''Aliens Ate My Buick'' is the third studio album by English new wave/

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

musician

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 ...

, released in 1988.

Reception

The album peaked at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart. The lead single from the album, "Airhead", peaked at number 53. Second and third singles, "Hot Sauce" and "My Brain Is Like a Sieve", peaked at number 80 and number 89, respectively. In the US, the album peaked at number 70. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

the album reached number 76. Dolby has said in interviews that he believes the album's commercial failure was due to his change in musical direction, evident on the album.

Track listing

All songs by Thomas Dolby, unless otherwise indicated. # "The Key to Her Ferrari" – 4:39 # "Airhead" (Dolby, Grant Morris) – 5:07 # "Hot Sauce" ( George Clinton) – 5:03 # "Pulp Culture" – 5:35 # "My Brain Is Like a Sieve" – 4:52 # "The Ability to Swing" (Dolby,

Matthew Seligman Matthew Seligman (14 July 1955 – 17 April 2020) was an English bassist, best known for his association with the new wave music scene of the 1980s. Seligman was a member of the Soft Boys and the Thompson Twins, and was a sideman for Thomas ...

) – 4:30 # "Budapest by Blimp" – 8:40 # "May the Cube Be with You" – 6:49 (CD/cassette bonus track)

Personnel

* Thomas Dolby – vocals, keyboards The Lost Toy People * Larry Treadwell – guitar * Mike Kapitan – synthesizer * Terry Jackson – bass * David Owens – drums * Laura Creamer – vocals, percussion Additional musicians *

Robin Leach Robin Douglas Leach (29 August 1941 – 24 August 2018) was a British-American entertainment reporter and writer from London. After beginning his career as a print journalist, first in Britain and then in the United States, he became best known ...

–

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

(track 1) *

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portraying Lou Grant on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977) and drama '' Lou Grant'' (1977–1982), making him one of the few ...

– voiceover (track 5) * Edie Lehmann – backing vocals (track 1) * Donny Geraldo – backing vocals (track 1) * Mendy Lee – backing vocals (track 1) *

Bruce Woolley Bruce Martin Woolley (born 11 November 1953) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He wrote songs with artists such as the Buggles and Grace Jones, including " Video Killed the Radio Star" and " Slave to the Rhythm", ...

– backing vocals (track 2) * Colin Crabtree – backing vocals (track 2) * Rose Banks Stone – backing vocals (track 3–5) * Jean Johnson McRath – backing vocals (tracks 3–5) * Lesley Fairbairn – backing vocals (track 7) *

Bill Watrous William Russell Watrous III (June 8, 1939 – July 2, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his rendition of Sammy Nestico's arrangement of the Johnny Mandel ballad "A Time for Love", which he recorded on a 1993 alb ...

– trombone * Arno Lucas –

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...

Bill Bottrell William Allen Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known for his production and uncredited guest appearance on Michael Jackson's 1991 single "Black or White", which peaked the ''Bill ...

–

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guitar (track 3) * Csilla Kecskesi – Hungarian

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

(track 7) * Erica Kiss – Hungarian translation (track 7) * Gueysel Tejada – domestic cleaning and outburst (track 3) Technical * Thomas Dolby – co-producer, arrangements * Bill Bottrell – co-producer, engineer * The Lost Toy People – arrangements * Steve Vance – artwork, typography * Leslie Burke – front cover and inner sleeve photography * Dennis Keeley – back cover photography *

Kathleen Beller Kathleen Jennifer Beller (born February 19, 1956) is an American actress who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in ''Promises in the Dark (film), Promises in the Dark'' (1979) a ...

– front cover model * Mike Tacci – second engineer * Daryl Koutnik – second engineer

References

{{Authority control Thomas Dolby albums 1988 albums Albums produced by Thomas Dolby Albums produced by Bill Bottrell