The It Girl (album)

The It Girl
The It Girl
Studio album by Sleeper
Released	6 May 1996
Recorded	1995–1996
Genre	Britpop
Length	45:59
Label	Indolent
Producer	Stephen Street
Sleeper chronology
Singles from The It Girl
	"What Do I Do Now?"; Released: 25 September 1995; "Sale of the Century"; Released: 22 April 1996; "Nice Guy Eddie"; Released: 1 July 1996; "Statuesque"; Released: 23 September 1996;

The It Girl is the second studio album by English Britpop band Sleeper,^[1] released in May 1996. It was their most successful album, selling over 300,000 copies in the UK alone and featuring the top-20 singles "What Do I Do Now?", "Sale of the Century", "Nice Guy Eddie", and "Statuesque".^[2]^[3] The album was released internationally, with the US version having a different track listing and alternative photos in the liner booklet.

Background

The album was recorded in London over the winter of 1995 and 1996^[4] and production was helmed by Stephen Street.

Much of the content of the album is autobiographical. "Lie Detector" was written about Wener's frustration with "how women are stereotyped and put into boxes, and not allowed to escape the way they were originally viewed."^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]
Alternative Press	5/5^[7]
Los Angeles Times	^[8]
Record Collector	^[9]
Vox	8/10^[10]

The album was well received by critics and helped solidify Sleeper's status as a key band in the Britpop movement.^[5]

Jack Rabid of AllMusic wrote that while "nothing is quite the total knockout of Smart's 'Inbetweener,' The It Girl is more consistently accomplished, with a broader palette of influences".^[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Louise Wener.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"Lie Detector"	Louise Wener Andy MacLure	Bruce Lampcov	2:31
2.	"Sale of the Century"	Wener MacLure	Stephen Street	4:29
3.	"What Do I Do Now?"	Wener	Street	3:42
4.	"Good Luck Mr Gorsky"	Wener	Street	4:05
5.	"Feeling Peaky"	Wener Jon Stewart MacLure	Street	2:54
6.	"Shrinkwrapped"	Wener MacLure	Street	4:46
7.	"Dress Like Your Mother"	Wener	Street	2:34
8.	"Statuesque"	Wener	Street	3:23
9.	"Glue Ears"	Wener MacLure	Street	4:46
10.	"Nice Guy Eddie"	Wener	Street	3:20
11.	"Stop Your Crying"	Wener	Street	3:35
12.	"Factor 41"	Wener	Street John Smith	2:58
13.	"Click...off...gone"	Wener	Street	2:52
Total length:				45:49

US edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Feeling Peaky"	Wener	2:54
2.	"Sale of the Century"	Wener MacLure	4:29
3.	"Dress Like Your Mother"	Wener MacLure	2:34
4.	"Statuesque"	Wener	3:23
5.	"Nice Guy Eddie"	Wener	3:20
6.	"Stop Your Crying"	Wener	3:35
7.	"Lie Detector"	Wener MacLure	2:31
8.	"What Do I Do Now?"	Wener	3:42
9.	"Shrinkwrapped"	Wener	4:46
10.	"Good Luck Mr Gorsky"	Wener	4:05
11.	"Factor 41"	Wener	2:58
12.	"Click...off...gone"	Wener	2:52

Japanese edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Lie Detector"	Wener MacLure	2:31
2.	"Sale of the Century"	Wener MacLure	4:29
3.	"What Do I Do Now?"	Wener	3:42
4.	"Good Luck Mr Gorsky"	Wener	4:05
5.	"Feeling Peaky"	Wener	2:54
6.	"Shrinkwrapped"	Wener	4:46
7.	"Dress Like Your Mother"	Wener MacLure	2:34
8.	"Statuesque"	Wener	3:23
9.	"Glue Ears"	Wener MacLure	4:46
10.	"Nice Guy Eddie"	Wener	3:20
11.	"Stop Your Crying"	Wener	3:35
12.	"Factor 41"	Wener	2:58
13.	"Click...off...gone"	Wener	2:52
14.	"Package Holiday"	Wener	2:57
15.	"Oh Well"	Wener	2:12
16.	"Atomic"	Debbie Harry Jimmy Destri	5:11

