Tell Us the Truth explained

Tell Us the Truth
Type:	studio
Artist:	Sham 69
Cover:	Sham69-tellusthetruth-cover.jpg
Released:	February 1978
Venue:	Marquee Club, 90 Wardour Street, London; The Vortex, 203 Wardour Street, London
Studio:	Polydor, London Pathway, London Basing Street, London
Genre:	Punk rock
Length:	34:52
Next Title:	That's Life
Next Year:	1978

Tell Us the Truth is the debut album by English punk rock band Sham 69, released in 1978. The first side of the album was recorded live in concert, while the other was recorded in the studio. Tell Us the Truth includes one of Sham 69's biggest hits, "Borstal Breakout", on the live side of the album. The album peaked at number 25 on the UK Albums Chart.

Tell Us the Truth and the band's second album That's Life were re-released in 1989 as a double LP.

Track listing

All songs written by Jimmy Pursey and Dave Parsons

Live side

"We Got a Fight"
"Rip Off"
"Ulster"
"George Davis Is Innocent"
"They Don’t Understand"
"Borstal Breakout"

Studio side

"Family Life"
"Hey Little Rich Boy"
"I’m a Man, I’m a Boy"
"What About the Lonely?"
"Tell Us the Truth"
"It’s Never Too Late"
"Who's Generation!"

Captain Oi! bonus tracks

"What Have We Got" (live)
"I Don't Wanna" produced by John Cale
"Red London" produced by John Cale
"Ulster" (single version) produced by John Cale
"Borstal Breakout" (single version)
"George Davis Is Innocent" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by Steve Lillywhite
"They Don't Understand" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by Steve Lillywhite
"Borstal Breakout" (demo) produced by Howard Thompson and Sham 69; engineered by Steve Lillywhite

Tracks 15-17 released as "I Don't Wanna" single on Step Forward
"Borstal Breakout" released as Polydor Records debut single, January 1978

Personnel

Sham 69

Jimmy Pursey – vocals, production, liner notes
Dave Parsons – guitars, liner notes
Dave "Kermit" Tregunna – bass guitar
Mark "Dodie" Cain – drums

with:

Albie "Slider" Maskell - bass guitar on tracks 15-17 and 19-21

Technical

Peter Wilson – production
Brian Burrows – remixing
Steve Hammonds – project coordinator
Jo Mirowski – art direction, design
Alwyn Clayden – package design
Martyn Goddard – photography
Barry Plummer – photography

Release history

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tell Us the Truth".

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog	Notes
UK	1978	Polydor Records	LP	2383 491
US	1978	Sire Records	LP	SRK 6060
UK	1996	Dojo Records	CD	DOJO CD 256	Features one bonus track ("What Have We Got (live)")
US	1996	Dojo Records	CD	DOJO 3000-2	Features one bonus track ("What Have We Got (live)")
UK	2000	Castle Music	CD	CMRCD 020	Features two bonus tracks ("What Have We Got" and "Borstal Breakout (single version)")
UK	2005	Captain Oi!	CD	AHOY DPX 611	Features eight bonus tracks