''Lady Bump'' is the debut album of Austrian-born singer

Penny McLean Gertrude Wirschinger, better known as Penny McLean (born 4 November 1948), is an Austrian vocalist who initially gained acclaim with the disco music act Silver Convention, but also had exposure as a single recording artist. As a solo singer, she i ...

. It was released in 1975, while Penny was part of the group

Silver Convention Silver Convention were a German Euro disco recording act of the 1970s. The group was originally named Silver Bird Convention or Silver Bird. Career The group was initiated in Munich by producers and songwriters Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze ...

. The album was released months after her successful single " Lady Bump", and three more songs were released as singles and charted worldwide. The album managed to chart in 3 countries. This is the only McLean's album to be released in CD format, it was released in 1992 in Germany. McLean's two other albums were released without the label or the singer permission.

Background and production

In 1975 McLean made part of the German group Silver Convention, a group that also included Linda G. Thompson and

Ramona Wulf Ramona Wulf (born 18 October 1954) is a German singer. Her biggest success as a solo singer was in 1971 with the song ''Alles was wir woll'n auf Erden'' which reached number 8 on the German single charts. She was the public face of Silver Conventi ...

and had hits such as " Save me" and " Fly, Robin, Fly". McLean planned to do an album as a solo artist and release as the first single the song Lady Bump. The album was produced by

Michael Kunze Michael Rolf Kunze (born 9 November 1943, in Prague) is a foremost German musical theater lyricist and librettist. He is best known for the hit musicals '' Elisabeth'' (1992), '' Dance of the Vampires'' (1996), '' Mozart!'' (1999), ''Marie Antoin ...

and arranged by

Sylvester Levay Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian language, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, ''Silvester Levai'') is a Hungarian people, Hungarian recording artist and composer, born in Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Life and career Levay ...

Singles

The first single of the album was the song "Lady Bump" which backed with "The Lady Bumps On" and was released on the Jupiter record label cat - 16 069 AT in June 1975. By November 1975, the track bw "The Lady Bumps On" was rated # 14 in the New York discos. In January 1976, it was #8 on the Cash box pop singles charts. In July 1976, "Lady Bump" #7 in Australia's 2S Music Survey. The single itself sold 3 million copies. The second single of the album was the song 1-2-3-4... Fire! which was Top 20 in 5 charts around the world. In October 1976, her single "Devil Eyes" was released on the Ariola label and managed to appear in Sweden and West Germany charts.

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews, Justin Kantor from

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 ...

says that unfortunately the album "primarily consists of material that is derivative of its hit single, but never quite stands on its own." He also said that the Michael Kunze's smooth production is "indeed pleasant and there are particularly enjoyable moments to be found in "Big Bad Boy" and "Devil Eyes,"" but according to him "overall, the hooks are not as strong and McLean doesn't sound quite as enthused."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

in his review for Silver Convention's album ''

Get Up and Boogie ''Get Up and Boogie'' (sometimes also known simply as ''Silver Convention'') is the second studio album by the German disco group Silver Convention, and perhaps best known for including the song " Get Up and Boogie", which hit #1 on June 15, 197 ...

'' argued that "they should have borrowed "Lady Bump" and "Big Bad Boy" from Penny McLean, whose bland vocalizing is best buried in the mix, as it is here, rather than showcased on a "solo" album."

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1975 debut albums Penny McLean albums