In the Flat Field
Encyclopedia
In the Flat Field is the debut album by British gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...

 band Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...

, released in October 1980 on 4AD
4AD
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...

.

Recording

Following a 30-date tour, Bauhaus set out to Southern Studios in London to record their first album. As the band had a clear conception of what they wanted the record to sound like, they opted to produce it themselves. While most of the album was completed with the planned release date of September 1980, the group found it difficult to record a version of "Double Dare" as good as the one they performed on disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 programme. Bauhaus applied to the BBC to use the Peel sessions version, but due to obstructions from the Musicians Union the process took over a month.

Release and reception

While In the Flat Field received positive reviews in fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...

 publications, the album was "absolutely slated" by the British weekly music press, according to Bauhaus biographer Ian Shirley. The NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

review described the album as "nine meaningless moans and flails bereft of even the most cursory contour of interest, a record which deserves all the damning adjectives usually leveled at grim-faced 'modernists'." Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...

review was also negative: "No songs. Just tracks (ugh). Too priggish and conceited. Sluggish indulgence instead of hoped for Goth-ness. Coldly catatonic." Despite the negative reviews, In the Flat Field topped the independent charts, and made the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

 for one week, peaking at number 72.

The album was first released on CD by 4AD in April 1988, with eight bonus tracks including the singles "Dark Entries
Dark Entries
"Dark Entries" is the second single released by British gothic rock band Bauhaus. It showcases the guitar playing of Daniel Ash and tight rhythm section of David J and Kevin Haskins...

", "Terror Couple Kill Colonel
Terror Couple Kill Colonel
"Terror Couple Kill Colonel" is the third single released by British gothic rock band Bauhaus. Original sleeves were printed on a textured fabric. Two versions of this record exist; each having a different recording of "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" on the B-side...

" and a cover of T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...

's "Telegram Sam." Five of these bonus tracks had been previously compiled on the 4AD
4AD (EP)
-Personnel:*David J – bass, backing vocals, cover design*Kevin Haskins – drums, percussion*Daniel Ash – guitar, backing vocals*Peter Murphy – lead vocals*Bauhaus – producer*Emmanuel Sougez – photographer...

EP in 1983.

On October 19, 2009, 4AD/Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...

 reissued the album as an Omnibus Edition, which features the 24-bit remastered CD of the original 9-track album in a replica mini-LP sleeve (with corresponding inner sleeve featuring the lyrics), plus a 16-song bonus disc of singles, outtakes, alternate recordings and original versions. The set comes inside a semi-long box, coupled with a 48-page book that includes comments from band members, photos, complete lyrics, complete tour date information for 1979 and 1980, and an essay by Kevin Brooksbank on the formation and creation of the band, the singles and the album.

Original release

1988 CD re-release

Omnibus Edition bonus disc

  1. "Dark Entries" (Single A-side - AD 3[A]) – 3:52
  2. "A God in an Alcove" (Original Version) – 4:09
  3. "Untitled" (Single B-side - AD 3[B]) – 1:28
  4. "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" (Original Beck Studios Version) - 4:45
  5. "Telegram Sam" (Original Beck Studios Version) – 2:19
  6. "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" (Single B-Side - AD 7[B]) - 4:34
  7. "Scopes" (Single B-Side - AD 7[B]) - 1:34
  8. "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" (Southern Mix #2) - 4:26
  9. "Crowds" (Single B-Side - AD 17T[B]) - 3:16
  10. "Dive" (Out-Take/Alternative Mix) - 2:15
  11. "Spy in the Cab" (Out-Take/Alternative Mix) – 4:31
  12. "Stigmata Martyr" (Out-Take/Alternative Mix) - 3:45
  13. "Rosegarden Funeral of Sores" (Single B-Side - AD 17T[B]) - 5:32
  14. "Double Dare" (Alternative Version/Mix #4) – 5:34
  15. "Telegram Sam" (Alternative Mix #1) – 2:24
  16. "Untitled 2" – 1:11

Personnel

  • Peter Murphy
    Peter Murphy (musician)
    Peter John Murphy is an English rock vocalist. He was the vocalist of the rock group Bauhaus, and later went on to release a number of solo albums, such as Deep and Love Hysteria...

     — vocals, guitar
  • Daniel Ash
    Daniel Ash
    Daniel Gaston Ash is the guitarist for Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, and solo projects.-Life and work:After going to concerts in his teenage years, Ash made a decision to be on a stage in some way...

     — guitar, saxophone
  • David J
    David J
    David John Haskins , better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician. He was the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus and Love and Rockets....

     — bass
  • Kevin Haskins
    Kevin Haskins
    Kevin Haskins also known as Kevin Michael Dompe is a drummer best known from the British rock group Bauhaus. He was also a member of Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets...

    — drums
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