Album · Shriekback
Oil and Gold by Shriekback
Oil and Gold is an album by Shriekback, released in 1985. 4 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 24 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Nemesis”, on 21 lists with a best position of #11.
Oil and Gold, Shriekback's fourth album, came out in 1985 (on Island in America), and it's the sound of a band slinking out of the funk-flavored new wave it started with and into something darker, heavier and stranger. New drummer Martyn Barker and guitarist Lu Edmonds put real muscle under the grooves, and Hans Zimmer, the man later famous for film scores, adds synthesizers to the murk.
It's also a changing of the guard. Carl Marsh sings the three opening songs and then left after the sessions, leaving former XTC man Barry Andrews to take over the vocals and steer the band from there. "Nemesis", a slinky, sinister minor hit that became the band's calling card, grabbed the most attention, with "Fish Below the Ice", "Hammerheads" and "This Big Hush" lurking nearby. The record won Shriekback a much bigger audience and sold well in the US.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Oil and Gold on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nemesis | 21 | #11 | – | 1985–2023 | |
| 2 | Fish Below the Ice | 1 | #1081 | – | 2003 | |
| 3 | Hammerheads | 1 | #1604 | – | 2003 | |
| 4 | This Big Hush | 1 | #1803 | – | 2003 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.