Perhaps (album)

Perhaps is the third studio album by Scottish post-punk and new wave band the Associates, released on 9 February 1985 by WEA. It is their first album without founding member, keyboardist and guitarist Alan Rankine.

Perhaps
Studio album by the Associates
Released	9 February 1985
Genre	Pop alternative dance dance-pop
Label	WEA
Producer	Martyn Ware Martin Rushent Dave Allen Greg Walsh
The Associates chronology
Sulk (1982) Perhaps (1985) Wild and Lonely (1990)

Background

With the departure of Alan Rankine and Michael Dempsey, the Associates were effectively a Billy Mackenzie solo project for this album. MacKenzie started work with Steve Reid, a guitarist from Dundee and Howard Hughes, an accomplished keyboardist in late 1982 after the departure of Rankine and came up with an album's worth of material.

Recording

The recording sessions were chaotic, and the resulting album was deemed unreleasable by Warner Music Group, who demanded further work be carried out on the project. The master tapes for this version went missing over the Christmas period in 1982 (allegedly hidden by Mackenzie due to his own dissatisfaction with the record). The album was restarted from scratch and was finally finished after a further two years in early 1985, featuring four different producers and at a total final cost of approximately £250,000 to complete, an uncommonly major expense, even for a major label record, at that time.

Release

Perhaps was released on 9 February 1985. The album was a commercial failure, peaking at No. 23 on the UK Albums Chart but only selling around 40,000 copies, putting Billy MacKenzie in significant debt to Warner Music Group.

For years Perhaps was only available on vinyl and cassette. However, due to the reissue program of Associates material after Billy Mackenzie's death, it was re-released along with the unreleased The Glamour Chase album in a double CD package in 2002. The bonus instrumentals included on the original cassette release were not included.

On the 3rd January 2020 it was announced via the Super Deluxe Edition website that a completely new remastered 'deluxe' edition of the album was to be released via pre order via Cherry Red Records on 31st January 2020 marking the first ever stand alone CD release of the album. This two-CD reissue features the original 10-track album on CD 1 along with the four cassette-only instrumentals from 1985. The second disc includes what the label describe as “all the related bonus tracks for which master tapes still exist”. These comprise extended versions, edits, B-sides and instrumentals. 11 tracks are new to CD. This deluxe edition comes as a digipak with a 20-page booklet, with sleeve notes courtesy of Andy Davis.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Smash Hits	8/10[2]

Trouser Press wrote "To write it off with a snide 'perhaps not' would be a cheap shot, but more than generous", calling it "undanceable dance music with a few ho-hum twists. The lyrics include strange, gratuitous, incomprehensible non sequiturs; the music is at best uninvolving, even if you listen for sheer sound and ignore the pose."[3]

Track listing

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Those First Impressions"
2.	"Waiting for the Loveboat"
3.	"Perhaps"
4.	"Schampout"
5.	"Helicopter Helicopter"

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Breakfast"
2.	"Thirteen Feelings"
3.	"The Stranger in Your Voice"
4.	"The Best of You"
5.	"Don't Give Me That 'I Told You So' Look"

Cassette issues included instrumental versions of Perhaps, Thirteen Feelings, The Stranger In Your Voice and Breakfast (titled Breakfast Alone)

January 2020 Deluxe CD Issue

CD Disc One

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Those First Impressions"
2.	"Waiting For The Loveboat"
3.	"Perhaps (Dave Allen Remix)"
4.	"Schampout"
5.	"Helicopter Helicopter"
6.	"Breakfast"
7.	"Thirteen Feelings"
8.	"The Stranger In Your Voice"
9.	"The Best Of You (Billy Mackenzie & Dave Allan Remix)"
10.	"Don’t Give Me That I Told You So Look"
11.	"Perhaps (Instrumental) (Bonus Track)"
12.	"Breakfast Alone (Instrumental) (Bonus Track)"
13.	"Thirteen Feelings (Instrumental) (Bonus Track)"
14.	"The Stranger In Your Voice (Instrumental) (Bonus Track)"

CD Disc Two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Those First Impressions (Extended Version)"
2.	"Waiting For The Loveboat (Single Version)"
3.	"Waiting For The Loveboat (Extended Version)"
4.	"Waiting For The Loveboat (Slight Return)"
5.	"Perhaps Perhaps"
6.	"Schampout (Edit)"
7.	"Breakfast (Single Version)"
8.	"Breakfast (Edit)"
9.	"Kites"
10.	"Take Me To The Girl (Single Version)"
11.	"Take Me To The Girl (12″ Mix)"
12.	"Take Me To The Girl (Instrumental)"
13.	"The Girl That Took Me"

Personnel

• Billy Mackenzie – vocals
• Steve Reid – guitar
• Howard Hughes – keyboards
• Roberto Soave – bass guitar on "Thirteen Feelings", "The Stranger in Your Voice" and "The Best of You"
• Steve Goulding – drums on "Schampout" and "Helicopter Helicopter"
• Jim Russell – percussion on "Schampout"
• Ian Mcintosh – guitar on "Those First Impressions"
• Eddi Reader – vocals on "The Best of You"
• Lynton Naiff - string arrangements on "Breakfast" and "Thirteen Feelings"

Technical

• Martin Rushent – production (tracks A2, B1-B4)
• Dave Allen – production (tracks A4, A5, B5)
• Martyn Ware and Greg Walsh – production (tracks A1, A3)

References

1. "Perhaps – The Associates | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
3. Green, Jim; Aswad, Jem. "TrouserPress.com :: Associates". Trouser Press. Retrieved 12 February 2015.

External links

• Perhaps at Discogs (list of releases)