English Boys/Working Girls
	Produced by Robert John Lange
	Released on 1978
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
K56450 cover [high resolution scan]

I nfluenced in part by The Who and The Clash, who made due with half the number of this English octet, and therein lies the problem. Well, that and choosing Bette Bright to appear in peek-a-boo latex on the cover, since I’m pretty sure at least three of the remaining band members could have pulled it off better. Deaf School had a terrible name, an unmanageable number of players and enough talent to make good music despite all that. Like Madness, sometimes good ideas get trampled, and producer Lange can’t seem to make sense of it all. What Madness and The Boomtown Rats had working for them was a telegenic image. Deaf School looked like the most mismatched lineup since Oingo Boingo, who in fact they end up sounding like on the excellent “All Queued Up.” Balancing three lead singers is no easy feat (Jefferson Starship had fits with just two), and the talented Bette Bright doesn’t get the opportunity to shine as much as she should. Her turns on “Thunder and Lightning” and the rueful “Morning After” are winners. The rest of the record sometimes sounds like The Clash (“O.Blow,” “Working Girls,” “English Boys”), and other times like Elvis Costello’s squeaky second album (“What A Week,” “Refugee”). Deaf School are often lumped into the new wave category, but they’re really at that melting point where art rock and pub rock and new wave get mixed together (like The Rumour). This, their third and final studio album, is probably not the place to start in a proper Deaf School education. It’s a good album by a band that apparently made two better ones, though all three seem to be covered by the dust of history (a kindness in the case of this cover). There’s also a review of this at All Music Guide that still sucks but without the catty comments.

K56450 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. WORKING GIRLS    (Cliff Langer/Eric Shark)    3:16
2. GOLDEN SHOWERS    (Cliff Langer/Steve Allen)    2:48
3. THUNDER & LIGHTNING    (Cliff Langer/Steve Allen)    2:56
4. WHAT A WEEK    (Cliff Langer/Eric Shark)    3:15
5. REFUGEE    (Steve Lindsey/Eric Shark)    2:54
6. RONNY ZAMORA    (Cliff Langer/Steve Allen)    3:43
7. ENGLISH BOYS (WITH GUNS)    (Cliff Langer/Steve Allen)    3:30
8. ALL QUEUED UP    (Steve Lindsey)    3:08
9. I WANNA BE YOUR BOY    (Cliff Langer/Steve Allen)    3:21
10. MORNING AFTER    (Cliff Langer/Steve Allen)    3:53
11. FIRE    (Cliff Langer/Steve Allen)    2:48
12. O. BLOW    (Cliff Langer/Eric Shark)    2:32

CREDITS

BETTE BRIGHT -- vocals
ENRICO CADILLAC a/k/a STEVE ALLEN -- vocals
CLIFF LANGER -- guitar
STEVE 'AVERAGE' LINDSEY -- bass
MAX RIPPLE -- keyboards
IAN RITCHIE -- reeds
ERIC SHARK -- vocals
TIM WHITTAKER -- drums
Ted Sharp -- engineer
Frank Silver -- executive producer
Kevin Ward -- sleeve design
David Anthony -- photography

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