Tin Planet is the second studio album by English band Space, released on 9 March 1998.

Recorded in late 1997 following a tumultuous year for the group, Tin Planet was a continuation of the eclectic blend of musical styles explored on their debut album Spiders. However, it was noted that the more abrasive aspects of their sound were toned down considerably from their debut, with the songs being more melodic with a prominent cabaret and easy listening influence. Keyboardist Franny Griffiths' love of techno and electronic music was also brought to the fore, culminating in three tracks that were primarily dance-orientated.

The album was the first Space record to feature long-time collaborator David "Yorkie" Palmer as full-time bassist, and the last to feature founding member Andy Parle on drums (though he was not credited in the album's liner notes), with Leon Caffrey (formerly of the band Proper) taking his place shortly afterwards.

Tin Planet peaked at #3 in the UK charts, two places higher than Spiders. It was their first album to enter the Australian ARIA top 100 albums chart, debuting on 24 May 1998 and peaking at #74 the following week. The album peaked at #11 in New Zealand in May 1998. The songs "Avenging Angels", "The Ballad of Tom Jones" (a duet with Cerys Matthews of the band Catatonia), "Begin Again" and "Bad Days" were released as singles, all hitting the UK top 40.

Background

In 1996, Space released their debut album Spiders on Gut Records. Combining surreal, darkly humorous lyrics and a large number of styles and genres, including rock, techno, hip hop and funk, a result of the different musical tastes of the band members, the album was a critical and commercial success, reaching number 5 on the UK Albums Chart Nonetheless, in mid-1997, during their tour of the United States, where the band began to find minor success, numerous personal problems hit the band. The band were constantly under stress, which reached such an extent that keyboardist Franny Griffiths developed an ulcer, lyricist and vocalist Tommy Scott lost his voice and the band's guitarist and other lyricist and vocalist, Jamie Murphy, "still only 21, simply lost it completely and had a spell in psychiatric care being fed anti-depressants and milk."

Murphy ultimately missed many of the band's live shows and television appearances. Though widely rumoured to have depressingly watched Space perform "Dark Clouds" on BBC's Top of the Pops on television, one of the performances he missed, he was in fact preoccupied with other things and "actually forgotten the single was even out." Scott was terrified that his singing voice was permanently lost, as the cause with originally unknown; he underwent cancer treatment to make sure, but it turns out his voice was lost due to stress, and he soon recovered. However, throughout the writing and recording of the album, the band felt they were of an uncertain future and were in a darker environment than before.

Recording

thumb|left|A [[Fender Coronado, similar to the model Tommy Scott played on the album.]]

The band recorded Tin Planet in late 1997 and early 1998 at Parr Street Studios, Liverpool, the same studio that they recorded Spiders in. The album was also mixed and mastered at the studio. although this was not the result of a band rift; as "it's accepted that when in the studio, whoever's around will play whatever's at hand," and "Tommy and Jamie have both played everything." The completed robot ended up appearing on the back of the sleeve, and was donated by Badger in 2011 to be exhibited at the Museum of Liverpool. Badger would also go on to produce the covers for the "Avenging Angels" and "Begin Again" singles, as well as the music video for "Avenging Angels" and a television commercial promoting the album.

Alongside the standard CD packaging, earlier limited editions of Tin Planet came with a special metallic tin packaging.

Reception

Upon its release, Tin Planet was met with critical and commercial acclaim, receiving a rare five-star rating from Q Magazine, although some critics were still eager to peg them as a novelty act. The album's lead single "Avenging Angels" was made NME's Single of the Week. Allmusic's Jason Damas noted how, "before the release of Tin Planet, lead vocalist Tommy Scott made reference to the album as being one of the finest pop records ever made." Later reflections on the album have been mixed, with bandmembers voicing their disappointment with the slicker sound compared to Spiders, and feeling that their label Gut Records were trying to manipulate them into becoming, in their words, "the next Beautiful South".

Aftermath

After touring and promotional commitments of Tin Planet concluded in late 1998, Space returned to the studio to commence work on their third album, tentatively titled Love You More than Football. However, Gut Records objected to Edwyn Collins being chosen as producer, and forced the band to rework the material several times, delaying its release for over two years until it was eventually scrapped in July 2001. By that time the band had terminated their contract with Gut and Jamie Murphy, who was growing restless and distant from the others, was dismissed from the line-up. Love You More than Football now primilarly exists as a bootleg, due to a promotional copy on CD-R which circulated around May 2000.

As a result, Space, now reduced to a four-piece, laid low for a couple of years, sporadically releasing several songs as a free-to-download MP3s through their website, becoming one of the first major groups to do so. However, they did not release another studio album proper until Suburban Rock 'n' Roll, which was recorded in 2002 and released through RandM Records in 2004.

On August 19, 2022, Tin Planet was released on vinyl for the first time through Demon Records. It entered at #25 on the Official UK Vinyl Album Charts.

Track listing

  • Lead vocals on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12: Tommy Scott
  • Lead vocals on tracks 4 and 9: Jamie Murphy

Bonus tracks (2+CD edition)

  • "Stress Transmissions"
  • "Stress Transmissions" (5 O'Clock Shadow Mix)

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1998)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)

| 74

|-

|-

|-

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1998)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 66

|}

Certifications

References

  • "Tin Planet" on SpaceTheBand.com