GOLD MOTHER
Come Home / Government Walls / God Only Knows / You Can't Tell How Much Suffering (On A Face That's Always Smiling) / Crescendo / How Was It For You? / Hang On / Walking The Ghost / Gold Mother / Top Of The World
Come Home (Flood Mix) / Government Walls / Lose Control / God Only Knows / You Can't Tell How Much Suffering (On A Face That's Always Smiling) / How Was It For You? / Sit Down / Walking The Ghost / Gold Mother / Top Of The World
inner sleeve and back sleeve pictures
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 1990 (ORIGINAL) / MAY 1991 (RE-RELEASE) / DECEMBER 2001 (RE-ISSUE)
CATALOGUE NUMBERS (ORIGINAL) : LP - 846 189-1, CAS 846 189-4, CD 846 189-2
CATALOGUE NUMBERS (RE-RELEASE) : LP - 848 595-1, CAS 848 595-4, CD 848 595-2
CATALOGUE NUMBERS (RE-ISSUE) : CD 548 785-2
CHART POSITION : 9 (ORIGINAL) / 2 (RE-RELEASE) / TBD (RE-ISSUE)
PRODUCED BY NICK GARSIDE AND BOOTH/GOTT/GLENNIE - Lose Control produced by Flood, Sit Down produced by Gil Norton
MIXED BY NICK GARSIDE AND BOOTH/GOTT/GLENNIE AT SQUARE ONE, BURY - How Was It For You remixed by Tim Palmer, Come Home (Flood Mix) remixed by Flood, Lose Control mixed by Mark McGuire, Sit Down mixed by Dave Bascombe
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS : John Slater (percussion), Martine McDonagh and Inspiral Carpets (backing vocals) and Vinny Corrigan (saxophone)
RECORDED AT OUT OF THE BLUE, MANCHESTER AND THE WINDINGS, WREXHAM, 1989
Spurred on by the success of One Man Clapping, James recorded Gold Mother for Rough Trade in the summer of 1989, having previewed most of the tracks live on tours in March and June of that year. The album featured an expanded sound with Saul Davies on percussion and violin, Mark Hunter on keyboards and Andy Diagram on trumpet having been added to the band along with Dave Baynton Power replacing the departed Gavan Whelan. The name of the album comes from the title track detailing the birth of Tim's son mothered by the band's manager Martine.
Most of the writing of the album came from sessions where the band were trying out new musicians after Gavan's departure at the band's rehearsal studio at Beehive Mills in Ancoats.
With the album finished, James sought to discuss promotion with Geoff Travis, MD of Rough Trade who told them that he loved the album but that they would only ever be a minority interest with an audience of 20-30,000. James asked to be released from their contract as they felt they could reach a wider audience. The recently relaunched Fontana label, a subsidiary of Phonogram (later to be swallowed by Mercury) signed James and bought the Gold Mother album as a whole from Rough Trade, who were just about to go bankrupt.
How Was It For You? preceded the album in April 1990 and achieved the band's first Top 40 hit, reaching number 32. The album followed in June and was met with almost universal approval by the music press who were suddenly beginning to champion James again and was accompanied by a month-long tour of larger venues culminating in a triumphant performance at Glastonbury. Come Home, remixed by Flood, was re-released at the end of June and also hit number 32 in the charts.
Following the release of Lose Control, a number 38 single, and the triumphant winter tour that included the infamous G-Mex shows, James hit the big-time with the re-release of Sit Down in March 1991, sitting at number 2 in the national charts for four weeks, being held off only by Chesney Hawkes' The One And Only.
With no new album in the pipeline, Fontana chose to re-release Gold Mother replacing Hang On and Crescendo with Lose Control and Sit Down. To appease those claiming rip-off, anyone who had a copy of the original album was allowed to exchange it for a new version at Our Price for the first few weeks of release. The album hit number 2 and stayed in the charts all summer. The predicted 20-30,000 sales were multiplied ten-fold.