Feargal Sharkey (album)

Feargal Sharkey
Studio album by Feargal Sharkey
Released	11 November 1985 [1]
Studio	The Church, London
Genre	Pop
Length	42:59
Label	Virgin A&M (U.S.)
Producer	David A. Stewart
Feargal Sharkey chronology
Feargal Sharkey (1985) Wish (1988)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"A Good Heart"	Maria McKee	4:39
2.	"You Little Thief"	Benmont Tench	5:03
3.	"Ghost Train"	Dave Stewart Feargal Sharkey Tim Daly	3:12
4.	"Ashes and Diamonds"	Stewart Sharkey	4:40
5.	"Made to Measure"	Chrissie Hynde	3:38
6.	"Someone to Somebody"	Daniel Kane Geraldine L. Gooden Michael Torrence Thomas Gordy	5:24
7.	"Don't Leave It to Nature"	Anthony Moore Sharkey	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"	Bobby Womack Shirley Womack	4:15

Personnel

• Feargal Sharkey – lead vocals, synthesizer, percussion, sequencer programming, backing vocals, design concept
• Dean Garcia – bass
• Richard Morcombe – guitar
• Davey Payne – flute, saxophone
• Dave Plews – trumpet
• Jimmy Z – harmonica
• Olle Romo – drums
• Patrick Seymour – keyboards
• Molly Duncan – saxophone
• Michael Kamen – string arrangement, conductor
• Debra Byrd – backing vocals
• Freida Williams – backing vocals
• Martin Chambers – drums
• Nathan East – bass
• David A. Stewart – guitar, backing vocals

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. "UK Singles & Albums Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 6 January 2012.
5. "Feargal Sharkey | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
6. 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.

External links

• Feargal Sharkey at Discogs (list of releases)