It’s early 2001. Sven Göran Eriksson is appointed England manager, deputy prime minister John Prescott is exchanging punches with egg throwers and Amsterdam’s Attitunes album is released.
Shunned by mainstream record labels, Amsterdam’s debut was a mail-order-only CD direct from the band’s website.
Attitunes signalled the triumphant return of Ian Prowse following eight years in the wilderness after the break-up of Pele.
While music media obsessed over David Gray’s White Ladder and Coldplay’s Parachutes, under-the-radar epic Attitunes slid off to sea with minor fanfare.
Fans filled in postal orders as several hundred copies were shipped out from Amsterdam HQ.
But save for that initial batch, the album disappeared. No vinyl copies were ever produced and you won’t find it on streaming services.
Reviews were hot in early 2001.
One writer proclaimed that Attitunes “Can move mountains”. And as CDs landed though fans’ letterboxes, The Daily Express proclaimed Amsterdam “The best band you haven’t heard yet”.
Now 20 years on, Kitchen Disco Records has given Attitunes its official re-release and it’s now available both on CD and vinyl for the very first time.
Given the limited production run in 2001 – it almost feels like a brand new release.
There have been constant calls for a re-issue of this album given it contains 11 cult classics such as You’re a Phoney, Love Phenomenon, Taking on the World, Nostalgia and Feels Like Growing Up.
The Clash-reggae-ska inspired We Don’t Like You is the album’s edgy outstanding centrepiece.
During lockdown Prowsey aired many of these songs during his 39-night-Facebook-residency – which further whet the Attitunes appetite among fans.
On Friday night, in the unlikely surroundings of Darwen Library Theatre, fans got their fist dibs on the 2021 version of Attitunes.
Half-way through his set Prowsey and Lara Simpson played Feels Like Growing Up from the LP – which sounds as youthful a song now as the day it was born.
On initial play, the 2021 Attitunes album sounds truly fantastic.
It feels 20-minutes-old, not 20-years-old.
There may be some sorrow in the fact this record did not get the exposure it deserved back in the day, but fast forward two decades and it sounds fresh and vital in these troubled times.
The magic mix of pop and politics as crucial as ever in this era of: “It generally takes 45 years to get any form of justice in this country” (Prowsey’s in-between-song-chat in Darwen on Friday).
For hardcore fans, the reissue of Attitunes will further confirm this record as a majestic piece of work.
For newbies there’s a wonderful essay from Ian in the sleeve notes about the power of passion and persistence – against all the odds.
He puts into context the atmosphere of constant struggle when this album was first lovingly created.
If you missed out on Attitunes back in the day, I urge you to swoop now.
Play loud. Postal orders not required.
Buy it here: https://amsterdam-music.com