''Tell Us the Truth'' is the debut album by English punk rock band

Sham 69 Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The ...

, released in 1978. The first side of the album was recorded live in concert, while the other was recorded in the studio. ''Tell Us the Truth'' includes one of Sham 69's biggest hits, "Borstal Breakout", on the live side of the album. The album peaked at number 25 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 ...

. ''Tell Us the Truth'' and the band's second album '' That's Life'' were re-released in 1989 as a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

LP.

Track listing

All songs written by Jimmy Pursey and Dave Parsons
:Live side # "We Got a Fight" # "Rip Off" # "Ulster" # "George Davis Is Innocent" # "They Don’t Understand" # "Borstal Breakout" #:Studio side # "Family Life" # "Hey Little Rich Boy" # "I’m a Man, I’m a Boy" # "What About the Lonely?" # "Tell Us the Truth" # "It’s Never Too Late" # "Who's Generation!" #:Captain Oi! bonus tracks # "What Have We Got" (live) # " I Don't Wanna" produced by

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

# "Red London" produced by John Cale # "Ulster" (single version) produced by John Cale # "Borstal Breakout" (single version) # "George Davis Is Innocent" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...

# "They Don't Understand" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by Steve Lillywhite # "Borstal Breakout" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by Steve Lillywhite *Tracks 15-17 released as "I Don't Wanna" single on

Step Forward Step Forward was a Swedish hardcore punk band founded in 1989 in Umeå, Sweden by Dennis Lyxzén and his friends, Toft Stade, Jens Nordén and Henrik Jansson. Step Forward was one of the first hardcore punk bands in Sweden that held on to the ...

*"Borstal Breakout" released as Polydor Records debut single, January 1978

Personnel

Sham 69 *

Jimmy Pursey James Timothy Pursey (born 9 February 1955) is an English people, English rock musician. He is the founder and frontman of the punk rock band Sham 69, which he has performed with since 1976, along with releasing material as a solo artist. Early ...

– vocals, production, liner notes *Dave Parsons – guitars, liner notes *Dave "Kermit" Tregunna – bass guitar *Mark "Dodie" Cain – drums with: *Albie "Slider" Maskell - bass guitar on tracks 15-17 and 19-21 Technical * Peter Wilson – production *Brian Burrows – remixing *Steve Hammonds – project coordinator *Jo Mirowski – art direction, design *Alwyn Clayden – package design *Martyn Goddard – photography *Barry Plummer – photography

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1978 debut albums Sham 69 albums Polydor Records albums Sire Records albums