Metal Box
Encyclopedia
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Public Image Ltd, released in 1979 by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
.
The title refers to the album's original packaging, which consists of a metal 16mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
canister embossed with the band's logo and containing three 12" 45rpm records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. The album was reissued in 1980 as a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
titled Second Edition.
A radical departure from PiL's relatively conventional debut, the avant garde, abstract Metal Box was characterised by singer John Lydon
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
's cryptic vocals, Jah Wobble
Jah Wobble
Jah Wobble is an English bass guitarist, singer, poet and composer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but left the band after two albums...
's propulsive dub reggae-inspired basslines, and a unique, "metallic" guitar sound (guitarist Keith Levene played Veleno
Veleno (guitar)
The Veleno guitar is a highly-regarded series of aluminum guitars built by metal craftsman John Veleno. The first guitars were built in 1972. Veleno guitars are known for their unique sound quality. Public Image Ltd...
guitars which are made entirely of aluminium). Metal Box is widely regarded as a landmark of post punk and experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
: In 2002, Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
ranked Metal Box at #19 on their "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s", while In 2003, the album was ranked number 469 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Recording sessions
Metal Box was recorded in several sessions with several different drummers, none of whom were credited on the original release.- March–May 1979: "Albatross" and "Death Disco" were recorded with new drummer David Humphrey at The Manor StudioThe Manor StudioThe Manor Studio was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. It was the first residential recording studio in the UK...
in Shipton-on-CherwellShipton-on-CherwellShipton-on-Cherwell is a village on the River Cherwell north of Kidlington in Oxfordshire, England. The village is part of the civil parish of Shipton-on-Cherwell and Thrupp.-Manor:...
. "Poptones" was recorded too, with LeveneKeith LeveneKeith Levene is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was an early member of The Clash, but is best known as being a founding member of Public Image Limited, along with John Lydon....
on drums. During this time, additional tracks were recorded at Townhouse Studios in London, namely "Beat the Drum for Me" (which later turned up on Wobble's first solo album), and a new version of "Fodderstompf" (which became the B-side of PiL's "Death Disco" 12" single). Humphrey left the band around mid-May 1979. - May–June 1979: "Memories", "No Birds", "Socialist" and "Chant" were recorded with new drummer Richard DudanskiRichard DudanskiRichard "Snakehips" Dudanski, a/k/a Richard Nother, is an English drummer who was a member of a number of seminal British proto-punk, punk and post-punk bands, including The 101'ers, The Raincoats, Public Image Ltd., and Basement 5...
at Townhouse Studios in London. - Summer 1979: the instrumental "Graveyard" was recorded at Rollerball Rehearsal Studios in BermondseyBermondseyBermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
, PiL's rehearsal studio, with Dudanski. For the B-side of PIL's "Memories" single vocals were added at The Manor and the track re-titled to "Another". Dudanski left the band around mid-September 1979. - Summer/autumn(?) 1979: "The Suit" was recorded as a solo track by Jah Wobble at Gooseberry Sound Studios in London. Vocals and some overdubs were added at The ManorThe ManorThe Manor may refer to:in Australia* The Manor , a large 1911 house in the Sydney suburb of Mosman* The Manor, a Hip Hop, Funk, Underground, Indie bar in Leederville, Western Australiain England...
. "Careering" was recorded at Townhouse StudiosTownhouse StudiosTownhouse Studios was a recording studio in west London. Built by Richard Branson in 1978, and managed by Barbara Jeffries as part of the Virgin Studios Group. The Virgin Studios Group was acquired by EMI when Richard sold Virgin Records to EMI in 1992. The Sanctuary Group bought the studio from...
with Wobble on drums. - October 1979: "Bad Baby" was recorded with new drummer Martin AtkinsMartin AtkinsMartin Clive Atkins is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, and Killing Joke...
at Townhouse Studios. Except for a brief period during 1980, Atkins remained with the band until 1985. - October or November 1979: "Radio 4" was recorded as a solo piece by Keith Levene at Advision Studios and an unknown second studio. According to Levene, this was the last recorded track.
