39 Minutes

39 Minutes
Studio album by
Microdisney
Released1988 (1988)
GenrePop
Length37:49 (Vinyl)
LabelVirgin
ProducerJamie Lane
Microdisney chronology
Crooked Mile
(1987) 		39 Minutes
(1988) 		The Peel Sessions Album
(1989)
Singles from 39 Minutes
  1. "Singer's Hampstead Home " / "She Only Gave In To Her Anger"
    Released: October 1987
  2. "Gale Force Wind " / "I Can't Say No (Betty Lou Version)"
    Released: February 1988

39 Minutes is the fourth and final studio album by the Irish pop group Microdisney, released in 1988.[1][2] It was a commercial disappointment.[3] The first single was "Singer's Hampstead Home", allegedly a criticism of Boy George's celebrity persona.[4] It was followed by the release, from this album, of Microdisney's final single, "Gale Force Wind",[5] which reached number 98 on the UK singles chart.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music[8]

The album attracted divisive reviews at the time, with singer Cathal Coughlan saying in 2022, "The press on 39 Minutes, as I recall, was pretty bad."[9] David Stubbs, in a review for Melody Maker, described the album as "horrible, frankly".[10] However, the album was acclaimed by Hot Press as "some of the best and most provocative pop music ever to have emanated from this country".[11]

Trouser Press later opined that 39 Minutes "restores the group's sense of purpose, balancing the slick production of recent efforts with a slightly more aggressive attack and Coughlan's sharpest lyrics in ages."[12]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Cathal Coughlan and Sean O'Hagan.

Side one

  1. "Singer's Hampstead Home" (4:02)
  2. "High & Dry" (3:04)
  3. "Send Herman Home" (4:03)
  4. "Ambulance for One" (3:26)
  5. "Soul Boy" (5:04)

Side two

  1. "Back to the Old Town" (3:13)
  2. "United Colours" (3:16)
  3. "Gale Force Wind" (3:57)
  4. "Herr Direktor" (3:42)
  5. "Bluerings" (3:55)

References

  1. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. 2003. p. 673.
  2. ^ Smyth, Gerry (2005). Noisy Island: A Short History of Irish Popular Music. Cork University Press. p. 81.
  3. ^ "Microdisney Biography by Jason Ankeny". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  4. ^ Meagher, John (28 Nov 2015). "Microdisney—gone but not forgotten". Review. Irish Independent. p. 16.
  5. ^ Brown, Nicky (11 February 1988). "Micro 'next big thing'". Gateshead Post. p. 26.
  6. ^ "Gale Force Wind". officialcharts.com/. Official Charts. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  7. ^ "39 Minutes Microdisney". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Virgin Books. p. 322.
  9. ^ Perkins, Julie (Director). The Story of Microdisney: The Clock Comes Down the Stairs. BBC Television.
  10. ^ Stubbs, David (2 April 1988). "Time Fades Away". Melody Maker.
  11. ^ Byrne, George (28 March 2001). "39 Minutes". Hot Press. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  12. ^ Gethers, Altricia; Schinder, Scott. "Microdisney". Trouser Press. Retrieved 13 November 2024.


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