Blast | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 24 April 1989 [1] | |||
Genre | Dance | |||
Length | 42:55 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Producer | Andy Richards, Dan Hartman, Stephen Hague, Steve Lovell | |||
Holly Johnson chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
New Musical Express | 8/10 [3] |
Record-Journal (USA) | B [4] |
Record Mirror | [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.
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]
All tracks written by Johnson except "Atomic City" (Johnson, Dan Hartman).
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 |
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.
"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.
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"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.
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"Love Train" is a song by English singer Holly Johnson, released in 1989 as the lead single from his debut solo album, Blast (1989). It was written by Johnson and produced by Andy Richards and Steve Lovell with additional production by Stephen Hague. The song reached No. 4 in the United Kingdom, spending 11 weeks on the chart, and was certified silver by British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in February 1989. In the United States, the song reached No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"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.
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.
"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.
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