Writing on the Wall
Encyclopedia
Writing on the Wall is an album by British pop group Bucks Fizz
. It was released in 1986 and featured the comeback single "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
". It was the first album to feature member Shelley Preston
and their only album released on Polydor Records
. It remains the group's final studio album.
catalogue for many reasons. Apart from being their final studio album, it was also the only one to feature newly recruited member Shelley Preston
, who had replaced Jay Aston
a year before. It was also their first album on a different record label — Polydor — after their 5-year contract with RCA
had finished.
Despite this, the album contained three of its ten songs from the RCA days. These being the first two singles, "You and Your Heart so Blue
" and "Magical
", along with a remix of "I Hear Talk
", which was featured on their 1984 album of the same name, but included here as it had since become a big hit in the clubs in both the UK and US.
The biggest selling point of the album was the top ten comeback hit "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
", released in May 1986. The song become their first big hit in some time and received some of their biggest critical acclaim. The group elected to release a cover version as the follow-up — a reworking of Stephen Stills
' "Love the One You're With
". The song stalled outside the top 40 and the next single, "Keep Each Other Warm
", also failed to sell well.
The album, released in November 1986, could not sustain the comeback success of the "New Beginning" single and, despite positive reviews, didn't make a great impression on the charts. Because of this, a planned early 1987 single release of "Love in a World Gone Mad" was shelved. On original release, the album was issued on Vinyl, Cassette and Compact disc all with slightly varied tracklistings. The Cassette version boasted a whole side of extended remixes (cramming nine of the vinyl's ten songs on side one), while the Compact disc version contained a new song "Give a Little Love" in favour of the "I Hear Talk" extended mix.
The album was re-issued on CD in 2004 with a very different tracklisting, featuring 1986-only tracks. Between 2004 and 2008, alternate versions of the tracks "New Beginning", "You and Your Heart So Blue", "Magical", "Keep Each Other Warm", "Love the One You're With" and "Love in a World Gone Mad" have been released on various Bucks Fizz compilations.
"Love in a World Gone Mad" was covered by ABBA
singer Agnetha Fältskog
on her 1987 album I Stand Alone.
Smash Hits
awarded the album an 8 out of 10 rating and singled out tracks "New Beginning", "You and your Heart so Blue" and "I Hear Talk" as being particularly strong. Reviewer Tom Hibbert said that "[their music] is awesomely brilliantly conceived pop music performed with relish", while the songs "are thoroughly ravishing, proper popular music". Number One
magazine was impressed by the adult rock sound of many of the tracks, but feared that the album wouldn't stand up to repeated listenings. Nevertheless, they gave the album a 4 out of 5 rating, commenting that "Writing On the Wall sees the Fizzers moving ever further away from their light pop of old, [giving] a fair impression of American AOR rockers – in the most melodic way possible of course". The newly established Q Magazine rated the album 3 out of 5 and favoured the tracks "Keep Each Other Warm" and "The Company You Keep". On the re-issue in 2004, The Daily Mirror stated that though the album may not be cutting-edge, it had class, while Music Week
labelled the album "a gem".
In their year-end polls, Number One magazine rated Bucks Fizz as the thirteenth best act of 1986, and placed the single, "New Beginning", fifteenth in the best songs of the year. "New Beginning" became a much played song on radio during 1986 and elicited many positive comments from DJs, while the song remains a firm fan favourite — repeatedly being placed as their best ever song.
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
. It was released in 1986 and featured the comeback single "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
"New Beginning " is a 1986 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was a comeback hit, achieving their highest chart placing for four years...
". It was the first album to feature member Shelley Preston
Shelley Preston
Shelley Preston , is a singer who is most famous for being the new girl when she joined pop group Bucks Fizz in June 1985.- Career :...
and their only album released on Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. It remains the group's final studio album.
Overview
Writing on the Wall was a significant album in the Bucks FizzBucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
catalogue for many reasons. Apart from being their final studio album, it was also the only one to feature newly recruited member Shelley Preston
Shelley Preston
Shelley Preston , is a singer who is most famous for being the new girl when she joined pop group Bucks Fizz in June 1985.- Career :...
, who had replaced Jay Aston
Jay Aston
Jay Hilda Aston is a singer, dancer, and occasional songwriter who was formerly with the British pop group, Bucks Fizz. She was the youngest member of the group's original line-up, being just 19 at the Eurovision Song Contest....
a year before. It was also their first album on a different record label — Polydor — after their 5-year contract with RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
had finished.
Despite this, the album contained three of its ten songs from the RCA days. These being the first two singles, "You and Your Heart so Blue
You and Your Heart so Blue
"You and Your Heart So Blue" is a single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. Released in June 1985, the song was written by Andy Hill and Peter Sinfield and was produced by Hill. This single was the last to feature member Jay Aston, who quit the group the same month....
" and "Magical
Magical (Bucks Fizz single)
"Magical" is a 1985 single released by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was originally recorded and released as a single by John Parr.- Background :...
", along with a remix of "I Hear Talk
I Hear Talk (Bucks Fizz single)
"I Hear Talk" is a 1984 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was written by Andy Hill and Peter Sinfield - the team responsible for the group's biggest hit in the UK, "The Land of Make Believe". It was also produced by Hill.- Background :...
", which was featured on their 1984 album of the same name, but included here as it had since become a big hit in the clubs in both the UK and US.
