The English Disease (album)

The English Disease
Studio album by Barmy Army
Released	October 1989 (1989-10)
Studio	Southern Records, The Manor and Matrix Studios, United Kingdom
Genre	Dub rock electronica funk reggae indie dance collage
Length	40:28 (LP) 53:24 (CD)
Label	On-U Sound
Producer	Adrian Sherwood
Adrian Sherwood chronology
Very Big in America Right Now (1984) The English Disease (1989) Never Trust a Hippy (2003)
Singles from The English Disease
"Sharp as a Needle" Released: January 1988

The English Disease is the only album by the Barmy Army, a moniker for British producer Adrian Sherwood. Released in October 1989 through the musician's label On-U Sound Records,^[1] it features bassist Doug Wimbish and guitarist Skip McDonald from Tackhead, whom Barmy Army are sometimes described as an alias of, and drummer Style Scott among other musicians and contributors.

Described by Steve Barker as a 'sonic documentary', the album is a homage to football, and was recorded amid, and in response to, a period of turmoil for the sport in the United Kingdom, following numerous tragedies in the 1980s, the banning of English clubs in European tournaments and a social paranoia surrounding the game. The record combines electronic rhythms and styles of dub, rock, noise and funk with taped samples and found sound snippets of football commentators, crowds, terrace chants, players and managers, lending the album an anthropological feel. While joyful, the recording also features political undertones, with certain tracks focusing on football-related issues such as crowd safety, commercialisation and ID cards.

One track, the Kenny Dalglish tribute "Sharp as a Needle", was released as a single in January 1988. On release, The English Disease was packaged in a Subbuteo-style sleeve designed by Steve Hardstaff. Music critics drew attention to the album's mixture of dub music and football chants. The record has since been cited as part of the 'footballisation' of pop music from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and specifically the rave culture-propelled indie dance crossover of 1989-1990 that saw football's reputation rise in the United Kingdom.