''Axe Victim'' is the debut album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Be-Bop Deluxe Be-Bop Deluxe were an English rock band who achieved critical acclaim and moderate commercial success during the mid to late 1970s. History Be-Bop Deluxe Be-Bop Deluxe were founded in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, by singer, guitari ...

, released in June 1974.

Musical style

The music of ''Axe Victim'' incorporated elements of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

. Overall, the album's sound has been classified as

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

and

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

. The material is different from later releases; it was released at the height of the glam rock era in Britain, with the band's music and image being influenced by the musical zeitgeist. Several songs, such as the title track "Axe Victim", demonstrated this glam influence, whilst others, for example, the future concert staple "Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape", showed their progressive tendencies. At the time of its release, the band's glam image and music was being criticised as being too similar to that of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, a comparison that would ultimately lead to Be-Bop Deluxe's disbanding as band leader

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

strived to make more and more unconventional music. The song "Jets at Dawn", a re-recording of the earlier Smile Records version, holds the distinction of being the longest Be-Bop Deluxe album track, lasting 7:20. The only longer studio recordings are the '' Sunburst Finish''-era B-side "Shine" (at 7:49) and the multi-track "Modern Music" suite. The album was first released on CD in 1990 with three live bonus tracks. Q Magazine called the album 'painfully contrived

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

only "Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape" emits that incongruous whiff or originality.

Production

''Axe Victim'' was recorded in AIR London, Audio International Studios and CBS Studios, all located in London, England.''Axe Victim'' album sleevenotes. Kevin Cann, 1990 This incarnation of the band, featuring Bill Nelson on vocals and lead guitar, Ian Parkin on rhythm guitar, Robert Bryan on bass, and Nicholas Chatterton-Dew on drums, would only last for this album, before Nelson disbanded Be-Bop Deluxe following the ''Axe Victim'' tour and reformed it with several other musicians for the following year's ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

''.

Track listing

All songs written by

, except "Rocket Cathedrals" by Robert Bryan. ;Side 1 #"Axe Victim" – 5:14 #"Love is Swift Arrows" – 4:12 #"Jet Silver and the Dolls of Venus" – 4:10 #"Third Floor Heaven" – 2:27 #"Night Creatures" – 3:34 ;Side 2 #

"Rocket Cathedrals" – 3:00 #"Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape" – 3:23 #"Jets at Dawn" – 7:19 #"No Trains To Heaven" – 6:39 #"Darkness (L'Immoraliste)" – 3:22 ;CD issue bonus tracks (1991) #

"Piece of Mine" (Live, 1977) (CD issue bonus track) – 5:13 #"Mill Street Junction" (Live, 1977) (CD issue bonus track) – 4:43 #"Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape" (Live, 1977) (CD issue bonus track) – 7:56

Personnel

;Be-Bop Deluxe *

–

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

and 12-string guitars,

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 the ...

(all but 6), keyboards * Ian Parkin –

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

and acoustic guitars,

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

*Robert Bryan –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, lead vocals (6) *Nicholas Chatterton-Dew –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, percussion,

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 us ...

with: *

Andrew Powell Andrew Powell (born 18 April 1949) is a British musical composer, arranger and performer, born of Welsh parents. He moved to Wales in 2003. Early life Powell was born in Surrey, England. He began piano lessons at the age of four and later atte ...

– arrangement on "Darkness (L'Immoraliste)" ;Technical *

John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978); XTC's '' White Music'' (1978); Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' and the F ...

, Bill Nelson – producer on bonus tracks *Pete Silver, Rodney "Beaut" Harper,

Steve Nye Steve Nye is an English music producer for several artists. Career Nye started out as a tape op at AIR Studios in London in 1971, where producer Rupert Hine discovered him. There he got into engineering (and later producing) many well-known ...

, Mike Ross-Trevor – engineer *John Leckie, Mike Ross-Trevor – mixing *

Mick Rock Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and ...

– art direction, photography *John Holmes – cover

References

External links

*
Be-Bop Deluxe Discography
{{Authority control 1974 debut albums Glam rock albums by English artists Harvest Records albums Be-Bop Deluxe albums