The biggest selling point of the album was the top ten comeback hit "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
"New Beginning " is a 1986 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was a comeback hit, achieving their highest chart placing for four years...
", released in May 1986. The song become their first big hit in some time and received some of their biggest critical acclaim. The group elected to release a cover version as the follow-up — a reworking of Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
' "Love the One You're With
Love the One You're With
"Love the One You're With" is a 1970 single by folk rocker Stephen Stills. The first release off his first solo album Stephen Stills, it rose to the top twenty of the pop singles chart, peaking at No. 14....
". The song stalled outside the top 40 and the next single, "Keep Each Other Warm
Keep Each Other Warm
"Keep Each Other Warm" is a 1986 single by Bucks Fizz.The song peaked at No.45 in the UK in December 1986. It was the fifth and final single from their Writing on the Wall album, which was released at the same time...
", also failed to sell well.
The album, released in November 1986, could not sustain the comeback success of the "New Beginning" single and, despite positive reviews, didn't make a great impression on the charts. Because of this, a planned early 1987 single release of "Love in a World Gone Mad" was shelved. On original release, the album was issued on Vinyl, Cassette and Compact disc all with slightly varied tracklistings. The Cassette version boasted a whole side of extended remixes (cramming nine of the vinyl's ten songs on side one), while the Compact disc version contained a new song "Give a Little Love" in favour of the "I Hear Talk" extended mix.
The album was re-issued on CD in 2004 with a very different tracklisting, featuring 1986-only tracks. Between 2004 and 2008, alternate versions of the tracks "New Beginning", "You and Your Heart So Blue", "Magical", "Keep Each Other Warm", "Love the One You're With" and "Love in a World Gone Mad" have been released on various Bucks Fizz compilations.
"Love in a World Gone Mad" was covered by ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
singer Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
on her 1987 album I Stand Alone.
Reception and reviews
Writing on the Wall received some of the group's best reviews.Smash Hits
Smash Hits
Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...
awarded the album an 8 out of 10 rating and singled out tracks "New Beginning", "You and your Heart so Blue" and "I Hear Talk" as being particularly strong. Reviewer Tom Hibbert said that "[their music] is awesomely brilliantly conceived pop music performed with relish", while the songs "are thoroughly ravishing, proper popular music". Number One
Number One (magazine)
Number One was a British magazine dealing with pop music. It ran for nine years, mostly during the 1980s and was aimed at a mainly teenage market.- Overview :...
magazine was impressed by the adult rock sound of many of the tracks, but feared that the album wouldn't stand up to repeated listenings. Nevertheless, they gave the album a 4 out of 5 rating, commenting that "Writing On the Wall sees the Fizzers moving ever further away from their light pop of old, [giving] a fair impression of American AOR rockers – in the most melodic way possible of course". The newly established Q Magazine rated the album 3 out of 5 and favoured the tracks "Keep Each Other Warm" and "The Company You Keep". On the re-issue in 2004, The Daily Mirror stated that though the album may not be cutting-edge, it had class, while Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
labelled the album "a gem".
In their year-end polls, Number One magazine rated Bucks Fizz as the thirteenth best act of 1986, and placed the single, "New Beginning", fifteenth in the best songs of the year. "New Beginning" became a much played song on radio during 1986 and elicited many positive comments from DJs, while the song remains a firm fan favourite — repeatedly being placed as their best ever song.
1986 vinyl
1986 Cassette
1986 Compact disc
2004 Compact disc
Personnel
- Bobby GBobby GBobby G is a member of pop group Bucks Fizz. He was the only remaining original member in the group...
- lead vocals on "You and Your Heart so Blue", "Soul Motion", "Magical", "Keep Each Other Warm", "Love the One You're With", "Don't Turn Back", "I Hear Talk", "Too Hard", "I Need Your Love" - Cheryl BakerCheryl BakerCheryl Baker is an English television presenter and singer. She is most famous for being a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, and has performed for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, winning it the second time.-Early career:After leaving school and a series of secretarial jobs, Cheryl...
- lead vocals on "Give a Little Love", shared on "Love in a World Gone Mad" and "In Your Eyes" - Mike NolanMike Nolan (singer)Mike Nolan is a singer and was one of the four original members of the British pop group, Bucks Fizz. He was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, but raised in the UK, where he still resides.- Early career :...
- lead vocals on "The Company You Keep" - Shelley PrestonShelley PrestonShelley Preston , is a singer who is most famous for being the new girl when she joined pop group Bucks Fizz in June 1985.- Career :...
- shared lead vocal on "Love in a World Gone Mad" and "In Your Eyes" - Gary BarnacleGary BarnacleGary Barnacle is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work Gary Barnacle (born 1959, Dover, England) is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work...
– saxophone on "Soul Motion" and "Don't Turn Back"
Chart performance
| Release date | Single title | UK Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| December 1984 | "I Hear Talk" (single version) | 34 |
| June 1985 | "You and Your Heart so Blue" | 43 |
| September 1985 | "Magical" | 57 |
| May 1986 | "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" | 8 |
| August 1986 | "Love the One You're With" | 47 |
| November 1986 | "Keep Each Other Warm" | 45 |
| Release date | Album title | UK Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| November 1986 | Writing on the Wall | 89 |
| November 2004 | Writing on the Wall (CD re-issue) | - |