 It stayed in the UK Albums Chart for 20 weeks, reaching number 10, and it was crowned the album of the year by UK music magazine "Melody Maker".Although it was the group's breakthrough record both critically and commercially, it was to be the last album recorded by the original pairing of Alan Rankine and Billy Mackenzie, as Rankine departed four months after its release.Signing a distribution deal with WEA Records at the end of 1981 on the strength of the demos for "Party Fears Two" and "Club Country", Associates were given a £60,000 advance by the record label.