The album did not live up to the high chart expectations created by the #5 (UK)[9] single "Since Yesterday". It entered and peaked at #25 on the UK Album Chart in April 1985, but dropped out of the top 40 after two weeks and spent just two further weeks at the lower reaches of the chart.[9]
The album was promoted by two additional singles: the first, "Let Her Go", peaked at #59 on the UK Singles Chart in April during a five week chart run[9] and the final single, "Who Knows What Love Is?", reached #84 in May.[9]
"Since Yesterday" also charted in Ireland and the Netherlands where it reached #6[10] and #24[11] respectively.
"Let Her Go" was considered a "sure hit" by the pan-European magazine Eurotipsheet[12] and gained enough airplay to reach number 45 on the European Airplay Top 50 chart.[13] Despite this, it did not became a major hit and did not chart on sales charts outside the United Kingdom.
The original Strawberry Switchblade LP has not been re-released in the UK (or in Europe) since 1985, though all of its tracks (apart from the short instrumental reprise of "Who Knows What Love Is?") appeared on the group's Platinum Collection compilation. In Japan, where the group were extremely popular, it was issued on CD for the first time in 1989, and released again there on CD in 1997 in a 20-track expanded version, including B-sides, remixes and non-album singles.
Critical reception
The album received mixed reviews. Smash Hits reviewer Chris Heath found that "Every song here has an irresistibly catchy tune", especially pointing out "the sad 'Who Knows What Love Is?'" as "quite lovely".[5]
No. 1 magazine was similarly positive, saying "there’s talent beneath the Alice’s Tea Party costumes. Singer Rose McDowall and guitarist Jill Bryson have put faith in their ability to write engaging, sometimes haunting pop songs."[3]
In contrast, Betty Page wrote in Record Mirror "this is desperately lightweight and quite relentlessly tedious"[7]
Melody Maker's Ted Mico was also dismissive: "Though their combined efforts are as frail and pasty as puff pastry, the Strawberries accentuate their vulnerability by juxtaposing flouncy, celestial harmonies swaythed in strumming semi-acoustics with the merciless sten-gun drum attack".[14]
Danny Kelly of New Musical Express was similarly disparaging, describing the band as "the Cocteaus’ trance dance stance in a less imposing frame. A confection of candyfloss and icing sugar. But great pop music? Even good pop music? I’m afraid not."[15]
Track listing
All songs written by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, except where noted.
The 12" Album was a remix album released in Japan in November 1985. The album contains 5 extended mixes, one standalone single and one B-side.
Despite the name of the album, only two of the remixes had previously appeared on 12" singles, these being the mixes of "Let Her Go" (from the 12" release of "Who Knows What Love Is?") and "Jolene" (from that single's 12" release). The other three mixes were specially done for this remix album and were not released in the United Kingdom.
The extended mix of "Since Yesterday" later appeared as the B-side of the Strawberry Switchblade's final single "I Can Feel" in 1986.
