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In the fourth episode of the Junk Filter miniseries exploring the work of the UK band Prefab Sprout, I’m joined by Patrick Svensson, a library worker in Seattle, for a track-by-track discussion of their “lost album” Protest Songs.

Recorded quickly and cheaply in Newcastle right after Steve McQueen, Protest Songs was intended for release at the end of 1985 but shelved by CBS Records to avoid cannibalizing sales of the hit single “When Love Breaks Down”.  After four years of bootlegs and rumours, the album was released without fanfare in 1989, serving as a stopgap between From Langley Park to Memphis and Jordan: The Comeback, yielding no hit singles while still making the Top 20 UK album charts.

Patrick and I wish to make a case for this album as one of their best releases, with a more stripped-back, less hyperproduced sound that captures the band's live energy and provides further background on Paddy McAloon’s upbringing and sensibilities, as he delivers “protest songs” about the struggles of daily existence in Thatcher’s England as opposed to stridently political material.

We dive into our favourite Protest Songs tracks, era-specific B-sides, and the unmistakable influence of Steely Dan on McAloon’s songwriting.

Follow Patrick Svensson on Bluesky.

My thanks to the Sproutology website, the ultimate online resource for the band.

Demo version #2 of Talkin’ Scarlet from 1983- more of a duet, with a different set of lyrics.

Tiffanys, live in Munich, December 1985