A Single Man (album)

"Return to Paradise (song)" redirects here. For other songs, see Return to Paradise § Music.

A Single Man
Studio album by Elton John
Released	27 October 1978 [1]
Recorded	January – September 1978
Studio	The Mill (Cookham, Berkshire)
Genre	Rock, pop, disco
Length	48:46
Label	MCA (US) Rocket (UK)
Producer	Clive Franks Elton John
Elton John chronology
Greatest Hits Volume II (1977) A Single Man (1978) The Thom Bell Sessions (1979)
Singles from A Single Man
"Part-Time Love" Released: 13 October 1978 [2] "Song for Guy" Released: 1 December 1978 [3] "Return to Paradise" Released: February 1979 (EU)

A Single Man is the twelfth studio album by British musician Elton John. Released in 1978, it is the first album for which Gary Osborne replaced Bernie Taupin as lyricist. It is also the first of two (the second being Victim of Love ) John albums that, on the original cut, have no tracks co-written by Taupin.

Production

A Single Man is the first of Elton John's albums to not include work by lyricist Bernie Taupin, ^[4] and the first since his 1969 debut, Empty Sky , without producer Gus Dudgeon. The returning members of the Elton John Band are percussionist Ray Cooper and guitarist Davey Johnstone; the latter ^[4] played on only one song on the album. Paul Buckmaster would not appear on another Elton John album until Made in England (1995). Unlike previous compositions in which lyrics came first, John started the album's compositions by writing melodies at a piano. John's sings in a lower register than prior recordings. ^[5] "Song for Guy" was written as a tribute to Guy Burchett, a young messenger employed by John's record label Rocket Records, who was killed in a motorcycle accident.

The staff and players of Watford Football Club, of which John was chairman at the time, provide backing vocals on "Big Dipper" (which notably includes a lyric implying homosexuality) ^[4] and "Georgia". Also featured on these tracks are the backing vocals of the female staff from Rocket Records, credited as 'The South Audley Street Girls' Choir'.

The photo for the front cover was taken in the Long Walk, which is part of Windsor Great Park in Berkshire. The inside cover shows John in a Jaguar XK140 FHC. John stopped wearing his trademark glasses in public for a period during the late 1970s, which the album photo reflects. ^[5]

Release

The album was released on 27 October 1978 by MCA Records in the United States and by Rocket in the United Kingdom. Singles from the album were "Part-Time Love", October 1978; "Song for Guy", December 1978; and "Return to Paradise", February 1979. "Song for Guy" was a near-global success, charting high everywhere except the U.S. and Canada, where MCA initially refused to release it, but did so in March 1979.

A Single Man was John's first album to be officially released in the former Soviet Union, where his previous releases had variously been smuggled. It was released following the success of his 1979 A Single Man in Concert shows in Moscow and Leningrad, though it differed in two ways from its release elsewhere. Firstly, the album was re-titledPoyot Elton John (Russian: "Elton John sings"). Secondly, both "Big Dipper" and "Part-Time Love" were removed due to the subject matter of the songs, though John had performed "Part-Time Love" at Soviet shows.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Christgau's Record Guide	C [7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
Rolling Stone	(not rated) [9]

In the U.S., A Single Man was certified gold in October 1978 and platinum in November of the same year by the RIAA. As with many of John's releases of the late 1970s and the 1980s, it received generally mixed reviews from critics.

Later releases

The 1998 reissue has five bonus tracks, the first two being the 1978 flop single "Ego" and its B-side "Flinstone Boy  [ it ]". The next two tracks are the B-sides of "Part-Time Love" and "Song for Guy" ("I Cry at Night" and "Lovesick" respectively), and the last track, "Strangers", originally the B-side of his 1979 disco-album title track, "Victim of Love".

Promotion and live performances

At the time of release, John performed some songs from the album on shows such as Bruce Forsyth's Big Night (performing "Part-Time Love"), Countdown (miming "Georgia" and "Madness"), The Old Grey Whistle Test (performing "Shooting Star" and "Song for Guy"), The Morecambe & Wise Show (performing "Shine on Through"), Parkinson (performing "Song for Guy"), Rockpop (miming "Return to Paradise" and "Part-Time Love") and Top of the Pops (miming "Part-Time Love" and performing "Song for Guy"). He performed two solo sets: one for MCA personnel at the Century Plaza Hotel on 14 October 1978 (performing "Shine on Through", "Return to Paradise" and "Song for Guy") and the other at a RTL studio on 20 October 1978 (performing "Part-Time Love", "Shooting Star" and "Song for Guy"). He also toured in support of the album in 1979.

