''Give Us a Wink'' is the fourth studio album by English

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 ...

band

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

. It was the first album to be fully written and produced by the band members. Previously they had relied on material from the songwriting team of

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the US and UK in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international record c ...

and

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro ...

. The album was released by RCA Records in Europe and Australia and by Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan.

RCA version

The album completed the group's move to the hard rock style that had always been the trademark of their self-penned B-sides. ''Give Us a Wink'' reached No. 3 in Sweden, No. 9 in Germany and made it into the Top 20 in Norway and Australia. The album didn't chart in Sweet's home territory, the UK. The European album contains two singles, "

Action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

" and "The Lies in Your Eyes", that were recorded and released prior to rest of the album. "Action" reached the top 10 in 1975 in numerous European countries but stalled at No. 15 in the UK Singles chart. Though "The Lies in Your Eyes" reached only No. 35 in the UK, it was popular in other parts of Europe as well as Australia. A third single, "4th of July", was released in Australia only but failed to chart. A digitally remastered version was issued on CD in 1999 with two bonus tracks. Another re-mastered version was reissued on CD in 2005 with three bonus tracks.

Capitol version

The version released in the United States and Canada flipped the two sides of the LP and added "Lady Starlight" as the third track on side two. This song was first released on the European version of the 1974 album ''

Desolation Boulevard ''Desolation Boulevard'' is the third studio album by English glam rock band Sweet, released in the UK in November 1974. Two noticeably different versions of the album were released: one by RCA Records in Europe, and another by Capitol Record ...

''. The version of "Lady Starlight" on this album has synthesizers that are absent from the original. ''Give Us a Wink'' reached the Top 20 in Canada. "Action" reached the top 10 in 1975 in Canada. In the US it reached No. 15. The Japanese version of this album is the same but also adds "Fox on the Run" at the beginning of side two.

Artwork

The album artwork was designed by the American artist

Joe Petagno Joe Petagno (born January 1, 1948) is an American artist known principally for creating images used on rock album covers for bands such as Led Zeppelin, Nazareth, Black Oak Arkansas, Sweet, Hawkwind, Motörhead, Roy Harper, Marduk, Bal-Sagot ...

, who had already designed the previous Sweet album '' Strung Up'' (1975). The original LP cover was released with a die-cut cover that caused the eye to wink as the sleeve was removed and placed back into the cover.

Songs recorded by other artists

"Action" has been played by several rock bands, notably

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

(on the album ''

Rock Until You Drop ''Rock Until You Drop'' is the first full-length album by British heavy metal band Raven, released in 1981. The album was the first of many heavy metal studio albums issued by British independent label Neat Records. It reached position No. 63 ...

''),

Black 'n Blue Black 'N Blue is an American glam metal band from Portland, Oregon. The current members are lead vocalist Jaime St. James, bassist Patrick Young, drummer Pete Holmes, and guitarists Brandon Cook and Mick Caldwell. The band is best known for ...

(on the album ''

''),

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – " Top Gun Anthem" – for ...

(on the ''

Atomic Playboys ''Atomic Playboys'' is the first studio album by guitarist Steve Stevens, released in 1989 through Warner Bros. Records;Book, John"Atomic Playboys - Steve Stevens' Atomic Playboys" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2013-08-22. a remast ...

'' album), and

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

(as a UK Top 20 single and later on the album ''

Retro Active ''Retro Active'' is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions from 1984 to 1993. The a ...

''). An unusual version was a cover by

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

under the pseudonym of The Hunters in 1975, sung in German and titled "Wenn es richtig losgeht".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by

Brian Connolly Brian Francis Connolly (5 October 1945 – 10 February 1997) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of glam rock band Sweet between 1968 and 1979 and known for his charismatic stage presence and di ...

Steve Priest Stephen Norman Priest (23 February 1948 – 4 June 2020) was an English musician who was the Bass guitar, bassist (and, later, co-lead vocalist) of the glam rock band The Sweet. Early life Priest was born in Hayes, Hillingdon, Hayes, Middlese ...

, Andy Scott and

Mick Tucker Michael Thomas Tucker (17 July 1947 – 14 February 2002) was an English musician, best known as the drummer of the glam rock and hard rock band Sweet. Personal life Mick Tucker was born on 17 July 1947 in Kingsbury, North West London, the s ...

RCA release

;Side one # "The Lies in Your Eyes" (recorded at

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

, London) – 3:48 # "Cockroach" – 4:51 # "Keep It In" – 5:00 # "4th of July" – 4:24 ;Side two # "

" (recorded at Audio International Studios, London) – 3:44 # "Yesterday's Rain" – 5:16 # "White Mice" – 4:58 # "Healer" – 7:17

Bonus tracks on 1990 CD reissue

# " Fox on the Run" – 4:49 # "Lady Starlight" (Andy Scott) – 3:09 # "Sweet Fanny Adams" – 6:16 # "Miss Demeanor" – 3:17

Bonus tracks on 1999 CD reissue

"Someone Else Will" – 3:25 # "Miss Demeanor" – 3:17

Bonus tracks on 2005 CD reissue

"Action" (7" version) – 3:29 # "Cockroach" (Munich mix) – 4:57 # "4th of July" (Munich mix) – 4:22

Capitol release

;Side one # "Action" – 3:44 # "Yesterday's Rain" – 5:16 # "White Mice" – 4:57 # "Healer" – 7:16 ;Side two # "The Lies in Your Eyes" – 3:44 # "Cockroach" – 4:49 # "Lady Starlight" – 3:10 # "Keep It In" – 4:57 # "4th of July" – 4:22

Capitol version (Japanese release)

;Side one # "Action" – 3:44 # "Yesterday's Rain" – 5:16 # "White Mice" – 4:57 # "Healer" – 7:16 ;Side two # "Fox on the Run" – 3:24 # "The Lies in Your Eyes" – 3:44 # "Cockroach" – 4:49 # "Lady Starlight" – 3:10 # "Keep It In" – 4:57 # "4th of July" – 4:22

Personnel

;Sweet *

– lead vocals,

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

machine *

– bass, vocals, celli * Andy Scott – guitars, vocals, celli, synthesizers, voice bag *

– percussion, vocals, celli, phased gong ;Additional personnel *Louie Austin – engineer *Trevor Griffin – piano solo (track 4) * Mack –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...