The Affectionate Punch is the first album by Scottish Post-Punk group, Associates. It was released in August 1980.

Style

The album is markedly different from both the Associates darker, more experimental recordings and their later watery dense production style as made famous on Sulk

Sulk (album)

Sulk is the third album by Scottish New Wave band Associates. It was released in May 1982, and reissued as a CD in 2000 with extra tracks...

and Fourth Drawer Down

Fourth Drawer Down

Fourth Drawer Down is the second album by Scottish Post-Punk/New Wave group Associates released in 1981. It is a singles and b-sides compilation from all 6 singles they released that year on Situation Two records...

. The album has an angular guitar sound and gated drums very similar to other late 70's/early 80's Post-punk records. However Alan Rankine's expansive musical arrangements and Billy Mackenzie's multiple octave voice seen on those later recordings are in place.

Remix

The album was remixed and re-released 1982 by order of the Associates new record company Warners. The remixed record retained all the old tracks but were given typical 80's production values such as new synthesizers and Billy Mackenzie re-recorded some vocals. Both Mackenzie and Rankine expressed distaste with the results. For years this was the only version available on 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 ,...

 as the master tapes for the original had been lost. However a duplicate was found and the album was reissued by Virgin in 2005.

Original Album

1. The Affectionate Punch - 3.30
2. Amused As Always - 4.20
3. Logan Time - 4.12
4. Paper House - 4.54
5. Transport to Central - 5.02
6. A Matter of Gender - 4.30
7. Even Dogs in the Wild - 3.23
8. Would I... Bounce Back - 3.59
9. Deeply Concerned - 3.38
10. A - 3.57

The 2005 reissue contains the following bonus track

Bonus track

In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...

s

1. You Were Young - 4.04
2. Janice - 2.35
3. Boys Keep Swinging (Mono) - 3.40
4. Mona Property Girl - 3.27

Remixed Version

1. Amused As Always - 4.20
2. The Affectionate Punch - 4.18
3. A Matter of Gender - 4.27
4. Would I... Bounce Back - 3.57
5. A - 3.49
6. Logan Time - 4.13
7. Paper House - 4.54
8. Deeply Concerned - 4.03
9. Even Dogs in the Wild - 3.09
10. Transport To Central - 4.34

"The Affectionate Punch" and "Would I... Bounce Back" were released as singles to little commercial success. The remixed versions of "A Matter of Gender" and "A" were also released as singles in 1982.

Personnel

The Associates:

• Billy Mackenzie
  Billy Mackenzie
  William MacArthur "Billy" Mackenzie was a Scottish singer, with a distinctive falsetto voice best known as a member of The Associates.- Biography :...
  
   - Vocals
• Alan Rankine
  Alan Rankine
  Alan Rankine played keyboards, and guitars, for the rock band, Associates, which he co-founded with Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s....
  
   - Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Other Instruments

Michael Dempsey

Michael Dempsey

Michael Dempsey is a bassist from England, who has performed as a member of several post-punk and New Wave bands including The Cure and Associates.-Early years:...

 and John Murphy

John Murphy (musician)

John Murphy , sometimes credited as "Jonh Murphy", is an Australian drummer, percussionist and multi-instrumental session musician who has played in numerous Australian and British post-punk, ambient and industrial music groups...

 featured in promotional shots and the accompanying tour but did not perform on the record. Alan Rankine provided bass as well as guitar and keyboards and session musician

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

 Nigel Glocker provided drums.

Other Personnel:

• Robert Smith
  Robert Smith (musician)
  Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
  
  - Backing Vocals
• Nigel Glocker - Drums
• Chris Parry - Producer
• Mike Hedges - Producer, Engineer
• Mike Dutton - Assistant Engineer
• Bill Smith - Artwork