SWELL MAPS – A TRIP TO MARINEVILLE LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1979 ORIG  PUNK NEW WAVE

Swell Maps – A Trip To Marineville
(Rough Trade/Rather Records  1979  TROYONE/ROUGH2)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality – library stamp on labels)
No 7″

Sleeve in Excellent+/Nr MINT condition
– some wear to edges/corners and faint sticker mark at top
Inner Sleeve has no splits but has a few small tears on one side

Swell Maps were an experimental DIY rock group of the 1970s from Birmingham, England, that foreshadowed the birth of post-punk.

Influenced by the disparate likes of T. Rex and the German krautrock outfit Can, they created a new soundscape that would be heavily mined by others in the post-punk era. Despite existing in various forms since 1972, Swell Maps only really came together as a musical entity after the birth of British punk.

Consisting of brothers Epic Soundtracks (real name Kevin Paul Godfrey) and Nikki Sudden (real name Adrian Nicholas Godfrey) two Solihull based teenagers, plus Biggles Books (Richard Earl), Phones Sportsman (David Barrington), John “Golden” Cockrill and Jowe Head (Stephen Bird), the band cut the single “Read About Seymour” as their debut in 1977, soon after the brothers left Solihull School. It is widely considered one of the classic punk era singles, and is name-checked in the song “Part Time Punks” by Television Personalities.

After recording their first John Peel session Swell Maps went into WMRS studio to record their first album A Trip to Marineville, which was released in 1979. It featured hard rocking punk numbers like “H.S. Art” interspersed with ambient instrumentals and other experimental interludes like “Gunboats”. The album went No. 1 on the new Independent chart.

The band cut one more album, The Swell Maps in ‘Jane From Occupied Europe’, in 1980: it featured a variety of genres, from industrial surf instrumentals like the opener “Robot Factory” to ballads like “Cake Shop Girl”.

The next year, the band released compilation Whatever Happens Next… before splitting up.

A Trip to Marineville is the debut studio album by English art punk band Swell Maps. It was released in June 1979, through record labels Rather and Rough Trade.

Track listing

Personnel

Swell Maps

• Epic Soundtracks (Kevin Godfrey) – drums (tracks A1–5, A7, A8, B1–5, C1 and D2), piano (tracks A1, A5, A8 and B3), backing vocals (tracks A1, A2, A7 and D2), handclaps (tracks A1, A2, A7), “voice” (tracks A6, B4), synth bass (track A7), alarm bell (track A7), xylophone (track A8), organ (track B4), “balloons” (track B4), “microphone damage” (track B5), violin (track D2), chanting (track A3), “aquatics” (track A5), toy saxophone (track A6), production, album cover design
• Jowe Head – bass guitar (tracks A1, A2, A4, A5, B1–5 and D2), backing vocals (tracks A1, A2, A4, A7 and B2), guitar (tracks A1, A3, C1 and D2), vocals (tracks A5, B1 and D2), harmonica (tracks A1 and A6), “voice” (tracks A6 and A8), handclaps (tracks A1 and A2), chanting (tracks A3), cymbal (track A6), vacuum cleaner (track A7), toy saxophone (track A8), “balloons” (track B4), slide guitar (track B4), production, EP cover design
• Nikki Sudden – guitar (tracks A1, A2, A4, A5, A7, A8, B1–5 and D2), vocals (tracks A1–4, A7 and B4), handclaps (tracks A1, A2), chanting (track A3), “omnipresence” (track A6), “voice” (track B2), “balloons” (track B4), piano (track D2), toy saxophone (track D2), backing vocals (track D2), production, sleeve design
• Richard Earl – guitar (tracks A1, A2, A4, A5, A7, B1–5 and D2), backing vocals (tracks A1, A2, A4), handclaps (tracks A1 and A2), xylophone (tracks A6 and A8), chanting (track A3), “aquatics” (track A5), “voice” (track A6), vacuum cleaner (track A8), screams (track A8), “balloons” (track B4), organ (track B4), slide guitar (track B4), production

Additional personnel

• David Barrington (Phones) – guitar (tracks B6 and C1), bass guitar (track A3), chanting (track A3), backing vocals (tracks A5 and B2), “voice” (track B5), cymbal (track B5), vocals (track B6)
• John (Golden) Cockrill – backing vocals (tracks A5 and B2), guitar (track A3), chanting (track A3), bass guitar (track C1)

Technical

• John Rivers – engineering
• Mike Kemp – engineering (“Vertical Slum”)