West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Encyclopedia
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is the third studio album by British indie rock
rock band Kasabian, which was released on 5 June 2009.
The album was nominated for the 2009 Mercury Prize
. In October 2009, it was voted the best album of the year by Q Magazine.
" was made available as a free download from the official website from 31 March to 3 April 2009. The first proper, physical release from the album was "Fire
", which was released on 1 June. Sergio Pizzorno
has called the 52-minute album "the soundtrack to an imaginary movie." The album includes a duet, on the track "West Ryder Silver Bullet", with the actress Rosario Dawson
. The album entered the UK Album Chart at #1, giving the band their second #1 album. The album was knocked off the number 1 spot – and somewhat overshadowed – by the death of Michael Jackson
a short time after release.
"Underdog" has been used by Sony
in a commercial for their BRAVIA
Televisions.
was a group of mental institution
s built in West Yorkshire
, England in the 1880s. Sergio Pizzorno
further explained the choice of album title: "The album isn't about the place, I just first heard about it on a TV documentary, and the words just struck me. I love the way it looked and the feeling it evokes. Apparently, it was one of the first loony bins for the poor, before that it was mainly rich people who got treatment." The album cover depicts the band "getting dressed up for a party at the asylum
, looking in the mirror at the costumes". Inspiration for such cover originated from the artwork of Amon Düül II
's album Made in Germany. In an interview with T4
, the band said that each track is meant to represent an inmate within the asylum.
Additional Personnel
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
rock band Kasabian, which was released on 5 June 2009.
The album was nominated for the 2009 Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
. In October 2009, it was voted the best album of the year by Q Magazine.
History
"Vlad the ImpalerVlad the Impaler (song)
"Vlad the Impaler" is the eighth song of Kasabian's album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. It was released as a free download with an accompanying music video in March 2009. It was released as a single physically on 15 February 2010....
" was made available as a free download from the official website from 31 March to 3 April 2009. The first proper, physical release from the album was "Fire
Fire (Kasabian song)
"Fire" is a song by English rock band Kasabian and is the lead single from their third album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. It was released 1 June 2009....
", which was released on 1 June. Sergio Pizzorno
Sergio Pizzorno
Sergio Lorenzo "Serge" Pizzorno is a British guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the indie rock band Kasabian. He became Kasabian's lead song-writer after the departure of Christopher Karloff....
has called the 52-minute album "the soundtrack to an imaginary movie." The album includes a duet, on the track "West Ryder Silver Bullet", with the actress Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress, singer, and writer. She has appeared in films such as Kids, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof, The Rundown, Eagle Eye, Alexander, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Unstoppable.-Early...
. The album entered the UK Album Chart at #1, giving the band their second #1 album. The album was knocked off the number 1 spot – and somewhat overshadowed – by the death of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
a short time after release.
"Underdog" has been used by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
in a commercial for their BRAVIA
BRAVIA
BRAVIA is a Sony brand used to market its high-definition LCD televisions, projection TVs and front projectors and for the PlayStation 3 , along with its home cinema range under the sub-brand BRAVIA Theatre. The BRAVIA name is an acronym of "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture"...
Televisions.
Theme
The West Riding Pauper Lunatic AsylumWest Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum
The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum comprised four hospitals under the West Riding General Asylums Committee:* 1818 Stanley Royd Hospital, Stanley, Wakefield* 1872 Wadsley, Middlewood, Sheffield* 1888 High Royds Hospital, Menston...
was a group of mental institution
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
s built in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England in the 1880s. Sergio Pizzorno
Sergio Pizzorno
Sergio Lorenzo "Serge" Pizzorno is a British guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the indie rock band Kasabian. He became Kasabian's lead song-writer after the departure of Christopher Karloff....
further explained the choice of album title: "The album isn't about the place, I just first heard about it on a TV documentary, and the words just struck me. I love the way it looked and the feeling it evokes. Apparently, it was one of the first loony bins for the poor, before that it was mainly rich people who got treatment." The album cover depicts the band "getting dressed up for a party at the asylum
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
, looking in the mirror at the costumes". Inspiration for such cover originated from the artwork of Amon Düül II
Amon Düül II
-Studio Albums:-Live Albums:-Compilations:-Singles:-External links:*...
