Record Album Day
It’s National Album Day on October 13 when the LP will be 70 years old.
To celebrate, the Coventry Music Museum is asking visitors to vote for their favourite Coventry chart album, and the top three will be revealed on Album Day. Voting begins on September 22.
So what about those chart albums?
As you would expect, you would find the ubiquitous Frank Ifield there.
Like the singles chart, he kicked it all off with the 1963 album ‘I’ll Remember You’ (rather than the hit single ‘I Remember You’).
The LP made the number three spot, as did the follow-up album ‘Born Free’, also in 1963.
Frank released the album ‘Blue Skies’ in 1964 and saw it make number ten. His album reign ended with his greatest hits package in 1964, that made number nine.
Sadly, names like Vince Hill and The Sorrows were all missing from the 1960s.
We had to wait to the tail end of the 70s decade for the rise of 2-Tone to get back into the charts once again.
As expected, it was The Specials with their debut LP in 1979.
Many think this classic Ska offering must have secured a number 1 placing, but despite its groundbreaking stance it only made number 4.
It was followed by ‘Too Much Pressure’ in 1980 by The Selecter who made number 5. Number 5 in 1980 seemed to be a trend of sorts, as the next charting Coventry artist Hazel O’Connor also secured a top 5 with the wonderful ‘Breaking Glass’ soundtrack in 1980.
Soon after, The Specials second album ‘More Specials’ also got themselves a number 5 charter in 1980.
Forward then to the breakup of The Specials. From it, of course, came The Fun Boy Three. Their eponymous LP climbed to a credible 7 in 1982 and they followed it in 1983 with the class album “Waiting” produced by David Byrne no less. It went to 14.
So 2-Tone had gone, but standby multi-tone and King! We got our boots on and made their debut album ‘Steps In Time’ a number 6 in 1985.
The 80s continued with The Colourfield charting with ‘Virgins & Philistines’ in 1985.
King made a ‘Bittersweet’ number 16 return to the album charts in 85.
The 1980s ended for Coventry albums chart-wise with The Primitives reaching number 6 in 1988 with the wonderful album ‘Lovely’.
In the 90s, The Specials made a surprise return to the chart with their ‘The Specials Singles’ hitting the number 10 spot in 1991.
The Noughties and the teens, however, bucked the album trend, and The Enemy came along and gave new hope to the album charts.
Their 2007 ground breaking debut, ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’, became the first album by a Coventry artist to hit the top spot.
What most don’t appreciate is that the follow-up, ‘Music For The People’ in 2009, became the only number 2 placed album by a Coventry artist.
Their ‘Streets In The Sky’ racked up a credible number 9.
COVtember
COVtember at the Tin (on Saturday September 22 8pm to 11pm) is a new event bringing together eight of Coventry’s well known bands and artists for one huge day of music.
The day will bring to you a massive piece of Coventry music spanning from way back to the early 90s to the present.
The day will be in association with the wonderful people at MIND, the mental health charity, featuring The Loaded, The Institutes, Suns of Rest,
Holy Thief, The Pristines, Elk, Lies and Matt Cattell.
Doors will be open from 4pm with bands on from 5pm to 11pm.
This is a day not to be missed with £1 from each ticket going to MIND. £5 advance / £7 on the door.
