...If I Die, I Die

...If I Die, I Die is the debut studio album by Irish rock band Virgin Prunes. It was released on 4 November 1982 by record label Rough Trade. It was produced by Colin Newman of Wire.

...If I Die, I Die
Studio album by Virgin Prunes
Released	4 November 1982 (1982-11-04)
Recorded	July–August 1982
Studio	Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland
Genre	Post-punk, gothic rock
Length	40:19
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	Colin Newman
Virgin Prunes chronology
Moments And Mine (Despite Straight Lines) (1981) ...If I Die, I Die (1982) Hérésie (1982)
Singles from ...If I Die, I Die
"Baby Turns Blue" Released: 9 October 1982

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Ulakanakulot"	2:35
2.	"Decline and Fall"	4:50
3.	"Sweethome Under White Clouds"	4:45
4.	"Bau-Dachöng"	5:52

All tracks are written by Virgin Prunes

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Baby Turns Blue"	5:07
2.	"Ballad of the Man"	3:32
3.	"Walls of Jericho"	3:09
4.	"Caucasian Walk"	4:44
5.	"Theme for Thought"	5:45

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
The Village Voice	B+[3]

...If I Die, I Die has been well received by critics. AllMusic, in their retrospective review of the album, called it "a wonderfully confounding and sometimes campy and often disturbing exercise in unfettered creativity".^[1] Chuck Eddy of Spin included it in his list of essential gothic rock albums, remarking that it "demonstrates that sometimes 'ritualistic' equals 'catchy'."^[4]

Personnel

Virgin Prunes

• Dave-iD Busaras – vocals
• Mary D'Nellon – drums
• Dik Evans – guitar
• Gavin Friday – vocals
• Guggi (Derek Rowen) – vocals
• Trevor "Strongman" Rowen  – bass guitar

Technical personnel

• Colin Newman – production
• Kevin Moloney – engineering
• Steve Parker – engineering
• Denis Blackham – engineering
• BilBo – mastering
• RX – sleeve design
• Ursula Steiger – sleeve design

Charts

1982 chart performance for ...If I Die, I Die

Chart (1982)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart[5]	8

2022 chart performance for ...If I Die, I Die

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[6]	132
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[7]	37

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	1982	Rough Trade	LP	ROUGH 49
France	1985	Virgin	LP	70307
United Kingdom	1990	Rough Trade	CD	ROUGH LCD 49
France	1993	New Rose	CD	452043
United Kingdom	2004	The Grey Area	CD	YEO2CD
United States	2004	Mute	CD	MUTE 9265-2

References

1. Jurek, Thom. "...If I Die, I Die – Virgin Prunes". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
2. Wolk, Douglas. "Virgin Prunes: (various reissues)". Blender. Archived from the original on 3 November 2004. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
3. Chrisgau, Robert (2 March 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
4. Eddy, Chuck (March 2009). "Essentials: From the Depths of Hell and Hot Topic, a Goth Primer for Ghouls of All Ages". Spin. 25 (3): 80. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
5. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
6. "Ultratop.be – Virgin Prunes – ...If I Die, I Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
7. "Ultratop.be – Virgin Prunes – ...If I Die, I Die" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 November 2022.

External links

• ...If I Die, I Die at Discogs (list of releases)