The Rotters' Club
The second and last studio album, closed by Stewart's twenty-minute Mumps, and the title Jonathan Coe borrowed for a novel.
Hatfield and the North, 1975
- Released
- 7 March 1975
- Recorded
- January to February 1975
- Studio
- Saturn Studios, Worthing
- Label
- Virgin
- Producer
- Hatfield and the North, Dave Ruffell
- Length
- 50:15
Recorded and mixed at Saturn in Worthing with Dave Ruffell engineering, it reached 43 in the UK. Jimmy Hastings played flute and saxophones, the Northettes sang again, and Tim Hodgkinson, Lindsay Cooper and Mont Campbell added clarinet, bassoon, oboe and French horn. Pyle said the title Fitter Stoke Has a Bath came from his daughter Alice wrestling with English, and Stewart said Underdub was the one track not buried under thousands of overdubs.
AllMusic's Dave Lynch gave it four stars out of five, and Head Heritage called it a classic of the period that still sounds fresh. It was in part the inspiration for Jonathan Coe's 2001 novel of the same name. Virgin's 1987 and 1992 CDs added five tracks from Afters, Esoteric's 2009 edition added the full Over the Rainbow take of Halfway Between Heaven and Earth, and Music On Vinyl issued a 50th anniversary double LP in 2025.
Track listing
- Share It3:03
- Lounging There Trying3:15
- (Big) John Wayne Socks Psychology on the Jaw0:43
- Chaos at the Greasy Spoon0:30
- The Yes No Interlude7:01
- Fitter Stoke Has a Bath7:33
- Didn't Matter Anyway3:33
- Underdub4:02
- Mumps20:31
Personnel
- Phil Miller guitar
- Dave Stewart Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, Minimoog, piano, tone generator
- Richard Sinclair bass, lead vocals, guitar on Didn't Matter Anyway
- Pip Pyle drums
- Jimmy Hastings saxophone, flute
- The Northettes vocals
- Tim Hodgkinson clarinet
- Lindsay Cooper bassoon, oboe
- Mont Campbell French horn
- Dave Ruffell engineer, production assistance
More from Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North (1974), Afters (1980)
Sources
- The Rotters' Club (album), Wikipedia
- The Rotters' Club, Virgin V 2030, Discogs
- Hatfield and the North: The Rotters' Club, Head Heritage (2002-10)
- Hatfield and the North FAQ, Calyx