Pink Flag
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| Pink Flag | ||
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| Studio album by Wire | ||
| Released | December 1977 | |
| Recorded | Advision Studios, September & October 1977 | |
| Genre | Punk rock, art punk | |
| Length | 39:31 | |
| Label | EMI, Pinkflag | |
| Producer(s) | Mike Thorne | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Wire chronology | ||
| Pink Flag (1977) |
Chairs Missing (1978) |
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Pink Flag is the first album by the band Wire, released in 1977. A seminal and influential release, it is notable for its thrashy, short songs, some less than a minute long. It features what is perhaps punk rock's first instrumental song, "The Commercial". Although the album was released to huge critical acclaim, it was not a big seller. In 2003, the album was ranked number 410 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The cover is a photo of a flagless flagpole with the pink flag painted on.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs arranged by Bruce Gilbert/Graham Lewis/Colin Newman/Robert Gotobed, except "Different to Me" by Annette Green.
- "Reuters" – 3:03
- "Field Day for the Sundays" – 0:28
- "Three Girl Rhumba" – 1:23
- "Ex Lion Tamer" – 2:19
- "Lowdown" – 2:26
- "Start to Move" – 1:13
- "Brazil" – 0:41
- "It's So Obvious" – 0:53
- "Surgeon's Girl" – 1:17
- "Pink Flag" – 3:47
- "The Commercial" – 0:49
- "Straight Line" – 0:44
- "106 Beats That" – 1:12
- "Mr. Suit" – 1:25
- "Strange" – 3:58
- "Fragile" – 1:18
- "Mannequin" – 2:37
- "Different to Me" – 0:43
- "Champs" – 1:46
- "Feeling Called Love" – 1:22
- "12 X U" – 1:55
[edit] Bonus tracks
- "Dot Dash" – 2:25 [1994 reissue]
- "Options R" – 1:36 [1989 reissue, 1994 reissue]
Extra tracks have been removed from the 2006 remastered reissues, because they, according to the band, didn't honour the "conceptual clarity of the original statements".
[edit] Personnel
- Colin Newman - vocals
- Bruce Gilbert - guitar
- Graham Lewis - bass
- Robert Gotobed - drums
- Dave Oberlé - backing vocals on "Mannequin"
- Kate Lukas - flute on "Strange"
- Mike Thorne - producer
[edit] The album's influence
The album's wide-ranging influence is exemplified in the number of bands that have covered songs from it. R.E.M.'s version of "Strange" from its 1987 release, "Document," might be the most well-known. Other notable tracks include Minor Threat's blistering version of "12XU" found on the 1982 Dischord compilation "Flex Your Head," and fIREHOSE's version of "Mannequin," which appeared on its "Live Totem Pole" EP in 1992.
