Waiting for a Miracle is the debut album by The Comsat Angels, released in September 1980 on Polydor Records

Polydor Records

Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

. The album was reissued on CD

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 ,...

 twice, in 1995 by RPM records

RPM Records

RPM Records was an American record label launched in the early fifties in Los Angeles, California. It was a subsidiary of Modern Records and part of the Bihari Brothers record empire.B.B...

 and in 2006 by Renascent, with different track listings (see below). Two singles were taken from Waiting for a Miracle: "Total War" and "Independence Day", which was released on July 4.

The entire album was recorded in ten days. Frontman Steve Fellows

Stephen Fellows

Stephen Fellows is a singer, songwriter and musician. From 1978-1995, he was frontman for the band the Comsat Angels. He has also been manager for the band Gomez and has helped guide the band the Little Glitches....

 told how they were able to accomplish it. "We were totally organised. Arrangements, tempos and all the lyrics were sorted out before we went in." But he wasn't quite happy with everything. In a 2002 interview, he said, "The thing that bugs me most about the [early] records is my singing, particularly on the first album. I wish I'd sung more before we made that." Although Waiting for a Miracle had mediocre sales, it was well-received by the critics.

Track listing (1980)

1. "Missing in Action"
2. "Baby"
3. "Independence Day"
4. "Waiting for a Miracle"
5. "Total War"
6. "On the Beach"
7. "Monkey Pilot"
8. "Real Story"
9. "Map of the World"
10. "Postcard"

Track listing (1995)

1. "Missing in Action"
2. "Baby"
3. "Independence Day"
4. "Waiting for a Miracle"
5. "Total War"
6. "On the Beach"
7. "Monkey Pilot"
8. "Real Story"
9. "Map of the World"
10. "Postcard"
11. "Home Is the Range"
12. "We Were"
13. "Ju Ju Money"

Track listing (2006)

1. "Missing in Action"
2. "Baby"
3. "Independence Day"
4. "Waiting for a Miracle"
5. "Total War"
6. "On the Beach"
7. "Monkey Pilot"
8. "Real Story"
9. "Map of the World"
10. "Postcard"
11. "Home Is the Range"
12. "We Were"
13. "Ju Ju Money"
14. "Work"
15. "Independence Day" (demo)
16. "Real Story" (demo)
17. "Target Talk" (demo)
18. "Living In" (demo)

Personnel

• Stephen Fellows
  Stephen Fellows
  Stephen Fellows is a singer, songwriter and musician. From 1978-1995, he was frontman for the band the Comsat Angels. He has also been manager for the band Gomez and has helped guide the band the Little Glitches....
  
   - vocals, guitar
  Guitar
  The 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...
  
  
• Andy Peake - synthesizer
  Synthesizer
  A 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...
  
  , vocals
• Kevin Bacon
  Kevin Bacon (producer)
  Kevin Bacon is a British musician and record producer best known for his work with fellow brit Jonathan Quarmby under the moniker 'Bacon & Quarmby', as well as being bass player in his band The Comsat Angels....
  
   - bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Mik Glaisher - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....