Packaging
The Metal Box packaging designed by Dennis Morris was innovative and inexpensive, costing little more to the label than the cost of standard printed sleeves for equivalent 12" releases (although Virgin did ask for a refund of 1/3 of the band's advance due to the cost). Before the metal tin was finalised, there was discussion of the album being released in a sandpaper package that would effectively ruin the sleeve art of any records shelved next to it. That idea would later be realised by The Durutti ColumnThe Durutti Column
The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England. The band is an ongoing project of guitarist Vini Reilly who is often accompanied by drummer Bruce Mitchell. Other current members are Keir Stewart and Reilly's girlfriend Poppy Morgan...
for their 1980 Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
debut, The Return of the Durutti Column
The Return of the Durutti Column
The Return of the Durutti Column is the debut album by The Durutti Column. It was originally released in 1980 on Factory Records and the original 2000 LP sleeves were made of sandpaper, assembled by members of Joy Division...
.
The album's lack of accessibility extended to the discs themselves. Packed tightly inside the canister and separated by nothing more than paper sheets, they were difficult to remove and were prone to taking nicks and scratches in the process. Since each side only contained about ten minutes of music, the listener was required to constantly get up and change sides in order to hear the album in its entirety.
After an initial release of 60,000 units, the album was re-issued on 22 February 1980 as Second Edition, a double LP packaged in a more conventional gatefold
Gatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
. The sleeve art of Second Edition consists of distorted photographs of the band members, achieving a funhouse mirror effect. (The front cover is a photo of Keith Levene.) The lyrics are provided on the rear cover; these were originally printed in a magazine advertisement and not included with Metal Box. The band initially wanted the album released with a lyric sheet but no track titles; the United Kingdom version of Second Edition appears as the band intended, with lyrics on the back cover, but no titles, and "PiL" logo labels on all four sides of the vinyl. The American edition of Second Edition has track titles both on the back cover and the labels.
A unique anomaly exists on the American vinyl LP of Second Edition. Although PiL were signed to Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
in the US, the album was released with the Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
logo on the sleeve and labels, albeit with a Warner Bros. catalogue number
Catalog numbering systems for single records
This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...
(2WX 3288). The American 8-track tape and cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
versions of Second Edition carry only the Warner Bros. logo, with no mention of Island.
The original metal canister idea caught on a few years later during the compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
era; by the late 1980s a number of CDs were packaged in metal canisters, including Prince's special edition of the Batman
Batman (album)
Batman is the eleventh studio album by musician Prince and the soundtrack for the 1989 film Batman. As a Warner Bros. stablemate, Prince's involvement in the soundtrack was designed to leverage the media company's contract-bound talent as well as fulfill the artist's need for a commercial revival...
soundtrack. In 1990 the concept came full circle, with the compact disc release of Metal Box employing a smaller version of the original metal canister, containing a single disc and a small paper insert.
Noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
band Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
would later release some copies of their Bulldozer (EP)
Bulldozer (EP)
Bulldozer is the second EP by Chicago Post-Hardcore band Big Black, released in 1983. It was their first release to feature an actual band performing, including Pat Byrne from Urge Overkill playing drums on some of the songs...
in metal boxes, as a tribute to this album.
Instrumentation
- Keith Levene used a Veleno OriginalVeleno (guitar)The Veleno guitar is a highly-regarded series of aluminum guitars built by metal craftsman John Veleno. The first guitars were built in 1972. Veleno guitars are known for their unique sound quality. Public Image Ltd...
aluminium guitar for live and studio work. For studio work he also used a Travis Bean TB-1000STravis BeanClifford Travis Bean was an American luthier and machinist from California.In 1974, he partnered with Marc McElwee and Gary Kramer to start Travis Bean Guitars, which made high-end electric guitars and basses featuring machined aluminum necks. This was an unusual design, departing from more...
and a Travis Bean TB-3000Travis BeanClifford Travis Bean was an American luthier and machinist from California.In 1974, he partnered with Marc McElwee and Gary Kramer to start Travis Bean Guitars, which made high-end electric guitars and basses featuring machined aluminum necks. This was an unusual design, departing from more...
wedge guitar. Regarding synthesizers, on “Socialist” and “Chant” he used an Oberheim polyphonicOberheim polyphonicThe Oberheim polyphonic is an analog music synthesizer that was produced from 1974 to 1979 by Oberheim electronics. Tom Oberheim, the founder, knew that musicians needed a way to play chords on the synthesizers that were becoming popular in all styles of music in the 1970s. Except for huge, custom,...
