Black Market Music is the third studio album by British alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Placebo

Placebo (band)

Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...

, released in 2000 by Hut Records

Hut Records

VC Recordings trading as Hut Records was a British record label brand which was started in 1990 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Records...

.

Background

Black Market Music took nine months to record, the longest that the band have ever spent recording an album to date, and is dedicated to the memory of Scott Piering

Scott Piering

Scott Piering was a successful and influential American-born music publicist for many British music acts, including Pulp, The KLF, The Smiths, Stereophonics, The Orb, Placebo, Underworld and The Prodigy...

.

The song "Commercial for Levi" is named for sound technician Levi Tecofski, who on one occasion saved frontman Brian Molko

Brian Molko

Brian Molko is a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his high-pitched vocals, androgynous appearance, and unique, Sonic Youth-influenced guitar style and tuning.-Early life:Born to an American father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish...

's life: Molko, drunk and about to cross the road, was quickly pulled back by Tecofski from the path of an approaching vehicle.

Release history

A limited-edition version of the album was released simultaneously in Europe with an identical tracklisting; it featured a black paper case with the cover image in silver foil, slightly different inlay pictures, and a BurgoPak sliding design.

Track listing

Personnel

• Brian Molko
  Brian Molko
  Brian Molko is a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his high-pitched vocals, androgynous appearance, and unique, Sonic Youth-influenced guitar style and tuning.-Early life:Born to an American father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish...
  
   - vocals, guitar, keyboards, 6-string bass guitar
• Stefan Olsdal
  Stefan Olsdal
  Stefan Olsdal is the bassist/guitarist of the alternative rock band Placebo and is part of the electronic dance/DJ and remix act Hotel Persona.-Biography:...
  
   - bass guitar, guitar, 6-string bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Steve Hewitt
  Steve Hewitt
  Steven James Hewitt is the singer and guitarist in Love Amongst Ruin, having previously been the drummer for Placebo between mid-1996 and October 2007.-Personal life:...
  
   - drums, percussion
• Paul Collins – art direction
• Ian Cooper – mastering
• Paul Corkett – producer, mixing
• Rob Ellis – string arrangements
• Lorraine Francis – engineer
• Scott Kannberg – sampling
• Bill Lloyd – bass guitar on "Peeping Tom"
• Severe Loren – backing vocals on "Taste in Men" and "Special K"
• Dare Mason – producer
• Placebo – producer, mixing
• Dimitri Tikovoi
  Dimitri Tikovoi
  Dimitri Tikovoi is a French record producer and DJ who has worked with bands such as Placebo, The Horrors, John Cale , Hope Of The States, Goldfrapp, etc....
  
   – string programming
• Justin Warfield
  Justin Warfield
  Justin Warfield is a musician and hip hop emcee of African American and Jewish Russian-Romanian maternal parentage, who is currently half of the darkwave duo She Wants Revenge...
  
  – rapping vocals on "Spite & Malice"
• Kevin Westenberg – art direction, photography

Chart positions

• #1 - France
• #3 - Belgium (Wallonia)
• #4 - Germany
• #6 - UK
• #7 - Austria
• #9 - Italy
• #10 - Belgium (Flanders)
• #15 - Switzerland
• #17 - Sweden
• #18 - Australia
• #24 - Finland
• #27 - Poland