Neha Patil (Editor)

Germfree Adolescents

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Released
  
November 10, 1978

Studio
  
Essex Studios

Artist
  
X-Ray Spex

Producer
  
Falcon Stuart

Genres
  
Punk rock, New wave

Recorded
  
1978

Length
  
45:30

Release date
  
10 November 1978

Label
  
EMI

Germfree Adolescents httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenff3XR

Germfree Adolescents (1978)
  
Conscious Consumer (1995)

Punk rock albums
  
Another Music in a Different, The Roxy London WC2, Pink Flag, Singles Going Steady, Inflammable Material

Germfree Adolescents is the debut album of English punk rock band X-Ray Spex. It contained the UK hit singles "The Day the World Turned Dayglo" (No. 23 in April 1978), "Identity" (No. 24 in July 1978) and "Germfree Adolescents" which reached No. 18 in November 1978.

Contents

Reception

Germfree Adolescents received wide acclaim upon its release. In his February 1979 Consumer Guide in the Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau bemoaned the fact that Germfree Adolescents had not been released in the US and praised Poly Styrene's "cheerfully moralistic nursery rhymes", strong melodies and the "irresistible color" of the band's "dubiously tuned one-sax horn section". He later deemed it "one of British punk's strongest". Trouser Press called it "a masterpiece!" The Rough Guide to Rock calls it a "storming album", and it was ranked at No. 9 among the top "Albums of the Year" for 1978 by NME.

Legacy

In 1994, The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music named Germfree Adolescents the eighth best punk album of all time. Seven years later, in May 2001, Spin magazine ranked the album number 5 in its "50 Most Essential Punk Records". In March 2003, Mojo magazine ranked the LP number 19 in its 'Top 50 Punk Albums'. The album is listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

All songs written by Poly Styrene.

Side A
  1. "Art-I-Ficial" - 3:24
  2. "Obsessed with You" - 2:30
  3. "Warrior in Woolworths" - 3:06
  4. "Let's Submerge" - 3:26
  5. "I Can't Do Anything" - 2:58
  6. "Identity" - 2:25
Side B
  1. "Genetic Engineering" - 2:49
  2. "I Live Off You" - 2:09
  3. "I Am a Poseur" - 2:34
  4. "Germfree Adolescents" - 3:14
  5. "Plastic Bag" - 4:54
  6. "The Day the World Turned Dayglo" - 2:53
Bonus tracks

The 1991 Caroline release features four additional tracks and a rearranged song order.

  1. The Day the World Turned Dayglo" - 2:50
  2. "Obsessed with You" - 2:26
  3. "Genetic Engineering" - 2:46
  4. "Identity" - 2:21
  5. "I Live Off You" - 2:06
  6. "Germfree Adolescents" - 3:10
  7. "Art-I-Ficial" - 3:21
  8. "Let's Submerge" - 3:23
  9. "Warrior in Woolworths" - 3:03
  10. "I Am a Poseur" - 2:30
  11. "I Can't Do Anything" - 2:55
  12. "Highly Inflammable" - 2:32
  13. "Age" - 2:36
  14. "Plastic Bag" - 4:51
  15. "I Am a Cliché" - 1:52
  16. "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" - 2:48
  • Tracks 12, 13, 15 & 16 from original singles.
  • The 2005 CD reissue includes the original song order and the following bonus tracks not on the original release.

    1. "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" - 2:51
    2. "I Am a Cliché" - 1:55
    3. "Highly Inflammable" - 2:35
    4. "Age" - 2:38
    5. "Genetic Engineering" - 2:49
    6. "Art-I-Ficial" - 3:24
    7. "I Am a Poseur" - 2:34
    8. "Identity" - 2:25
    9. "Germfree Adolescents" - 3:05
    10. "Warrior in Woolworths" - 3:06
    11. "Age" - 2:38
  • Tracks 13-16 from original singles, tracks 17-20 from Peel Session February 20, 1978, tracks 21-23 from Peel Session June 11, 1978.
  • Personnel

  • Poly Styrene - vocals
  • Jak Airport - guitar
  • Paul Dean - bass
  • Rudi Thomson - saxophone
  • B.P. Hurding - drums
  • Additional personnel
  • Ted Bunting - saxophone on "Identity" & "The Day the World Turned Dayglo"
  • Lora Logic - saxophone on "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and "I Am a Cliché"
  • Falcon Stuart - producer, cover concept
  • John Mackenzie Burns - engineer
  • Andy Pearce - assistant engineer
  • Nick Webb - mastering
  • Trevor Key - photography
  • Cooke Key - sleeve
  • Songs

    1Art-I-Ficial3:23
    2Obsessed With You2:29
    3Warrior in Woolworths3:05

    References

    Germfree Adolescents Wikipedia