''England Made Me'' is the debut studio album by English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Black Box Recorder Black Box Recorder were an English indie rock band. They debuted in 1998 with '' England Made Me'' and followed this up with '' The Facts of Life'', which gave them their first hit with the single of the same name in April 2000. Their third a ...

, whose members include

Luke Haines Luke Michael Haines (born 7 October 1967) is an English musician, songwriter and author. He has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder. Career ''New Wave'' Haine ...

Sarah Nixey Sarah Anne Nixey (born 21 December 1973 in Dorset, England) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the vocalist in Black Box Recorder. Her debut solo album, '' Sing, Memory'', was released on 19 February 2007, followed by ''Brave Tin Sol ...

and John Moore, released in July 1998 via

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

. The chorus of the song "

Child Psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...

" featured a highly controversial line: "Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it". This led to the song being banned on UK radio and MTV. However, the sardonic nature of the song also gained praise from critics, with one calling it 'refreshingly blunt'. The single was released in the US shortly after the Columbine massacre, leading to the line "kill yourself" being censored on the US release. The cover features a photograph of wrestler

Adrian Street Adrian Street (born 5 December 1940) is a retired Welsh professional wrestler and author known for his flamboyant, androgynous wrestling persona, brought to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. Street was often accompanied to the ring by his long- ...

with his miner father taken in 1973 by Dennis Hutchinson at Beynon's Colliery in

Blaina Blaina ( cy, Blaenau ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of ...

, Wales.

Track listing

All songs written by

and John Moore, except for where noted. #"Girl Singing in the Wreckage" – 2:42 #"England Made Me" – 4:00 #"New Baby Boom" – 2:10 #"It's Only the End of the World" – 5:21 #"Ideal Home" – 2:39 #"

" – 4:08 #"I. C. One Female" – 2:19 #"

Uptown Top Ranking "Uptown Top Ranking" is a song by Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded when they were 17 and 18 years old respectively. Released in 1977, the song comprises the girls ad-libbing to deejay track "Three Piece Suit" by T ...

" (

Althea & Donna Althea & Donna were a Jamaican reggae vocal duo, consisting of Althea Rose Forrest and Donna Marie Reid. They are best known for their 1977 single "Uptown Top Ranking", which was a number-one hit in the United Kingdom in 1978. Career The Jamai ...

, Errol Thompson) – 3:57 #"Swinging" – 3:52 #"Kidnapping an Heiress" – 2:46 #"Hated Sunday" – 3:16 ;Bonus tracks

"Wonderful Life" – 2:16
"
Seasons in the Sun "Seasons in the Sun" is an English-language adaptation of the 1961 Belgian song "Le Moribond" (in English "The Dying Man") by singer-songwriter Jacques Brel with lyrics rewritten in 1963 by American singer-poet Rod McKuen, portraying a dyi ...
" (
Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...
,
Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen (; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range ...
) – 2:40
"Factory Radio" – 2:13
"Lord Lucan Is Missing" (Doug Potter, Gary Turner) – 1:48

Personnel

;Black Box Recorder *Sarah Nixey - vocals *John Moore - instruments *Luke Haines - instruments ;Technical *Black Box Recorder (track 8), Martin Jenkins (tracks 2, 3, 10, 11), Pete Hofmann (tracks 5, 7, 9), Phil Vinall (track 1), Teo Miller (tracks 4, 6) - engineer *Phil Vinall (track 1), Teo Miller (tracks 2-11) - mixing *Dennis Hutchinson - cover photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1998 debut albums Black Box Recorder albums Chrysalis Records albums Albums produced by Phil Vinall