''Sleep No More'' is
the Comsat Angels' second album, released 21 August 1981 on
Polydor Records. It is widely regarded as a masterpiece that had a major influence on bands such as
U2 (who toured with the band) and later groups such as
Editors and
Interpol. The album has been reissued on
CD three times, in 1995 by
RPM Records, in 2006 by Renascent and in 2015 by Edsel Records, with different track listings (see below). ''Sleep No More'' produced no singles, but it had the highest
UK chart ranking for any Comsats album, peaking at No. 51.
[Sleeve notes from Renascent re-issue of ''Sleep No More'']
After the rushed production of the first album, ''
Waiting for a Miracle Waiting for a Miracle may refer to:
* Waiting for a Miracle (album), ''Waiting for a Miracle'' (album), a 1980 album by The Comsat Angels
* Waiting for a Miracle (film), ''Waiting for a Miracle'' (film), a 2007 Russian romantic comedy-drama film
* ...
'', the band was able to put a lot more craft into ''Sleep No More''. Frontman
Stephen Fellows described how they achieved a resonant sound on a couple of the tracks: "Pete Wilson suggested taking the drums out of the studio – on the fourth floor at Polydor – and putting them near the lift-shaft (elevator shaft) by the stairs. We then put microphones on the three floors above and below ... Obviously we were only able to do this sort of thing in the evening when the offices were closed!"
Fellows felt the album ''Sleep No More'' had a unique quality among the band's work: "The only
lbumwhich had a 'thread' through it was ''Sleep No More'', the 'thread' was the sound we wanted to get." Critics recognized it as a great follow-up to ''Waiting for a Miracle''.
AllMusic later said, "''Sleep No More'' is certainly more powerful, and it's also a greater achievement. Here The Comsat Angels became one of the era's exceptional bands." In a 1981 review, Mark Cooper of ''
Sounds'' wrote that it was "an album that is head and shoulders above anything else recorded this year",
while
Jack Rabid of ''
The Big Takeover'' summed up the album by saying, "I think ''Sleep No More'' is one of the greatest pieces of music ever released!"
[Springhouse forum, comment posted by Jack Rabid, 9 December 199]
Springhouse - Forum - Archives 01
/ref>
When ''Sleep No More'' was released, it sold out very quickly. Unfortunately Polydor took two weeks to ship additional stock to the record stores, an issue which was believed to have had a negative effect on the album's momentum.
Track listing (1981)
All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.
Track listing (1995)
All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.
Track listing (2006)
All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake.
Track listing (2015)
''All tracks written by Fellows/Glaisher/Bacon/Peake''
Personnel
The members of The Comsat Angels are:
* Stephen Fellows - vocals, guitar, artwork
* Andy Peake - 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 ...
, vocals
* Kevin Bacon - bass guitar
* Mik Glaisher - drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
References
{{Authority control
1981 albums
The Comsat Angels albums
Polydor Records albums