Cardiacs discography

The English rock band Cardiacs have released five studio albums and two extended plays along with a number of singles, compilations, live albums and demos. The group was formed by brothers Tim and Jim Smith in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest, releasing their debut single "A Bus for a Bus on the Bus" in 1979 and the demo album The Obvious Identity the following year.^[1] After being renamed to Cardiacs, the band released two more cassettes, Toy World (1981) and The Seaside (1984).^[2][3]

Cardiacs discography
Cardiacs performing in Amsterdam in 1987
Studio albums	5
EPs	2
Demo albums	3
Live albums	5
Compilation albums	5
Singles	13
Video albums	3
Music videos	10

1987's Big Ship EP acted as Cardiacs' first proper recording,^[4] released on their independent label The Alphabet Business Concern on which they would release all future albums.^[5] Their debut studio album proper, A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (1988) found commercial success with its single, "Is This the Life?" which peaked at number 80 the UK Singles Chart.^[6] The band's second studio album, On Land and in the Sea (1989), released to weak sales in comparison to its predecessor, but was critically praised.^[7][8]

Cardiacs' third studio album, Heaven Born and Ever Bright, was released on 15 May 1992. Due to Rough Trade's bankruptcy, the album was a commercial failure. Sing to God, the band's fourth studio album, was released on 11 June 1996. It was initially poorly received,^[9] but has since been remembered as one of their greatest projects.^[10]

Guns (1999) was released as the band's fifth studio album which produced the single "Signs". Preceded by the release of "Ditzy Scene", the band's sixth studio album LSD has yet to be released. 2020 saw the official release of the song "Vermin Mangle" to mark the funeral of Tim Smith.^[11]

Albums

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions		Notes
		POR [12]	NZ [13]
A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window	Released: 21 March 1988 Label: Alphabet Business Concern/Torso (ALPH 007) Format: LP, CD, MC	56	—	Reissued on CD in 1995 including the B-side "Eating in Bed" in the tracklist[14] 25th Anniversary Edition released in 2013 with a booklet containing the original 1988 artwork and lyrics[15][3] A remastered vinyl edition was released in 2023. The special edition was presented with a 52-page casebound book, reproductions of Tim Smith's musical scores, and three CDs of additional material such as radio sessions.
On Land and in the Sea	Released: 2 May 1989 Label: Alphabet Business Concern/Torso (ALPH 012) Format: LP, CD, MC	—	—	Vinyl releases remove the track "Horse Head"[16]
Heaven Born and Ever Bright	Released: 15 May 1992 Label: Alphabet Business Concern/Rough Trade (ALPH 017) Format: LP, CD, MC	—	—	The first Cardiacs album as a four-piece[17] Remastered and reissued in 1995 with new cover art[18]
Sing to God	Released: 11 June 1996 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 022) Format: 2×CD	—	59	Originally released as a limited edition double CD and as two separate albums[19] Reissued on vinyl gatefold in 2014[20]
Guns	Released: 21 June 1999 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 027) Format: CD	—	—	Cardiacs' final album before dissolution in 2008 and the last released in Tim Smith's lifetime[21][22] The band's third and final album as a four-piece[21] Intended to be followed by an album that was never completed[23] Reissued on vinyl in 2015[21]
LSD	Unreleased			Recording began in 2005 for planned release in October 2008[24][25] The band's second double album following Sing to God[26]
"—" denotes a title that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions			Notes
		NZ [27]	AUT [28]	ITA [29]
Archive Cardiacs	Released: 1989 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 000) Format: MC	73	—	—	A compilation of early Cardiacs demos and previously unreleased instrumentals[30][31] Reissued on CD in 1995 and on vinyl in 2018[32][33]
Songs for Ships and Irons	Released: 16 September 1991 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 014) Format: LP, CD, MC	—	89	—	Comprising 1987's Big Ship EP and other non-album tracks[4]
Sampler	Released: 1995 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 019) Format: CD	—	—	—	Limited release sampler containing a guide to the Cardiacs discography[34]
Cardiacs and Affectionate Friends (with various artists)	Released: 19 May 2001 Label: Org Records/All My Eye and Betty Martin Music (ORG 228) Format: CD	—	—	—	Consists of songs by Cardiacs, side projects and past band members[35]
Greatest Hits	Released: 2 April 2002 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 029) Format: CD	—	—	57	Features the exclusive track "Faster Than Snakes with a Ball and a Chain"[26]
"—" denotes a title that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

