154 (album)

154
File:Wire-154 (album cover).jpg
Studio album by Wire
Released	September 1979 (1979-09)
Recorded	1979 (1979) Advision Studios, West London, England, United Kingdom
Genre	Post-punk, new wave, experimental rock
Length	44:41
Label	Harvest (UK) / Warner Bros. (US) Restless (1989 reissue) Pinkflag (2006 CD reissue) 4 Men with Beards (2006 vinyl reissue)
Producer	Mike Thorne
Wire studio album chronology
Chairs Missing (1978)Chairs Missing1978 154 (1979) The Ideal Copy (1987)The Ideal Copy1987
Singles from 154
"Map Ref. 41°N 93°W" Released: 26 October 1979

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	B
The Guardian
Pitchfork	9.1/10
Rolling Stone	very favourable
Smash Hits	7½/10
Stylus Magazine	unfavourable

154 is the third album by the English post-punk band Wire, released in 1979 (see 1979 in music) on EMI imprint Harvest Records in the UK and Europe and Warner Bros. Records in America. 154 peaked at number 39 in the UK albums chart, the highest position the band has achieved. It was first issued on CD in 1987 by EMI Japan and later reissued by Restless Records in 1989. First editions of the vinyl album were accompanied by an EP, the tracks from which are included on the Harvest CD, issued in 1994, along with an additional bonus track. The new remastered release, released by Pinkflag as digipacks in 2006, does not contain any extra tracks, because, according to the band, such additions dishonour the "conceptual clarity of the original statements." The album is so named because the band had played 154 gigs in their career at the time of the album's release. Pitchfork Media listed 154 as 85th best album of the 1970s.

Track listing

Side One
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Should Have Known Better"	Graham Lewis	3:52
2.	"Two People in a Room"	Colin Newman, Bruce Gilbert	2:00
3.	"The 15th"	Newman	3:05
4.	"The Other Window"	Lewis, Gilbert	2:07
5.	"Single K.O."	Lewis	2:23
6.	"A Touching Display"	Lewis	6:55
7.	"On Returning"	Newman	2:06

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
8.	"A Mutual Friend"	Lewis, Newman	4:28
9.	"Blessed State"	Gilbert	3:28
10.	"Once Is Enough"	Newman	3:23
11.	"Map Ref. 41°N 93°W"	Lewis, Newman, Gilbert	3:40
12.	"Indirect Enquiries"	Lewis, Newman	3:36
13.	"40 Versions"	Gilbert	3:28

Bonus EP (included on 1979, 1987, 1989, 1994 and 1995 releases)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Song 1"	Robert Gotobed, Newman, Desmond Simmons	3:02
15.	"Get Down (Parts 1 and 2)"	David, Gotobed, Newman, Simmons, TV Smith	4:27
16.	"Let's Panic Later"	Lewis	3:20
17.	"Small Electric Piece"	Gilbert	3:33

Bonus track (included on 1994 and 1995 releases)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
18.	"Go Ahead"	Gilbert, Gotobed, Lewis, Newman	4:01

Bonus tracks (1995 Japanese release only)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
19.	"Stepping Off Too Quick"	Gilbert, Gotobed, Lewis, Newman	1:22
20.	"Indirect Inquiries" (sic)"	Lewis, Newman	3:18
21.	"Map Ref. 41°N 93°W"	Lewis, Newman, Gilbert	3:49
22.	"A Question of Degree"	Lewis, Newman	2:56
23.	"Two People in a Room"	Newman, Gilbert	2:02
24.	"Former Airline"	Gilbert	1:12

Tracks 19–24 are demo versions that have also appeared on compilations such as Behind the Curtain and After Midnight.

Personnel

Wire

• B. C. Gilbert – guitars, vocals
• Robert Gotobed – drums
• Graham Lewis – vocals, bass guitar
• Colin Newman – vocals, guitar

Additional personnel

• Hilly Kristal – bass vocals on "A Mutual Friend"
• Kate Lukas – alto flute
• Tim Souster – electric viola on "A Touching Display"
• Mike Thorne – keyboard, synthesizer
• Joan Whiting – cor anglais on "A Mutual Friend"

External links

• 154 at Discogs (list of releases)
• The making of Wire's 154 album