...If I Die, I Die

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...If I Die, I Die
Studio album by
Virgin Prunes
Released4 November 1982 (1982-11-04)
RecordedJuly–August 1982
StudioWindmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland
Genre
Length40:19
LabelRough Trade
ProducerColin Newman
Virgin Prunes chronology
Moments And Mine (Despite Straight Lines)
(1981)		 ...If I Die, I Die
(1982)		 Hérésie
(1982)
Singles from ...If I Die, I Die
  1. "Baby Turns Blue"
    Released: 9 October 1982

...If I Die, I Die is the debut studio album by Irish rock band Virgin Prunes. It was released on 4 November 1982 by record label Rough Trade. It was produced by Colin Newman of Wire.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarHalf star[1]
BlenderStarStarStarStar[2]
The Village VoiceB+[3]

...If I Die, I Die has been well received by critics. AllMusic, in their retrospective review of the album, called it "a wonderfully confounding and sometimes campy and often disturbing exercise in unfettered creativity".[1] Chuck Eddy of Spin included it in his list of essential gothic rock albums, remarking that it "demonstrates that sometimes 'ritualistic' equals 'catchy'."[4] In 2026, Uncut ranked ...If I Die, I Die at number 71 in their list of "The 200 Greatest Goth Albums", describing Virgin Prunes as more harrowing than their art punk peers and writing that the album "smelts the avant-garde and avant-pop into a pummelling expression of rage and angst."[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Virgin Prunes.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Ulakanakulot"2:35
2."Decline and Fall"4:50
3."Sweethome Under White Clouds"4:45
4."Bau-Dachöng"5:52
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Baby Turns Blue"5:07
2."Ballad of the Man"3:32
3."Walls of Jericho"3:09
4."Caucasian Walk"4:44
5."Theme for Thought"5:45

Personnel

Virgin Prunes

Technical personnel

Charts

1982 chart performance for ...If I Die, I Die
Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[6] 8
2022 chart performance for ...If I Die, I Die
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[7]132
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[8]37

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United Kingdom 1982 Rough Trade LP ROUGH 49
France 1985 Virgin LP 70307
United Kingdom 1990 Rough Trade CD ROUGH LCD 49
France 1993 New Rose CD 452043
United Kingdom 2004 The Grey Area CD YEO2CD
United States 2004 Mute CD MUTE 9265-2

References

  1. Jurek, Thom. "...If I Die, I Die – Virgin Prunes". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  2. Wolk, Douglas. "Virgin Prunes: (various reissues)". Blender. Archived from the original on 3 November 2004. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  3. Chrisgau, Robert (2 March 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  4. Eddy, Chuck (March 2009). "Essentials: From the Depths of Hell and Hot Topic, a Goth Primer for Ghouls of All Ages". Spin. 25 (3): 80. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  5. Robinson, John, ed. (2026). "The 200 Greatest Goth Albums ....Ranked!". Uncut: The Ultimate Record Collection (19). Kelsey Media: 36.
  6. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Virgin Prunes – ...If I Die, I Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Virgin Prunes – ...If I Die, I Die" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 November 2022.