''Trade Test Transmissions'' is the fourth studio album by English
pop punk
Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...
band
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...
. It was released on 14 June 1993 by record label
Castle Communications
Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...
on their sub-label Essential Records and was the band's first release in fourteen years, following up 1979's ''
A Different Kind of Tension''. The music was quite different from their earlier material with nods to the power pop scene popular at the time.
Reception
''Trade Test Transmissions'' has been generally well received by critics.
Jason Crock of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' was generally favourable, though writing "the album remains a strictly diehards-only affair."
''
CMJ
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...
'' later qualified it as "a superb record which oddly got lost in the shuffle".
Track listing
All songs written and composed by
Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley (born Peter Campbell McNeish; 17 April 1955 – 6 December 2018) was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early Punk rock, punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist ...
, except as noted.
Personnel
Adapted from the album liner notes.
;Buzzcocks
*
Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley (born Peter Campbell McNeish; 17 April 1955 – 6 December 2018) was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early Punk rock, punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist ...
– guitar, vocals
*
Steve Diggle
Stephen E Diggle (born 7 May 1955) is an English musician best known as a guitarist and later lead vocalist in the punk rock, punk band Buzzcocks.
In 1976, Diggle was recruited as a bassist for Buzzcocks, playing bass on the ''Spiral Scratch'' ...
– guitar, vocals
*
Tony Barber – bass
* Philip Barker – drums
;Technical
* Ralph P. Ruppert – production
* Ingo Vauk, Philip Bagenal – mixing engineers
* Graeme Durham – mastering
*
Malcolm Garrett – album design
* Pete Towndrow – photography
References
Sources
*
External links
*
1993 albums
Buzzcocks albums
Caroline Records albums
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