1978
1978 was a key year in The Residents career. The unexpected success of the Duck Stab! EP yielded great financial results for Ralph Records, and in order to capitalize on this gained popularity, the EP was expanded to a studio album with Duck Stab / Buster & Glen.
It was also a year marked by internal crisis. The rift between the Cryptic Corporation and The Residents over the sudden change of pace in their marketing strategy would cause Eskimo to be further delayed, forcing Ralph Records to release Not Available instead.
Timeline
February
- 1st: The Residents release the Duck Stab! 7'' EP, which proves to be insanely popular. All copies of its first pressing sell out within the month, something that had never happened to the group before.
- Eskimo is delayed for an "early Fall" release date.[1]
- The Residents record early versions of "Hello Skinny" and "Semolina".[2]
May
- 15th: The Residents' "Satisfaction" single is repressed in 30,000 copies on transparent yellow vinyl. It becomes The Residents' most popular release to date.[3] Also on this date, Snakefinger is signed to Ralph Records.
- 19th: Kraftwerk release their seventh studio album, Die Mensch-Maschine, including the song "Das Model" which Snakefinger would go on to cover one year later.
- Snakefinger visits The Residents' studio in order to record a professional demo tape for Warner Bros. Records. The Residents let him use the space, on the condition that they write and record a song together. These sessions birth Snakefinger's "The Spot" single.
June
- W.E.I.R.D., the first official fan club of The Residents, is founded by Phil Culp and Mimi King. Once established, the club quickly grew to five hundred members.
August
- "The Spot" is released by Ralph Records.[3]
- In order to capitalize off the success of Duck Stab!, The Residents record seven more tracks with the intention of releasing a follow-up EP titled Buster & Glen. They would later reject the idea and simply release both EPs as a full-length album instead.
September
- 6th: The Cryptic Corporation announce that The Residents had gone missing. The group were feeling uncomfortable and betrayed by Cryptic's fast-paced marketing style and the wide re-release of the "Satisfaction" single, so they stole away with the incomplete Eskimo master-tapes, scheduled for release in October, and fled to England, where they left the tapes with Henry Cow drummer Chris Cutler.[3]
- 15th: The Residents send a welcome letter to Talking Heads ahead of their two night residency at The Boarding House.[4]
October
- 12th: Ralph Records, needing something to release in lieu of the missing Eskimo album, dust off the Not Available tapes, reprocessing and releasing them. While this is the fourth Residents studio album to be publicly released by Ralph, it was the second album the group had recorded since their official formation.
- 14th: Bill Reinhardt visits The Residents' headquarters for what may have been the last time. They watch Saturday Night Live and see Devo performing their own version of "Satisfaction".[3]
- With their new 8-track recording console (a welcome-back gift from Cryptic after the Europe trip), The Residents begin recording "Santa Dog '78".[5]
November
- 11th: Jay Clem and John Kennedy fly to England to retrieve the Eskimo tapes from The Residents. Whilst there, they talk with representatives at Virgin Records about releasing Ralph material.[3] This eventually leads to Virgin releasing Nibbles and Snakefinger's Chewing Hides the Sound in the UK one year later.
- 30th: Duck Stab! / Buster & Glen, the fifth studio album by The Residents, is released.
- The Residents finish work on "Santa Dog '78".[5]
December
- 19th: The Residents release "Santa Dog '78" as a free Christmas gift to mail-order customers. They would go on to re-record "Santa Dog" many more times throughout their career.
Releases
- Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (LP, Ralph Records, RR0278, 50,000 copies pressed. November)
- Not Available (LP, Ralph Records, RR1174, 15,000 copies pressed. October)
- Duck Stab! (7", 33RPM, Ralph Records, RR1177, 5,000 copies pressed. February)
- "Santa Dog '78" (7'', Ralph Records, RR7812, 2,700 copies pressed. December, free gift for Ralph Record's mailing list subscribers)
Re-releases
- "Satisfaction" (7'' single, Ralph Records, RR7803, 30,000 copies pressed, April)
- New cover art.
Collaborations
- "The Spot" (7'' single, 45RPM, Ralph Records, RR7805, 35,000 copies)
- Single by Snakefinger. Co-written with The Residents.
References
- ↑ Buy or Die catalog #3
- ↑ Leftovers Again?! AGAIN!?! liner notes.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Never Known Questions (Ian Shirley)
- ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/789104102202277919/886039702929539102/unknown.png
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide to The Residents, page 35.