Title	Album details	Notes
Rude Bootleg	Released: 24 August 1986 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 005) Format: LP, CD, MC	Documents the band's 1986 Reading performance, featuring tracks from 1988's A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window[36]
Radio 1 Sessions / The Evening Show	Released: 1988 Label: Strange Fruit/Nighttracks (SFNT 013) Format: Vinyl	BBC Radio 1 session with Janice Long on 29 November 1987, first transmitted the following day[37]
Cardiacs Live	Released: 31 October 1988 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 010) Format: LP, CD	Recorded at the Paradiso in Amsterdam on 15 May 1988[38] Back cover photo was taken at the Town and Country Club in London[38]
All That Glitters Is a Mares Nest	Released: 1 June 1995 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 018) Format: CD	Recorded at the Salisbury Arts Centre in Salisbury on 30 June 1990[39] Originally released as a video in 1990[40]
The Special Garage Concerts	Released: 24 September 2005 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 031) Format: 2×CD	Recorded at the Garage in London in Autumn 2003[41] Two volumes originally released separately[42][43]

Demo albums

Title	Album details	Notes
The Obvious Identity (as Cardiac Arrest)	Released: June 1980 Label: self-released Format: MC	Approximately 100 copies were produced[31] Three tracks appeared on 1989's Archive Cardiacs[31]
Toy World	Released: March 1981 Label: self-released Format: MC	Some tracks were recorded in June 1980 during The Obvious Identity sessions[31]
The Seaside	Released: 1984 Label: Alphabet (ALPH 001) Format: MC	Remastered and reissued on LP, CD and cassette in 1995 excluding four tracks[44] Released as part of The Seaside: Original Edition boxset in 2015[45]

Video albums

Title	Album details	Notes
Seaside Treats	Released: 31 December 1984 Label: Jettisoundz/Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 025V) Format: VHS	Featuring alternative comedy sketches by the band and three music videos[46]
All That Glitters Is a Maresnest	Released: 1992 Label: Fotodisk (LFV 116) Format: VHS	Released on DVD by the Alphabet Business Concern in 2013[47]
Some Fairytales From the Rotten Shed	Released: 7 September 2017 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH DVD 002) Format: DVD	Composed of 2003 rehearsal footage of the band's pre-1984 material[48] Clips uploaded to YouTube preceding full release[49]

Extended plays

Title	Album details	Notes
Seaside Treats	Released: 1985 Label: Alphabet (ALPH 002) Format: 12-inch	Consists of four songs from 1984's The Seaside, including "Hope Day" which was excluded from the video
Big Ship	Released: 27 January 1987 Label: Alphabet Business Concern (ALPH 004) Format: 12-inch	The first non-demo release by the band[4] Reissued on 1991's Songs for Ships and Irons[4]

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album	Notes
		UK [50]	SPA [51]
"A Bus for a Bus on the Bus" (as Cardiac Arrest)	1979	—	—	Cardiac Arrest E.P.	A 7-inch single released on Tortch Records[52]
"There's Too Many Irons in the Fire" / "All Spectacular"	1987	—	—	Non-album single	Was included on Songs for Ships and Irons[53] Came with a 4-page lyric sheet and a photo collage[54]
"Is This the Life?"	1988	80	—	A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window	Alphabet was not able to satisfy demands for the record after its release on Radio 1[55] Released in the Netherlands by Torso[56]
"Susannah's Still Alive"		—	—	Non-album single	A cover of the Kinks' Dave Davies later included on the compilation Shangri-La: A Tribute to the Kinks[57]
"Baby Heart Dirt"	1989	—	—	On Land and in the Sea	Released in the Netherlands by Torso[58]
"Day Is Gone"	1991	—	—	Heaven Born and Ever Bright	Four track EP preceding the album's release[4] Reissued in a limited capacity on CD in 2015[59]
"Bellyeye"	1995	—	—	Sing to God	Released by the Organ magazine's record label Org Records[60]
"Manhoo"	1996	—	—		First two in a planned set of four limited edition CD-singles from Sing to God[61][62]
"Odd Even"		—	—
"Sleep All Eyes Open"	1999	—	—	Cardiacs Meet Camp Blackfoot	Limited split single with the English band Camp Blackfoot[63] Cardiacs side features "Sleep All Eyes Open" from Guns along with three songs from 1996's Sing to God, while Camp Blackfoot's features demos of songs from Critical Seed vs. The Spartan Society (1999)[63]
"Signs"	1999	—	—	Guns	Includes an instrumental for the song "Dog Like Sparky" from Sing to God[64]
"Ditzy Scene"	2007	—	72	LSD	Last Cardiacs release in Tim Smith's lifetime[65] Limited edition release on Organ's single series[66]
"Vermin Mangle"	2020	—	—		Cardiacs' first material since their 2008 indefinite hiatus[67] Released as an online free download through Bandcamp[68]
"Faster than Snakes with a Ball and a Chain"	2025	—	—	Cardiacs E.P.	Vinyl 7-inch record released exclusively in Cardiacs: A Big Book and a Band and the Whole World Window Previously unreleased track "Aukamakic / Dead Mouse" from the sessions of Cardiac Arrest E.P. as well as "Faster Than Snakes with a Ball and a Chain", a track previously unreleased on vinyl which was originally intended for Guns and appeared on Greatest Hits[69]
"—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released.