The Flat Earth

The Flat Earth is the second album by Thomas Dolby. It was released in February 1984, peaking at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart. The first single from the album was "Hyperactive!", which peaked at number 17 in the UK Singles Chart, making it Dolby's highest-charting single in his home country. Second and third singles, "I Scare Myself" and "Dissidents (The Search For Truth)", peaked at number 46 and number 90 respectively. The album charted at number 35 in America.

The Flat Earth
Studio album by Thomas Dolby
Released	February 1984
Recorded	1982–1983
Genre	New wave
Length	37:22
Label	EMI, Capitol Records
Producer	Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby chronology
The Golden Age of Wireless (1982) The Flat Earth (1984) Aliens Ate My Buick (1988)
Singles from The Flat Earth
"Hyperactive!" Released: January 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]
The Village Voice	C+[3]

A remastered "Collector's Edition" of The Flat Earth was released on 13 July 2009, complete with bonus tracks and new sleeve notes.

Track listing

All songs written by Thomas Dolby, except where noted.

Side A

1. "Dissidents" (Thomas Dolby, Kevin Armstrong, Matthew Seligman) - 4:56
2. "The Flat Earth" - 6:41
3. "Screen Kiss" - 5:33

Side B

1. "White City" - 5:19
2. "Mulu the Rain Forest" - 5:00
3. "I Scare Myself" (Dan Hicks) - 5:40
4. "Hyperactive!" - 4:13

2009 Remastered Collector's Edition CD: 50999 2 67911 2 8

1. "Dissidents" (Dolby, Armstrong, Seligman) - 4:56
2. "The Flat Earth" - 6:40
3. "Screen Kiss" - 5:35
4. "White City" - 5:22
5. "Mulu the Rain Forest" - 4:55
6. "I Scare Myself" (Hicks) - 5:40
7. "Hyperactive!" - 4:17
8. "Get Out of My Mix (Dolby's Cube)" - 4:44 ⁽¹⁾
9. "Puppet Theatre" (Dolby, Seligman) - 4:14 ⁽¹⁾
10. "Dissidents (The Search for Truth Part 1)" (Dolby, Armstrong, Seligman) - 7:17 ⁽¹⁾
11. "Field Work (London Mix)" (with Ryuichi Sakamoto) (Dolby, Ryuichi Sakamoto) - 4:05 ⁽¹⁾
12. "Don't Turn Away" (from the film Howard the Duck) (Dolby, Allee Willis) - 5:03 ⁽¹⁾
13. "The Devil is an Englishman" (from the film Gothic) (Dolby, Stephen Volk) - 3:30 ⁽¹⁾
14. "I Scare Myself" (Live on tour, 1984) (Hicks) - 6:17 ⁽¹⁾
15. "Marseille" (Live on tour, 1984) (Dolby, Adele Bertei) - 4:41 ⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾ Bonus tracks

1. "Audio Lecture/White City" - 8:11 ⁽²⁾
2. "Dissidents" (Live) (Dolby, Armstrong, Seligman) - 4:46 ⁽²⁾
3. "I Scare Myself" (Live) (Hicks) - 5:36 ⁽²⁾
4. "New Toy" (Live) - 4:22 ⁽²⁾
5. "Puppet Theatre" (Alternate Version) (Dolby, Seligman) - 4:19 ⁽²⁾

⁽²⁾ Bonus audio download available at www.thomasdolby.com

Personnel

• Thomas Dolby – vocals, piano, keyboards, effects
• Kevin Armstrong – guitar, trumpet, backing vocals
• Matthew Seligman – Bass guitar
• Clif Brigden – percussion, electronic drums
• Adele Bertei – backing vocals on tracks 1, 2, 7
• Lesley Fairbairn – backing vocals on tracks 2, 3, 6
• Lionel Richie – backing Vocals
• Bruce Woolley – backing vocals on track 5
• Robyn Hitchcock – spoken word on track 4
• Peter Thoms – trombone on tracks 6, 7
• Louise Ulfstedt – vocals on track 7
• Matthew Salt – tins, thunder sheet on track 7
• Mixed by Mike Shipley (tracks 1 to 6), Alan Douglas (track 7)
• Engineer – Dan Lacksman
• Mastered by Wally Traugott at Capitol, L.A.

References

1. Swan, Glenn. "The Flat Earth – Thomas Dolby". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
2. Holden, Stephen (29 March 1984). "Thomas Dolby: The Flat Earth". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
3. Christgau, Robert (24 July 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 April 2018.