''Thriller'' is the third studio album by pub rock band Eddie and the Hot Rods, reaching #50 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 ...

. Released in 1979, it was produced by Peter Ker. The album builds on the sound they established on the previous studio record ''

Life on the Line ''Life on the Line'' is the second studio album by English rock band Eddie and the Hot Rods. The album was mixed by Ed Hollis and Steve Nicol, produced by Ed Hollis, and engineered by Steve Lillywhite. This release is considered a step in the ...

''. Shortly after the release of ''Thriller'', the band was sacked by their record company and forced to join

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

. The album was reissued in 2002 with two bonus tracks: "Horror Through Straightness" and "Highlands 1 Hopefuls 2". These songs had been the

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

to the singles released on the LP. The album featured two singles: "Media Messiahs" and "The Power and the Glory", neither of which charted on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

provided backing vocals on "The Power and the Glory". Reception of the album was muted.

Track listing

#"The Power and the Glory" (Graeme Douglas) - 4:16 #"Echoes" (Paul Gray, Steve Nicol) - 2:54 #"Media Messiahs" (Graeme Douglas) - 2:54 #"Circles" (Dave Higgs) - 2:55 #"He Does It with Mirrors" (Dave Higgs, Graeme Douglas) - 4:12 #"Strangers" (Graeme Douglas) - 2:46 #"Out to Lunch" (Dave Higgs) - 4:48 #"Breathless" (Graeme Douglas, Paul Gray) - 3:33 #"Take It or Leave It" (Barrie Masters, Graeme Douglas) - 4:12 #"Living Dangerously" (Dave Higgs) - 3:36 #"Horror Through Straightness" (Dave Higgs, Steve Nicol, Paul Gray) - 4:25 #"Highlands 1 Hopefuls 2" (Dave Higgs, Barrie Masters) - 3:00

Personnel

;Eddie and the Hot Rods *Barrie Masters -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Graeme Douglas -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

*Dave Higgs - guitar, backing vocals * Paul Gray -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals *Steve Nicol -

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 ...

, backing vocalsEddie and the Hot Rods, ''Thriller'' credits
Retrieved June 22, 2016. with: * Jools Holland - piano * Lee Brilleaux - harmonica *

- backing vocals on "The Power and the Glory"

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1979 albums Eddie and the Hot Rods albums Island Records albums