World Shut Your Mouth (album)

World Shut Your Mouth (1984) is the debut solo album by Julian Cope.

World Shut Your Mouth
Studio album by
Julian Cope
ReleasedMarch 1984
GenreNeo-psychedelia
Length40:41
LabelMercury
ProducerSteve Lovell
Julian Cope chronology
World Shut Your Mouth
(1984)		 Fried
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Q[2]

Background

World Shut Your Mouth was written during Cope's 1983 retreat to the village of Drayton Bassett (close to his childhood home of Tamworth), following the breakup of Cope's former band The Teardrop Explodes.[3] Two of the tracks, "Metranil Vavin" and "Pussyface", had in fact been intended for The Teardrop Explodes (and different versions of each appear on the belated 1990 release of the band's scrapped third album, Everybody Wants to Shag... The Teardrop Explodes).

Although World Shut Your Mouth generally retained the uptempo pop drive of The Teardrop Explodes, it was also an introspective and surreal work. Cope had spent a period in seclusion in which he recovered from the strain of the final year of the Teardrops and from the LSD excesses of the times: during this period, he had amassed a huge collection of vintage toys.[3] His eccentric behaviour both during and post-Teardrops had led to him being labelled as an "acid casualty" in the vein of Syd Barrett and Roky Erikson, an image which would take him several years to shake off. Cope's contemporary vulnerability and childhood preoccupations informed the songs on the album, most notably on songs like "Head Hang Low" and "Sunshine Playroom". Most of the album's tracks featured former Teardrops drummer Gary Dwyer, and other contributors included lead guitarist/producer Steve Lovell (ex-Blitz Brothers), late-period Teardrops bass guitarist Ronnie François and the Dream Academy oboist Kate St. John. It was recorded at The Point Studio in Victoria, London, and engineered by Alex Burak.

World Shut Your Mouth was released on Mercury Records in March 1984, but was seen as out-of-step with the times. It gained poor reviews and sold indifferently. The album's first single "Sunshine Playroom" featured a macabre and disturbing video directed by David Bailey.[3] Both this and the follow-up single, "Greatness and Perfection of Love" also flopped.

The album's title was later reused for another Cope song which became a hit single in 1986 (and was also taken for the title of a Dom Joly TV show).

Track listing

All tracks are written by Julian Cope.

No.TitleLength
1."Bandy's First Jump"2:50
2."Metranil Vavin"3:00
3."Strasbourg"2:25
4."An Elegant Chaos"4:03
5."Quizmaster"2:56
6."Kolly Kibber's Birthday"5:14
7."Sunshine Playroom"2:55
8."Head Hang Low"5:04
9."Pussyface"4:11
10."Greatness and Perfection"3:16
11."Lunatic and Fire-Pistol"4:30
1996 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Wreck My Car" (Single B-side)2:31
13."High Class Butcher" (Single B-side)3:56
14."Eat the Poor" (Single B-side)4:25

2015 expanded edition

The first disc of the expanded edition contains the eleven tracks from the original album.

Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Wreck My Car"2:31
2."High Class Butcher"3:56
3."Eat the Poor"4:25
4."Greatness and Perfection" (Remixed version)3:26
5."24a Velocity Crescent" (Single B-side)3:48
6."Pussyface" (Single B-side)5:58
7."Head Hang Low" (John Peel session 05/02/1983)4:10
8."Lunatic and Fire-Pistol" (John Peel session 05/02/1983)4:25
9."High Class Butcher" (John Peel session 05/02/1983)4:06
10."Greatness and Perfection" (John Peel session 05/02/1983)3:23
11."Reynard the Fox" (David Jensen session 05/01/1984)3:27
12."O King of Chaos" (David Jensen session 05/01/1984)2:19
13."Laughing Boy" (David Jensen session 05/01/1984)5:28

Chart positions
Charts (1984) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[4] 40

Personnel
  • Julian Cope - vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, organ, piano, drum machine
  • Steve Lovell - lead guitar, sitar, producer
  • Kate St. John - oboe
  • Gary Dwyer - drums
  • Ronnie François - bass on "Sunshine Playroom" & "Pussyface"
  • Stephen Creese - drums on "Sunshine Playroom", "Pussyface" & "Greatness and Perfection"
  • Andrew Edge - drums on "Lunatic and Fire-Pistol"
Technical
gollark: We should really have fled.
gollark: And yet you APIOEXPLODED A BAR, POLICE CAR AND POSSIBLY POLICEPERSON?
gollark: Yes, it is my apiary.
gollark: Please handle my fleeing also.
gollark: I am following matt.

References
  1. Raggett, Ned. "World Shut Your Mouth". Allmusic. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  2. Columnist. "Fried". Q. October 1996. pg. 178, cited 6 October 2012
  3. Cope, Julian (2000). Head-On/Repossessed. Thorsons Publishers. ISBN 0-7225-3882-0.
  4. "Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
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