, and on “Careering” a Prophet-5 synthesizer. - Jah Wobble used several bass guitars, notably an Ampeg HorizontalAmpegAmpeg is primarily a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, though they also manufacture guitars to a small extent...
, a Fender PrecisionFender Precision BassThe Fender Precision Bass is an electric bass.Designed by Leo Fender as a prototype in 1950 and brought to market in 1951, the Precision was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use. A revolutionary instrument for the time, the Precision Bass has made an immeasurable impact on...
and a Gibson ThunderbirdGibson ThunderbirdThe Gibson Thunderbird is an electric bass guitar made by Gibson.-Background and introduction:The Gibson Thunderbird was introduced in 1963. At the time, Fender had been the leader in the electric bass market since their introduction of the Precision Bass twelve years earlier.The Thunderbird was...
. He used an Ampeg 600 watt amplifierAmpegAmpeg is primarily a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, though they also manufacture guitars to a small extent...
with two Ampeg V4 Cabinet speakersAmpegAmpeg is primarily a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, though they also manufacture guitars to a small extent...
. - On “Albatross” and “Death Disco”, drummer David Humphrey used a Rogers drumkitRogers DrumsThe Rogers company was started in 1849 by an Irish immigrant from Dublin named Joseph Rogers. Rogers came to the United States and started crafting drum-heads. His son began making drums in the mid-1930s at a Farmingdale, New Jersey location...
with a Sound Edge Hi-Hat by PaistePaistePaiste, a Swiss manufacturer and designer, is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is an Estonian/Finnish word which means "shine"...
and Octoban tomsOctobanOctoban drums, also known as tube toms and quarter toms, are tom-toms grouped in melodically-tuned sets of eight, hence the reference to octave, from octo meaning "eight". Octobans have 15 cm diameter drum shells, and range in length from 280 millimeters to 600 millimeters...
by TAMA.
Personnel
- John LydonJohn LydonJohn Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
– vocals - Keith LeveneKeith LeveneKeith Levene is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was an early member of The Clash, but is best known as being a founding member of Public Image Limited, along with John Lydon....
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, synthesiserSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Jah WobbleJah WobbleJah Wobble is an English bass guitarist, singer, poet and composer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but left the band after two albums...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
A paper insert lists PiL's members as "John Lydon – Keith Levene – Wobble – Jeanette Lee – Dave Crowe", though the last two individuals were the band's videographer
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
and accountant, respectively. Lydon also talked about Public Image Ltd as a company in interviews.
PiL did not have a permanent drummer at the time of recording, so the drummers are uncredited. Later interviews with the people involved have established the drummers as David Humphrey (tracks 1 and 3), Richard Dudanski
Richard Dudanski
Richard "Snakehips" Dudanski, a/k/a Richard Nother, is an English drummer who was a member of a number of seminal British proto-punk, punk and post-punk bands, including The 101'ers, The Raincoats, Public Image Ltd., and Basement 5...
(2, 6, 7, 10, 11), Keith Levene (4, 12), Jah Wobble (5, 8), and Martin Atkins (9).
Levene played all instruments on "Radio 4".
Track by track commentary by the band
"Albatross":- John Lydon (1980/2004): “We almost threw that away.” “Things like 'Albatross' are done live. I'd free-form, I just free-formed, we all did, and that's how it should be when the mood is right.”
- Keith Levene (2001): “We got it off in one take, it happened as you hear it [...] I didn't know John had these words. I made up that tune as I went along, Wobble made up what he did as he went along [...] We all looked at each other, and I said 'We've got this, haven't we? Sounds like The DoorsThe DoorsThe Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, doesn't it? Let's keep it!'” - David Humphrey (drummer, 2004): “It was straight down The Manor in Oxfordshire and straight into recording. I remember doing a lot of stuff, stuff from the original PIL albumFirst IssueFirst Issue is a post-punk album by Public Image Ltd released in 1978 by Virgin Records.-"Public Image":...
, and also some additional tracks like 'Death Disco'Death Disco"Death Disco" is a song by Public Image Ltd. The record was released in both 7" and 12" single formats with a "1/2 mix" of the song and "Megga mix" on the 12" version...
- or 'Swan Lake'Swan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
as it was known at the time - and 'Albatross'.”
