||
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Singles from All the Rage | ||||
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The eponymous track "General Public" was the first single released from the album, peaking at No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart in 1984.[3] Later in the year, the band fared even better in North America, where their second single "Tenderness" was a Top 30 hit in Canada (No. 11) and the US (No. 27). The song's success benefited from appearing in the John Hughes films Sixteen Candles (1984) and Weird Science (1985) from the time period, and it would later appear in Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995) and in the horror film Devil's Due (2014).
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic |
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Stewart Mason wrote of the album, "All the Rage is certainly an album of its time -- those weedy synth-drums on the otherwise kinda funky "As a Matter of Fact" are a dead giveaway that this was recorded in 1984 -- but it sounds less dated than many of its contemporaries due to Wakeling's keen songwriting skills."[4]
Track listing
Side one
- "Hot You're Cool" (Mickey Billingham, Roger Charlery, Horace Panter, Dave Wakeling) – 3:47
- "Tenderness" (Billingham, Charlery, Wakeling) – 3:34
- "Anxious" (Charlery, Wakeling) – 4:19
- "Never You Done That" (Billingham, Charlery, Wakeling) – 4:08
- "Burning Bright" (Billingham, Charlery, Wakeling) – 4:30
Side two
- "As a Matter of Fact" (Billingham, Charlery, Panter, Wakeling) – 5:22
- "Are You Leading Me On?" (Charlery, Panter, Wakeling) – 3:09
- "Day-to-Day" (Charlery, Wakeling) – 3:28
- "Where's the Line?" (Billingham, Charlery, Panter, Wakeling) – 4:09
- "General Public" (Charlery, Wakeling) – 4:22
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the All the Rage liner notes.[5]
General Public
- Dave Wakeling — vocals; guitar
- Ranking Roger — vocals; bass guitar; keyboards; drums
- Mickey Billingham — keyboards; vocals
- Kevin White — guitar
- Horace Panter — bass guitar
- Andy "Stoker" Growcott — drums
- Mick Jones — guitar (on “Hot You’re Cool”, “Tenderness”, “Never You Done That", “As a Matter of Fact”, “Where’s the Line?”, and possibly other tracks)
Additional musicians
- Gary Barnacle — saxophone
- Michael "Bami" Rose — saxophone
- Vin Gordon — trombone
- Steve Sidwell — trumpet
- Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton — trumpet
- Bob Porter — horn
- Justine Carpenter — backing vocals
- Alicia Previn — violin
Charts
Chart | Peak position |
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Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] | 19 |
US Billboard 200[7] | 26 |
References
- Canale, Larry; Waryncia, Lou (1986). Digital Audio's Guide to Compact Discs. Bantam Books. p. 56.
- "Billboard 200: February 16, 1985". Billboard.com. Billboard. 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 224. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- Mason, Stewart. "All the Rage – General Public". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- All the Rage (CD booklet). General Public. I.R.S. Records. 1984.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6165a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- "White City: A Novel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
External links
- All the Rage at Discogs (list of releases)