{"product_id":"prefab-sprout-steve-mcqueen-vinyl-lp","title":"Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen [180g Vinyl LP]","description":"\u003ch3\u003ePrefab Sprout – Steve McQueen [180g Vinyl LP]\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDetails\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue Number:\u003c\/strong\u003e KWLP3-34\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBarcode:\u003c\/strong\u003e 190759583210\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGenre:\u003c\/strong\u003e Indie Pop \/ Sophisti-Pop \/ Alternative Rock \/ New Wave\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLabel:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kitchenware Records \/ Sony Music\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOriginally Released:\u003c\/strong\u003e 22 June 1985\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReissue Released:\u003c\/strong\u003e 25 October 2019\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePressing:\u003c\/strong\u003e 180 Gram Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e New \u0026amp; Sealed\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eDescription\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSteve McQueen\u003c\/em\u003e is the second studio album by Prefab Sprout — \u003cstrong\u003ePaddy McAloon\u003c\/strong\u003e (vocals, guitar), \u003cstrong\u003eMartin McAloon\u003c\/strong\u003e (bass), \u003cstrong\u003eWendy Smith\u003c\/strong\u003e (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and \u003cstrong\u003eNeil Conti\u003c\/strong\u003e (drums) — originally released on 22 June 1985 on Kitchenware Records. The album came about after \u003cstrong\u003eThomas Dolby\u003c\/strong\u003e, having praised the band's debut single on a BBC Radio 1 panel programme, sought out Paddy McAloon at his home in \u003cstrong\u003eWitton Gilbert, County Durham\u003c\/strong\u003e. McAloon presented Dolby with a vast body of unreleased material — Dolby has estimated somewhere between forty and fifty songs — written across the preceding decade. From that selection, Dolby and the band developed and rehearsed the material at \u003cstrong\u003eNomis Studios in West London\u003c\/strong\u003e before recording the album proper at \u003cstrong\u003eMarcus Studios\u003c\/strong\u003e in the Bayswater area of London over approximately five weeks. Mixing was completed at \u003cstrong\u003eFarmyard Studios in Buckinghamshire\u003c\/strong\u003e. The resulting album reached \u003cstrong\u003enumber 21 on the UK Albums Chart\u003c\/strong\u003e and, released in the United States as \u003cem\u003eTwo Wheels Good\u003c\/em\u003e following anticipated legal conflict with the estate of actor Steve McQueen, also entered the Billboard 200.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat Dolby brought to the album — alongside his Fairlight CMI and a studio sensibility honed across his own hit records — was discipline and sonic architecture. McAloon's songs, some written a decade prior, were dense with melodic invention and literary ambition; Dolby's production gave them warmth, space and commercial accessibility without diluting their idiosyncrasy. The result sits apart from almost everything else released in 1985: too sophisticated for the pop mainstream, too melodic and too warm for post-punk, too lyrically individual to be pigeon-holed alongside contemporaries. Critics at the time sensed they were hearing something exceptional — \u003cem\u003eRecord Mirror\u003c\/em\u003e awarded it five out of five, calling it \"the finest album you will hear this year\" — and subsequent decades have only reinforced that initial verdict. The album appears in virtually every major British list of the greatest albums ever made, and has been cited by Pitchfork as \"the defining record of 1985 sophisto-pop\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe album's singles traced an arc from modest chart success to enduring radio ubiquity. \u003cstrong\u003e\"When Love Breaks Down\"\u003c\/strong\u003e — first released in October 1984, before the album, where it failed to chart — was remixed by Dolby for the album and re-released as a single on the album's success in October 1985, finally reaching \u003cstrong\u003enumber 25 on the UK Singles Chart\u003c\/strong\u003e on its third attempt. \u003cstrong\u003e\"Faron Young\"\u003c\/strong\u003e, with its Fairlight-generated banjo figure and country-inflected arrangement, peaked at number 74; \u003cstrong\u003e\"Appetite\"\u003c\/strong\u003e followed at number 92. \u003cstrong\u003e\"Goodbye Lucille #1\"\u003c\/strong\u003e was retitled \u003cstrong\u003e\"Johnny Johnny\"\u003c\/strong\u003e for its January 1986 single release, reaching number 64. None of these chart positions tell the story of the songs' longevity: \"When Love Breaks Down\" in particular has become one of the most played British pop songs of its era, its reputation growing steadily for four decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis \u003cstrong\u003e2019 reissue\u003c\/strong\u003e on \u003cstrong\u003eKitchenware Records \/ Sony Music\u003c\/strong\u003e, remastered from the original masters, presents the complete 11-track album on \u003cstrong\u003e180 gram vinyl\u003c\/strong\u003e, pressed at \u003cstrong\u003eGZ Media in the Czech Republic\u003c\/strong\u003e. The pressing includes a \u003cstrong\u003edigital download voucher\u003c\/strong\u003e. Made in the EU.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eTracklist\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSide A\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFaron Young\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBonny\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAppetite\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen Love Breaks Down\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGoodbye Lucille #1\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHallelujah\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSide B\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMoving the River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHorsin' Around\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDesire As\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlueberry Pies\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen the Angels\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCredits\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePaddy McAloon – Vocals, Guitar, Instruments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMartin McAloon – Bass, Instruments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWendy Smith – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Instruments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNeil Conti – Drums, Percussion\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThomas Dolby – Instruments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKevin Armstrong – Lead Guitar (A6, B3)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMark Lockhart – Saxophone (B3)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThomas Dolby – Producer, Mixed By (A1–A3, A5–B5)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhil Thornalley – Producer (A4)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMike Shipley – Mixed By (A1–A3, A5–B5)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLabel – Kitchenware Records \/ Sony Music\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Prefab Sprout","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57504645841283,"sku":"190759583210","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0932\/9757\/4275\/files\/ed49fcd0-a730-48d7-b2d9-adec73e42b00.webp?v=1772724415","url":"https:\/\/vikingrecords.co.uk\/products\/prefab-sprout-steve-mcqueen-vinyl-lp","provider":"Viking Records Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}