The English Disease

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, 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. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eng...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)