''Walk Under Ladders'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by British singer-songwriter

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...

, released on 4 September 1981 by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. The album peaked at No. 6 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and was certified Gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. The album peaked at No. 16 in Australia. Two minor hits from the album both fell just short of cracking the UK Top 40: "

I'm Lucky "I'm Lucky" is a song written and recorded by the Kittitian-English singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released as a single from her seventh studio album, ''Walk Under Ladders'' (1981). The single peaked at No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart, with its ...

", which peaked at No. 46, and "

No Love "No Love" is a song by American rapper Eminem, featuring fellow American rapper Lil Wayne, from Eminem's seventh studio album '' Recovery'' (2010). It was released as the third official single from the album. It impacted radio on October 5 ...

", which peaked at No. 50.

Background

The album was produced by

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...

. Five tracks from the album were released as singles; "I'm Lucky", "When I Get It Right", "No Love", "I Wanna Hold You" and "The Weakness in Me".

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 ...

plays most of the

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

parts on the album and

Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writi ...

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

provides guitar on two tracks from the album. The album was reissued by

Cherry Pop "Cherry Pop" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Alexandra Stan for her second studio album ''Unlocked (Alexandra Stan album), Unlocked'' (2014). It was made available for music download, digital download on 28 May 2015 through Roton (label), R ...

in 2010 featuring three bonus tracks.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Joan Armatrading. Side one #"

" – 3:05 #"When I Get It Right" – 3:03 #"Romancers" – 3:48 #"I Wanna Hold You" – 3:46 #"

The Weakness in Me "The Weakness in Me" is a song by Joan Armatrading, from her seventh album ''Walk Under Ladders'', released as a single in the US and Netherlands in November 1981. Despite not charting, the song has become one of Armatrading's better-known so ...

" – 3:33 Side two #

" – 3:58 #"At the Hop" – 3:26 #"I Can't Lie to Myself" – 3:23 #"Eating the Bear" – 2:59 #"Only One" – 4:15 Bonus tracks on the 2010 reissue #

"Shine" – 3:48 #"Dollars" – 3:28 #"Crying" – 3:23

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Walk Under Ladders'' liner notes. *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(on "I Wanna Hold You", "At the Hop" and "I Can't Lie to Myself"),

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

(on "Only One") * Hugh Burns – guitar (except on "When I Get It Right", "I Can't Lie to Myself" and "Eating the Bear") *

– guitar on "The Weakness in Me" and "Eating the Bear" *

Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby House (disambiguation), various houses in England and the Unit ...

– guitar on "When I Get It Right" and "I Wanna Hold You" *Gary Sanford – guitar (on "When I Get It Right", "Romancers", "At the Hop" and "I Can't Lie to Myself"), backing vocals (on "When I Get It Right" and "No Love") *

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 198 ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(except on "I Can't Lie to Myself"), stick on "Eating the Bear" *

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as ...

– bass guitar on "I Can't Lie to Myself" * Nick Plytas –

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

on "The Weakness in Me", synthesizer on "No Love" *

–

s (except on "No Love") *

Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...

–

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

on "When I Get It Right" and "No Love" *

Dick Cuthell Dick Cuthell is a British musician and record producer. He plays flugelhorn, cornet, and trumpet, amongst a range of other brass instruments, including tenor horn and valve trombone. Cuthell is best known for his work with The SpecialsStrong, Ma ...

–

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

on "Romancers" * Rico Rodriguez – horn on "Romancers" *

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Julian Diggle – percussion on "At the Hop" *

Jerry Marotta Jerome David Marotta (born February 6, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American drummer who resides in Woodstock, New York. He is the younger brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a drummer and composer. Career Marotta was a member of the bands ...

– drums (except on "I Can't Lie to Myself"), vocals on "No Love" *

Sly Dunbar Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Biography Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called ...

– drums on "I Can't Lie to Myself" *

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

on "When I Get It Right" and "No Love" * Clark Peters - vocals on "Eating the Bear" Production and artwork * Steve Lillywhite – producer * Steve Brown –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* George Chambers – assistant engineer * Michael Ross –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

* Michael Ross – cover

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

* Simon Ryan – cover design * Tony McGee – front cover; inner sleeve

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

* Graham Hughes – back cover; inner sleeve portrait

Sales and certifications

References

External links

* 1981 albums Joan Armatrading albums Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite A&M Records albums {{1980s-pop-album-stub