2010 remastered edition bonus disc
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Paint Me"	Wener MacLure	3:25
2.	"Room at the Top"	Wener MacLure	3:07
3.	"Disco Duncan (live)"	Wener	4:09
4.	"Vegas (live)"	Wener	3:14
5.	"Amuse (live)"	Wener	2:32
6.	"Atomic"	Debbie Harry Jimmy Destri	5:11
7.	"Package Holiday"	Wener MacLure	2:57
8.	"Oh Well"	Wener	2:12
9.	"Pokerface"	Wener MacLure	3:32
10.	"Blazer Sleeves"	Wener	2:52
11.	"Inbetweener (Live)"	Wener	3:55
12.	"She's a Sweetheart"	Wener	3:31
13.	"Statuesque (Boxed Off mix)"	Wener	6:31
14.	"Atomic (Wubble U mix)"	Wener	8:21
15.	"The Other End of the Telescope"	Elvis Costello Aimee Mann	4:31
16.	"Spies"	Wener	3:14

Notes

Bonus disc: Tracks 1–5 taken from the "What Do I Do Now" single b-sides; 6–8 from "Sale of the Century" single; 9–11 from "Nice Guy Eddie" single; 12–16 from "Statuesque" single.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.^[4]

Sleeper

Louise Wener – vocals, guitar
Andy Maclure – drums, acoustic guitar, percussion, keyboards (track 11)
Jon Stewart – guitar, keyboards (track 1)
Diid Osman – bass

Additional musicians

Stephen Street – keyboards, programming
John Green – piano, synthesizers

Production and design

Stephen Street – producer (all except track 1), mixing (track 1)
John Smith – engineer, producer (track 12)
Bruce Lampcov – producer (track 1)
Tom Girling – assistant engineer
Julie Gardner – assistant engineer
Kevin Westenberg – Sleeper photography

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[11]	Platinum	300,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Modern Lists Are Rubbish: In response to Buzzfeed, here's our Definitive Britpop Album Ranking". 14 January 2014.
^ Harris, John (2004). The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock. Harper Perennial. p. 354. ISBN 0-00-713473-8.
^ writewyattuk (27 March 2022). "Return of The It Girl: talking Sleeper & more with Louise Wener – yesterday, today and This Time Tomorrow". writewyattuk. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
^ ^a ^b The It Girl (booklet). Sleeper. Indolent Records. 1996. SLEEPCD012.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ ^a ^b "'The It Girl' 25 years on: In conversation with Sleeper's Louise Wener". Epigram. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
^ ^a ^b Rabid, Jack. "The It Girl – Sleeper". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
^ "Sleeper: The It Girl". Alternative Press (69): 97. August 1996.
^ Scribner, Sara (25 August 1996). "Sleeper, 'The It Girl,' Arista". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
^ "Sleeper: The It Girl". Record Collector: 95–96. [C]hic and more mature....[Featuring] Wener's own off-kilter charisma and presence.
^ Dalton, Stephen (July 1996). "Sleeper: The It Girl (Indolent)". Vox (69). IPC Media: 94.
^ "British album certifications – Sleeper – The It Girl". British Phonographic Industry.

External links

The It Girl at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
Complete Sleeper discography

[1] "Modern Lists Are Rubbish: In response to Buzzfeed, here's our Definitive Britpop Album Ranking". 14 January 2014.

[2] Harris, John (2004). The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock. Harper Perennial. p. 354. ISBN 0-00-713473-8.

[3] writewyattuk (27 March 2022). "Return of The It Girl: talking Sleeper & more with Louise Wener – yesterday, today and This Time Tomorrow". writewyattuk. Retrieved 6 April 2025.

[TIGbooklet-4] The It Girl (booklet). Sleeper. Indolent Records. 1996. SLEEPCD012.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[:0-5] "'The It Girl' 25 years on: In conversation with Sleeper's Louise Wener". Epigram. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2025.

[allmusic_review-6] Rabid, Jack. "The It Girl – Sleeper". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2009.

[7] "Sleeper: The It Girl". Alternative Press (69): 97. August 1996.

[8] Scribner, Sara (25 August 1996). "Sleeper, 'The It Girl,' Arista". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 September 2009.

[9] "Sleeper: The It Girl". Record Collector: 95–96. [C]hic and more mature....[Featuring] Wener's own off-kilter charisma and presence.

[VOX_Review-10] Dalton, Stephen (July 1996). "Sleeper: The It Girl (Indolent)". Vox (69). IPC Media: 94.

[United_KingdomSleeperThe_It_GirlalbumCertRef-11] "British album certifications – Sleeper – The It Girl". British Phonographic Industry.

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v t e Sleeper
Andy Maclure Kieron Pepper Jon Stewart Louise Wener
Studio albums	Smart The It Girl Pleased to Meet You The Modern Age
Singles	"Swallow" "Delicious" "Inbetweener" "Vegas" "What Do I Do Now?" "Sale of the Century" "Nice Guy Eddie" "Statuesque" "She's a Good Girl" "Romeo Me"