Blast (album)

Last updated

Blast
Blast (Holly Johnson).jpg
Studio album by
Released24 April 1989 [1]
Genre Dance
Length42:55
Label MCA
Producer Andy Richards, Dan Hartman, Stephen Hague, Steve Lovell
Holly Johnson chronology
Blast
(1989)
Hollelujah
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
New Musical Express 8/10 [3]
Record-Journal (USA)B [4]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Age (Australia)unfavourable [6]

Blast is the debut solo album by the British musician Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes to Hollywood. It was released in 1989 and reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and sold over 300,000 copies making it platinum. The album stayed on the charts for 17 weeks. The album features the hits "Love Train", "Americanos", "Atomic City" and "Heaven's Here". The album was re-released in November 2009 and again in November 2010.

Contents

In 2010, Johnson marked "Love Will Come" and "Heaven's Here" as his favourite tracks from the album. [7] The album's title Blast came from the short-lived magazine of the early-20th century British Vorticist art movement. [8]

In a 2014 interview with The Arts Desk, Johnson spoke of his reaction to the success of Blast following the stressful nature of his court case with record label ZTT:

"The week it got to No.1 I was very... vindicated. That was a transient moment of victory in retrospect. I'd been on the promotional trail, touring and on the endless European television shows that existed in those days, for years and years, since the beginning of '84. Towards the end of '89, with a couple of hit singles and a platinum-selling album. I started to get health worries that ultimately came to consume my life for quite a number of years." [9]

Track listing

All tracks written by Johnson except "Atomic City" (Johnson, Dan Hartman).

  1. "Atomic City" – 6:15
  2. "Heaven's Here" – 4:16
  3. "Americanos" – 3:35
  4. "Deep in Love" – 3:58
  5. "S.U.C.C.E.S.S." – 3:31
  6. "Love Train" – 4:02
  7. "Got It Made" – 3:49
  8. "Love Will Come" – 4:28
  9. "Perfume" – 3:33
  10. "Feel Good" – 5:28

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1989)Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart [10] 97
Austrian Albums Chart [11] 12
Dutch Albums Chart [12] 27
German Albums Chart [13] 5
Italian Albums Chart [14] 10
New Zealand Albums Chart [15] 11
Norwegian Albums Chart [16] 10
Swedish Albums Chart [17] 11
Swiss Albums Chart [18] 10
UK Albums Chart [19] 1

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Johnson</span> British artist

William Holly Johnson is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was a bassist for the band Big in Japan. In 1989, Johnson's debut solo album, Blast, reached number one in the UK albums chart. Two singles from the album – "Love Train" and "Americanos" – reached the top 5 of the UK Singles Chart. In the 1990s, he also embarked on writing, painting, and printmaking careers.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (The Cure album) 2001 greatest hits album by the Cure

Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by English rock band the Cure. It was first released in Japan on 7 November 2001, before being released in the UK and Europe on 12 November and then in the US the day after. The band's relationship with longtime label Fiction Records came to a close, and the Cure were obliged to release one final album for the label. Lead singer Robert Smith agreed to release a greatest hits album under the condition that he could choose the tracks himself. The band also recorded a special studio album released as a bonus disc to some versions of the album. The disc, titled Acoustic Hits, consists of the eighteen songs from the North American release re-recorded using acoustic instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Son of a Preacher Man</span> 1968 song recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield

"Son of a Preacher Man" is a song written and composed by American songwriters John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins and recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield in September 1968 for the album Dusty in Memphis.

<i>Ladies Night</i> (Atomic Kitten album) 2003 studio album by Atomic Kitten

Ladies Night is the third studio album by English girl group Atomic Kitten. It was released by Innocent Records and Virgin Records on 10 November 2003 in the United Kingdom. Named after the same-titled 1979 song by American band Kool & the Gang, the trio reteamed with producers Ash Howes and Martin Harrington, both of whom had contributed to their previous album Feels So Good (2002), to work with them on the majority of the album, while additional production was provided by Ciaron Bell, Julian Gallagher, and Steve Robson, Richard "Biff" Stannard and The True North Music Company. Written and recorded in a time span of seven months, the band co-wrote on eight songs of the album's standard version, with Jenny Frost and Liz McClarnon each credited as songwriters on three tracks, while Natasha Hamilton co-wrote two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Americanos (song)</span> 1989 single by Holly Johnson

"Americanos" is a song by English singer Holly Johnson, released in 1989 as the second single from his debut solo album, Blast (1989). It was written by Johnson, and produced by Andy Richards and Steve Lovell, with additional production from Dan Hartman.

