When You’re Down at the Bottom… You Can Only Look Up

Description

When You’re Down at the Bottom… You Can Only Look Up! is the full-length debut album by the British singer and songwriter Tony Clay, independently released on Production Line in 1983. The album was recorded at ICC Studios in Eastbourne, England; with Keith Loring producing and arranging. (Riding on the crest of the new wave music scene of the time, Tony Clay seized the offer of some free studio time to record his debut in 1979 which, due to record label difficulties, would not see the light of day until 1983.) All songs written by Tony Clay.

France-based British singer/songwriter Tony Clay’s second solo album ‘Rain‘ has just been released some 32 years after he originally emerged with his debut. Recorded at Eastbourne’s ICC Studios and produced by another singer/songwriter Keith Loring, Clay’s first album unfortunately never received the distribution or acclaim it deserved due to record label problems but is still available on vinyl if you know where to look. The new wave and emerging new romantic influences of the day shine through with the likes of the single «This Ain’t Paris» smacking of Elvis Costello & The Attractions whilst the relationship song «Lying To Me» has echoes of the Human League’s «Don’t You Want Me». Having said that, Clay was and still is an original songwriter and his personality, skill and passion shine through on tracks like «I Don’t Want To Be A Rebel» and «Rare Spirits Of Foreign Origin» which reference his Christian faith and pass social comment respectively in inventive fashion. Impressively, considering the lack of budget they had at their disposal, Clay and crew were evidently reaching for and achieving the kind of sound that bigger names of the time had on their records and the arrangements on this release are surprisingly lavish and ambitious. Moreover, it stands the test of time and still sounds as fresh as it did when it was released over three decades ago. If you ever stumble across the vinyl ‘When You’re Down.’ it’s well worth purchasing. [Lins Honeyman, Cross Rhythms, January 2016]

Back in 1979 I made a single called ‘This Ain’t Paris’ at ICC studios in Eastbourne and Keith Loring produced it. I sold the single at gigs in schools and colleges and, at the time, I was looking for an album deal that was preferably in the mainstream. Nothing was happening and I wasted about 18 months knocking on doors but then Keith spoke to Helmut Kaufman of ICC who agreed to give us the studio time to record the rest of the songs we needed to make an album. In the autumn of 1982 we finished recording it and the album went to another record company’s pressing plant to be reproduced for distribution. I received a phone call one day from the manager of the company saying that the receivers were coming in to assess them that afternoon and all works in progress would be frozen, including my album. I raced round to the offices the same morning and persuaded the manager to give me back the masters and about a thousand albums that had already been pressed. The company then went bust and, about three years later, I handed over the tapes to Dave Anfield of Anfield Music who pressed and distributed the album through Christian music channels. By then, my career had changed from singer/songwriter and recording artist to producer because I got married and we were having kids and we basically needed the money! [Excerpt from an interview with Tony Clay, published on Cross Rhythms Sunday 6th December 2015]

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “This Ain’t Paris”
A2. “Important To Me”
A3. “Teenage Dream”
A4. “Lying To Me”
A5. “I Don’t Want to be a Rebel”

Side Two
B1. “City Boy”
B2. “Northstar”
B3. “Commuter”
B4. “Rare Spirits of Foreign Origin”
B5. “Your Town”

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Production Line.