I Hear Talk
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I Hear Talk is an album by pop group Bucks Fizz. Released in 1984, this was the group's fourth studio album and featured the singles "Talking in Your Sleep", "Golden Days" and "I Hear Talk".
Overview
Bucks Fizz had been consistently in the public eye for three years by the end of 1983 and so decided to keep a low profile for the first half of 1984 following the low-charting performance of their last single. During this time recording sessions were held for their fourth album as well as the group embarking on a 40-date UK tour.
The group made a comeback in August with the single "Talking In Your Sleep" - a cover of a song by US band The Romantics. The single revitalised the group's career with its harder-edged rock sound and became a top twenty hit in the UK.[1] Another single "Golden Days" (a reworking of a recent Cliff Richard song)[2] was released in October, but failed to chart as highly. The album followed soon after and also received a tepid response, peaking at #66 - their lowest charting album to this point.[3] A third and final single (the title track) was released in December, but coincided with a coach crash that the group suffered while on tour.[4] Promotion for the single was limited due to this and although performed better in the charts than the previous single, it didn't restore them to their former glory.
During recording sessions for this album in early 1984, the group recorded the song "What's Love Got To Do With It" for possible inclusion. Around the same time the song was also recorded by US star, Tina Turner, who went on to have an International hit with it.[5] The Bucks Fizz version went unreleased until 2000, when it was included as a bonus track on a CD re-release of their album, Are You Ready. The group recorded many of the tracks in Zurich. According to member Cheryl Baker, Jay Aston didn't attend these sessions, with her vocals being recorded later in the UK.
The album's sleeve featured a sepia-toned photograph of the group on the beach at Camber Sands, surrounded by a wide black border. The inside sleeve featured more shots taken at the same location. This was the group's final album both with their original record company, RCA and member Jay Aston, who quit the line-up the following year.[6] It would be two years before the next album release.
I Hear Talk was re-released on Compact Disc in 2004 with additional bonus tracks.[7] In 2006, alternate versions of tracks "Indebted to You", "Tears On the Ballroom Floor", "Cold War", "Breaking Me Up", "She Cries" and "Thief In the Night" were released on The Lost Masters - a collection of unreleased Bucks Fizz tracks. Two years later, a follow-up compilation gave further alternate versions of "Indebted to You", "Tears On the Ballroom Floor", "Golden Days", "Talking in Your Sleep" and "Breaking Me Up". More importantly however, the first of these albums produced an entirely new song taken from the I Hear Talk sessions - "Every Dream Has Broken". It is unknown why this song was never released, but fans of the group rate it as one of Bucks Fizz's best ever songs.[8]
Reception and reviews
While Bucks Fizz were generally criticised in the media for producing lightweight pop music, their albums usually received favourable reviews. However, of their five studio albums, I Hear Talk seemed to gain the least recommendations. Record Mirror criticized the album by being too "safe" and claimed that Bucks Fizz were "not trying anything new here". The same magazine however said that alongside new albums by Wham!, Culture Club, Duran Duran and Frankie Goes to Hollywood it was a contender for the top 10.[9] Reviewing their single "I Hear Talk", pop group Bananarama said that the song was their best in a long time, stating "it has something the last few singles didn't".[10] In a Smash Hits review, Morrissey said that the song "Golden Days" was "inexcusably dim".[11] While Number One credited "Talking in Your Sleep" as being "raunchy".