's album Made in Germany. In an interview with T4
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...
, the band said that each track is meant to represent an inmate within the asylum.
Track listing
Personnel
- Tom Meighan – lead vocals (all tracks except "Swarfiga", "Take Aim", "Secret Alphabets" and "Happiness")
- Sergio Pizzorno – lead guitar, backing vocals (all tracks except "Swarfiga", "Take Aim", "Secret Alphabets" and "Happiness"), lead vocals on "Take Aim", "Secret Alphabets" and "Happiness"
- Chris Edwards – bass guitar
- Ian Matthews – drums
Additional Personnel
- Jay Mehler – additional guitar on "Underdog", "Ladies and Gentlemen (Roll The Dice)" and "Happiness"
- Tim Carter – additional guitar, keyboards and percussion on "Where Did All The Love Go?", "Take Aim", "West Ryder Silver Bullet" and "Secret Alphabets"
- Daniel Ralph Martin – additional guitar on "Fast Fuse" and additional piano on "Happiness"
- Rosario DawsonRosario DawsonRosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress, singer, and writer. She has appeared in films such as Kids, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof, The Rundown, Eagle Eye, Alexander, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Unstoppable.-Early...
– lead vocals on "West Ryder Silver Bullet" - Ben Kealey – additional keyboards on "Ladies and Gentlemen (Roll The Dice)"
Chart performance
| Charts (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Album Chart | 1 |
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
11 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 56 |
| French Albums Chart | 30 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
4 |
| Japan Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
11 |
| Netherlands Albums Chart | 85 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 23 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 27 |
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
126 |
Singles and videos
- "Fast FuseFast FuseFast Fuse is an EP by rock band Kasabian and was released to a select market on 2 October 2007. The track "Take Aim" was slated for inclusion on the EP but was eventually omitted...
" – Released on 2 October 2007 as a bootlegBootleg recordingA bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
single. Although not being the first official single from the album it was the first material released from it, receiving airplay on XfmXfmXfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, Absolute Radio and being posted on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. Members of Kasabian's fan club at the time could buy the song on a one sided 10"Gramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. Despite receiving some airplay and a limited release it never had a video. It was also used on the video game FIFA 09. As well as this, the song was used as the theme tune for Russell Howard's Good News, broadcast on BBC3 in the UK.
- "Vlad the ImpalerVlad the Impaler (song)"Vlad the Impaler" is the eighth song of Kasabian's album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. It was released as a free download with an accompanying music video in March 2009. It was released as a single physically on 15 February 2010....
" – Released as a free single on 31 March 2009 to 3 April 2009. The song only got minor airplay. The song was released with a video featuring Noel FieldingNoel FieldingNoel Fielding is a British artist, comedian and actor. He is known for his roles as Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh, which he co-writes with comedy partner Julian Barratt, and as team captain on the music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.-Stand-up comedy:Noel Fielding performed regularly as a...
. Later released on 14 February 2010 with a second music video to accompany it.
- "FireFire (Kasabian song)"Fire" is a song by English rock band Kasabian and is the lead single from their third album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. It was released 1 June 2009....
" – Released as the first official single on June 1.
- "UnderdogUnderdog (Kasabian song)"Underdog" is the third single released from the Kasabian album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. It only peaked at #32 in the UK Singles Chart on the week after the album's release. Despite this it became a widely popular song.-Popular culture use:...
" – Released on 26 October 2009 and reached #32 in the UK Singles ChartUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
- "Where Did All the Love Go?Where Did All the Love Go?"Where Did All the Love Go?" is a song by English rock band Kasabian and is the second official single from their third album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum...
" – Released on 17 August 2009, the song was the second official single charting at 30 in the UK charts. A music video has been released to support the single.