Red Mecca

Red Mecca is the fourth studio album by English industrial band Cabaret Voltaire, released in 17 August 1981 through Rough Trade Records.^[1]

Red Mecca
Studio album by Cabaret Voltaire
Released	August 17, 1981 (1981-08-17)[1]
Recorded	May 1981
Studio	Western Works, Sheffield, England
Genre	Industrial, post-punk
Length	40:11
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire chronology
The Voice of America (1980) Red Mecca (1981) 2X45 (1982)

Background

While touring the United States in November 1979, Cabaret Voltaire became strongly interested in the rise of the Christian right in the country and its use of television, especially the fundraising broadcasts of televangelist Eugene Scott.^[2] They compared this phenomenon to the parallel rise of Islamism in the Middle East, devoting a side of vinyl to each strand of geopolitics on their 1980 album Three Mantras.^[3][4] Red Mecca was a culmination of this interest; the album further connects these themes to the bleak atmosphere of the deindustrialising North of England under Margaret Thatcher.^[5][6]

Band member Richard H. Kirk noted that the title was inspired by then-current events in the Middle East: "The whole Afghanistan situation was kicking off, Iran had the American hostages [...] it's not called [Red Mecca] by coincidence. We weren't referencing the fucking Mecca Ballroom in Nottingham!"^[3] According to Chris Watson, the band "wanted to use the word 'Mecca' in the title, and we wanted a strong word complimenting it, and came up with a colour – which happened to be Red. I mean, red is a strong colour anyway, but when they came together to make Red Mecca they took on a totally different significance."^[4]

Red Mecca was recorded at Western Works in Sheffield in May 1981.

Release

Red Mecca reached No. 1 on the UK Independent Albums chart.^[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Blender	[9]
Muzik	[10]
New Musical Express	7/10[11]
Record Collector	[12]
Record Mirror	[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[14]
Select	3/5[15]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10[16]
Uncut	[17]

NME named Red Mecca the ninth best album of 1981.^[18]

Andy Kellman of AllMusic retrospectively praised the album, writing, "Unlike a fair portion of [Cabaret Voltaire]'s studio output, Red Mecca features no failed experiments or anything that could be merely cast off as 'interesting.' It's a taut, dense, horrific slab lacking a lull."^[19] Uncut cited Red Mecca as the band's "masterpiece", where they "struck the perfect balance between experimentalism and entryism".^[20] Record Collector's Ian Shirley called it "a seismic release" and noted "its timeless sheen, with the Cabs' use of echo, space and phasing lending depth and vibrancy to the album."^[12]

In 2019, Pitchfork ranked Red Mecca as the fourth best industrial album of all time, deeming it a "paranoid, claustrophobic masterpiece".^[2]

Track listing

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Touch of Evil"	3:11
2.	"Sly Doubt"	4:59
3.	"Landslide"	2:08
4.	"A Thousand Ways"	10:35

All tracks are written by Cabaret Voltaire (Chris Watson, Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder), except "A Touch of Evil" and "A Touch of Evil (Reprise)" by Henry Mancini.

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Red Mask"	6:54
2.	"Split Second Feeling"	3:47
3.	"Black Mask"	3:19
4.	"Spread the Virus"	3:40
5.	"A Touch of Evil (Reprise)"	1:32

Personnel

Cabaret Voltaire

• Christopher R. Watson – organ, tape, production, recording, sleeve design
• Richard H. Kirk – synthesizer, guitar, clarinet, horns, strings, production, recording, sleeve design
• Stephen Mallinder – vocals, bass guitar, bongos, production, recording, sleeve design

Additional personnel

• Nik Allday – drums
• Porky – mastering
• Neville Brody – sleeve design

References

1. "Cabs for hire". Sounds. 8 August 1981. p. 5.
2. "The 33 Best Industrial Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. 17 June 2019. p. 3. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
3. Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber and Faber. pp. 171–72. ISBN 0571215696.
4. "Chris Watson interview for Japanese 'Rock Magazine' 26 September 1981". Encyclopaedia Electronica. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
5. "Cabaret Voltaire- Red Mecca". Waiting Room Records. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
6. "Mute Records • Cabaret Voltaire • Red Mecca Vinyl Release - Out 22 July". Mute Records. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
7. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989. Cherry Red Books. p. 311. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
8. Kellman, Andy. "Red Mecca – Cabaret Voltaire". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
9. Howe, Rupert (April–May 2002). "Cabaret Voltaire: (Various)". Blender. No. 6. Archived from the original on 10 February 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
10. Bell, Duncan (June 2003). "Cabaret Voltaire: Mix Up / Voice of America / Red Mecca / 2x45". Muzik. No. 97. p. 79.
11. Page, Betty (14 July 1990). "Mecca city two". New Musical Express. p. 35.
12. Shirley, Ian (September 2013). "Cabaret Voltaire – Red Mecca". Record Collector. No. 418. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
13. Smith, Winston (5 September 1981). "Cabaret Voltaire: Red Mecca". Record Mirror. p. 14.
14. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Cabaret Voltaire". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 128–29. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
15. Finlay, Leo (July 1990). "Praying To Mecca". Select. p. 122.
16. Sinker, Mark (1995). "Cabaret Voltaire". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 67–68. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
17. Carlin, Marcello (February 2003). "Doom with a view". Uncut. No. 69. p. 93.
18. "1981 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
19. Cabaret Voltaire - Red Mecca Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 16 April 2023
20. "Doom with a view". Uncut. No. 69. February 2003. p. 93.

External links

• Red Mecca at Discogs (list of releases)