Tired of Hanging Around

Just shy of double platinum sales in the UK, The Zutons second album, an assured and full-blooded northern soul-rock confection, was issued in April 2006 and peaked at number two in the charts. This is its very first vinyl reissue.

Lead single ‘Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love’ went Top 10, as did the follow-up, ‘Valerie’, a song that has now achieved certified classic status thanks to the incredible popularity of the cover version produced by Mark Ronson and featuring Amy Winehouse the following year.

Chief songwriter Dave McCabe explained that many of the album’s tunes were “about giving yourself a bit of a hard time… ’cause you’ve gone out and got drunk or let someone down.” Several were inspired by the band’s experiences promoting their first album Who Killed The Zutons? on tour; ‘Valerie’ and ‘Oh Stacey (Look What You’ve Done!)’ in particular.

Reviewers at the time generally concluded that their unpretentious, sax-enhanced shenanigans brightened the drab English airwaves and John Murphy of musicOMH.com summed it up nicely: “Since Who Killed The Zutons, they’ve hit the big time, whether it be through Mercury nominations or support slots with both U2 and REM. Yet this hasn’t gone to the band’s collective head, as Tired Of Hanging Around is as delightfully quirky, original and catchy as its predecessor, whilst also representing something of a leap forward.”