Homework is an album of previously unreleased demos by John Du Cann

John Du Cann

John William Cann , later known by his stage name John Du Cann, was a British guitarist primarily known through his work in the 1970s band, Atomic Rooster...

, with drum programming by Paul Hammond

Paul Hammond (musician)

Paul Hammond was an English rock drummer, best known for his time with the progressive rock band Atomic Rooster.-Career:Born in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Hammond began playing drums aged 12, and joined his first band, The Farm, after winning a competition in the Melody Maker music newspaper...

.

In 1981, the recently-reformed Atomic Rooster

Atomic Rooster

Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...

 signed to Polydor Records

Polydor Records

Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

 to release two singles, with the option of an album to follow, should the singles prove successful. Although the singles, "Play It Again" (1981) and "End Of The Day" (1982), performed well in rock clubs and on specialist rock charts, they failed to make an impression on the national charts. Consequently, Polydor dropped the band. Shortly afterwards, owing to resurfacing internal tensions, Du Cann left Atomic Rooster for the second and final time.

Du Cann's demos, recorded between 1979-81 for the projected album, were never completed and remained unreleased for several decades. In 2008, Du Cann licensed them for release by Angel Air Records

Angel Air Records

Angel Air Records is an English independent record label established in February 1997, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 70s and latterly new albums from known artists up to the 21st century, formed by Peter and Shirley Purnell...

, under the Atomic Rooster moniker. The album was rounded out by the inclusion of the six A and B-sides of the two Polydor singles.

All songs written by Du Cann except where noted.

Track listing

1. "The Dukes Theme" 3:24
2. "Make Me Strong" 2:50
3. "The Devil in Me" 4:13
4. "Fool" 3:13
5. "It Can Wait Another Day" 2:48
6. "C.O.D" 3:08
7. "Mind Over Matter" 3:29
8. "A Matter of Time" 3:18
9. "Cut the Wire" 6:31
10. "X-MASS" 2:00
11. "Open up the Sky" 3:22
12. "City Boy" 2:49
13. "The Band Played On" 2:20
14. "Different Words" 2:31
15. "Leopard's Skin" 2:32
16. "The Buck Stops Here" 1:42
17. "Somebody's Looking After You?" 4:31
18. "Play it Again" (Du Cann/Crane
    Vincent Crane
    Vincent Crane was a self-taught pianist, who studied theory and composition at Trinity College of Music, and graduated in 1964...
    
    ) 3:12 - single A-side (1981)
19. "Rebel with a Clause" aka "Start to Live" 2:58 - single B-side
20. "Devil's Answer" 4:11 - live in Milan 1981; 12" B-side
21. "End of the Day" 3:28 - single A-side (1982)
22. "Night Living" aka "Living Underground" 3:39 - single B-side
23. "Tomorrow Night" (Crane) 4:51 - live studio version 1981; 12" B-side