Fried (album)
Encyclopedia
Fried is the second solo album by Julian Cope
.
Cope retained guitarist Steve Lovell (and guest oboe player Kate St. John) from the previous album, but added his Drayton Bassett musical foil Donald Ross Skinner
on rhythm and slide guitars, former Waterboys
drummer Chris Whitten
and (on one track) former Mighty Wah! guitarist Steve "Brother Johnno" Johnson.
The album was much more raw in approach than its predecessor World Shut Your Mouth
: in many respects it prefigured the looser and more mystical style which Cope would follow and be praised for in the next decade. Notoriously, the sleeve featured a naked Cope crouched on top of the Alvecote Mound slag heap clad only in a large turtle shell. Song topics and approaches included early examples of Cope's subsequent tendency to mythologise his own life and connect it to legend and ritual ("Reynard the Fox" combined English folktales with reference to Cope's notorious onstage stomach-slashing incident of the previous year; while "Bill Drummond
Said" was an oblique fable about Cope's former manager and future KLF
mainstay) and his developing interest in paganism ("O King of Chaos", which Cope later revealed was an invocation to Odin). Several songs featured little or no backing, with Cope accompanying himself.
Despite receiving better reviews than its ill-fated predecessor, Fried sold even more poorly at the time (as did accompanying single "Sunspots"). The commercial failure of the album led to Polygram dropping Cope. He would subsequently hook up with a new manager – artist and musician-cum-prankster Cally Callomon – and sign a new deal with Island Records
. Skinner and Whitten would remain with Cope for the next album, Saint Julian
Bill Drummond
's 1986 album The Man replied in kind to "Bill Drummond Said", with a song titled "Julian Cope Is Dead".
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
.
Background
Fried was released just six months after Cope’s debut solo album, 1984’s World Shut Your MouthWorld Shut Your Mouth (album)
World Shut Your Mouth is the debut album solo album by Julian Cope.-Background:World Shut Your Mouth was written during Cope's 1983 retreat to the village of Drayton Bassett , following the breakup of Cope's former band The Teardrop Explodes...
Cope retained guitarist Steve Lovell (and guest oboe player Kate St. John) from the previous album, but added his Drayton Bassett musical foil Donald Ross Skinner
Donald Ross Skinner
Donald Skinner is a guitarist, songwriter and producer born in Edinburgh, UK primarily known for his work with Julian Cope. Skinner is commonly known by the name Donald Ross Skinner with the addition of the middle name of Ross attributed to him by Cope after Glenn Ross Campbell, the pedal steel...
on rhythm and slide guitars, former Waterboys
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
drummer Chris Whitten
Chris Whitten
Chris Whitten is a British session drummer who provided drums for the hit singles "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, "World Shut your Mouth" by Julian Cope and "The Whole of the Moon" by The Waterboys...
and (on one track) former Mighty Wah! guitarist Steve "Brother Johnno" Johnson.
The album was much more raw in approach than its predecessor World Shut Your Mouth
World Shut Your Mouth (album)
World Shut Your Mouth is the debut album solo album by Julian Cope.-Background:World Shut Your Mouth was written during Cope's 1983 retreat to the village of Drayton Bassett , following the breakup of Cope's former band The Teardrop Explodes...
: in many respects it prefigured the looser and more mystical style which Cope would follow and be praised for in the next decade. Notoriously, the sleeve featured a naked Cope crouched on top of the Alvecote Mound slag heap clad only in a large turtle shell. Song topics and approaches included early examples of Cope's subsequent tendency to mythologise his own life and connect it to legend and ritual ("Reynard the Fox" combined English folktales with reference to Cope's notorious onstage stomach-slashing incident of the previous year; while "Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
Said" was an oblique fable about Cope's former manager and future KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
mainstay) and his developing interest in paganism ("O King of Chaos", which Cope later revealed was an invocation to Odin). Several songs featured little or no backing, with Cope accompanying himself.
Despite receiving better reviews than its ill-fated predecessor, Fried sold even more poorly at the time (as did accompanying single "Sunspots"). The commercial failure of the album led to Polygram dropping Cope. He would subsequently hook up with a new manager – artist and musician-cum-prankster Cally Callomon – and sign a new deal with Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
. Skinner and Whitten would remain with Cope for the next album, Saint Julian
Saint Julian (album)
Saint Julian is the third solo album by Julian Cope. It has a very strong pop sound, compared to other Cope releases, and spawned several of his best known tracks ....
Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
's 1986 album The Man replied in kind to "Bill Drummond Said", with a song titled "Julian Cope Is Dead".
Track listing
All tracks composed by Julian Cope- "Reynard the Fox"
- "Bill Drummond Said"
- "Laughing Boy"
- "Me Singing"
- "Sunspots"
- "The Bloody Assizes"
- "Search Party"
- "O King of Chaos"
- "Holy Love"
- "Torpedo"
Personnel
- Julian Cope – vocals, bass guitar, guitar, piano, organ
- Steve Lovell – lead guitar
- Donald Ross SkinnerDonald Ross SkinnerDonald Skinner is a guitarist, songwriter and producer born in Edinburgh, UK primarily known for his work with Julian Cope. Skinner is commonly known by the name Donald Ross Skinner with the addition of the middle name of Ross attributed to him by Cope after Glenn Ross Campbell, the pedal steel...
– rhythm & slide guitars - Chris WhittenChris WhittenChris Whitten is a British session drummer who provided drums for the hit singles "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, "World Shut your Mouth" by Julian Cope and "The Whole of the Moon" by The Waterboys...
– drums - Steve "Brother Johnno" Johnson – electric guitar on "Sunspots"
- Kate St. John - oboe