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Gossip
Studio album by
Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls
ReleasedSeptember 1986 (AUS)
July 1987 (USA)
RecordedMarch–May 1986
StudioTrafalger Studios, Sydney
Genre Australian Rock
Length81:38
Label Mushroom/White ( Australia)
A&M ( U.S.)
ProducerAlan Thorne, Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls chronology
Post
(1985) 		Gossip
(1986) 		Under the Sun
(1987)
Singles from Gossip
  1. " Before Too Long"
    Released: June 1986
  2. " Darling It Hurts"
    Released: September 1986
  3. " Leaps and Bounds"
    Released: January 1987
  4. "Look So Fine, Feel So Low"
    Released: July 1987
  5. "The Execution"
    Released: 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Los Angeles Times [2]

Gossip is the double LP debut album by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. [3] Produced by Alan Thorne and Paul Kelly, [4] it was released on Mushroom Records in September 1986, which peaked at No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, [5] and achieved gold record status. [3] There was commercial success for " Before Too Long" which peaked at No. 15 and " Darling It Hurts" reached No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. [5] Gossip was released in different forms, initially as a double album with 24 tracks, it was edited down to a single 15-track LP for North American and European release on A&M Records, when released on CD in North America, it featured 17 tracks. [4]

At the 1986 Countdown Australian Music Awards the album was nominated for Best Australian Album. [6] [7]

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls had been named for a lyric in Lou Reed's song " Walk on the Wild Side", but all North American and European releases were credited to Paul Kelly and the Messengers due to possible racist interpretations. [8] "Darling It Hurts" peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart in 1987. [9] The initial 1987 Australian CD release contained 21 tracks; in 2005, a special deluxe 2-CD version was released in Australia which contained all 24 tracks. [4] In October 2010, it was listed at No. 7 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums. [10]

Background

After relocating from Melbourne to Sydney in 1985, Paul Kelly had recorded and released a solo album Post. [3] [4] Kelly then began to play and record with a full-time band, which included Michael Armiger on bass guitar, Michael Barclay on drums, Steve Connolly on guitar, eventually bassist Jon Schofield, and keyboardist Peter Bull joined. [4] Through a joke based on Lou Reed's song " Walk on the Wild Side", the band became known as Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. [3] [8] Their first release was " From St Kilda to Kings Cross" but it did not chart. [3] The line-up of the Coloured Girls changed rapidly with some stability late in 1985 as Barclay, Bull, Connolly and Schofield. [3] [4] Stuart Coupe, Kelly's manager, advised him to sign with Regular Records due to difficulty re-signing with Mushroom's Michael Gudinski. [8] Michelle Higgins, Mushroom's Public relations officer, was a Kelly supporter and locked herself into a Sebel Townhouse Hotel room for nearly a week in mid-1986, refusing to leave until Gudinski had signed Kelly to a two-album recording contract. [8] [11]

In September 1986 Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released the 24-track double LP Gossip. [4] The album included remakes of songs from Post and also featured "Maralinga (Rainy Land)", a song about the effects of British atomic testing on the Maralinga Tjarutja – indigenous people of Maralinga, South Australia. [12] Gossip peaked at No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Charts, with singles chart success for " Before Too Long" which peaked at No. 15 and "Darling It Hurts" reaching No. 25. [5] A single LP version of Gossip featuring 15 tracks was released in North America and Europe by A&M Records in July, 1987. [4] Due to possible racist connotations the band changed its name, for international releases, to Paul Kelly and the Messengers. [3] [8] They made an American tour, initially supporting Crowded House and then head-lining, travelling across the United States by bus. [3] "Darling It Hurts" peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 1987. [9] The New York Times rock critic, John Pareles wrote "Mr. Kelly sang one smart, catchy three-minute song after another - dozens of them - as the band played with no-frills directness." following the band's performance at the Bottom Line Club in New York. [13]

Track listing

All tracks written by Paul Kelly unless otherwise indicated. [14]