In subsequent years, only "Song for Guy" from the album is known to have been performed.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Elton John and Gary Osborne, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Shine on Through"	3:45
2.	"Return to Paradise"	4:15
3.	"I Don't Care"	4:23
4.	"Big Dipper"	4:04
5.	"It Ain't Gonna Be Easy"	8:27

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Part-Time Love"	3:16
2.	"Georgia"	4:50
3.	"Shooting Star"	2:44
4.	"Madness"	5:53
5.	"Reverie" (John)	0:53
6.	"Song for Guy" (John)	6:35
Total length:		48:46

• Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–11 on CD reissues.

Bonus tracks (1998 Mercury reissue)

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Ego" (John, Bernie Taupin)	4:00
13.	"Flinstone Boy" (John)	4:13
14.	"I Cry at Night" (John, Taupin)	3:16
15.	"Lovesick" (John, Taupin)	3:59
16.	"Strangers"	4:46
Total length:		69:00

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

Musicians

• Elton John – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 8), piano (1, 4, 11), acoustic piano (2, 3, 5–7, 9, 10), clavinet (3), harmonium (7), church organ (7), Fender Rhodes (8); Mellotron, synthesizer, ARP synthesizer and Solina String Synthesizer (11)
• Tim Renwick – acoustic guitar (2, 3), electric guitar (4–6, 9), Leslie guitar (7), mandolin (7)
• Davey Johnstone – lead guitar (6), backing vocals (6)
• B.J. Cole – pedal steel guitar (7)
• Clive Franks – bass guitar (1–7, 9, 11)
• Herbie Flowers – bass guitar (8)
• Steve Holley – drums (1–9), motor horn (4)
• Ray Cooper – tambourine (1, 3–7, 9), marimba (2), shaker (2, 8, 11), vibraphone (5), congas (6, 9), timpani (9), wind chimes (11), rhythm box (11)
• John Crocker – clarinet (4), tenor saxophone (8)
• Jim Shepherd – trombone (4)
• Henry Lowther – trumpet (2)
• Patrick Halcox – trumpet (4)
• Paul Buckmaster – orchestra arrangements (1, 3, 5, 6, 9), arrangements (2), ARP synthesizer (10)
• Gary Osborne – backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 6)
• Vicki Brown – backing vocals (3, 6)
• Stevie Lange – backing vocals (3, 6)
• Joanne Stone – backing vocals (3, 6)
• Chris Thompson – backing vocals (3, 6)
• The South Audley Street Girl's Choir – backing vocals (4, 7)
• Watford Football Club – backing vocals (4, 7)

Production

• Producers – Clive Franks and Elton John
• Supervising producer – Mike Gill
• Engineers – Phil Dunne, Stuart Epps, Clive Franks and Peter Mew
• Mixing – Phil Dunne, Stuart Epps and Clive Franks
• Mastered by Ian Cooper at Utopia Studios (London, UK)
• Digital remastering – Gus Dudgeon
• Coordination – David Croker and Alex Foster
• Sleeve design – David Costa
• Graphic design – Mike Storey
• Photography – Terry O'Neill
• Liner editor – John Tobler
• Liner notes – Chris White

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1978–1979) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [10] 8 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [11] 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [12] 16 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [13] 16 Italian Albums ( Musica e Dischi ) [14] 13 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [15] 74 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [16] 5 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [17] 4 Spanish Albums (AFYVE) [18] 12 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [19] 26 UK Albums (OCC) [20] 8 US Billboard 200 [21] 15

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [10] 82 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [22] 93 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [23] 33 Chart (1979) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [10] 28 Italian Albums ( Musica e Dischi ) [24] 43 UK Albums (OCC) [25] 82

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [26]	Platinum	100,000^
France (SNEP) [27]	Gold	100,000*
Netherlands (NVPI) [28]	Gold	50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [29]	Platinum	15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [30]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [31]	Platinum	1,000,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 71.
2. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 70.
3. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 52.
4. Clutterbuck, Jeff (18 April 2006). "Elton John". Daily Vault. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
5. "The Elton John CD Review". clemsmusicreviews.com. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
6. A Single Man at AllMusic
7. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved 27 February 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
8. Larkin, Colin (2011). "John, Elton". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2,003. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
9. "A Single Man – Album Review". Rolling Stone. 25 January 1979. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0071a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John – A Single Man" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – A Single Man" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
14. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 25 March 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Elton John".
15. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
16. "Charts.nz – Elton John – A Single Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – A Single Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
18. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – A Single Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
21. "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
22. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0069". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
23. "Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand . Retrieved 26 January 2022.
24. "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1979" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
25. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
26. "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Single Man". Music Canada.
27. "French album certifications – Elton John – A Single Man" (in French). InfoDisc.Select ELTON JOHN and click OK. 
28. "Dutch album certifications – Elton John – Single Man" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.Enter Single Man in the "Artiest of titel" box.
29. "New Zealand album certifications – Elton John – A Single Man". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 20 November 2024.
30. "British album certifications – Elton John – Single Man". British Phonographic Industry.
31. "American album certifications – Elton John – Single Man". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• A Single Man at Discogs (list of releases)