Feargal Sharkey (album)

Feargal Sharkey
Studio album by
Feargal Sharkey
Released11 November 1985[1]
StudioThe Church, London
GenrePop
Length42:59
Label
ProducerDavid A. Stewart
Feargal Sharkey chronology
Feargal Sharkey
(1985) 		Wish
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Record Mirror[3]

Feargal Sharkey is the debut solo album by former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey, released in 1985. The album peaked at No. 12 in the UK and contains Sharkey's best known single, "A Good Heart",[4] his only No. 1. "You Little Thief" also became a top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart, reaching No. 5,[5] and "Someone to Somebody" reached No. 64.[5]

Production

The album was produced by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics who Sharkey had met in an elevator seven years previously. Sharkey said, "We both had the same commitment to excellence, to finding great songs. Whether they were our own or other people's didn't matter."[6]

Reception

Spin said, "Feargal Sharkey features a few great songs, though none of them were composed by Sharkey and Stewart: The three stand-out tracks were written by Chrissie Hynde, Bobby Womack, and Maria McKee of Lone Justice."[6] Armond White said, "Packaging a singer this odd requires a certain degree of Top-40 costuming, and Stewart is the Bob Mackie of producers. His familiar, eager imitation of any known style slips unavoidably into parody. But Sharkey is pretty crafty himself, using his rough stammer. This is the sound of pure stress, not soul."[7]

Track listing

CD and download release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Good Heart"Maria McKee4:39
2."You Little Thief"Benmont Tench5:03
3."Ghost Train"
3:12
4."Ashes and Diamonds"
  • Stewart
  • Sharkey
4:40
5."Made to Measure"Chrissie Hynde3:38
6."Someone to Somebody"
  • Daniel Kane
  • Geraldine L. Gooden
  • Michael Torrence
  • Thomas Gordy
5:24
7."Don't Leave It to Nature"
4:27
8."Love and Hate"
  • Stewart
  • Sharkey
  • Daly
4:35
9."Bitter Man"
  • Stewart
  • Sharkey
  • Daly
3:28
10."It's All Over Now"
4:15

Personnel

Technical
  • Jon Bavin, Michael Schuman, Robin Laine, Tom Nist – engineer
  • Don Smith, Shelly Yakus – mixing
  • Hugh Brown – front cover photography

Chart performance

Chart (1985–86) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 7
Canadian Albums Chart[9] 17
German Albums Chart[10] 29
New Zealand Albums Chart[11] 16
Swiss Albums Chart[12] 11
UK Albums Chart[4] 12
US Billboard 200[13] 75

Year-end charts

Chart (1986) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 20

References

  1. ^ Smith, Robin (9 November 1985). "Index: Sharkey's Debut". Record Mirror. p. 2. ISSN 0144-5804.
  2. ^ Allan, Mark. Feargal Sharkey at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  3. ^ Morton, Roger (16 November 1985). "Albums". Record Mirror.
  4. ^ a b "UK Singles & Albums Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Feargal Sharkey | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  6. ^ a b James Truman (June 1986). "Sharkey's Day". Spin. No. 14. p. 34.
  7. ^ Armond White (April 1986). "Spins". Spin. No. 12. p. 18.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 270. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  10. ^ "Germany charts portal". charts.de. 26 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  11. ^ Steffen Hung (26 December 2011). "New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  12. ^ Steffen Hung. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". swisscharts.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  13. ^ "AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.