Velveteen (album)

Velveteen is the second studio album by English rock band Transvision Vamp, released in June 1989 by MCA Records. The album includes the single "Baby I Don't Care", which reached number 3 in the United Kingdom and Australia. Velveteen reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart and number 2 in Australia, where it became the 39th best-selling album of the year.^[3]

Velveteen
Studio album by Transvision Vamp
Released	June 1989
Recorded	1989
Studio	Moody Studios, Acton, London; Eastcote Studios, Kensal Road, London; The Town House, London
Length	50:10
Label	MCA
Producer	Duncan Bridgeman Zeus B. Held[1]
Transvision Vamp chronology
Pop Art (1988) Velveteen (1989) The Complete 12"ers Collection Vol. 1 (1990)
Singles from Velveteen
"Baby I Don't Care" Released: 1989 "The Only One" Released: 28 August 1989[2] "Landslide of Love" Released: 1989 "Born to Be Sold" Released: 1989

An accompanying video album, titled The Velveteen Singles, features the videos for all four singles released from the album, as well as behind-the-scenes footage.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Chicago Tribune	[5]
Hi-Fi News & Record Review	A:1[6]
NME	3/10[7]
Number One	[8]
Record Mirror	4/5[9]
The Village Voice	B+[10]

Hi-Fi News & Record Review praised Velveteen as "some of the best pure pop of any type in the UK today",^[6] while David Martin of Number One declared it "the best album of the year" and Transvision Vamp as "one of our most precocious young bands".^[8] Music Week reviewer Jeff Clark-Meads found the band more successful with "fast and loud" material, while noting that "there are enough tracks here with pace and raunch to carry the casual listener through the slower, limits-of-ability-defining tracks", and summarising: "Indeed, as a package the album has life, verve and muscle and will appeal to anybody who finds the band's singles attractive."^[11] David Quantick, however, panned Velveteen in NME as "a heartless, brainless rummage through pop music's pockets", accusing Transvision Vamp of lacking "imagination, wit, or fun."^[7]

In the United States, Chicago Tribune critic Tom Popson wrote that "the vocal dipsy-doodle edges into overkill more than once, but just as often the band delivers arresting moments of fast-paced, trashy-toned music."^[5] The Village Voice's Robert Christgau commented that lead singer Wendy James "does love-versus-sex and tragedy-of-fame almost as good as Patti now" and "should create enduring art for the next two–three years or as long as her attitude holds, whichever comes first."^[10]

Track listing

All tracks written by Nick Christian Sayer, except where noted.^[1]

1. "Baby I Don't Care" – 4:37
2. "The Only One" – 4:19
3. "Landslide of Love" – 3:48
4. "Falling for a Goldmine" (Sayer, Marcus Myers) – 4:28
5. "Down on You" – 4:20
6. "Song to the Stars" – 1:50
7. "Kiss Their Sons" – 4:16
8. "Born to Be Sold" – 3:44
9. "Pay the Ghosts" – 4:37
10. "Bad Valentine" – 3:45
11. "Velveteen" – 9:51

Personnel

Transvision Vamp

• Wendy James – vocals
• Nick Christian Sayer – guitar
• Dave Parsons – bass
• Tex Axile – keyboards
• Kevin Armstrong – guitar

with:

• Richard Niles – string arrangements on "Landslide of Love" and "Velveteen"

Technical

• Ben Kape, Philip Bagenal – engineer
• Peter Ashworth – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Velveteen Chart (1989) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 2 European Albums (Music & Media)[13] 10 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 6 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 25 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 12 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[17] 20 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 37 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 16 UK Albums (OCC)[20] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Velveteen Chart (1989) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] 39 European Albums (Music & Media)[21] 77 UK Albums (Gallup)[22] 31

References

1. Velveteen (Media notes). Transvision Vamp. MCA Records. 1989.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
2. "Singles: New Releases". Australian Music Report. No. 787. 28 August 1989 – via Imgur.
3. "ARIA Top 50 Albums for 1989". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
4. Demalon, Tom. "Velveteen – Transvision Vamp". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
5. Popson, Tom (16 November 1989). "Transvision Vamp: Velveteen (UNI)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
6. "Transvision Vamp: Velveteen (MCA MCG6050)" (PDF). Hi-Fi News & Record Review. Vol. 34, no. 8. Croydon. August 1989. p. 113. ISSN 0142-6230. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via World Radio History.
7. Quantick, David (24 June 1989). "The Velvet Blunderground". NME. London. p. 34. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 28 May 2023 – via Flickr.
8. Martin, David (28 June 1989). "Transvision Vamp: Velveteen (MCA)". Number One. No. 314. London. p. 43. ISSN 0266-5328. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023 – via Flickr.
9. Cheeseman, Phil (24 June 1989). "Transvision Vamp: 'Velveteen' (MCA)" (PDF). Record Mirror. London. p. 32. ISSN 0144-5804. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via World Radio History.
10. Christgau, Robert (6 February 1990). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
11. Clark-Meads, Jeff (24 June 1989). "Transvision Vamp: Velveteen. MCG 6050" (PDF). Music Week. London. p. 24. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022 – via World Radio History.
12. "Australiancharts.com – Transvision Vamp – Velveteen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
13. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 28. 15 July 1989. p. VIII. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
14. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Transvision Vamp – Velveteen" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
16. "Charts.nz – Transvision Vamp – Velveteen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Transvision Vamp – Velveteen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Transvision Vamp – Velveteen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Transvision Vamp – Velveteen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
21. "European Top 100 Albums 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. 9. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
22. "Year End Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror. 20 January 1990. p. 42. ISSN 0144-5804 – via World Radio History.