"I Just Can't Be Happy Today" is a song by English punk rock band the Damned from their 1979 album, Machine Gun Etiquette. Released as a single in November on Chiswick Records, it peaked at No. 46 in the UK Singles Chart.
| "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by the Damned | ||||
| from the album Machine Gun Etiquette | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 16 November 1979[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Post-punk | |||
| Length | 3:34 | |||
| Label | Chiswick CHIS 120 Motown CHIS 115 | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| The Damned singles chronology | ||||
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Production
editThe single was heavily edited for radio airplay, removing the spoken word monologue, though the version on the record is unaltered. The first track on the B-side, a cover of Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz", was recorded with Lemmy of Motörhead fame on bass guitar. "Turkey Song" was not credited on the sleeve.
Live performances
editThe Damned performed "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" alongside "Smash It Up" on the BBC2 television show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1979, where they infamously trashed the stage towards the end of the song.[2]
Track listing
edit- "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" (Dadomo, Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, Ward) - 2:53
- "Ballroom Blitz" (Chapman, Chinn) - 3:30
- "Turkey Song" (Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, Ward) - 1:32
Production credits
edit- Producers
- Roger Armstrong
- The Damned
- Musicians
- Dave Vanian − vocals
- Captain Sensible − guitar, keyboards, vocals and Mandolin on "Turkey Song"
- Rat Scabies − drums
- Algy Ward − bass
- Lemmy − bass on "Ballroom Blitz"
References
edit- ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 56.
- ^ The Old Grey Whistle Test (DVD). Warner Home Video. 2003.
External links
edit- "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" at Discogs (list of releases)
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