''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!'' (later retitled ''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah! City All Over, Go Ape Crazy'') is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English new wave band

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band behind 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on vocals. They released their debut EP '' Your Cassette ...

, released in October 1981 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Release

In 1981, after splitting with

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

, Bow Wow Wow signed with new A&R head Bill Kimber of

, and released their first full-length album in October 1981. In support of the album, Bow Wow Wow opened for

the Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

and

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

in the United States, and in Europe for

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. In May 1982, they undertook a Japanese tour with Madness. The album was reissued by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

in 2010 as a two-disc set, retitled ''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang / B-Sides''. The second disc comprises various non-album tracks, including Bow Wow Wow's most popular single "

I Want Candy "I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat. Original version ...

" and the rare title track of the ''

Teenage Queen ''Teenage Queen'' is an EP by new wave band Bow Wow Wow, released in 1982 by RCA Records. It was commissioned for advertising use by the Japanese cosmetic brand Perky Jean by Shiseido. Sung to the music from the band's then-current single "Bab ...

'' EP. On 25 May 2018, Cherry Red released the three-disc set ''

Your Box Set Pet (The Complete Recordings 1980–1984) ''Your Box Set Pet (The Complete Recordings 1980–1984)'' is a three-disc box set compilation album by English new wave band Bow Wow Wow, released on 25 May 2018 by Cherry Red Records. Disc one of the set consists of their first full-length s ...

'', which included ''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!'' in its entirety on the first disc, plus ten bonus tracks. A 180g green/yellow marbled vinyl pressing limited to 2,000 copies worldwide is to be released on 27 May 2022.

Cover art

The album cover photograph, taken by Andy Earl, depicts the band recreating

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

's '' Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe''. Posing nude was lead singer

Annabella Lwin Annabella Lwin (born Myant Myant Aye, , 31 October 1966) is an Anglo-Burmese singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the lead singer of Bow Wow Wow. Early life, family and education Lwin was born in Rangoon, Burma to a Burmese fat ...

, who was 14 at the time of the album's release. The cover caused outrage, and Lwin's mother initiated a

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

investigation of the picture as child pornography, which led to a different cover being used for US releases. When the investigation went nowhere, the image was reused for their follow-up EP ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinde ...

''.

Reception

''See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!'' was described by Tom Demalon of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as a mix of new wave and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

, "with a heavy nod toward percussion." '' V'' writer Joshua Lyon said that the album saw Bow Wow Wow integrating the "frenetic" drum rhythms of

Burundian music Burundi is a Central African nation that is closely linked with Rwanda, geographically, historically and culturally. The drum such as the ''karyenda'' is one of central importance. Internationally, the country has produced the music group Royal Dru ...

into their brand of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

and Brazilian-inspired pop. It reached No. 26 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and No. 192 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and produced Bow Wow Wow's first UK top 10 hit single with "

Go Wild in the Country "Go Wild in the Country" is a single by English new wave band Bow Wow Wow from their album '' See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!''. Released in January 1982 by RCA Records, it was their first top 10 hit on ...

" (which also used Bow Wow Wow's take on ''Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe'' on the sleeve). "Go Wild in the Country" entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in January 1982, peaking at No. 7, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Tom Demalon wrote, "The results are mixed and you sometimes have the feeling that you are hearing the same song repeated. However, it's difficult not to find yourself drumming your fingers to the frantic beats." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' found that the album showed "artistic growth", noting, "By downplaying the leering

football chant A football chant or terrace chant is form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their p ...

s, Bow Wow Wow is able to investigate subtler lyrics and rhythms. And fueled by drummer

Dave Barbarossa David Barbarossa (born 1961, also known as Dave Barbe) is a drummer and an author of British and Mauritian descent. As part of both Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, he was instrumental in creating the highly influential and innovative tribal d ...

, they pack quite a wallop."

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on music ...

, in his book ''

Rip It Up and Start Again ''Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984'' is a book by Simon Reynolds on the post-punk musical genre and era. It was first released in the UK in April 2005 by Faber & Faber. The US edition was published by Penguin Books and released in ...

'', praised the record as "charming and witty and altogether captivating, a pop masterpiece", on which the band "achieved a uniquely ravishing sonic identity." In 2016, ''

Vive Le Rock ''Vive Le Rock'' is the third solo album by Adam Ant, released in September 1985. Production Producer Tony Visconti, famous for his 1970s work with Ant's heroes Marc Bolan and David Bowie, commented on his work with Ant on ''Vive Le Rock'': ...

'' named it one of the 50 greatest new wave albums.

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

;Bow Wow Wow *

- vocals *

Matthew Ashman Matthew James Ashman (3 November 1960 – 21 November 1995)
– accessed June 2011 was an English guitarist with

- guitar *

Leigh Gorman Leigh Gorman (born 11 December 1961) is an English rock musician, record producer, and composer, best known for his work as the bass player for Bow Wow Wow. Early life Leigh grew up in the East End of London. He started playing classical guita ...

- bass *

- drums ;Technical *

Nick Egan Nick Egan (born 4 July 1957 in London, England) is a visual design artist and director of music videos, commercials and film. He graduated from the Watford College of Art and Design with a DGA in 1976. While attending college, he created cover ...

- design *Andy Earl - photography after

's '' Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe''

Charts

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1981 debut albums Bow Wow Wow albums Albums produced by Alan Tarney Albums produced by Colin Thurston Obscenity controversies in music RCA Records albums