  1. "Last Train to Heaven" – 4:51
  2. " Leaps and Bounds" (Paul Kelly, Chris Langman) – 3:25
  3. "Before the Old Man Died" – 2:35 Remixed by Scott Litt for North American issues
  4. "Down on My Speedway" – 3:25
  5. "White Train" – 2:47^^
  6. "Randwick Bells" – 3:38
  7. " Before Too Long" – 3:24
  8. "Adelaide" – 3:39^^ Omitted from North American LP and CD issues
  9. "I Won't Be Torn Apart" – 2:51 Omitted from North American LP issue
  10. "Going About My Father's Business" – 3:34 Omitted from North American LP issue
  11. "Somebody's Forgetting Somebody (Somebody's Letting Somebody Down)" – 3:41
  12. "The Ballroom" – 2:02 Omitted from North American LP and CD issues
  13. "Tighten Up" – 2:57 Remixed by Scott Litt for North American issues
  14. "I've Come for Your Daughter" – 3:21 Omitted from North American LP and CD issues, 1993 Australian CD issue
  15. "So Blue" – 3:32 Omitted from North American LP and CD issues
  16. "The Execution" – 5:17 Remixed by Scott Litt for North American issues
  17. "Incident on South Dowling" – 3:13^^
  18. "Maralinga (Rainy Land)" – 3:57 Omitted from North American LP and CD issues
  19. " Darling It Hurts" (Kelly, Steve Connolly) – 3:19
  20. "Look So Fine, Feel So Low" (Kelly, Maurice Frawley) – 3:22^^
  21. "Stories of Me" – 2:45
  22. "Don't Harm the Messenger" – 3:47
  23. "Gossip" (Kelly, Chris Coyne) – 2:56 Omitted from North American LP and CD issues, 1993 Australian CD issue
  24. "After the Show" – 3:17 Omitted from North American LP and CD issues, 1993 Australian CD issue

^^ = previously recorded on Kelly's 1985 solo release, Post

Personnel

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls

Additional musicians

Recording details

  • Producer — Alan Thorne, Paul Kelly
  • Engineer — Alan Thorne
  • Remixer — Scott Litt (tracks 3, 13, 16 for North American release)

2011 CD Remastered by Rick O'Neil at Turtlerock Mastering. Art work

  • Cover Art — Ann Redmond
  • Photography — Wayne O'Farrell

Charts

Chart (1986–87) Peak
position
Australia ( Kent Music Report) [15] 15
New Zealand Albums ( RMNZ) [16] 34

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia ( ARIA) [17] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Format Country Label Catalogue No. Year
LP/Cassette AUS Mushroom L45961/2 September 1986
LP, CD USA A&M SP 5157 1987
CD AUS Mushroom/White MUSH32282.2 1993

References

  1. ^ DeGagne, Mike. "Gossip – Paul Kelly & the Messengers / Paul Kelly". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  2. ^ Hochman, Steve (23 August 1987). "Aussie Treasure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN  1-86448-768-2. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Holmgren, Magnus. "Paul Kelly". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN  0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  7. ^ "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e Jenkins, Jeff; Meldrum, Ian (2007). Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia. Melbourne, Vic.: Wilkinson Publishing. ISBN  978-1-921332-11-1.
  9. ^ a b "Billboard singles charts". Allmusic. ( Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  10. ^ O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN  978-1-74066-955-9.
  11. ^ "Songs from the South: The Best of Paul Kelly". 13 May 1997. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  12. ^ Horsburgh, Susan (4 June 2007). "Song lines". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  13. ^ Pareles, John (18 September 1988). "Two Rock Storytellers Hit Their Stride". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  14. ^ "APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 17 May 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2008. Note: requires user to input song title e.g. Last Train to Heaven
  15. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 164. ISBN  0-646-11917-6.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls – Gossip". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  17. ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (doc). Allen & Unwin. ISBN  1-86448-768-2. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
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