She Was Only A Grocer's Daughter (album)
Encyclopedia
She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter was the third album
from British
band
, The Blow Monkeys
, originally released in 1987.
The album title is a reference to the then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, Margaret Thatcher
, whose Conservative
government was unpopular with several left wing, pro-Labour Party
music acts of the 1980s (including The Blow Monkeys) who joined the Red Wedge
movement as part of their political activism.
The titles and lyrics of some of the songs on this album reflect the dissatisfaction of Dr Robert and The Blow Monkeys with the political situation in the UK during this period. After the first shift in genre, from the initial New wave
sound to a more Pop rock
-oriented style, the album continues with the latter in most of the songs, but also introduces a dance
beat (most notably in the first single, and in the two CD extended bonus tracks), which will become a constant feature of the band's future releases.
Due to its positive reception, the album was issued in many editions, all more or less different from one another (e.g. the vinyl LP included 10 songs and a thick photo book, while the CD
was released in two versions, with bonus tracks and alternative track listings, as well as slightly modified song titles), typical indeed of successful products.
She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter was, in fact, the only long-playing work from The Blow Monkeys to ever enter the UK Album Chart, peaking at Number 20, in April 1987 (only their 1989
greatest hits compilation, Choices - The Singles Collection, fared better, getting to Number 5, their highest-charting work ever). It was also their only album which succeeded in placing all its four singles into the UK Top 70, even scoring a Top 30 and a Top 5 hit, the latter with the popular opening track, titled "It Doesn't Have to Be This Way", the most successful single ever from the band, in their homecountry.
The other three singles were: the suggestive ballad "Out With Her", which climbed up to reach Number 30; the duet with Curtis Mayfield
"(Celebrate) The Day After You", which was remixed for the single version, enhancing the already dancey rhythm of the original, and inverting its title's two parts. The song was banned by the BBC as it was released during election time and was deemed to be too political. The final single "Some Kind of Wonderful", the least successful of the four, only reached Number 67.
She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter also included another remarkable ballad, closing the original vinyl track listing, entitled "Beautiful Child" (of which a duet version also exists, with Curtis Mayfield again, but does not feature on the album), while the song called "Checking Out", only sort of sketched here, will re-appear on a later album, Springtime for the World, the last to be issued by the group, in a much more defined and powerful version.
BMG
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
from British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, The Blow Monkeys
The Blow Monkeys
The Blow Monkeys are a British new wave band that formed in 1981 as a new wave-oriented act. The first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow" was released in 1982. They subsequently recorded more commercial pop rock hit makers, and finally became a dance group, shortly before splitting up at the...
, originally released in 1987.
The album title is a reference to the then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, whose Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government was unpopular with several left wing, pro-Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
music acts of the 1980s (including The Blow Monkeys) who joined the Red Wedge
Red Wedge
Red Wedge was a collective of musicians who attempted to engage young people with politics in general, and the policies of the Labour Party in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election, in the hope of ousting the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher.Fronted by...
movement as part of their political activism.
The titles and lyrics of some of the songs on this album reflect the dissatisfaction of Dr Robert and The Blow Monkeys with the political situation in the UK during this period. After the first shift in genre, from the initial New wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
sound to a more Pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
-oriented style, the album continues with the latter in most of the songs, but also introduces a dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
beat (most notably in the first single, and in the two CD extended bonus tracks), which will become a constant feature of the band's future releases.
Due to its positive reception, the album was issued in many editions, all more or less different from one another (e.g. the vinyl LP included 10 songs and a thick photo book, while the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
was released in two versions, with bonus tracks and alternative track listings, as well as slightly modified song titles), typical indeed of successful products.
She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter was, in fact, the only long-playing work from The Blow Monkeys to ever enter the UK Album Chart, peaking at Number 20, in April 1987 (only their 1989
1989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
greatest hits compilation, Choices - The Singles Collection, fared better, getting to Number 5, their highest-charting work ever). It was also their only album which succeeded in placing all its four singles into the UK Top 70, even scoring a Top 30 and a Top 5 hit, the latter with the popular opening track, titled "It Doesn't Have to Be This Way", the most successful single ever from the band, in their homecountry.
The other three singles were: the suggestive ballad "Out With Her", which climbed up to reach Number 30; the duet with Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
"(Celebrate) The Day After You", which was remixed for the single version, enhancing the already dancey rhythm of the original, and inverting its title's two parts. The song was banned by the BBC as it was released during election time and was deemed to be too political. The final single "Some Kind of Wonderful", the least successful of the four, only reached Number 67.
She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter also included another remarkable ballad, closing the original vinyl track listing, entitled "Beautiful Child" (of which a duet version also exists, with Curtis Mayfield again, but does not feature on the album), while the song called "Checking Out", only sort of sketched here, will re-appear on a later album, Springtime for the World, the last to be issued by the group, in a much more defined and powerful version.
Track listing
Words and music by Dr. Robert- "It Doesn't Have to Be This WayIt Doesn't Have to Be This Way"It Doesn't Have to Be this Way" is a single released by English New Wave band The Blow Monkeys in early 1987. It is probably the band's best known single, and hit the top 5 on the UK charts.-Chart performance:...
" - 4:00 - "Some Kind of Wonderful" - 3:33
- "Out with Her" - 4:40
- "How Long Can a Bad Thing Last?" - 4:07
- "Man at the End of His Tether" - 4:00
- "Rise Above" - 4:53
- "The Day After You (Celebrate)" - 5:00
- "Checking Out" - 4:58
- "Don't Give It Up" - 5:46
- "Cash" - 6:01
- "Beautiful Child" - 3:50
- "This Is the Way It Has to Be" (CD only) - 6:05
- "The Grantham Grizzler" (CD only) - 7:20
BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
/ Camden 2002 re-release
- "It Doesn't Have to Be This Way"
- "Some Kind of Wonderful"
- "Out with Her"
- "How Long Can a Bad Thing Last?"
- "Man at the End of His Tether"
- "Rise Above"
- "(Celebrate) The Day After You"
- "Checking Out"
- "Don't Give It Up"
- "Cash"
- "Beautiful Child"
- "It Doesn't Have to Be This Way" [Long]
- "(Celebrate) The Day After You" [Unity Mix]
- "Smile on Her Face" (Sweet Murder)
- "Grantham Grizzler"
Singles from the album
- "It Doesn't Have To Be This Way" (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 5]
- "Out With Her" (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 30]
- "(Celebrate) The Day After You" (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 52]
- "Some Kind of Wonderful" (1987) [UK Singles Chart: Number 67]
Release details
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
| UK United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
1987 | RCA RCA RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor... /Ariola |
CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
PD 71245 |
| LP | PL 71245 | |||
| MC | PK 71245 |