Pillows & Prayers

Pillows & Prayers
Compilation album by
Various
ReleasedDecember 1982
Recordedvarious
GenreAcoustic
Experimental
Post-punk
Rock
Length47:35
LabelCherry Red
Various chronology
Pillows & Prayers
(1982) 		Pillows & Prayers 2
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Guardian(favorable)[2]

Pillows & Prayers (subtitled Cherry Red 1982-1983) is a compilation album released at Christmas 1982, featuring artists on the Cherry Red record label. The record was originally sold at 99 pence (in fact, "pay no more than 99p" was printed on the original sleeve), which helped ensure that the album peaked and remained at number 1 on the UK Indie Chart for five weeks and sold over 120,000 copies.[3]

In 2007 the album was repackaged as a 3-CD plus DVD box set featuring complementary tracks from the same period and an extended essay by Alex Ogg. This revised edition won the 2008 MOJO Award for Catalogue Release of the Year,[4] with three of the key artists, Martyn Bates (Eyeless in Gaza), Lawrence (Felt) and Bid (The Monochrome Set) appearing on stage to collect the award, alongside Cherry Red founder Iain McNay.[5]

Tracks

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Portrait"Graham Cassie, David Harper, David Knight, Ashley Wales, Daniel WhittockFive or Six2:52
2."Eine Symphonie des Grauens"BidThe Monochrome Set2:19
3."All About You"Thomas LeerThomas Leer3:50
4."Plain Sailing"Tracey ThornTracey Thorn2:01
5."Some Things Don't Matter"Ben WattBen Watt4:25
6."Love in Your Heart"Kevin CoyneKevin Coyne2:55
7."Modi 2 (Extract)"Piero MilesiPiero Milesi1:02
8."Compulsion"Joe CrowJoe Crow4:23
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
9."Lazy Ways"Jane FoxMarine Girls2:42
10."My Face Is on Fire"LawrenceFelt3:04
11."No Noise"Peter Becker, Martyn BatesEyeless in Gaza2:49
12."XOYO"Dick WittsThe Passage3:26
13."On My Mind"ThornEverything but the Girl3:08
14."A Bang and a Wimpey"John BaineAttila the Stockbroker1:41
15."I Unseen"Tony HillThe Misunderstood1:58
16."Don't Blink"Robert Lloyd, Paul Apperley, Steve Hawkins, Andy LloydThe Nightingales4:00
17."Stop the Music for a Minute"Quentin CrispQuentin Crisp1:00

Pillows and Prayers 2

In 1984 a sequel, Pillows and Prayers 2, was released in Japan. This time, there was no special price. In 2000 the album was reissued on CD (CDMRED 169) together with volume 1.

Tracks

  1. Marine Girls - "A Place in the Sun" (2:29)
  2. Jane - "It's a Fine Day" (2:45)
  3. Kevin Hewick - "Feathering the Nest" (3:51)
  4. Fantastic Something - "If She Doesn't Smile" (3:14)
  5. Eyeless in Gaza - "New Risen" (2:47)
  6. The Monochrome Set - "Jet Set Junta" (2:04)
  7. Morgan Fisher - "Un Homme et une Femme" - (2:45)
  8. Felt - "The World Is As Soft As Lace" (4:15)
  9. Maurice Deebank - "The Watery Song" (4:54)
  10. In Embrace - "Shouting in Cafes" (3:33)
  11. Grab Grab the Haddock - "I'm Used Now" (3:17)
  12. Ben Watt & Robert Wyatt - "Walter and John" (4:05)
  13. Five or Six - "Another Reason" (3:04)
  14. Red Box - "Chenko" (3:40)

"Un Homme et Une Femme" is the theme from the film of the same name, composed by Francis Lai and with lyrics by Pierre Barouh. "It's A Fine Day" was later a hit single when covered by Opus III several years later, and Red Box went on to chart success after signing to WEA.

References

  1. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Review: Various Artists — Pillows & Prayers, Vols. 1 & 2: Cherry Red 1982-1984". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Denselow, Robin (December 16, 1982). "Cherry Pips". The Guardian. p. 10.
  3. ^ Simpson, Dave (14 June 2011). "A Compilation Album Proves There's a Mass Market for Indie Esoterica". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  4. ^ Rogers, Georgie (June 16, 2008). "MOJO Award Winners". BBC Radio 6 Music. BBC. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  5. ^ Mojo (June 19, 2008). MOJO Honours List 2008 — Cherry Red Acceptance Speech. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved September 27, 2018 – via YouTube.