Party Time / Safety Pins

First official studio recording.

Produced by Jona Lewie & Johan Visser.

2-track single. Released in 1980. Click album cover to enter the Itunes Music Store.

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Cees Wessels, then chief executive for RCA records, was quite impressed by the first Idiot releases but also felt that the next batch ought to be recorded professionally. Idiotʼs recordings at that time were ʻsound on soundʼ on REVOX equipment. Publisher Tony Berk contacted Jona Lewie.

Weeks later Johan Visser and Fay found themselves on the cheapest flight to London (a small propellor plane, followed by the worst customs check). At Jonaʼs home, continually feeding coins into the meter for the electric heaters, they discussed the material for three days running. Back in Holland they cut demos at Jaap Brunner's Ballad Sound Studio in Vuren (near Gorinchem) and did the final recordings and mixing at Studio Spitsbergen (near Groningen). Musicians Pieter Draayer (bass) and Fred Bonthuis (drums) provided assistance. The album received considerable airplay, thanks to Idiot supporters Jan Donkers, Wim Noordhoek, Rik Zaal (VPRO), Jan Douwe Kroeske, Felix Meurders, Jeroen Soer (VARA), Vincent van Engelen and Hubert van Hoof (KRO), but it failed to hit the charts.

Not long afterwards, Cees Wessels was fired the American way (“We expect you to have your office cleared by twelve”) and Idiot Records and Fay were once again without a national distributor.