I Hear Talk

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This article is about the album. For the song of the same name, see I Hear Talk (song).
I Hear Talk
Bucks Fizz
Released5 November 1984[1]
Recorded1983 - 1984
GenrePop
Length41:26
LabelRCA Records
Producer
Bucks Fizz
chronology
Greatest Hits

(1983) 		I Hear Talk
(1984) 		Writing on the Wall
(1986)
Singles from I Hear Talk
  1. "Talking in Your Sleep"
    Released: 13 August 1984
  2. "
    Golden Days
    "
    Released: October 1984
  3. "I Hear Talk"
    Released: 15 December 1984

I Hear Talk is the fourth

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

Rules of the Game
. 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 "

the title track) was released in December, but coincided with a coach crash that the group suffered while on tour.[5]
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 "

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. A review made mention that the album cover was "sophisticated and moody" but lamented that the girls were wearing less "revealing clothes".[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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 rated it as one of Bucks Fizz's favourite songs in a 2006 online poll.[10]

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 "not much to shout about" and that it was "the same old bill of fare that you've heard at least 100 times before".[7] 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.[11]

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".[12] In a Smash Hits review, Morrissey said that the song "Golden Days" was "inexcusably dim",[13] but received a rave review in Number One, saying "the sultry lead vocal is backed by the usual perfect three-part harmonies and a chorus that you'll not be able to get rid of for days. Great stuff".[14] Number One also credited "Talking in Your Sleep" as being "raunchy". Journalist Mark Frith complimented the title track, labelling it "euphoric" and saying that it deserved to reach No.1.[15]

In 2017,

Livin' On a Prayer", while the title track was "slinky". It gave favourable mention to tracks "Indebted to You", "Breaking Me Up" and "She Cries", saying they were "mid-80s pop epics".[16]

Track listing

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
1."
Golden Days"
Terry Britten, Sue ShifrinTerry Britten4:14
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
6."
Pete Solley
Andy Hill4:18
7."Breaking Me Up"Andy Hill, Frank MuskerAndy Hill4:16
8."January's Gone"Andy Hill, Ian BairnsonAndy Hill4:45
9."She Cries"Nik KershawPip Williams3:37
10."Thief in the Night"Andy Hill, Warren BacallBrian Tench3:47
2004 Reissue Bonus Tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
11."Don't Think You're Fooling Me"Bobby GBobby G3:50
12."Where Do I Go Now"Cheryl BakerCheryl Baker, Adrian Sheppard, Richard Cottle4:30
13."One Touch Too Much"Andy Hill, Sue ShifrinBig Note3:49
14."Pulling Me Under"Bobby GBobby G4:15
15."Invisible"Andy Hill, Mike BattBig Note4:35
16."Evil Man"Jay AstonBig Note3:54
17."Here's Looking At You"Andy Hill, Pete SinfieldBig Note5:52
18."Young Hearts"Andy HillNick Tauber4:05

Personnel

  • Bobby G - lead vocals on "I Hear Talk", "Indebted to You", "Golden Days", "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", "One Touch Too Much", "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

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) -
June 2015 I Hear Talk (double CD edition) -

References

  1. ^ "Bucks Fizz - I Hear Talk - dutchcharts.nl".
  2. ^ Official Charts. ""Talking in Your Sleep" Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  3. ^ Cliff Richard song database. "Cliff Richard version of "Golden Days"". Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  4. ^ Official Charts. "I Hear Talk UK album Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  5. ^ Early years. "Bucks Fizz history - Coach crash, 1984". Archived from the original on 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  6. ^ Eighties club. "Top 100 songs of 1984". Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  7. ^ a b Smith, Robin (24 November 1984). "Album reviews". Record Mirror: 20.
  8. ^ BBC News (2005-05-13). "Bucks Fizz story refuses to go flat". Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  9. ^ BMG. "Promotion for album Re-issue". Archived from the original on June 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  10. ^ Early years. "Bucks Fizz fans' top 40". Archived from the original on 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  11. ^ Record Mirror album review, November 1984
  12. ^ Number One Single reviews, December 1984
  13. ^ Smash Hits Single reviews, October 1984
  14. Number One magazine
    . 072: 52.
  15. ^ Mark Frith, Classic pop Magazine, issue #5. June/July 2013. Anthem publishing
  16. ^ Lester, Paul (October 2017). "Never mind the Bollocks, here's the Fizz". Classic Pop Magazine (33): 58.
  17. ^ Album sleeve notes
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