Diary of a Hollow Horse
| Diary of a Hollow Horse | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 May 1989 | |||
| Studio | Lahaina Sound, Maui, Hawaii; Village Recorder, Los Angeles; Townhouse Studio 3, London; Sigma Sound, New York; Stereo Society, New York; Amazon Studios, Liverpool | |||
| Genre | New wave, art rock | |||
| Length | 43:46 (CD), 42:52 (LP) | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Walter Becker, Mike Thorne, China Crisis | |||
| China Crisis chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Diary of a Hollow Horse | ||||
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Diary of a Hollow Horse is the fifth studio album by English new wave group China Crisis, released in 1989. It was released on CD, LP and Cassette. The original CD version features the bonus track "Back Home".
Described as ''perhaps their most Steely Dan-like album'', the first single released was ''St. Saviour Square'', originally recorded by Walter Becker and subsequently by Mike Thorne, whose version ended up on the album, despite the band considering Becker's version better.
The song lyrics refer to a demolished housing estate (now site of the Liverpool Women's Hospital) located in the square of the same name (now called Crown Street) west of Upper Parliament Street in the Toxteth area of Liverpool. Gary Daly recalls that:
''I would walk into town most days and hook up with everyone at rehearsals.The walk took me thru a relatively new housing estate, which had fallen prey to horrible neglect. I think with me just becoming a father for the first time shaped my thoughts and helped fashion the lyrics for St. Saviour Square”.
The follow-up single would be ''Red Letter Day''. The album did not chart well in the UK given the lack of promotion by Virgin, which also shelved the video prepared for the first single. The album would be the last recorded by the band and distributed by Virgin.
A digitally remastered double-CD edition was published in May 2013 by Cherry Red Records, which includes the original and previously unreleased Walter Becker-produced versions of Red Letter Day, St. Saviour Square and All My Prayers.