Bandwagonesque is the third studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Teenage Fanclub, released in November 1991 on Creation Records. The album gave the band substantial US success when the single "Star Sign" reached number four on the BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart, becoming their biggest hit in that country, with "What You Do to Me" and "The Concept" also becoming top 20 hits on that chart. Bandwagonesque was voted "album of the year" for 1991 by American music magazine Spin, beating R.E.M.'s Out of Time and Nirvana's Nevermind; the magazine has subsequently apologized for and defended the selection.[3][5][6] The album peaked at no. 22 in the UK and 137 in the US.
Following an encounter with Don Fleming at CBGB in New York City in March 1991, Teenage Fanclub started recording at Amazon Studios in Liverpool, with Fleming as producer.[7] Fleming encouraged the band to work on adding vocal harmonies, noting that not many of their contemporaries were doing so.[8]
The album's release was preceded by that of The King, an album of covers and outtakes recorded using leftover studio time from the Bandwagonesque sessions.[9]
Cover art
The cover was designed by Sharon Fitzgerald. When Kiss member Gene Simmons, who had trademarked the logo of a moneybag with dollar symbol, was made aware of the record he sent a letter to Geffen Records, who in turn gave in and sent Simmons a cheque, according to Simmons's book Sex Money Kiss.[10]
The liner notes to the 2009 Big Star box set Keep an Eye on the Sky said that Bandwagonesque was "... an album so in thrall to Chilton, Bell, and company that some critics had taken to calling it 'Big Star's 4th.'"[21]
On July 28, 2017, Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie released Bandwagonesque, an album covering the original 1991 release. He noted that it was "[his] favorite record by [his] favorite band of all time."[27]
^Deusner, Stephen (September 2018). "Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque / Thirteen / Grand Prix / Songs from Northern Britain / Howdy!". Uncut. No. 256. p. 51.