England Made Me (album)

For the novel by Graham Greene, see England Made Me (novel).
England Made Me
Studio album by Black Box Recorder
Released July 20, 1998
Recorded ?
Genre Indie rock
Length 37:16
Label Chrysalis
Producer Black Box Recorder, Phil Vinall
Black Box Recorder chronology

England Made Me
(1998)
The Facts of Life
(2000)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau (A-) link
Select [2]

England Made Me is the debut album by Black Box Recorder, whose members include Luke Haines, Sarah Nixey and John Moore, released in July 1998 via Chrysalis Records.

The chorus of the song Child Psychology featured a highly controversial line, "Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it". This led to the song being banned on UK radio and MTV. However, the sardonic nature of the song also gained praise from critics, with one calling it 'refreshingly blunt'. The single was released in the US shortly after the Columbine massacre, this led to the line 'Kill Yourself' being played backwards on the US release.

Track listing

All songs written by Luke Haines and John Moore, except for where noted.

  1. "Girl Singing in the Wreckage" – 2:42
  2. "England Made Me" – 4:00
  3. "New Baby Boom" – 2:10
  4. "It's Only the End of the World" – 5:21
  5. "Ideal Home" – 2:39
  6. "Child Psychology" – 4:08
  7. "I.C. One Female" – 2:19
  8. "Uptown Top Ranking" (Althea & Donna, Errol Thompson) – 3:57
  9. "Swinging" – 3:52
  10. "Kidnapping an Heiress" – 2:46
  11. "Hated Sunday" – 3:16

Bonus tracks

  1. "Wonderful Life" – 2:16
  2. "Seasons in the Sun" (Jacques Brel, Rod McKuen) – 2:40
  3. "Factory Radio" – 2:13
  4. "Lord Lucan Is Missing" – 1:48

References

  1. Swihart, Stanton. "Review: England Made Me - Black Box Recorder". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  2. Wilkinson, Roy. "Review: BLACK BOX RECORDER - England Made Me, Chrysalis". Select (EMAP Metro) (August, 1998): 95.