Sad Café is the fourth studio album by English rock band

Sad Café Sad Café are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1976, who achieved their peak of popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known for the UK top 40 singles "Every Day Hurts", "Strange Little Girl", " My Oh My" and "I ...

, released in October 1980 by RCA Records.

Release

In the UK, two singles were released, "La-Di-Da" and "I'm in Love Again" both of which charted on the UK Singles Chart. On some editions of the album, "Love Today" and "I'm in Love Again" are swapped around on the track listing. The album failed to continue the success of the band's previous album and it charted at number 46 on the

UK Album Charts 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 ...

. It was also certified silver by the BPI in February 1981. In the US, the album was released by

Swan Song Records Swan Song Records was a record label launched by the English rock band Led Zeppelin on 10 May 1974. It was overseen by Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant and was a vehicle for the band to promote its own products as well as sign artists who f ...

and it charted at number 160 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album was reissued on CD in 2009 in the US by Renaissance Records.

Reception

Reviewing the album for '' Record Mirror'', Paul Sexton described it as "more of the same. Which is fine, as the band is still relatively young... and there's so much diversity in their music, that it'll take quite a while before they come to the bottom of that particular well. The album doesn't feature any ballads in the form of '

Every Day Hurts "Every Day Hurts" is a song by British band Sad Café, from their third album '' Facades''. It was released as a single in 1979 and became their biggest hit, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Offic ...

', and probably for that reason, won't spawn any hits that big. But 'La Di Da' is already making an impression, and it's indicative of the midpace, happy/sad ambivalence the band specialises in." "It's also good to see vocalist Paul Young, the band's chief lyricist, being able to vary the content of his lyrics, and providing a contrast to the usual love-gone-right and love-gone-wrong fodder".

Track listing

Personnel

Sad Café * Paul Young –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, percussion,

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

s * Ashley Mulford – lead guitar,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, vocals * Ian Wilson – electric guitar,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, vocals, percussion * John Stimpson – bass guitar, vocals * Vic Emerson – piano,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

* Dave Irving –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s, vocals, percussion * Lenni Zaksen – saxophone, vocals Technical * Eric Stewart – engineer, producer * Alwyn Clayden – art direction * Vic Emerson – strings arrangement and synthesisation * Lenni Zaksen – horns arrangement * John Shaw – photography * Recorded at Strawberry Studios South in

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...

and mastered at Strawberry Mastering in London

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1980 albums Sad Café (band) albums Albums produced by Eric Stewart Albums recorded at Strawberry Studios RCA Records albums Swan Song Records albums