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Hear Talk" | Andy Hill / Pete Sinfield | Andy Hill | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Indebted to You" | Andy Hill / Warren Bacall | Andy Hill | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Tears on the Ballroom Floor" | Anthony Phillips / Roy Hill | Brian Tench | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Cold War" | Dominic Bugatti | Brian Tench and Bobby G | 3:52 |
| 5. | "Golden Days" | Terry Britten / Sue Shifrin | Terry Britten | 4:14 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Talking in Your Sleep" | Marinos / Palmar / Skill / Canler / Solley | Andy Hill | 4:18 |
| 7. | "Breaking Me Up" | Andy Hill / Frank Musker | Andy Hill | 4:16 |
| 8. | "January's Gone" | Andy Hill / Ian Bairnson | Andy Hill | 4:45 |
| 9. | "She Cries" | Nik Kershaw | Pip Williams | 3:37 |
| 10. | "Thief in the Night" | Andy Hill / Warren Bacall | Brian Tench | 3:47 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Don't Think You're Fooling Me" | Bobby G | Bobby G | 3:50 |
| 12. | "Where Do I Go Now" | Cheryl Baker | Cheryl Baker / Adrian Sheppard / Richard Cottle | 4:30 |
| 13. | "One Touch Too Much" | Andy Hill / Sue Shifrin | Big Note | 3:49 |
| 14. | "Pulling Me Under" | Bobby G | Bobby G | 4:15 |
| 15. | "Invisible" | Andy Hill / Mike Batt | Big Note | 4:35 |
| 16. | "Evil Man" | Jay Aston | Big Note | 3:54 |
| 17. | "Here's Looking At You" | Andy Hill / Pete Sinfield | Big Note | 5:52 |
| 18. | "Young Hearts" | Andy Hill | Nick Tauber | 4:05 |
Personnel
- Bobby G - lead vocals on "I Hear Talk", "Indebted to You", "Cold War", "Talking in Your Sleep", "Breaking Me Up", "She Cries", "Don't Think You're Fooling Me", "Pulling Me Under"
- Jay Aston - lead vocals on "Thief in the Night", "Invisible", "Evil Man"
- Cheryl Baker - lead vocals on "Tears on the Ballroom Floor", "Where Do I Go Now", "Young Hearts"
- Mike Nolan - lead vocals on "January's Gone"
- Musicians
- Andy Hill - Keyboards, Guitar, Bass
- Simon Darlow - Keyboards
- Billy Livesey - Keyboards
- Richard Cottle - Keyboards
- Tobias Boshell - Keyboards
- Ian Bairnson - Guitar
- Terry Britten - Keyboards
- Pip Williams - Guitar
- John Read - Bass
- Gary Twigg - Bass
- Graham Broad - Drums and Percussion
- Charles Morgan - Drums and Percussion
- Bob Jenkins - Drums and Percussion
- Pete Toms - Trombone
- Luke Tunney - Trumpet
- Martin Dobson - Saxophone
- Peter Woodroffe - Fairlight programmer
- Shelley Preston - Vocals on "Here's Looking at You" and "Young Hearts" (bonus tracks)
- Production
- Recorded at Power Play Studios, Zurich; Comforts Place Studios, Mayfair Studios, RAK Studios, London
- John Hudson, Martin Webster, Trevor Vallis, Brian Tench, Simon Sullivan, G. Jackman - Engineers
- Dean Murphy - Executive Producer of CD re-issue
- Simon Fowler - Photography
- Shoot that Tiger! - Art direction and design[12]
Chart performance
| Release date | Single title | UK Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| August 1984 | "Talking in Your Sleep" | 15 |
| October 1984 | "Golden Days" | 42 |
| December 1984 | "I Hear Talk" | 34 |
| Release date | Album title | UK Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| November 1984 | I Hear Talk | 66 |
| June 2004 | I Hear Talk (CD re-issue) | - |
References
- ^ Chartstats. ""Talking in Your Sleep" UK Chart details". Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ Cliff Richard song database. "Cliff Richard version of "Golden Days"". Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ Chartstats. "I Hear Talk UK album chart details". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ Early years. "Bucks Fizz history - Coach crash, 1984". Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ Eighties club. "Top 100 songs of 1984". Retrieved 2008-10-19.
- ^ BBC News (2005-05-13). "Bucks Fizz story refuses to go flat". Retrieved 2008-06-10.
- ^ BMG. "Promotion for album Re-issue". Archived from the original on June 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Early years. "Bucks Fizz fans' top 40". Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ Record Mirror album review, November 1984
- ^ Number One Single reviews, December 1984
- ^ Smash Hits Single reviews, October 1984
- ^ Album sleeve notes