Snakes and Ladders (Gerry Rafferty album)

1980 studio album by Gerry Rafferty

Snakes and Ladders

Studio album by

Gerry Rafferty

Released| 11 April 1980[1]
Studio| Chipping Norton Recording Studios (Oxon, England); AIR Studios (Montserrat).
Genre| Rock
Length| 48:44
Label| United Artists
Producer| Gerry Rafferty, Hugh Murphy
Gerry Rafferty chronology
| Night Owl
(1979)  | Snakes and Ladders
(1980)  | Sleepwalking
(1982)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
Smash Hits| 8½/10[3]

Snakes and Ladders is the fourth album by Gerry Rafferty. It was released in 1980, following the success of his previous two albums, City to City and Night Owl. The album charted at No. 15 in the UK but only reached No. 61 in the US, while singles achieved number 54 UK ("Bring It All Home"), and number 67UK / number 54 US ("The Royal Mile"). The album was released on CD in 1998 [EMI 7 46609-2] but deleted soon after that, and it got reissued on CD in August 2012 as a two-CD set with "Sleepwalking."

Some of the songs are available on compilation albums. Four of the songs, "The Garden of England", "I Was a Boy Scout", "Welcome to Hollywood" and "Bring It All Home" were recorded at Beatles producer George Martin's AIR studio in Montserrat. All the songs were original Rafferty compositions, though one – "Johnny's Song" – was a remake of a song which had been previously released by his former band Stealers Wheel, and another – "Didn't I" – was a remake of a song from Rafferty's 1971 album Can I Have My Money Back?.

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks composed by Gerry Rafferty

1. "The Royal Mile" – 3:48
2. "I Was a Boy Scout" – 4:15
3. "Welcome to Hollywood" – 5:17
4. "Wastin' Away" – 3:29
5. "Look at the Moon" – 2:18
6. "Bring It All Home" – 4:40
7. "The Garden of England" – 4:08
8. "Johnny's Song" – 3:25
9. "Didn't I" – 4:14
10. "Syncopatin Sandy" – 4:24
11. "Café Le Cabotin" – 4:51
12. "Don't Close the Door" – 3:45

## Charts

[edit]

Album

Chart (1980)  | Position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] | 31
Germany[5] | 34
Netherlands[5] | 17
United Kingdom[6] | 15
United States[7] | 61

## Certifications

[edit]

Certifications for Snakes and Ladders Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United Kingdom (BPI)[8] | Silver  | 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## Personnel

[edit]

* Gerry Rafferty – vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 2, 3, 9, 11), backing vocals (9)
* Ian Lynn – keyboards (1, 5, 8, 10, 11), synthesizers (3, 7)
* Billy Livsey – acoustic piano (2, 3, 6), clavinet (3), mystery voice (3), Polymoog (6), keyboards (7), pianica (11)
* Pete Wingfield – organ (2, 6, 12), acoustic piano (12)
* Bryn Haworth – slide guitar (2, 12)
* Jerry Donahue – lead guitar (3), guitar swells (3), other guitars (4, 6, 8, 9, 11)
* Richard Brunton – guitars (3, 6, 7, 11), electric guitars (12)
* Mo Foster – bass (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12)
* Pete Zorn – bass (4, 8, 9, 10)
* Liam Genockey – drums (1–4, 6–12)
* Frank Ricotti – percussion (1, 3, 4, 8, 11), congas (2), tambourine (9), woodblocks (10)
* Richard Harvey – penny whistle (1)
* Raphael Ravenscroft – saxophone (3, 6)
* Chris Mercer – brass arrangements (2)
* Wil Malone – string arrangements (5, 7, 10), clarinet arrangements (10)
* Gavyn Wright – string leader (5, 7, 10)
* Betsy Cook – backing vocals (9)
* The Baron de Bon Bon – intro (11)

## Production

[edit]

* Gerry Rafferty – producer
* Hugh Murphy – producer
* Barry Hammond – recording (1, 4, 5, 8–12), overdubbing (2, 3, 6, 7)
* Stephen Lipson – recording (2, 3, 6, 7)
* John Patrick Byrne – cover
* Michael Gray – inner sleeve photography, inner sleeve concept, management

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Tom Odell, Magnetised, Single - The BPI". Bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
2. ^ "Snakes & Ladders Review by Mike DeGagne". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
3. ^ Starr, Ref. "Gerry Rafferty: Snakes and Ladders". Smash Hits (17–30 April 1980): 30.
4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 244\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
5. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Gerry Rafferty - Snakes And Ladders". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
6. ^ "GERRY RAFFERTY". Officialcharts.com. 18 February 1978. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
7. ^ "Billboard Database". Elpee.jp. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
8. ^ "British album certifications – Gerry Rafferty – Snakes and Ladders". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Snakes and Ladders at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Gerry Rafferty

Discography

Studio albums|

* Can I Have My Money Back?
* City to City
* Night Owl
* Snakes and Ladders
* Sleepwalking
* North and South
* On a Wing and a Prayer
* Over My Head
* Another World
* Life Goes On
* Rest in Blue

Compilations|

* Gerry Rafferty
* Baker Street

Singles|

* "Baker Street"
* "Right Down the Line"
* "Night Owl"

Related articles|

* The Humblebums
* Stealers Wheel
* Joe Egan
* Billy Connolly

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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