Tender Pervert

The album's working title was The Homosexual,{{cite magazine|last1=Gittins|first1=Ian|date=16 July 1988|title=Perverted Justice Ian Gittins Listens to Momus and Hears Why 'Woman' Is the Best Word in the English Language, and the Most Painful|url=http://imomus.com/index19.html|magazine=Melody Maker|location=London|accessdate=16 February 2018}} due to its homosexual themes (as seen in "The Homosexual", "Love on Ice", and "Bishonen"). Momus was dissuaded by Creation Records founder Alan McGee from naming it as such due to the presumption that Canadian distributor PolyGram would not release an album under that title. The album's frequent references to homosexuality were based on Momus' reaction to homophobic rhetoric in the British media surrounding the AIDS epidemic, suggesting that, "...if gay people are not only dying but being gagged by the government while dying, it's up to straight people to promote homosexuality in their place". The album was also influenced by the themes explored by Serge Gainsbourg in his 1984 album, Love on the Beat, as well as Japanese pop culture and cultural figures such as Yukio Mishima.{{cite web|last1=Currie|first1=Nicholas|author-link=Momus (musician)|title=Creation Advent Calendar: Tender Pervert|url=http://imomus.livejournal.com/420393.html|website=Click Opera|accessdate=16 February 2018}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|4.5|5}}

| rev2 = NME

| rev2Score = 9/10

}}

Reviews of the album tended to be positive. Steve Huey of AllMusic called Tender Pervert "the first great Momus album" in a retrospective review, noting that it was the first Momus album to incorporate his trademark use of irony in addition to the synth-pop that would serve as the basis for later albums.{{cite web|last1=Huey|first1=Steve|title=Tender Pervert – Momus|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/tender-pervert-mw0000467869|website=AllMusic|accessdate=7 March 2018}} Len Brown of Britain's NME noted the album's "intelligent, cutting lyrics".{{cite magazine|last=Brown|first=Len|date=16 July 1988|title=The Tender Trap|url=http://imomus.com/index18.html|magazine=NME|location=London|accessdate=7 March 2018}} Andy Hurt of Sounds praised Tender Pervert for its "uncomfortable strength and purity", praising Momus for his use of metaphor and autobiography on the album.{{cite magazine|last=Hurt|first=Andy|date=8 July 1988|title=Grand Obsessions|url=http://imomus.com/index18.html|magazine=Sounds|location=London|accessdate=7 March 2018}} Christopher Dawes of Melody Maker called Momus's work on Tender Pervert "bold", saying that its "warrior poetry rarely complicated with harmony".{{cite magazine|last=Dawes|first=Christopher|authorlink=Christopher Dawes (author)|date=9 July 1988|title=Momus: Tender Pervert|url=http://imomus.com/index18.html|magazine=Melody Maker|location=London|accessdate=7 March 2018}}

The artwork for Primal Scream's tenth album More Light, designed by Scottish artist Jim Lambie, references the cover design of Tender Pervert by Thomi Wroblewski, which depicts Momus in front of a floral background, raising his index fingers above his head as if to mimic horns.{{cite web|last1=|first1=|title=Primal Scream vs. Momus|url=http://www.intlmusicsnobs.com/post/52954142203/primal-scream-vs-momus-side-by-side-there-are|website=The International Society of Music Snobs & Elitists|accessdate=7 March 2018}} "I Was A Maoist Intellectual" is quoted in Patrik Sampler's novel The Ocean Container.{{Cite book|title=The ocean container|last=Patrik.|first=Sampler|isbn=9780979132049|edition= First|location=Rome, GA|oclc=1032773267|date = 2017-06-16}}

"The Homosexual" was covered by Kirin J. Callinan on his 2019 album, Return to Center.{{cite news |last1=Valentish |first1=Jenny |title=Kirin J Callinan on stunts, exhibitionism and being misunderstood: 'Is this who I want to be?' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jun/29/kirin-j-callinan-on-stunts-exhibitionism-and-being-misunderstood-is-this-who-i-want-to-be |newspaper=The Guardian |accessdate=14 August 2019|date=2019-06-28 }}

{{Track listing

|all_writing = Nicholas Currie (Momus)

|title1=The Angels Are Voyeurs

|length1=2:45

|title2=Love on Ice

|length2=3:54

|title3=I Was a Maoist Intellectual

|length3=4:34

|title4=The Homosexual

|length4=4:44

|title5=Bishonen

|length5=7:40

|title6=A Complete History of Sexual Jealousy (Parts 17 – 24)

|length6=5:39

|title7=Ice King

|length7=4:55

|title8=In the Sanatorium

|length8=5:07

|title9=The Charm of Innocence

|length9=6:35

|title10=The Angels Are Voyeurs (Reprise)

|length10=0:56

}}

Credits adapted from liner notes.{{Cite AV media notes|title=Tender Pervert|year=1988|publisher=Creation Records|others=Momus|type=liner notes|id=CRELP 036 CD}}

• Momus – performance, writing, production
• The Brothers Quay – "imaginary videos"
• Ian Buruma – "heroes and villains of Japanese culture"
• Mika Goto – "roses and bishōnen comics"
• Dave Harper – cover features
• Mike Hinc – "travel"
• Nicki Kefalis – radio
• Dean Klevatt – sequential programming and performance
• Vici MacDonald – "thunder player"
• Alan McGee – "worldplans"
• Nigel Palmer – "exquisite engineering"
• Ruth Stirling – interpreter
• Thomi Wroblewski – photography

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Category:1988 albums

Category:Momus (musician) albums

Category:Creation Records albums