"Some Guys Have All the Luck" is a song written by Jeff Fortgang. It has been a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 twice, as the original by The Persuaders in 1973 reaching No. 39, then as the cover by Rod Stewart in 1984 where it hit No. 10 in the U.S. and No. 32 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomic City (Holly Johnson song)</span> 1989 single by Holly Johnson

"Atomic City" is a song by English singer Holly Johnson, released in 1989 as the third single from his debut solo album Blast. It was written by Johnson and Dan Hartman, and produced by Hartman. The song reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for four weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Colin Chilvers and produced by Nick Verden for Radar Films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where Has Love Gone? (song)</span> 1990 single by Holly Johnson

"Where Has Love Gone?" is a song by British singer-songwriter Holly Johnson, released in 1990 as the lead single from his second studio album Dreams That Money Can't Buy (1991). The song was written by Johnson and produced by Andy Richards.

<i>Dreams That Money Cant Buy</i> 1991 studio album by Holly Johnson

Dreams That Money Can't Buy is the second solo album by English singer Holly Johnson, released by MCA Records in 1991. The album was produced by Andy Richards, except "Penny Arcade" which was produced by Dan Hartman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The People Want to Dance</span> 1991 single by Holly Johnson

"The People Want to Dance" is a single from former Frankie Goes to Hollywood singer Holly Johnson, taken as the third and final single from his 1991 album Dreams That Money Can't Buy. The track would be Johnson's last release until 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaven's Here</span> 1989 single by Holly Johnson

"Heaven's Here" a song by English singer Holly Johnson, released in 1989 as the fourth and final single from his debut solo album Blast. It was written by Johnson and produced by Stephen Hague. The song reached No. 62 in the UK and No. 22 in Ireland.

<i>Throw the Warped Wheel Out</i> 1984 studio album by Fiction Factory

Throw the Warped Wheel Out is the debut studio album by the Scottish new wave band Fiction Factory. It was released in 1984 and included the UK and European hit single "(Feels Like) Heaven". The album failed to chart in the UK but was more successful in Europe, reaching the charts in Switzerland, Sweden and Germany. Alan Rankine of the Associates played the Synclavier, and produced the single "All or Nothing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentine (T'Pau song)</span> 1988 single by TPau

"Valentine" is a song by British band T'Pau, which was released in 1988 as the fifth single from their debut studio album Bridge of Spies. It was written by Ronnie Rogers and Carol Decker, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It reached No. 9 in the UK and remained on the charts for eight weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Ferguson discography</span>

Rebecca Ferguson is an English singer from Liverpool. She rose to fame in 2010 when she finished as the runner-up behind Matt Cardle in the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010. Ferguson's discography so far consists of five studio albums, fourteen singles, one extended play and eleven music videos. After two years of both critical and commercial success in the music industry, Ferguson has sold over 1 million albums worldwide.

<i>Europa</i> (Holly Johnson album) 2014 studio album by Holly Johnson

Europa is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Holly Johnson, released in 2014.

<i>Some People</i> (Belouis Some album) 1985 studio album by Belouis Some

Some People is the debut studio album from British musician Belouis Some, released in 1985.

Remady & Manu-L is a Swiss deep house duo consisting of Manu-L and Remady.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">For You Only</span> 1985 single by Alison Moyet

"For You Only" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, which was released in 1985 as the fourth and final single from her debut studio album Alf. For its release as a single, a remixed version of the song was created, which was named the "New Version". The song written by Moyet, Steve Jolley and Tony Swain, and produced by Jolley and Swain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waves (Blancmange song)</span> 1983 single by Blancmange

"Waves" is a song by English synth-pop duo Blancmange, released on 21 January 1983 as the fourth and final single from their debut studio album Happy Families (1982). Written by Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe, and produced by Mike Howlett, "Waves" reached No. 19 in the UK and remained in the charts for nine weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blind Vision</span> 1983 single by Blancmange

"Blind Vision" is a song by English synth-pop band Blancmange, released in April 1983 as the lead single from their second studio album Mange Tout (1984). Written by Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe, and produced by John Luongo, "Blind Vision" reached No. 10 in the UK and remained in the charts for eight weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the single, which received light rotation on MTV.

References

  1. Smith, Robin (15 April 1989). "News: Oh Blast". Record Mirror. p. 4.
  2. "Blast". Allmusic . Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  3. Quantick, David (22 April 1989). "Master Blaster". New Musical Express . p. 31.
  4. "Record-Journal - Google News Archive Search".
  5. Nicholson, Tim (22 April 1989). "33". Record Mirror . p. 32. ISSN   0144-5804.
  6. "The Age - Google News Archive Search".
  7. Ashley Smith (29 December 2010). "Holly Johnson Questions". Slade Discography Website. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  8. hollyjohnson.com The Story Behind the "Europa" Album Artwork Revealed
  9. "theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Holly Johnson". The Arts Desk. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  10. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  11. Steffen Hung. "Holly Johnson - Blast". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  12. Steffen Hung. "Holly Johnson - Blast". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  13. Steffen Hung. "germancharts.com - Holly Johnson - Blast". Germancharts.de. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  14. "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1989". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  15. Steffen Hung. "Holly Johnson - Blast". charts.nz. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  16. Steffen Hung. "Holly Johnson - Blast". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  17. Steffen Hung. "Holly Johnson - Blast". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  18. Steffen Hung. "Holly Johnson - Blast". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  19. "holly-johnson | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.