"Memories":
- Keith Levene (2001): “There's this normal Spanish guitar thing that goes dun-da-da-dun da-da-dun. That's what I'm playing, it's one of the first things I learned to play on guitar, very simple. I was very fond of that. I totally knew what the fuck John was singing about [...] All I'm doing when I'm playing those notes over the top: I just had the guitar going through an Electric MistressFlangingFlanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
.”
"Swan Lake"/"Death Disco":
- John Lydon (1987): “When I had to deal with my mother's death, which upset the fuck out of me, I did it partly through music. I had to watch her die slowly of cancer for a whole year. I wrote 'Death Disco' about that. I played it to her just before she died and she was very happy. That's the Irish in her, nothing drearily sympathetic or weak. Like her you've got to really get to grips with your emotions and attack them, confront them head on. You won't solve things any other way. It works for me, I can't run away from things.”
- Keith Levene (2001): “We booked a place in Brixton which was just an empty hall just to test this three-bass sound system, that was a turbo rig that I wanted to use at the RainbowRainbow Theatre (Finsbury Park)The Rainbow Theatre is a Grade II*-listed building, in the Finsbury Park area of North London. Built as a cinema in 1930, it later became well known as a music venue and is now a Pentecostal church.-Cinema:...
. Because we were in sound system situations, we were making up new tunes - that's when 'Death Disco' was emerging [...] One tune we definitely had was 'Death Disco', cause we worked that with Jim but we didn't record him [...] I didn't know what he was singing about at the time [...] I realised that this tune that I was bastardising by mistake was 'Swan Lake'Swan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
, so I started playing it on purpose but I was doing it from memory. You can hear that I'm not playing it exactly right. It just worked [...] There's a few versions of that. The one on 'Metal Box' is version two, which is very different from the simpler, original [12 inch] version.”
"Poptones":
- John Lydon (1979/99): “It's straight out of the Daily Mirror, so I can't guarantee its authenticity.” “This was another newspaper story which fascinated me. A girl bundled blindfolded into the back of a car by a couple of bad men and driven off into a forest, where they eventually dumped her. The men had a cassette machine with an unusual tune on the cassette, which they kept playing over and over. The girl remembered the song, and that, along with her recollection of the car and the men's voices, is how the police identified them. The police eventually stopped the car and found the cassette was still in the machine, with the same distinctive song on the tape.”
- Keith Levene (2001/02/04): “I think 'Poptones' was one of the first things we recorded [...] That's our second attempt at that [...] Basically, for me, the track goes on too fucking long.” “I was playing 'Starship Trooper'Starship Trooper (song)"Starship Trooper" is the third track and closing of Side A of progressive rock group Yes's 1971 album, The Yes Album. It is presented in three parts: "Life Seeker", "Disillusion" and "Würm" and is credited to Anderson/Squire/Howe sequentially....
the other day and I thought fuck me, that is exactly what I'm doing in 'Poptones'!” “[The guitar part] is totally ripped off from 'Starship Trooper'Starship Trooper (song)"Starship Trooper" is the third track and closing of Side A of progressive rock group Yes's 1971 album, The Yes Album. It is presented in three parts: "Life Seeker", "Disillusion" and "Würm" and is credited to Anderson/Squire/Howe sequentially....
, but I didn't do it on purpose.” - Jah Wobble (2004/09): “I still see that tune as the jewel in the PIL crown [...] That line is as symmetrical as a snowflake. To give him his due Levene went mental for it. We were at The Manor. We had a drummer [David Humphrey] with us who was pretty good - he played on one of my solo tracks ['Beat the Drum For Me'] - but the bloke just couldn't get the right feel for 'Poptones' [...] In the end Levene put the drums down on that track, his drums are a bit loose, but that is actually a good thing [...] I think the lyrics to 'Poptones', in part at least, refer to a journey we took in Joe the roadie's Japanese car out around the country lanes of Oxfordshire [...] Joe had one of his dodgy cassettes playing.” “I don't know if John is aware that the geezer driving the Nissan in question went on to do well in the computer games lark.”
