The Official Secrets Act is the second studio album by the English new wave and synth-pop music project M, released on 7 November 1980 by Sire Records. The track "Official Secrets" was released as a single and peaked at No. 64 on the UK singles chart in November 1980. The follow-up single was "Keep It to Yourself". The track "Maniac" featured Level 42 members Phil Gould on drums and Mark King on bass guitar. Robin Scott later described King as "a driving force" behind the album, as beyond playing bass, he also contributed guitar, and "animalistic" drums to the album, during sessions that would use two drummers at once.youtu.be/Ds5r1lyC5yM
The album title is a reference to the various UK Official Secrets Acts.
Critical reception
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Dan LeRoy wrote that "if the sound of Official Secrets Act isn't quite as futuristic as its predecessor, Scott's lyrics preach pure sci-fi paranoia, heavily Orwell-ian and as obsessed with corporations and governments as Big Brothers. When the tunes are good, and a few are, it all makes for entertaining theater".
Track listing
Personnel M Robin Scott – vocals, guitar; whistling on "Working for the Corporation"
Session musicians Brigit Vinchon – vocals; whistling on "Working for the Corporation" David Vorhaus – synthesizer Wally Badarou – synthesizer Julian Scott – bass guitar Philip Gould – drums Mark King – guitar, drums; bass on "Maniac" Gary Barnacle – saxophone Paddy Keenan – uilleann pipes on "Keep It to Yourself" Dónal Lunny – arrangement on "Keep It to Yourself" Bill Whelan – arrangements on "Relax" and "Official Secrets" The Dublin Symphony Orchestra – orchestra on "Relax" and "Official Secrets"; Audrey Parkes – leader Billy Brown – vocals and whistling on "Working for the Corporation" Deidre Costello – vocals and whistling on "Working for the Corporation" Denis Blackham – vocals and whistling on "Working for the Corporation" Des Smith – vocals and whistling on "Working for the Corporation" John Keogh – vocals and whistling on "Working for the Corporation" Mog Aherne – vocals and whistling on "Working for the Corporation"
Technical Dave Aston – engineer Denis Blackham – engineer Philip Begley – engineer Peter Ashworth – front cover photography
References
External links