Workers Playtime
Encyclopedia
Workers Playtime is a 1988 album
by Billy Bragg
. Originally released on the Go! Discs label, it is his fourth release but third full length album. It was reissue
d on compact disc
in September 1996 on the Cooking Vinyl
label before being remaster
ed, expanded and reissued in 2006 on the Cooking Vinyl label in the UK
and on the Yep Roc
label in the United States
.
The album reached number 18 in the UK albums chart
.
The original album cover has the subtitle "Capitalism Is Killing Music".
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
. Originally released on the Go! Discs label, it is his fourth release but third full length album. It was reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
d on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in September 1996 on the Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
label before being remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed, expanded and reissued in 2006 on the Cooking Vinyl label in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and on the Yep Roc
Yep Roc Records
Yep Roc Records is an independent International record label based in Haw River, North Carolina and owned by Redeye Distribution . The label has put out albums by artists like The Go-Betweens, The Fleshtones, Gang of Four, The Reverend Horton Heat, and The Minus 5, as well as the work of important...
label in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The album reached number 18 in 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...
.
The original album cover has the subtitle "Capitalism Is Killing Music".
Disc one
- "She's Got a New Spell" – 3:26
- "Must I Paint You a Picture?" (Extended Version 7:08 Minutes) – 5:32
- "Tender Comrade" – 2:50
- "The Price I Pay" – 3:34
- "Little Time Bomb" – 2:17
- "Rotting on Remand" – 3:37
- "Valentine's Day is Over" – 4:53
- "Life With the Lions" – 3:06
- "The Only One" – 3:26
- "The Short Answer" – 4:59
- "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" – 4:35
Disc two (2006 reissue)
- "The Only One" (demo version) – 3:36
- "The Price I Pay" (demo version) – 4:01
- "Love Has No Pride" (Eric KazEric KazEric Kaz, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1947, is a singer-songwriter active mainly in the late 1960s and the 1970s.-Biography:He first appeared on the popular music scene in the mid-60s playing piano in a band called Children of Paradise with Happy and Artie Traum...
, Libby TitusLibby TitusLibby Titus is a singer, songwriter, actress and concert producer. Although she released several solo albums in the 1970s and '80s, she is best known as the co-writer, with Eric Kaz, of "Love Has No Pride", a song recorded by many artists including Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt and Jane Monheit.She...
) – 3:35 - "That's EntertainmentThat's Entertainment (song)"That's Entertainment" is a 1980 song by British punk/Mod Revivalist group The Jam off their fifth album, Sound Affects.-Song profile:...
" (Paul Weller) – 3:53 - "She's Got a New Spell" (demo version) – 2:44
- "The Short Answer" (demo version) – 5:21
- "Little Time Bomb" (demo version) – 2:21
- "Bad Penny" (demo version) – 3:05
- "Reason to BelieveReason to Believe"Reason to Believe" is a song written and first recorded by American folk singer Tim Hardin in 1965, which has since been recorded by a number of other artists, the most known of which is by Rod Stewart in 1971 and 1993...
" (live) (Tim HardinTim HardinJames Timothy "Tim" Hardin was an American folk musician and composer. He wrote the Top 40 hits "If I Were a Carpenter", covered by, among others, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Robert Plant, and "Reason to Believe", covered by many, including Rod Stewart, as well...
) – 2:12 - "Must I Paint You a Picture?" (extended version) – 7:13
- "Raglan RoadOn Raglan Road"On Raglan Road" is a well-known Irish song from a poem written by Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh named after Raglan Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin. In the poem the poet, walking on a "quiet street", recalls a love affair he had with a young woman...
" (live) (Patrick KavanaghPatrick KavanaghPatrick Kavanagh was an Irish poet and novelist. Regarded as one of the foremost poets of the 20th century, his best known works include the novel Tarry Flynn and the poems Raglan Road and The Great Hunger...
, traditional) – 3:46
Musicians
- Billy Bragg – vocals, acousticAcoustic musicAcoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, triangleTriangle (instrument)The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve... - Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
– double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Cara TiveyCara TiveyCara Tivey is an English pianist/keyboardist and vocalist who had mainly worked as a side musician. She is best known for her collaborations with Billy Bragg...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, vocals, Hammond C-3 organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard... - Micky WallerMicky WallerMicky Waller was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and blues scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Wiggy – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, 12 string guitarTwelve string guitarThe twelve-string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with 12 strings in 6 courses, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar...
, slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Tony Maronie – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Bruce ThomasBruce ThomasBruce Thomas is best known as bassist for The Attractions; the band formed in 1977 to back Elvis Costello in concert and on record....
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Dave Woodhead – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus... - B.J. ColeB. J. ColeBrian John Cole is an English pedal steel guitarist. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles of music, ranging from mainstream pop and rock, to jazz and eclectic experimental music.He played and is heavily featured with Deke Leonard's Help...
– pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"... - Martin BelmontMartin BelmontMartin Belmont is a rock 'n' roll and country-blues guitarist.After working as a roadie for Brinsley Schwarz, in 1972 he formed Ducks Deluxe, issuing two albums on RCA...
– electric guitar - Barb Jungr – harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
- Julia Palmer – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Camilla Brunt – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Kenny Jones – 6 and 12 string acoustic guitar
- Theresa Pamplin – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Donna Welchman – violin
- PorkyPhill JupitusPhillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
– backing vocals - Jayne Creamer – backing vocals
- Kaya Jenner – backing vocals
- Michelle ShockedMichelle ShockedMichelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
– backing vocals
Production
- Joe BoydJoe BoydJoe Boyd is an American record producer and former owner of the Witchseason production company. Boyd was instrumental in launching the careers of Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and The Incredible String Band.-Career:...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Wiggy – producer
- Martin Hayles – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Graham Dear – assistant engineer
- Lawrence Watson – photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Liu Chih-Kuei – artworkCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
- Thumbnail – designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...