"Careering":
- Jah Wobble (1980/2009): “'Careering' is basically about Northern Ireland, a gunman who is careering as a professional businessman in London.” “It was at Townhouse that we did 'Careering', which is my second favourite track from 'Metal Box' and probably my favourite John Lydon vocal performance [...] If you listen to the drum rhythm it is very similar to the sort of rhythm a drum and fife bandAncient Fife and Drum CorpsAn Ancient Fife and Drum Corps is a traditional, typically American fife and drum corps that plays fifes and wooden rope tension snare and bass drums.-History:...
would create [...] By now Keith had got hold of a Prophet synth, he used that on 'Careering'.” “'Careering' was a session where I really took control. I've done the drum track and I'm laying the bassline down, and Keith has his synth and is making textures, and John was really up for it that night. That was a quick night.” - Keith Levene (2001): “When you went to the toilet, you went downstairs and there was this noise from a machine like nrrrrrrrrr, like you hear on the song [...] That noise was always there. I had to see if I could make the noise on the synth. I pretty much got it off, I dropped something on the key to keep it going.”
"No Birds"/"No Birds Do Sing":
- John Lydon (1999): “'No Birds Do Sing' is a line from a poem by KeatsJohn KeatsJohn Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
. I just borrowed a bit of it because it suited this particular rant about suburbia.” - Keith Levene (2001/02): “One of my favorite tunes on 'Metal Box'.” “All that is is me playing the guitar part and duplicating it, but feeding the second one through this effect I'd set up on the harmoniser. Meanwhile John is lying under the piano and singing that weird feedback voice, while twinkling the keys at the same time, just to be annoying. You can hear the piano on the record.”
- Richard Dudanski (drummer, 2004/07): “Keith did know me from The 101ersThe 101ersThe 101ers were a pub rock band from the 1970s, notable as being the band that Joe Strummer left to join The Clash. Formed in London in May 1974, the 101ers made their performing debut on 7 September at the Telegraph pub in Brixton, under the name El Huaso and the 101 All Stars. The name would...
and just rang up and said 'We're recording at the Townhouse, can you get over here?' And in fact the next ten days we recorded like five songs, the tape was just left running [...] I think the first day we did 'No Birds Do Sing' and 'Socialist', then we did 'Chant', 'Memories'.” “From that first session - we crawled out of the studio twelve hours later - we put down 'No Birds Do Sing' and started working on other rhythm tracks.” - Jah Wobble (2009): “[Richard Dudanski] made extensive and imaginative use of the toms, which really suited compositions like 'No Birds' and 'Socialist'.”
"Graveyard"/"Another":
- Jah Wobble (1980): “It's a perfect rhythm. You can put anything over it and mix it in so many different ways.”
- Keith Levene (2001): “[The guitar part] was made up on the spot. I was in a very Clint Eastwood mood. I didn't know what I was going to play. Wobble's playing the bassline and drums are playing so I had to do something. The way it worked was, there wasn't a vocal on it at first. The version on 'Metal Box' doesn't have vocals but there's a version of it that does and called something else ['Another'].”
- Richard Dudanski (drummer, 2004): “We later used a studio down in Bermondsey, can't remember the name, where we did the bass and drums for 'Another'.”
"The Suit":
- John Lydon (1980): “People of low origins trying to be posh.”
- Keith Levene (2001/04): “It was never one of my favorite pieces because of what it was really about [...] There was this guy that was an old mate of John's who lived in this apartment. At some point John decided he hated his guts. He just wrote this really nasty, finger-pointing, over-exaggerated, ripping parody of what the guy was - 'Society boy' [...] This guy, [fashion designer] Kenny MacDonald, made his suit and all of ours and it made him look good to have the guys from PIL wearing his stuff. We'd wear it wrong and it looked even better, we didn't want the black leather jacket look like these punk bands. So John just decided to hate this guy, that's what happens and there's nothing you can do. He wouldn't be his lapdog and John thought he was a star and wanted that.” “There's certain tunes that I just can't stand. 'The Suit' - I hate it.” “On 'The Suit', whilst it fades out you can hear John fucking around on the piano. Could he play piano? No, of course not - he used to do it to annoy us, but the fact that he couldn't play didn't matter.”
- Jah Wobble (2009): “I did the drums and piano.” “I gave PIL my backing tracks, like 'The Suit' for instance. That started out as 'Blueberry Hill'Blueberry Hill (song)"Blueberry Hill" is a popular song published in 1940 best remembered for its 1950s rock n' roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940...
