Heart First is the second album by British singer Hazell Dean

Hazell Dean

Hazell Dean is a British dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading Hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top ten hits "Searchin' ", "Whatever I Do " and "Who's Leaving Who"...

. It was her first album as a mainstream pop artist following the top ten successes of "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)

Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)

"Searchin' " is a hi-NRG song written by Ian Anthony Stephens, originally recorded and made famous by British singer Hazell Dean. Originally released in 1983, it became a Top-Ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and U.S. Dance/Disco charts...

" and "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)

Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)

"Whatever I Do " is a Hi-NRG song written and produced by British hitmaking team Stock Aitken & Waterman, which became a hit for singer Hazell Dean in 1984....

". The album was released in 1984 and the first album to be produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...

 production team.

Background

Released in late 1984, the album featured the top 10 hits "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)

Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)

"Searchin' " is a hi-NRG song written by Ian Anthony Stephens, originally recorded and made famous by British singer Hazell Dean. Originally released in 1983, it became a Top-Ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and U.S. Dance/Disco charts...

" and "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)

Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)

"Whatever I Do " is a Hi-NRG song written and produced by British hitmaking team Stock Aitken & Waterman, which became a hit for singer Hazell Dean in 1984....

" as well as the singles "Back in My Arms (Once Again)" and "No Fool (For Love)", which both reached No.41.

Heart First was released on the Proto record label and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...

 - the first album the trio were responsible for. The first single they produced for Dean was "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)", which was originally titled "Dance Your Love Away" and reworked by Waterman when Dean was unhappy with the chorus. The engineer of the song had accidentally mixed the drum beats backwards, which produced an unusual juddering sound across the recording, but Waterman was so impressed with the result that it stayed on the song. The single went on to sell 300,000 copies in the UK and was the producers' first top-10 hit together.

Despite the hit, Stock Aitken Waterman were in dire financial straits, as was the record company, Proto. Waterman was keen to complete the album and considered it to be the very first full Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

 album - a genre normally limited to singles and 12" remixes. The album was completed on a shoestring budget, but everyone involved was happy with the finished product. However, problems were apparent at the record company and despite the hit singles, the album failed to chart. Dean blamed the album's failure on poor promotion and bad timing. Dean parted company with Proto Records after the fourth single was released, but did go on to work with Stock Aitken Waterman again in future years.

The album was released on Compact disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 in 1984 in Japan and elsewhere in 1997. It was later re-released on 15 March 2010 as a remastered special edition featuring bonus tracks through the UK label Cherry Red Records. This version included the song "Stay In My Life" (Dean's entry for the A Song for Europe

A Song for Europe

A Song for Europe may refer to:*A Song for Europe, former name of British pre-selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest, now known as Eurovision: Your Country Needs You...

 competition in 1984), as well as B-sides and extended mixes not previously available on CD.

Original album

Side one

1. "Back in My Arms (Once Again)" (3:10) Stock - Aitken
2. "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" (3:38) I. A. Stephens
3. "Break the Rules" (3:23) Shelley - Woloshuk - Roth
4. "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" (3:42) Stock - Aitken
5. "You're Too Good to Be True" (4:20) H. Dean
6. "Back in My Arms (Once Again) Reprise" (0:55) Stock - Aitken

Side two

1. "Heart First" (3:22) Pickus - Thomas
2. "No Fool (For Love)" (3:35) Stock - Aitken
3. "Harmony" (3:51) Clift - Marsh
4. "Devil in You" (3:10) H. Dean
5. "Everything I Need" (3:31) Dean - Bradley

The cassette version of the album also featured the song "Evergreen

Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)

"Evergreen " is the theme song from the 1976 film A Star Is Born. It was composed and performed by Barbra Streisand with lyrics by Paul Williams. The song was released on the soundtrack album to A Star Is Born....

".

2010 CD issue

Bonus tracks:

1. "Stay In My Life" Dean - Bradley
2. "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" (12" version)
3. "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" (12" mix)
4. "Young Boy In the City" Dean
5. "Back In My Arms (Once Again)" (12" mix)
6. "Take Me Home" Dean
7. "No Fool (For Love)" (12" version - Disc actually plays the Murray Mix, not the original 12")

All songs produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, except "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" by Ian Anthony Stephens.