A-Z (studio album)
by Colin Newman

A-Z by Colin Newman
Year: 1980
Overall rank: 6,820th   
Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 51 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1980 (117th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (993rd)
Award Best albums of all time (6,820th)

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Product Details
Availability

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Colin Newman A-Z (Vinyl) 12" Album (UK IMPORT)
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COLIN NEWMAN - A-Z NEW CD
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COLIN NEWMAN A-Z LP Vinyl ORIG Beggars Banquet Wire pink flag 1980 w/inr artpunk
Condition: Used


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Colin Newman bestography

A-Z is ranked as the best album by Colin Newman.

Colin Newman album bestography « Higher ranked
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This album (6,820th)
A-Z
Lower ranked (20,008th) »
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(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Feb
21
Sat
19:30
Clint Holmes
The Studio at Mizner Park, Boca Raton, United States. United States
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Feb
03
Tue
20:00
Lettuce
Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville, United States. United States
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Jan
23
Fri
19:00
Del Water Gap: Chasing the Chimera World Tour
Brooklyn Paramount, Brooklyn, United States. United States
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Listen to A-Z on YouTube

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A-Z track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 72 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Average Rating: 72 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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2.
Average Rating: 71 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Average Rating: 74 (10 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Average Rating: 75 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Average Rating: 71 (6 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 72 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Average Rating: 72 (7 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 69 (7 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 74 (7 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 72 (6 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Average Rating: 72 (6 votes)Comments: View 0
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12.
Average Rating: 73 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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A-Z rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 6,820th | 1980s rank: 993rd | 1980 rank: 117th

A-Z collection

A-Z ratings

Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 51 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 51 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
10/100
 !
11/12/2025 20:35 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
60/100
 !
07/06/2025 12:43 Cheboygan74   1,25052/100
 
80/100
 !
10/26/2024 00:20 Repo   2,13185/100
 
50/100
 !
08/14/2024 16:12 CaptainPain   3,27261/100
 
50/100
 !
08/10/2024 02:17 dhbarrett   8,21965/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album has a Bayesian average rating of 73.3/100, a mean average of 71.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 73.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 20.1.

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A-Z favourites

Showing all 4 members who have added this album as a favourite

A-Z comments

Showing all 1 comments |
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Rating:  
85/100
From 06/18/2012 09:26 | #44646
With A-Z, Newman takes the post-rock robotic structure and aesthetics of Wire to its logical conclusion drawing on the expressionist psychodrama of Robert Wyatt, the futurism of Brian Eno and the psychedelia of Syd Barrett in the process. Newman creates chilling apocolyptic and fatalistic atmospheres through a succession of mini-requiems, dramatic rhythms, industrial-sounding electronics and decadent vocals. Ultimately, A-Z is as a postmodern futuristic psychedelic cabaret that sounds unlike anything else.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1980
1. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
2. Closer by Joy Division
3. Back In Black by AC/DC
4. Scary Monsters by David Bowie
5. Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys
6. Peter Gabriel (1980) by Peter Gabriel
7. The River by Bruce Springsteen
8. Permanent Waves by Rush
9. Pretenders by Pretenders
10. Making Movies by Dire Straits
11. Seventeen Seconds by The Cure
12. Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies
13. Sandinista! by The Clash
14. Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath
15. Ace Of Spades by Motörhead
16. Boy by U2
17. Gaucho by Steely Dan
18. Dirty Mind by Prince
19. Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden
20. Sound Affects by The Jam
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