As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade

1985 studio album by Mark Stewart

Studio album by Mark Stewart

Released

November 1985

Genre

Industrial, post-punk, noise

Length

39:12

Label

Mute

Producer

Adrian Sherwood, Mark Stewart

Mark Stewart chronology

Learning to Cope with Cowardice
(1983)

As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade
(1985)

Mark Stewart + Maffia
(1986)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade is the second album by British singer Mark Stewart, released in 1985 through Mute Records.

Reception

John Leland at Spin said the album was "removed from the realm of music and in an electronic theater of guerrilla news reportage. Despite a steady beat provided by the Maffia, the album sounds less like dance music than the end of the world. Its a scary mess of random sounds, spoken words, and tiny snippets of music, processed and distorted to a grating, electric edge."

Accolades

Year	Publication	Country	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
1985	Rockerilla	Italy	"Albums of the Year"	18

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Stewart

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Passcivecation Program"	7:06
2.	"Bastards"	5:26
3.	"The Resistance of the Cell"	5:21
4.	""	0:44

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade"	5:37
2.	"Hypnotized"	5:51
3.	"Slave of Love"	4:46
4.	"The Waiting Room"	4:18

CD Version
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Passcivecation Program"	7:06
2.	"Bastards"	5:26
3.	"The Resistance of the Cell"	5:21
4.	""	0:44
5.	"As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade"	5:37
6.	"Pay It All Back"	4:29
7.	"Hypnotized"	5:51
8.	"Slave of Love"	4:46
9.	"The Waiting Room"	4:18
10.	"Hypnotized" (remix)	7:25
11.	"Dreamers"	6:30

Personnel

Mark Stewart and the Maffia

Mark Stewart – vocals, production
Keith LeBlanc – drums
Skip McDonald – guitar
Adrian Sherwood – keyboards, production
Doug Wimbish – bass

Additional musicians and production

Jill Mumford – design
Tim Young – mastering

Chart positions

Charts (1985)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart	3

References

k-punk – Noise as Anti Capital: As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade
Neate, Wilson. "As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
John Leland (June 1986). "Spins". Spin. No. 14. p. 35.
"Rockerilla End Of Year Lists 1985: Albums". Rockerilla. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989. Cherry Red Books.

External links

As The Veneer Of Democracy Starts To Fade at Discogs (list of releases)

v t e Mark Stewart
Studio albums	Learning to Cope with Cowardice As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade Mark Stewart Metatron Control Data Kiss the Future Edit The Politics of Envy
EPs	Jerusalem
Compilations	Mark Stewart + Maffia Kiss the Future
Singles	"Hypnotized" "This Is Stranger Than Love"
Related	The Pop Group Tackhead

v t e Tackhead
Keith LeBlanc Skip McDonald Adrian Sherwood Doug Wimbish Gary Clail Bernard Fowler
Studio albums	Tackhead Tape Time (1987) Friendly as a Hand Grenade (1989) Strange Things (1990) For the Love of Money (2014)
Remix albums	Tackhead Sound Crash (2006)
Compilations	Power Inc. Vol. 1 (1994) Power Inc. Vol. 2 (1994) Power Inc. Vol. 3 (1997)
Singles	"What's My Mission Now?" "Mind at the End of the Tether" "The Game (You'll Never Walk Alone)" "Reality" "Ticking Time Bomb"
as The Maffia	As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade (1985) Mark Stewart (1987) Metatron (1990) Control Data (1996) Edit (2008)
as Fats Comet	"Stormy Weather" "Rockchester"
as Strange Parcels	Disconnection (1994)
Related	Discography Dub Syndicate Jungle Funk Living Colour

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