Pop Art (album) explained

Pop Art
Type:	studio
Artist:	Transvision Vamp
Cover:	TransvisionVamp-PopArt.jpg
Recorded:	1988
Studio:	Garden Studio, London; Eastcote Studios, Kensal Road, London; Matrix Studios, London
Genre:	Pop rock
Label:	MCA
Producer:	Duncan Bridgeman Zeus B. Held^[1]
Next Title:	Velveteen
Next Year:	1989

Pop Art is the debut studio album by the English pop rock band Transvision Vamp.^[2] It was released in October 1988 and features the band's first top ten hit "I Want Your Love". The album reached No. 4 in the UK, and peaked at No. 13 in Australia, where it was the 25th highest-selling album of 1989.

Critical reception

NME reviewer Stuart Bailie stated that Transvision Vamp "write some very assured singalongs, and have a smart sense of melody", but was disappointed by Pop Art, finding that it lacked the "haughty thrust" of the band's debut single "Revolution Baby". In Number One, Patsy Kensit called the group "a band known more for their big mouths than their music" and commented, "what a shame after all their rantings they have come up with a package that is so astoundingly average." The magazine later listed Pop Art – alongside the album Fearless by Kensit's band Eighth Wonder, in a section titled "Silly Blondes" – as one of the year's "stinkers".^[3] The Philadelphia Inquirers Tom Moon concluded that "every lyric shoots for free-associative significance, and eventually all it adds up to is a glossy empty set."

Robert Christgau was more complimentary in The Village Voice, suggesting that Transvision Vamp had been criticised for simply "wearing their inauthenticity on their sleeves", while advising them to improve their "command of trash – better riffs are available for hijacking."

Track listing

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

Personnel

Transvision Vamp

• Wendy James – vocals
• Nick Christian Sayer – guitar
• Dave Parsons – bass, backing vocals
• Tex Axile – keyboards, sequencer
• Pol Burton - drums

Additional musicians

• Matthew Seligman – bass
• Phil Smith – saxophone
• D. Manic B'Man – keyboards and programming
• Adam Peters – electric and acoustic cellos
• Nick Marsh, China Blue, Carol and Karen – backing vocals

Production

• Duncan Bridgeman – production
• Zeus B. Held – mixing and additional production
• Adam Moseley – recording engineer
• Philip Bagenal – mix engineer
• Peter Ashworth - photography

Charts

Chart (1988)!scope="col"

Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[4]	13
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[5]	50
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[6]	25
Swiss Albums (Swiss Hitparade)^[7]	20
UK Albums (OCC)^[8]	4
US Billboard 200^[9]	115

Notes and References

1. Pop Art. Transvision Vamp. 1988. MCA Records.
2. Sutherland . Steve . Albums—Trash Fantasy . Melody Maker . 9 July 1988 . 64 . 28 . 35.
3. Silly Blondes Section . . 37 . 287 . London . 14 December 1988 . 3 September 2022.
4. Web site: australian-charts.com > Transvision Vamp – Pop Art (album). Hung Medien. 2012-03-05.
5. Web site: charts.nz > Transvision Vamp – Pop Art (album). Hung Medien. 2012-03-05.
6. Web site: swedishcharts.com > Transvision Vamp – Pop Art (album). Hung Medien. 2016-05-19.
7. Web site: hitparade.ch > Transvision Vamp – Pop Art. German. Hung Medien. 2016-05-19.
8. Web site: Official Charts > Transvision Vamp. Official Charts Company. 2016-05-19.
9. Billboard 200: The week of October 22, 1988. Billboard. 2021-04-21.