''Mother Fist and Her Five Daughters'' (often shortened to ''Mother Fist'') is the third studio album by the British singer/songwriter

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...

. It was released in April 1987 and reached number 41 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 ...

. ''Mother Fist and Her Five Daughters'' includes the singles "Ruby Red", "Melancholy Rose", and "Mother Fist". The album title is taken from ''Nocturnal Turnings'' or ''How Siamese Twins Have Sex'', a short story by the American author

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

. Almond dedicates the album in the liner notes to Capote. Almond with his assembled band The Willing Sinners, made up of

Annie Hogan Annie Hogan (sometimes spelled as Anni Hogan) also known as Ann Margaret Hogan is a British musician, record producer, composer and club DJ, born in 1961. Originally known for her association with British musician Marc Almond, Hogan has since c ...

, Billy McGee,

Martin McCarrick Martin McCarrick (born 29 July 1962) is an English cellist, keyboardist, guitarist and composer. Aside from being a live and recording artist, he is also a teacher and visiting lecturer in music. Career His first recording in the pop/rock ar ...

, Richard Riley and Steven Humphreys, accompanied by studio musicians recorded the songs for the album at Milo Studios, London and Abbey Road. The artwork was designed by Huw Feather with photography by Ben Thornberry.

Track listing

Personnel

* Marc Almond – vocals, arrangements ; The Willing Sinners *

– piano, marimba, pump organ * Billy McGee – double bass, electric bass guitar *

– cello, accordion, yang t'chin, keyboards * Richard Riley – acoustic guitar, electric guitar * Steven Humphreys – drums, assorted percussion with: * Nigel Eaton –

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vio ...

Peter Thoms Peter Thoms is an English musician and composer best known for playing keyboards and trombone for the synthpop band Landscape. Biography Landscape was formed in 1974 with Richard James Burgess (vocals, drums), Christopher Heaton (keyboards), An ...

– trombone * Enrico Tomasso – trumpet * Jane West – backing vocals * Audrey Riley – backing vocals ;Technical *

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from roc ...

– Vocals, Producer, Engineering (Abbey Road) *

– Arrangements * Martin McCarrick – Cello Arrangements * Charles Gray – Engineering (Milo) * Haydn Bendall – Engineering (Abbey Road) * Ian Grimble – Engineering (Abbey Road) * Huw Feather – Design, Layout * Ben Thornberry – Photography

References

{{Authority control 1987 albums Marc Almond albums Albums produced by Mike Hedges Virgin Records albums