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39 Minutes

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1988 studio album by Microdisney
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. It was a commercial disappointment. The first single was "Singer's Hampstead Home", allegedly a criticism of Boy George's celebrity persona. It was followed by the release, from this album, of Microdisney's final single, "Gale Force Wind", which reached number 98 on the UK singles chart.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music

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." David Stubbs, in a review for Melody Maker, described the album as "horrible, frankly". 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".

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."

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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