''Orgasm'' is the only studio album by the English band

John's Children John's Children were a 1960s rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with the Who in Germany in 19 ...

, projected for release on 18 March 1967, and eventually released in September 1970. It was recorded (before

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

joined the band) at Advison Studios in London, England. Originally intended as a regular studio album, it was transformed into a fake "live" album by producer

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Sinéad O'Co ...

by dubbing audience screams lifted from

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' film '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964). According to the liner notes by Chris Donovan in the 1982

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

reissue of the album, its release in the United States was stopped by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

, who objected to the title. When the album was finally released by White Whale in the U.S., the title "Orgasm" was covered up on the front cover and on the disc label. However, the title was forgotten to be removed from the LP spine, where it remained. In Australia it was released as simply ''John's Children''.

Track listing

''1970, White Whale, US WWS-7128 / Australia SWWL 933978''

Side 1 #"Killer Ben" – (Hewlett, Ellison) #"Jagged Time Lapse" – (McClelland, Hewlett) #"Smashed Blocked" – (Napier-Bell, Hewlett) #"You're a Nothing" – (Hewlett, McClelland, Ellison, Townson) #"Not the Sort of Girl" – (Hewlett, Ellison) Side 2 #"Cold on Me" – (Hewlett, Ellison) #"Leave Me Alone" – (Hewlett, Ellison) #"Let Me Know" – (Hewlett, Ellison) #"Just What You Want – Just What You'll Get" – (Hewlett, McClelland, Ellison, Townson) #"Why Do You Lie" – (Hewlett, McClelland, Ellison, Townson)

''1982, Cherry Red, B RED 31 (vinyl) / 1988, Cherry Red, CDM RED 31 (CD)''

#"Smashed Blocked" (Studio) – 2:57 #"Just What You Want – Just What You'll Get" (Studio) – 2:57 #"Killer Ben" – 2:29 #"Jagged Time Lapse" – 3:13 #"Smashed Blocked" (Live) – 3:20 #"You're a Nothing" – 3:36 #"Not the Sort of Girl" – 2:05 #"Cold on Me" – 2:51 #"Leave Me Alone" – 3:12 #"Let Me Know" – 3:27 #"Just What You Want – Just What You'll Get" (Live) – 3:40 #"Why Do You Lie" – 5:00 #"Strange Affair" (Napier-Bell, Ellison) – 1:59 #"But She's Mine" (Ellison, Townsend, McClelland, Hewlett) – 2:01 *The 'live' versions of "Just What You Want – Just What You'll Get" and "Smashed Blocked" are the original overdubbed versions and not actual live recordings. *"Strange Affair" is played backwards. No explanation is provided for this. An enhanced reissue of the album was released in 2000 by Cherry Red (CDMRED 177) that included a much expanded fold-out booklet and the rare promotional video for ''Smashed Blocked''.

Personnel

Andy Ellison Andrew Ellison (born 5 July 1945 in Finchley, London, England) is an English musician and vocalist, best known as the frontman in John's Children, Jet and Radio Stars. Biography He attended Box Hill School in Surrey, where he met Chris Tow ...

- vocals, maracas * Geoff McClelland - guitar * John Hewlett - bass guitar *

Chris Townson Chris Townson (24 July 1947 – 10 February 2008) was an English musician, illustrator and social worker. He was a founding member of the 1960s rock group John's Children, and a member of several other bands, including Jook, Jet (UK band), Jet a ...

- drums with: *

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

- guitar on "But She's Mine" ;Technical *Gerald Chevin - engineer

References

{{Authority control 1970 debut albums Obscenity controversies in music White Whale Records albums Cherry Red Records albums John's Children albums