''Under the Flag'' is the third studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

released on September 1 1982, by experimental electronic artist

Fad Gadget Francis John Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both new wave and early industrial music, fusing pop-structured ...

. It was recorded at

Blackwing Studios Blackwing Studios was an English recording studio, most notable for early Depeche Mode and Yazoo recordings in the early 1980s. Background The Blackwing Studios complex was housed inside a deconsecrated church in south-east London. All Hallows ...

, All Hallows Church,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The album produced by Fad Gadget and

John Fryer John Fryer may refer to: *John Fryer (physician) (died 1563), English physician, humanist and early reformer *John Fryer (physician, died 1672), English physician *John Fryer (travel writer) (1650–1733), British travel-writer and doctor *Sir John ...

. Written by

Frank Tovey Francis John Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), known also by his stage name Fad Gadget, was a British avant-garde music, avant-garde Electronic music, electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both New wave music, new wav ...

for the most part concerning his fear for the future of the world, in light of having just become a father. He was apparently afraid of the world his daughter was going to grow up in. Sampling, which was new technology back in the early 1980s is incorporated into the album and sequencing is also heavily used. It features backing vocals by fellow

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

artist Alison Moyet, known for working on, at the time Yazoo with

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

. The naming of the album was the subject of a brief legal dispute with Under The Flag, an unsigned electro progressive group using the same name at the time. As reported in

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

, the band yielded and renamed themselves The Archive. "Scapegoat" features a Dutch nursery rhyme. Some of the ideas on this album were heavily inspired by German band

Die Krupps Die Krupps () ("The Krupps") is a German industrial metal/ EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf. The band has had a diverse range of musical influences over time, including the percussive industrial '' ...

and this is borne out by

's later album ''

Gag A gag is usually an item or device designed to prevent speech, often as a restraint device to stop the subject from calling for help and keep its wearer silent. This is usually done by blocking the mouth, partially or completely, or attemptin ...

'' which features

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh ( custom-made instruments; p ...

, who worked closely with Die Krupps.

Tracklist

#"Under the Flag I" #"Scapegoat" #"Love Parasite" #"Plainsong" #"Wheels of Fortune" #"Life on the Line IV" #"The Sheep Look Up" #"Cipher" #"For Whom the Bells Toll" #"Under the Flag II"Recorded at

, All Hallows Church,

in 1982.

Personnel

*Fad Gadget –

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 ...

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 ...

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

*Nick Cash – timpani, vibraphone, percussion *David Simmonds –

grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, synthesizer * Alison Moyet, Andrew Kay, Anne Clift, Barbara Frost, Jill Tipping, John Fryer, Yvette Anna - chorus

References

{{Authority control Fad Gadget albums 1982 albums Mute Records albums Albums produced by John Fryer (producer)