''Word Salad'' is a

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

debut album by

Fischer-Z Fischer-Z are a British rock group and main creative project of singer, guitarist and poet John Watts. In 1982 Watts temporarily dissolved Fischer-Z and started a solo career under his own name. John Watts has gone on to release both solo and ...

. John Watts and Steve Skolnik formed the band in 1976 whilst at

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

. John Watts had been travelling up and down the country playing the club circuit. Fischer-Z was playing a crossover of the new wave,

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

genres. In 1978, the band secured a record deal with United Artists, alongside the

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origina ...

and Dr. Feelgood.

Track listing

All tracks composed by John Watts; except where noted. #"Pretty Paracetamol" (also known as: "First Impressions", but this name doesn't usually feature on the CD releases) – 3:57 #"Acrobats" (Watts, David Graham) – 2:42 #"The Worker" – 3:36 #"Spiders" (Watts, Steve Skolnik) – 1:42 #"Remember Russia" – 3:29 #"The French Let Her" (Watts, Steve Skolnik) – 3:21 #"Lies" – 3:57 #"Wax Dolls" – 2:46 #"Headlines" – 3:21 #"Nice to Know" – 2:52 #"Billy and the Motorway Police" (Watts, David Graham) – 2:11 #"Lemmings" (Watts, Steve Skolnik) – 3:02

Personnel

;Fischer-Z *John Watts - lead vocals, guitar *Steve Skolnik - keyboards, vocals *David Graham - bass guitar *Steve Liddle - drums, percussion ;Technical *Gary Edwards, Aldo Bocca - recording engineer *John Pasche - art direction, design *John Wedge - photography

Notes

*The songs "Wax Dolls", "Remember Russia", "The Worker" and "Pretty Paracetamol" (although named on single release as "First Impressions") were used as singles. "The Worker" being the most successful, hitting #53 on the UK charts (Note: The 7" single version of "The Worker" is slightly remixed from the album and emphasises the keyboards. This version has yet to appear on CD to date). *The album was first released on CD in 1989. In 1997 "Disky Communications Europe" re-released the album under the title "The Worker". It included two bonus tracks: "Limbo" and "Marliese"; the first appearing on

's second album ''

Going Deaf For A Living ''Going Deaf for a Living'' is a 1980 album by Fischer-Z. This was the second album by Fischer-Z featuring the "classic line-up". The guitar on this album was made more prominent, after their rather keyboard prominent debut. This album, as well ...

'', and the latter appearing on their third, '' Red Skies Over Paradise''. In 2005, Disky re-released this version again, this time simply going by the title "Fischer-Z".

References

{{Authority control 1979 debut albums Fischer-Z albums Albums produced by Mike Howlett United Artists Records albums