''Compass Kumpas'' (aka ''Compass kum'pəs'') was the first album from

Dalek I Love You Dalek I Love You were a synthpop group from the Wirral, England. At various points in their existence, the band was also known as Dalek I. Record executives at Phonogram shortened the band's name without telling them for the "Freedom Fight ...

, shortened to Dalek I for this album and accompanying singles. It was released on May 24, 1980, by Back Door/

Phonogram records Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens AG of Germany. It was a holding company f ...

. In 1983, the band recorded a second, self-titled album using its full name: ''

''. In 1989 ''Compass Kumpas'' was reissued on CD (Fontana 836 894–2) with four bonus tracks.

Reception

Sounding like a combination of early

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the New wave music, new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two st ...

and

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

, the album received fairly good reviews upon its release. The ''

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 ...

'' called the album "refreshingly wry and friendly". However, Red Starr, writing in ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'', described the album as a "characterless, colourless collection. It reached #54 on the UK singles chart. The album was ignored outside of the UK, and before long,

Alan Gill Alan David Gill is an English vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, who formed part of the synthpop band Dalek I Love You and the post-punk/neo-psychedelic band the Teardrop Explodes. Biography Early career Living in Thingwall, Wirral, he fo ...

left the band to join

The Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single " Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. ...

, although he returned in 1981. The

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

has a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

, and the single "Destiny (Dalek I Love You)" remains popular among

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

fans for its oblique lyrics about the show's menacing villains, the

Daleks The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Na ...

Track listing

All tracks written by Alan Gill and Dave Hughes; except "

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies and released as their third single in 1964. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead B ...

" by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

Side 1 – Topsy # "The World" – 2:27 # "8 Track" – 2:27 # "Dalek I Love You (Destiny)" – 3:37 # "A Suicide" – 2:53 # "The Kiss" – 2:00 # "Trapped" – 4:00 # "Two Chameleons" – 3:18 Side 2 – Turvy # "Freedom Fighters" – 2:08 # "

" – 1:56 # "Mad" – 1:48 # "Good Times" – 2:07 # "We're All Actors" – 2:52 # "Heat" – 3:11 # "Missing 15 Minutes" – 5:36

The 1989 Fontana CD re-release featured the following bonus tracks

# "Astronauts (Have Landed on the Moon)" – 3:27 (

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to "Heartbeat") # "Happy" – 2:33 (B-side to 1980 "Dalek I Love You" single) # "This is My Uniform" – 3:13 (B-side to 1980 "Dalek I Love You" single) # "Heartbeat" – 4:01 (1981 Single)

Personnel

;Dalek I *

Dave Hughes David William Hughes is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter. He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery. Hughes has previously been co-host of '' Hughesy & K ...

with: *

Chris Hughes Christopher Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The ...

- additional drums, percussion and FX * Hugh Jones - bass on "Heat" * Ken Peers - drums on "You Really Got Me" * Dave Bates - additional backing vocals Recorded at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...

, Monmouth and

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

, Liverpool, by Hugh Jones and Frazer Henry. Turvy 2, 7 produced by Dalek I for God Productions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compass Kumpas (Album) 1980 debut albums Dalek I Love You albums Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios