''The Man'' is an album recorded and released by Scottish musician and music industry figure

Bill Drummond William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with wh ...

in 1986.

Context

In July 1986, Drummond had announced his resignation from his position as an A&R man at record label

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

, citing that he was nearly 33.3 years old (33.3

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

being significant to Drummond as the speed at which a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

LP revolves), and that it was "time for a revolution in my life. There is a mountain to climb the hard way, and I want to see the world from the top... ". His first move was to record and release ''The Man'', and an accompanying spoken-word diatribe "The Manager's Speech". In an interview in December 1990, Drummond recalled spending half a million pounds at WEA on the band Brilliant—for whom he envisioned massive worldwide success—only for them to flop completely. "At that point I thought 'What am I doing this for?' and I got out. I did an album myself, wrote the songs in five days, recorded it in five days, and put it out on

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

". Creation's founder,

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

, named ''The Man'' his 5th favourite LP: "Bill's my pal, but I thought his record would be crap. He gave a cassette to me and I didn't play it for ages. Then I put it on when I was in the bath one night—I nearly drowned. I laughed for about half an hour. It's the work of a complete nutter". Drummond intended to focus on writing books once ''The Man'' had been issued but, as he recalled in 1990, "That only lasted three months, until I had an

ther Ther may refer to: *''Thér.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Irénée Thériot (1859–1947), French bryologist * Agroha Mound, archaeological site in Agroha, Hisar district, India *Therapy *Therapeutic drugs See also *''Ther Thiruvizha ''T ...

idea for a record and got dragged back into it all". Calling upon Brilliant's former guitarist

Jimmy Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million. He is married to artist and mu ...

, Drummond formed

The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing h ...

with whom (most notably in their later incarnation as

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

) he was to amass considerable fame and fortune until—in 1992—the cycle repeated itself and he quit the business once again.

Songs

During the recording of the album, Drummond was assisted by members of the bands

The Triffids The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The Triff ...

and

Voice of the Beehive Voice of the Beehive are an English American, Anglo-American Alternative rock, alternative pop rock band formed in London in 1986. The group featured Californian lead vocalist sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke Belland (daughters of The ...

. In the sardonic "

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

Is Dead", Drummond outlined his fantasy of shooting the

Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single " Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. ...

frontman in the head to ensure the band's early demise and subsequent legendary status. The song could be seen as a reply to the Cope song "Bill Drummond Said" (from Cope's '' Fried''). Bill Drummond is a self-confessed fan of Scottish football club Queen of the South. "Queen of the South" is also the title of the 6th track on "The Man". The song is an instrumental.

Reviews

Awarding the album five stars, ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' called it a "touching if idiosyncratic biographical statement" and a "work of humble genius: the best kind". ''Q'' Magazine gave the album four stars and described it as "a curious and hugely enjoyable set that trips from Tennessee twang to fake Scottish folk music to brash little pop tunes" whose lyrics "encapsulate rummond'sbizarrely sage ruminations on life, marriage, rock'n'roll and the sundry pop stars whose destinies have entwined with his own". In a retrospective career summary review,

Ira Robbins ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

of ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' referred to the album as "tastefully understated".

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Drummond except " Going Back" (

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

) and "

Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation "Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation" is a Scottish folk song whose lyrics are taken from a poem written by Robert Burns in 1791, listed as number 5516 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It has continued to be associated with Scottish nationalism and a ...

" (words by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

, music traditional). # "True to the Trail" # "Ballad for a Sex God" # "Julian Cope Is Dead" # "I Want That Girl" # " Going Back" # "Queen of the South" # "I Believe in Rock and Roll" # "Married Man" # "I'm the King of Joy" # "Son of a Preacher Man" # "

"Track listing, songwriting credits and personnel data taken from the sleeve notes of the original Creation Records CD release of ''The Man''

Personnel

* Bill Drummond – vocals * Daniel Cainer – guitar * Khiem Luu – clarinet, saxophone * Nick Coler – piano, organ * Allan MacDonald – drums *

Robert McComb Robert Harold McComb is an Australian musician who played guitar, violin, organ, and other instruments with Perth-based rock group The Triffids, from 1979 to 1989. He is the older brother of the band's founder and lead singer-songwriter, Davi ...

– guitar, violin * Graham Lee – pedal steel guitar * Martyn Casey – "bull fiddle" (double bass) *

Jill Birt Jillian Margaret Birt is an Australian rock musician and architect. Birt was the keyboardist and vocalist of the alternative rock and pop band, The Triffids from 1983 to 1989. In 2008, The Triffids were inducted into the Australian Recording I ...

– Hammond organ * Henry Lowther – trumpet * Sandrae Lawrence – harmonies *

– harmonies * Stephen "Kid Chaos" Harris – "Rumblehammer" (bass) * Rev. Jack Drummond (father of Bill Drummond) – voice on "Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation" * Bleddyn Butcher – photography All tracks arranged, produced and mixed by True Genius

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man, The Bill Drummond albums 1986 debut albums Creation Records albums Albums produced by Bill Drummond