. I recorded it at Gooseberry and took it up to The Manor.” “I had worked on that track at Gooseberry with Mark Lusardi. I had put the lyrics to 'Blueberry Hill'Blueberry Hill (song)"Blueberry Hill" is a popular song published in 1940 best remembered for its 1950s rock n' roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940...
over that, however, I thought that it was also a must for PIL [...] John freaked out when he heard that [...] He was galvanised into action and within a few hours 'The Suit' existed.”
"Bad Baby":
- Keith Levene (1980/2001/04): “I'm known as 'Bad Baby'.” “I'm 'Bad Baby', that's one of my nicknames.” “The track 'Bad Baby' had an intensity - those lyrics are about me!”
- Martin Atkins (drummer, 2001/02/07): “I went to the Townhouse, I think GenesisGenesis (band)Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
and QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
were there during the day, and PIL were recording at night. I spoke to Jeannette for a while, John said hello, probably 'Fuck off, you Northern git', and someone said 'There's the drums over there', and I just went and did 'Bad Baby' then and there [...] We wrote it together, that was my audition.” “Studio A at the Townhouse to someone who was 19 looked big like a basketball court, with a mixing desk at the other end. They said 'Oh, here's that Northener', you know, and then they said 'There's the drum kit, go and do something.' I just sat down and did it, played 'Bad Baby', with Jah Wobble playing along.” “I walked in to comments like 'Here’s that Northern git' and we wrote 'Bad Baby'. Then I went back to my job working for the government as a clerical officer in St Martin’s Place.” - Jah Wobble (2009): “I love his vocal melody line on that track, Augustus PabloAugustus PabloHorace Swaby , known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player and keyboardist, active from the 1970s onwards. He popularized the use of the melodica in reggae music...
would have loved that melody. Anyway, Martin Atkins had checked a lot of disco out and that resulted in him having a good hi-hat technique and okay timekeeping. My bass playing on 'Bad Baby' was inspired by the style of a bass player called Cecil McBeeCecil McBeeCecil McBee is an American post bop jazz bassist, described by the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz as "a full-toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts." Allmusic called him "One of post-bop's most advanced and versatile bassists".-Biography:McBee...
.”
"Socialist":
- Keith Levene (2004): “I remember doing 'Socialist' - I'd just bought these cheap synths, so me and Wobble were really having fun fucking around with these things, whilst submerged in the mix was this huge soaring sound, rising upwards from the drum and the bass, like a whale's cry [...] Later on I dubbed up the cymbals, so you have that spiralling metallic sound. Dubwise!”
- Jah Wobble (2009): “At the time I was a bit of a socialist.” “I'd just thought it to be good to call it 'Socialist' [...] I hated Thatcher, I hated everything Reagan stood for to be quite honest, you know, and at that time I just wanted that old-style, left-wing socialism.”
"Chant":
- John Lydon (1980): “Yes, 'Chant' is great, it's like an old English ditty with a string synthesizer.”
- Richard Dudanski (drummer, 2004): “In the next couple of weeks after my first joining we also recorded 'Chant', 'Memories' and 'Socialist', all recorded at the Townhouse [...] I suppose 'Chant' is my favourite - with volume turned up to the max of course!”
"Radio 4":
- Keith Levene (2001): “[Wobble] didn't do the bassline in 'Radio 4'. I played it as if it was Wobble playing [...] We ended up in another studio, Advision, and I recorded this track with Ken LockieKen LockieKen Lockie born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England is a singer/songwriter and keyboard player, singer of New Wave band Cowboys International.-Cowboys International:...
from Cowboys InternationalCowboys InternationalCowboys International were a New Wave and synthpop band formed by vocalist and songwriter Ken Lockie that put out one album in 1979, the influential The Original Sin, and a handful of 45s before dissolving in 1980...
. Originally it had me on drums. Ken laid down the dun-dun-dun on piano, he could play these great chords with his big hands where I used synths to put something across. We didn't like the studio and John didn't like Ken, so that was his brief appearance as a possible PIL candidate. Ken did this one session, with just me there. So I was at another studio and we put this on. I had a Yamaha String Ensemble where you could make it sound like so many things, but it wasn't huge. I was using this thing and I start building it up, all I'm doing is taking different sounds from this thing and layering it. When I heard it, I pulled the drums out. I got on the idea of trying to make it sound orchestrated with the long chords played shorter. To get round the other stuff, I just used what was at hand. I played bass like I imagined Wobble would play bass to it, I wanted a Wobble feel to it. But basically, it's all me - that's when I realised I can completely do everything. You just hear the drums at the end [...] I called it 'Radio 4' because in England, you got Radio One, Two, Three, Radio One played pop tunes. Before that, the BBC was so boring! It took until about 1985 before we had FM radio.” “With 'Radio 4', I was just alone in the studio one night, and I was overwhelmed with the sense of space. I just took everything out of the studio, moved the drum kit out and played everything myself, reproducing this sense of cold spaciousness I felt around me. That was me playing the bass, I played what I thought people would identify as a Wobble bassline. But it was my pattern.”
