viernes, julio 04, 2025

Rocktrospectiva: The Edgy "Stars Of CCTV" Turns 20

Released on 4 July 2005 "Stars Of CCTV2 was the debut studio album by English indie rock band Hard-Fi. It received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. T album spawned five singles "Cash Machine", "Tied Up Too Tigh"/"Middle Eastern Holiday", "Hard To Beat", "Living For The Weekend", & "Better Do Better". The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart in January 2006, taking it about five months to reach number one mainly due to the preceding single "Cash Machine".

Stars of CCTV was recorded in a variety of unusual acoustic environments – bedrooms, pubs, and played back in Hard-Fi producer Wolsey White's BMW. Originally 1,000 copies of this record were pressed with only 500 going on public sale, and the initial plan was to sell 1,000 each time. However it quickly sold out, receiving critical acclaim and radio play, proving a lot more successful than the band had imagined. Most of the album was recorded in a disused mini cab office, which cost them about £300, and it is known to this day as the "Cherry Lips" Studio due to the colour of the paint on the walls. 

The band tried to make their music sound more environmental by putting a microphone in the corridor, which added echo, but background noises caused by people walking past or planes flying overhead could be heard while the band recorded. These background noises can still be heard on the record. The band used the TL Audio Fatman compressor for the album, Archer said "It's alright, it's cheap, you don't have to know what you're doing...".

Stars of CCTV was originally released as a mini album, a very limited release which sold out very quickly. A few months after, the album had been going on sale on websites such as eBay for £25. Talking about the situation, frontman Richard Archer said: "We had no money but time was a luxury that we did have. So we spent a year planning, then recording it ourselves, and we did all the artwork ourselves too. Even our website was designed by us. We got a book out of the library so we could learn how to do it. Then we had to do it again cos it was a right palaver. So after all that, things took off really quickly and went crazy in the space of two months, which was quite surprising." 

The album's launch party was scheduled for 7 July 2005 at Cheekees night club in Staines  where their top ten single "Hard to Beat" was filmed, but this was cancelled due to the ill health of Richard's mother, and the London bombings also occurring that day. Her death resulted in the band pulling out of the Glastonbury festival. The launch party was rescheduled for 13 July 2005 and the venue changed to Ladbroke Grove, London. Richard says that he is no longer friends with Cheekee because of an incident involving him describing his nightclub to a newspaper like "a bad wedding". Richard defended himself by saying "...but everyone likes a bad wedding so I don't see what the problem is."

After a successful campaign by Atlantic, the Stars of CCTV album re-entered the official UK album chart at No. 4 on 1 January 2006. Two places higher than it originally went in on the week of its release. It reached No. 1 on 22 January 2006. The band's re-release of "Cash Machine" entered the official Top 40 singles chart at No. 14 on 1 January.

The album received positive reviews describing the album as "the album of the year", recognising that "Hard-Fi's edge over more derivative rivals lies in a formula that delivers old Specials and Clash reggae vibes with the big-tune ratio of a boy band".  They sound like a garage band while delving into the monotony of everyday suburban life, referring to their small town upbringing. Thus a raw kind of work ethic gradually emerges on Stars of CCTV. Their formula of snappy choruses and tight guitar hooks, particularly on "Middle Eastern Holiday" and "Gotta Reason," captured Hard-Fi's youthful presentation.
 
Stars Of CCTV Track List:
 
1. Cash Machine
2. Middle Eastern Holiday
3. Tied Up Too Tight
4. Gotta Reason
5. Hard To Beat
6. Unnecessary Trouble 
7. Move On Now
8. Better Do Better
9. Feltham Is Singing Out
10. Living For The Weekend
11. Stars Of CCTV 

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