''Duck Rock'' is an album released by British impresario Malcolm McLaren. It was originally issued in 1983 by Charisma Records,

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, and Chrysalis Records, and later re-released on CD in 1987. The album mixes up styles from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, including

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. The album proved to be highly influential in bringing hip hop to a wider audience in the United Kingdom. Two of the singles from the album, " Buffalo Gals" and " Double Dutch", became major chart hits on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. ''Duck Rock'' was dedicated to Harry McClintock, better known as Haywire Mac. The album artwork was designed by Dondi White and Nick Egan, with the illustration by

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

. Guest musicians featured on this album include Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, J. J. Jeczalik, and

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

. Side recordings that Horn, Dudley and Jeczalik made in between takes of ''Duck Rock'' would eventually become the first album of the

Art of Noise Art of Noise (also the Art of Noise) were a British avant-garde synth-rock group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and ...

, '' Into Battle with the Art of Noise''. Clips of the World's Famous Supreme Team radio show appear between songs, which made the album one of the earliest recordings on which members of the Nation of Gods and Earths appear. After being out of print for a long period of time, the UK label The state51 Conspiracy released a 40th Anniversary edition of ''Duck Rock'' as an LP with an extra 12" single of outtakes, B-sides and related songs in 2023. The packaging includes elements from an aborted 25th Anniversary edition McLaren intended to release in 2008.

Reception

In a contemporary review of the album, ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''s

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

found that "McLaren knows how to record African music for Western ears, and the ebullient tunes he's collected here more than make up for his annoyance quotient", but also criticised McLaren and Horn for failing to give credit to the South African musicians involved in the recording, such as Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. The mbaqanga group the Boyoyo Boys took legal action against McLaren over the similarity of "Double Dutch" with its own hit "Puleng". After a lengthy legal battle in the UK, the matter was settled out of court, with payment made to the South African copyright holders, songwriter Petrus Maneli and publisher Gallo Music, but Horn and McLaren retained their songwriting credits. ''Duck Rock'' was ranked at number nine among the "Albums of the Year" for 1983 by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''. The album garnered accolades from other publications in the years following its release. William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

retrospectively reviewed it as "an amazingly eclectic collection of

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

mixed with urban hip-hop". In 2013, ''NME'' ranked ''Duck Rock'' at number 298 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2018, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' ranked ''Duck Rock'' at number 200 on its list of the 200 best albums of the 1980s. The album also received

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

's Critical Music label.

Track listing

40th Anniversary Edition bonus 12" single

More tracks

#"Buffalo Gals – Special Stereo Scratch Mix" (Horn, Dudley, McLaren) #"She's Looking Like a Hobo" (Horn, McLaren) #"Double Dutch – New Dance Mix" (Horn, McLaren) #"D'ya Like Scratchin'? – with the Red River Gals" (Horn, Dudley, McLaren) #"World's Famous – Radio ID" (Horn, Dudley, McLaren) #"Buffalo Gals (Trad. Square)" (Horn, Dudley, McLaren) #"Hobo Scratch" (Horn, McLaren) #"Hobo Scratch (Long Edit.)" (Horn, McLaren) #"D'ya Like Scratchin'? - Special Version" (Horn, Dudley, McLaren) #"Hobo Scratch (She's looking like a Hobo)" (Horn, McLaren) #"Radio Show (D'Ya Like Scratchin')" (Horn, Dudley, McLaren)

Personnel

;Dream team * Malcolm McLaren – figure caller, singer (known as Talcy Malcy) * Sedivine the Mastermind – DJ, rapper (known as Divine, Se') * Just Allah the Superstar – DJ, rapper (known as Justice, JazzyJust)
;Production team * Trevor Horn – producer, beats, mixing - (Art of Noise) * Anne Dudley – arranger, keyboards, string arrangements - (Art of Noise) * Gary Langan – Jew's harp, engineer - (Art of Noise) * J.J. Jeczalik – synthesizer - (Art of Noise)
;Musicians * David Birch – guitar *

– keyboards * Luís Jardim – percussion * Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens — vocals, uncredited * Boyoyo Boys — musicians, uncredited * The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers - musicians, uncredited * The Mclarenettes - background singers * The Ebbonettes - background singers *additional musicians uncredited - bass guitar, backing vocals
;Technical *

– illustration * Dondi White – graffiti * Nick Egan – cover design * Ron West – created Ghetto Blaster for Album Cover design * Mastered At – The Town House
;Record companies * The Fanmous Charisma Label * Virgin * Island records
;Fashion designer * Vivienne Westwood * Malcolm Mclaren
;Fashion stores * Nostalgia of Mud * World's End
;Fashion collections * Punkature (Buffalo, Hobo)
;Dedication * Dedicated to Harry K. McLintock, better known as "Haywire Mac"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

''Duck Rock''
at

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(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control 1983 debut albums Malcolm McLaren albums Albums produced by Trevor Horn Hip-hop albums by English artists Island Records albums Charisma Records albums