The Affectionate Punch

Release

The Affectionate Punch was released on 1 August 1980. Michael Dempsey and John Murphy featured in promotional shots and the accompanying tour but did not perform on the record.

"The Affectionate Punch" and "A" were released as singles to little commercial success.

Reception

Upon its release, The Affectionate Punch was praised by Paul Morley of the NME, who called it "a kind of masterpiece".

Contemporary reviews have also been favourable, with BBC Music reviewer Chris Jones writing, "Few bands today would dare to be so audacious".

Remix

The album was remixed and re-released in 1982 by order of The Associates' new record company Warner Bros. 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 Billy Mackenzie. 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 in 2005.

The remixed version of "A Matter of Gender" was released as a single in 1982.

Track listing

Personnel