Strawberries (album)
| Strawberries | ||||
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| Studio album by The Damned | ||||
| Released | October 1982 | |||
| Recorded | Mid-1982 | |||
| Studio | Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales | |||
| Genre | Punk rock, gothic rock, psychedelic pop | |||
| Length | 48:12 | |||
| Label | Bronze | |||
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| The Damned chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Strawberries | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
Strawberries, originally titled Strawberries for Pigs, is the fifth studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released in October 1982 by record label Bronze.
Captain Sensible was featured prominently on backing vocals several times, as well as performing lead vocals on "Life Goes On" and "Don't Bother Me".
Bassist Paul Gray decided to call it quits in February 1983 (later that year, he replaced Billy Sheehan in UFO), and Bryn Merrick joined the band to replace Gray for their March 1983 club tour.
Sensible left the Damned after the Nun Tour (named after Dave Vanian's nun-dressed backup singers on the tour) for Strawberries and played a "last gig" (until the Damned's 10th Anniversary gig at Finsbury Park in 1986) at Brockwell Park on 4 August 1984. Roman Jugg took over Sensible's role on guitar and keyboards. Bronze Records, their label at the time, collapsed and released the band from their contract. Jugg's entrance led to further experiments with the band's sound, including loops and sampling.
Describing the album, Trouser Press wrote: "Eclectic and inconsistent but well-produced [...] and boasting some fine tunes [...], [Strawberries] shows Sensible's increasing pop prominence [...] and Vanian's willingness to explore a stylistic pallette with no debt to punk." Other critics have noted the album's embrace of psychedelic pop, as well as gothic rock.
Strawberries was released in October 1982. Limited editions included a strawberry-scented lyric insert.
In a negative contemporary review, NME called Strawberries "a miserable (w)retch of a record, spewing fourth enough nauseous 'nostalgia' to fill a book entitled 'Why The Damned Never Made It', without once touching any spirit. It seems they're doomed to regurgitating their history 'til the aftertaste becomes too bad to bear." The review specifically noted uninspired lyrics and themes of their songs as low points on the album.
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