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The Adventures of the Hersham Boys
Studio album by Sham 69
Released	September 1979
Genre	Punk rock, Oi!
Label	Polydor
Producer	Jimmy Pursey, Peter Wilson
Sham 69 chronology
That's Life (1978) The Adventures of the Hersham Boys (1979) The Game (1980)

The Adventures of the Hersham Boys is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1979. It is their most successful album, peaking at No. 8 in the UK.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

It was not universally well received, with David Hepworth of Smash Hits describing it as "a tired, hollow effort struggling between weary attempts at rabble-rousing and blush-making pseudo-Springsteen 'street' songs that reek of desperation and contract fulfilling... As empty and self-satisfied a record as anything they supposedly set out to replace." Trouser Press called it "a break with the punk scene, but no less aggressive than usual."

Track listing

All songs by Jimmy Pursey and Dave Parsons unless noted

1. "Money" - 3:13
2. "Fly Dark Angel" - 3:03
3. "Joey's on the Street Again" - 3:04
4. "Cold Blue in the Night" - 2:47 (Dave "Kermit" Tregunna)
5. "You're a Better Man Than I" - 3:10 (Mike Hugg) (Yardbirds/Manfred Mann Chapter Three cover)
6. "Hersham Boys" - 4:46
7. "Lost on Highway 46" - 3:35
8. "Voices" - 2:52 (Ricky Goldstein, Pursey)
9. "Questions and Answers" - 3:14
10. "What Have We Got" (Live) - 2:54

    CD reissue bonus tracks

11. "Questions and Answers" (Single Version) - 3:18
12. "I Gotta Survive" - 1:31
13. "With a Little Help from My Friends" - 2:36 (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) (The Beatles cover)
14. "Hersham Boys" (7" Version) - 3:25
15. "I Don't Wanna" (Live) - 2:06
16. "Rip Off" (Live) - 2:43
17. "I'm a Man, I'm a Boy" (Live) - 2:10
18. "Tell Us the Truth" (Live) - 2:06
19. "Borstal Breakout" (12" Single Version) - 8:25
20. "If the Kids Are United" (12" Single Version) - 16:20

• Tracks 11-13 from "Questions and Answers" single, March 1979
• Tracks 14-18 from "Hersham Boys" single, August 1979
• Tracks 19 and 20 released as 12" with initial copies of The Adventures of the Hersham Boys

Personnel

Sham 69

• Jimmy Pursey - vocals, producer
• Dave Parsons - guitar
• Dave Tregunna - bass
• Ricky Goldstein - drums
• Mark "Doidie" Cain - drums; vocals on "With a Little Help from My Friends" (departing Sham 69 soon after the completion)

Technical

• Peter Wilson - producer
• Jo Mirowski - art direction, design
• Peter Lavery - photography
• Tim Turan - mastering
• Brett Ewins - illustrations

References

1. Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Miller Freeman Books. p. 613.
2. Gimarc, George (2005). Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock, 1970-1982. Backbeat Books. p. 239.
3. "Sham 69". Official Charts. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
4. The Adventures of the Hersham Boys at AllMusic
5. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
6. Hepworth, David (1979) "SHAM 69: Hersham Boys", Smash Hits, EMAP National Publications Ltd, 4–17 October 1979, p.29
7. "Sham 69". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 December 2023.

• 1979 albums
• Sham 69 albums
• Polydor Records albums