The Idle Race The Birthday Party (LP)

(CS Records) 13 tracks

The Birthday Party was the first album by The Idle Race and is considered a classic of British psychedelic pop.

Idle Racefrom Birmingham were the first serious band of the later ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne, whose arranging skills are already developed here: baroque, wonderfully melodic freakbeat songs and typical British eccentricity. Perfect Psychpop

The cover features a mock birthday party attended by many British celebrities, including most Radio 1 disc jockeys, the Beatles, the Duke of Windsor, actor Warren Mitchell in his role as Alf Garnett, and bandleader Jeff Lynne as an eight-year-old schoolboy.