''The Affectionate Punch'' is the debut studio album by Scottish

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

and new wave band The Associates. It was released on 1 August 1980 on the Fiction label. The song title "Even Dogs in the Wild" became the title of

a novel A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

by Scottish mystery writer

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a scho ...

, and the song figured briefly in the story.

Release

''The Affectionate Punch'' was released on 1 August 1980.

Michael Dempsey Michael Stephen Dempsey (born 29 November 1958) is an English musician and composer, who has played bass as a member of several post-punk and new wave bands, including the Cure and the Associates. History Early years Dempsey was born on 29 ...

and John Murphy featured in promotional shots and the accompanying tour but did not perform on the record.

Alan Rankine Alan Rankine (17 May 1958 – 3 January 2023) was a Scottish musician and record producer best known as keyboardist and guitarist for rock band the Associates, which he co-founded with lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s. Early ...

recalls that the whole album was recorded with only himself,

Billy Mackenzie William MacArthur Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also h ...

and a session drummer: "it was great fun. We just never stopped and the ideas just came and came and came." "The Affectionate Punch" and "A" were released as singles to little commercial success. The cover of the album features Alan Rankine (in the starting position) and Billy Mackenzie (standing) on the running track of Wormwood Scrubs Prison in the

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district of

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''The Affectionate Punch'' was declared "a kind of masterpiece" by

Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley is an English music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983 and has since written for a wide range of publications as well as writing his own books. He was a co-founder of the record label ZTT R ...

of the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', who described it as "a passionate cabaret soul music, a fulfillment of the European white dance music Bowie was flirting with back then." Retrospective reviews have also been favourable, with

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...

reviewer Chris Jones writing, "Few bands today would dare to be so audacious".

Remix and reworkings

The album was remixed and re-released in 1982 by order of The Associates' new record company

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

The remixed record retained all the old tracks but was given typical '80s production values such as new synthesizers as well as some re-recorded vocals by

. Both Mackenzie and Rankine expressed dissatisfaction with the results. For years this was the only version available on CD, as the master tapes for the original had been lost. However, a duplicate was later found and the album was reissued by

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

in 2005. The remixed version of "A Matter of Gender" was released as a single in 1982. In 2019 and 2020 material from the album was performed live in Scotland by Band A with Audrey Redpath on vocals.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Alan Rankin and Billy Mackenzie ; 1982 remixed version

Personnel

The Associates *

– vocals, design concept *

– guitar, bass, keyboards, other instruments Additional personnel *

Robert Smith Robert Smith or Bob Smith, or similar, may refer to: Business * Robert MacKay Smith (1802–1888), Scottish businessman, meteorologist and philanthropist who founded Glasgow University's Mackay Smith Prizes * Robert Barr Smith (1824–1915), ...

– backing vocals on "The Affectionate Punch" and "Even Dogs in the Wild" *

Nigel Glockler Nigel Glockler (born 24 January 1953) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer for the heavy metal band Saxon, which he first joined in 1981. Career Glockler began his musical career in 1980 as the drummer for the British band K ...

– drums Technical * Chris Parry –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from rock ...

– production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Mike J. Dutton – engineering assistance * Graham and

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

– "strong tea" * Cliff Lewis, David Baker, Gary Bidmead, Louis Austin, Nigel Mills, Paul Fisher,

Phill Brown Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Brown. Career Brow ...

– re-recording and remixing engineers * Bill Smith – sleeve artwork

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Affectionate Punch, The 1980 debut albums The Associates (band) albums Albums produced by Mike Hedges Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios Fiction Records albums