''London with the Lights On'' is the debut studio album by English girl group Stooshe. It was originally set for release on 25 June 2012 under the name of ''Swings and Roundabouts'', but was held back twice; under the new self-titled name and was name changed and released on 27 May 2013. " Love Me" was released on 4 March 2012 as the album's lead single, peaking at number 5 on 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 ...

. " Black Heart" was released as the second single on 15 June 2012 and became the group's highest-charting single to date, peaking at number 3. The third single from the album was initially intended to be "

Waterfalls A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

", a cover of the

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song, which was released on 11 November 2012; however, Stooshe later revealed that it would not make the cut for the final track list and that they were disowning it. "

Slip Slip or SLIP may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole * Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting * Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy Computing and ...

" was released as the album's third single on 12 May 2013, peaking at number 12.

Background

Stooshe's début album was announced around the time of the release of the first single, " Love Me". It was initially titled ''Swings and Roundabouts'' and a release date was set for 25 June 2012. However, Stooshe later announced the album would be self-titled and would be released on 26 November 2012. On 15 November, Robert Copsey from

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reported that the album's release would be delayed until March 2013. A statement from the group explained "Following a late rush of creativity which has seen them write some of the best songs of their career, Stooshe have decided to delay the release of their début album until March 2013 so they have time to record these songs for inclusion on the album." Stooshe added that they would be going back to the studio soon to record the new songs. Copsey later confirmed that the album would be released on 27 May 2013. The band revealed that they delayed the release of the album to undo their record label's interference. Anderson stated "It was down to us that our album didn't come out months ago," said Anderson. "It was ready to go, but we was listening to it and realised the label had changed a few mixes, a few structures and even taken off a few songs. We made this album before we got signed so it was important for us to still have control." The band also added that their third single, "Waterfalls", would not appear on the album and that they were disowning it. On 5 April, Sam Hine from

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reported that Stooshe had renamed their album ''London with the Lights On''.

Reception

Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave ''London with the Lights On'' four out of five stars and commented "Listening to the album is akin to eavesdropping on a conversation between funny, trash-talking women who happen to sing like a trio of Beyoncés: it's a noisy, highly entertaining 50 minutes." Stephen Unwin, writing for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'', said "It feels like we've been waiting a long time for this first album and in no way does it disappoint. A little

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single "Hol ...

here, a lot of

Salt-n-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...

there, it is a witty, confident, exceptional debut." ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

's'' Simon Price also received the album well, saying "The south London trio's effortlessly assured debut combines classic 1960s soul, streetparty reggae, upfront electro-pop, cackling Night Bus backchat and shameless sexual innuendo. And there is nothing not to love about it." However, Price's colleague Andy Gill gave the album one star, explaining that ''London with the Lights On'' "is pretty thin fare" and that the majority of songs collapse "under the weight of excess sass."

Singles

*" Love Me", featuring US rapper

Travie McCoy Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, in addition to having a solo career. McCoy became involved w ...

, was released as the lead single from the album on 4 March 2012, peaking at number 5 on the

. The accompanying music video was released on 16 January 2012. *" Black Heart", the album's second single, was released on 17 June 2012. The song peaked at number 3, becoming Stooshe's highest-charting single to date. * "

" was released as the third single on 12 May 2013. The song peaked at number 12 in the UK. * "

My Man Music "My Man Music" is a song by British girl-group Stooshe from their debut album ''London with the Lights On''. Produced by Future Cut, it was released as the album's fourth single by Warner Music Group, Warner Music UK from 28 July 2013. "My Man Mu ...

" was released as the fourth single on 28 July 2013. The music video was filmed in the week beginning 10 June and released on 20 June.

Track listing

Track listing confirmed by iTunes.

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2013 debut albums Warner Music Group albums Contemporary R&B albums by English artists