Related tracks
"Death Disco Part 2 - Megga Mix" ("Fodderstompf" re-recorded instrumental version, single b-side):- David Humphrey (drummer, 2004): “I remember doing a lot of the stuff, stuff from the original PIL album [...] We recorded at The Manor, though some of it was also done at Townhouse in Goldhawk Road [...] The version of 'Fodderstompf' we did came out on the b-side of the 'Death Disco' 12 inch single, and I remember doing 'Religion' and the actual 'Public Image' track, recording that as well, plus maybe a few others.”
"Blueberry Hill"/"Blueberry Hill" (Computer Version) (original version of "The Suit"):
- Jah Wobble (2009): “I had worked on that track at Gooseberry with Mark Lusardi. I had put the lyrics to 'Blueberry Hill'Blueberry Hill (song)"Blueberry Hill" is a popular song published in 1940 best remembered for its 1950s rock n' roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940...
over that.”
"Not Another" ("Graveyard" dub version):
- Jah Wobble (1980): “It's dubbed up [...] I just brought the drums out so it's more punchy, used a harmoniser on the snare, brought the synth out. I got a lot of echoes on it so it's a continuous, flowing movement with this bedrock beneath it.”
- Keith Levene (1980): “We can all do solo work, yeah. But it comes under PIL, not Jah Wobble [...] I didn't like him using backing tracks from PIL that I didn't want people to hear. I don't personally like his record at all.”
"Beat the Drum For Me":
- David Humphrey (drummer, 2004/11): “I had a cassette with some of the outtakes on, but for some reason it's either been wiped or it's gone. Shame, because it would have been good to have kept that [...] On one tape I remember being copied at the Townhouse it had a track called 'Beat the Drum' [...] The title 'Beat The Drum' was on the cassette that was wiped so I can't even remember how it sounds. I'm sure it would have been me, at least on the demo version I recorded then.” “I did not make it to the final recording of 'Beat The Drum' but I remember the track and distant recollection of jamming it.”
Side six
(12:31)- "Socialist"
- "Chant"
- "Radio 4"
"Swan Lake" is an alternate version of the earlier PiL single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Death Disco".
"Graveyard" is an instrumental version of "Another", the B-side of the "Memories" single.
Second Edition
All songs written by Public Image Ltd except "Radio 4", by Keith Levene.
Side four
- "Bad Baby"
- "No Birds"
- "Chant"
- "Radio 4"
The Second Edition configuration inserts pauses between some tracks, whereas Metal Box did not.
UK
- The original limited edition of “Metal Box” entered the UK Albums ChartUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, where it stayed for 8 weeks and reached #18 on 8 December 1979. - The re-release edition of “Second Edition” briefly entered the UK Albums ChartUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, where it stayed for 2 weeks and reached #46 on 8 March 1980. - The single “Death Disco” entered the UK Top 75UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, where it stayed for 7 weeks and reached #20 on 7 July 1979. - The single “Memories” briefly entered the UK Top 75UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, where it stayed for 2 weeks and reached #60 on 20 October 1979.
USA
- The album “Second Edition” did not enter the Billboard 200Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album charts. - No singles off the album were released in the USA.
Other countries
- In New Zealand, both “Metal Box” and “Second Edition” briefly entered the Top 50 Albums ChartRecording Industry Association of New ZealandThe Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
. “Metal Box” entered the chart for 1 week at #21 on 23 March 1980, “Second Edition” stayed in the chart for 2 weeks and reached #28 on 30 March 1980.
External links
- Fodderstompf: Metal Box Discography (Extensive information on Metal Box from Fodderstompf PiL fansite)
- Fodderstompf: Metal Box Review (Review, plus additional info, links & images from Fodderstompf PiL fansite)