| "Elisabeth's Eyes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Nik Kershaw | ||||
| from the album The Works | ||||
| B-side | "My Friend John" | |||
| Released | 1 May 1989 [1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Nik Kershaw | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Nik Kershaw singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Elisabeth's Eyes" on YouTube | ||||
"Elisabeth's Eyes" is a song by English musician Nik Kershaw, released in 1989 as the second and final single from his fourth studio album, The Works (1989). It was written by Kershaw, and produced by Kershaw and Julian Mendelsohn.
Kershaw began writing material for his fourth studio album in early 1987 and went to Los Angeles later in the year to record with producer Peter Wolf. Ten tracks were completed, but Kershaw was ultimately dissatisfied with the results. When he returned to England, he began remixing and re-recording the material with the help of Julian Mendelsohn. Kershaw also decided to drop two of the intended tracks and replace them with two new ones, "One Step Ahead" and "Elisabeth's Eyes". [2] [3]
"Elisabeth's Eyes" was inspired by the pen pal relationship of Elisabeth Allan, a teacher from Essex, and Willie Darden, an American man who served 14 years on death row and was executed in Florida in 1988 for murder during the course of a robbery. Kershaw told radio presenter Simon Mayo in 1989, "For reasons she didn't really understand, Elisabeth began to write to him in prison and he wrote back. Towards the end he was writing three or four times a day. The letters were very personal, almost like love letters. They never met, but she was his one link with the outside world. I hope the song might help other people in Willie's position." [4]
Kershaw became aware of Allan and Darden after reading a newspaper article two days before Darden's execution about Allan and her campaign for his release. Kershaw then wrote the song a week later. After doing further research into Darden's case, Kershaw also believed he was innocent. He told the Sunday Mercury in May 1989, "Any new subject you start finding out about changes your life. Death row wasn't something that concerned me before and I didn't really think about the death penalty very much." [5]
"Elisabeth's Eyes" was released by MCA on 7-inch vinyl, 12-inch vinyl and CD formats. The B-side is the non-album track "My Friend John". An extended version of "Elisabeth's Eyes" is included on the 12-inch and CD formats, and a club dub version was included on the 12-inch single. [6] [7] [8]
"Elisabeth's Eyes" was Kershaw's first single to fail to enter the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart, ending a successive run of twelve entries. The single, which peaked at number 105, sold approximately 3,000 copies within the first five weeks of its release. [9] It was originally scheduled for release on 24 April but this was pushed back to 1 May. [10] [1]
The song's music video was directed by Mike Ross and produced by Ali Newling. [11] On 22 May 1989, Kershaw performed the song on the British TV show Wogan . [12]
On its release, Geoff Zeppelin of Record Mirror wrote, "What a pity that this number should have all the emotional impact of a soggy bowl of cornflakes. Where are the royalties going Nik?" [13] Ian Gittins of Melody Maker stated, "Kershaw wants to be taken seriously, so I furrowed my brow and listened intently to every nuance of 'Elisabeth's Eyes'. It's still shit." [14] Jennifer Grant of the Perthshire Advertiser commented, "It's the new look, slick-backed single from midget Nik. But a new image hasn't altered his musical style any as this is predictable Kershaw pop." [15]
Marcus Hodge of the Cambridge Evening News felt the song to be "unfortunately too watery and bland to touch early belters like 'I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me'." [16] Dick Jones of the Faversham Times stated it was "another token effort" from Kershaw and "disappointingly typical". He added, "Little Nik will never be a millionaire churning out this sort of pleasant, but immemorable trivial. The days of 'Wouldn't It Be Good' and 'Human Racing' have well and truly gone yet pop's Mr. Clean appears to be trying to salvage further success from past glory." [17] In a 2020 retrospective review of The Works, Steve Harnell of Classic Pop noted the "beautiful reggae bounce" of the song and added that it "should have been [a] hit". [18]
7-inch single
12-inch single
CD Single
Nicholas David Kershaw is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer.
The Works is the fourth studio album by the English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nik Kershaw. It was released in 1989 and was the last album he created for MCA Records. Kershaw chose the album's title as he felt the album represented "the collected works of Nik Kershaw". He did not release any new solo material until 15 Minutes, 10 years later.
Then & Now: The Very Best of Nik Kershaw, released in 2005, combines Nik Kershaw hits, collaborations and a few new tracks.
Human Racing is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released on 27 February 1984 by MCA Records. Several songs like "Drum Talk" were based around improvisation; other songs, like "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", had a political message.
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The Riddle is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released on 19 November 1984 by MCA Records.
"Wouldn't It Be Good" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released on 20 January 1984 as the second single from his debut studio album, Human Racing (1984). The release was Kershaw's second single, with the non-album track "Monkey Business" as its B-side; it was a bonus track on the 2012 re-release of the album. The music video was directed by Storm Thorgerson.
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"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song by English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw from his debut studio album, Human Racing (1984). It was his first single, released on 9 September 1983 to limited success. When re-released on 4 June 1984, the song became Kershaw's highest-charting single on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two. It features the non-album track "Dark Glasses" as the B-side, which was also released as a bonus track on the 2012 re-release of the album.
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"My Love" is a song by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige from her debut album, What's the 411? (1992). The song, released by Uptown and MCA, was co-written by singer-songwriter Kenny Greene and Dave Hall, who served as the song's original producer. It peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart in 1994, becoming Blige's second single to reach the top 40 in the United Kingdom.
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Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer.
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"One Step Ahead" is a song by English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released on 23 January 1989 as the lead single from his fourth studio album The Works (1989). It was written by Kershaw, and produced by Kershaw and Julian Mendelsohn. A music video was filmed to promote the single, and Kershaw also performed it on the Dutch TV show POP Formule.
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