Out for the Count

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Show of Hands, a Devon-based folk duo of Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, formed in 1986. Nonetheless, having known each other since 1972, they had performed before hand, including when Knightley contributed to Beer's first live album with Paul Downes, Live in Concept (1980), and Beer's role in Knightley's pub rock bands of the 1980s, Short Stories, The Cheats and Total Strangers, when members of those bands could not appear. This is in addition to the duo and Downe's early 1980s band Arizona Smoke Revue. Beer joined The Albion Band in 1984, this halting collaborations between the two for a while. Nonetheless, Beer found some free time in 1987 and suggested to Knightley they form a duo. The duo recorded their first two albums, Show of Hands (1987) and Tall Ships (1990) in small home studios, and sold them only as cassette releases at the duo's concerts.Roots: The Best of Show of Hands liner notes.

In 1990, Beer left The Albion Band, allowing Show of Hands to become a full-time musical partnership.{{Cite web | url=http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Show-Of-Hands.html | title=Show of Hands Biography }} The duo set to recording their third album very shortly afterwards. They traveled to The Old Court, Devon, in 1991 to record their third album "by the fire" there. Titled Out for the Count, each of its songs was recorded straight to Digital Audio Tape (DAT) without any overdubs or other studio work, presenting a basic "live" sound.Out for the Count Liner notes. The songs were mostly written by Knightley.Liner notes. "Limbo" is a cover version of a Jimmy Cliff song.Liner notes.

The album was self-released by the duo in 1991. As with the duo's previous two albums, it was released on cassette, and only sold at the duo's concerts. Being much a low-key release, it was not reviewed by any local publications, but attenders to the concerts greeted the release with praise. Following its release, the duo recorded their first CD studio album and live album, Show of Hands Live, on 8 June 1992 in Bridport. That same year, they also formed the Anglo-Chilean band Alianza who released one album. Out for the Count turned out to be the duo's final cassette release.Backlog 1987–1991 liner notes.

By 1995, neither Out for the Count or the duo's first two albums were available any longer, having gone out of print. Show of Hands Live had effectively become their debut album, with it being the earliest album still acknowledged by the duo. To make sure music from the first three albums was still available to fans, they released the compilation album Backlog 1987–1991 (1995) on their own label Hands on Music. The compilation contains what the duo considered to be the best songs from their first three albums.Backlog liner notes. Five songs from Out for the Count feature on the compilation album, namely "The Tramp Stamp/Chasing The Jack", "Limbo", "The Leaving Blues", "Walking in the Rain" and "Pleasures of the Town/Seneca Two-Step".{{cite web |url=http://www.showofhands.co.uk/1995/05/19/backlog/ |title=Backlog {{!}} Show of Hands |website=www.showofhands.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808060427/http://www.showofhands.co.uk/1995/05/19/backlog/ |archive-date=2009-08-08}} Beer would re-record "Limbo" for his solo album Rhythm Methodist (2005), his version being described as being closer to The Neville Brothers' interpretation of the song.Rhythm Methodist liner notes.

1. "Berlin"
2. "Limbo"
3. "Walking in the Rain"
4. "Tramp Stamp / Chasing the Jack"
5. "Leaving Blues"
6. "Winter Has Gone"
7. "Positively 4th Street"
8. "Pleasures of the Town" / "Seneca Two Step"
9. "Poorman"
10. "Mess Of Blues"

• Steve Knightley (vocals, guitar)
• Phil Beer (guitar, fiddles, vocals)

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Category:Show of Hands albums

Category:1991 albums

Category:Self-released albums