I'm Nearly Famous | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 7 May 1976 | |||
Recorded | September - December 1975 | |||
Studio | Abbey Road Studios, London | |||
Genre | Pop, MOR, rock, disco | |||
Length | 40:32 (59:21 2001 CD) | |||
Label | EMI (UK) Rocket (US) | |||
Producer | Bruce Welch | |||
Cliff Richard chronology | ||||
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Singles from I'm Nearly Famous | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
I'm Nearly Famous is the eighteenth studio album by Cliff Richard, released in May 1976.
The album is considered one of his finest works and is held as the album which brought about Cliff Richard's revival as a major chart act. [2] [3] [4] The lead single on the album, "Miss You Nights", made number 15 in the UK Singles Chart in early 1976, followed by "Devil Woman" which showed a new harder-edged side to Richard's music and became one of his biggest worldwide hits, peaking at number 9 in the UK and becoming his first US Top 10, reaching number 6 and earning a gold disc for sales of half a million. "I Can't Ask for Anymore Than You" was the third single, reaching number 17 in the UK and number 80 in the US.
Cliff Richard's career had seen a downward slump in the 1970s compared to his success in the previous decade, culminating in his not hitting the chart at all in 1975 - the first year of his career not to do so. Bruce Welch set about finding new songs for Cliff and was to produce the album which would mark his comeback. The lead single on the album was "Miss You Nights". Although it was released in November 1975, it did not make the UK charts until early 1976, eventually peaking at No.15. [5]
The follow-up, "Devil Woman" showed a new harder-edged side to Richard's music and became one of his biggest worldwide hits, peaking at No.9 in the UK and becoming his first ever top 10 hit in the US. [5] [6] Third single, "I Can't Ask for Anymore Than You" backed with album track "Junior Cowboy" completed the hat-trick of UK top 20 entries, while the album itself reached No.5 and remained in the charts for 21 weeks - his most successful album for over a decade. [5] It was also his first hit album in the US (peaking at No.76).
The album received rave reviews in the press and received kudos from celebrities such as Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor who wore T-shirts emblazoned with the I'm Nearly Famous logo. [7] [8] [9] Melody Maker was particularly enthusiastic about the album, with Geoff Brown writing: [10]
Cliff Richard has at last made the sort of album he could, and should, have been making for years. It is with some incredulity that I have to say that for the past ten days I've been playing two albums constantly. One is Marvin Gaye's I Want You . The other is I'm Nearly Famous. The renaissance of Richard, for that is what I believe this album heralds, is long overdue...it is the best album of new songs ever and, if there are enough unprejudiced ears around, could well mark the start of fresh Cliff Richard buying public.
The album was remastered and re-issued on Compact disc in 2001, where it again received rave reviews from Q Magazine and Record Collector among others.
Side One
Side Two
2001 re-issue bonus tracks
Chart (1976) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [11] | 45 |
UK Albums Chart | 5 |
US Albums Chart | 76 |
Release date | Title | UK | US | AUS | IRE |
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November 1975 | "Miss You Nights" | 15 | — | 100 | — |
April 1976 | "Devil Woman" | 9 | 6 | 3 | 5 |
July 1976 | "I Can't Ask for Anymore Than You" | 17 | 80 | — | 2 |
Terence Ernest Britten is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many others. Britten won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1985 for "What's Love Got to Do with It".
"We Don't Talk Anymore" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard that reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in August 1979, remaining there for four weeks. Produced by the Shadows' rhythm guitarist, Bruce Welch, and written by Alan Tarney, it was Cliff Richard's tenth UK number one and his first since "Congratulations" in 1968.
Tarney/Spencer Band were a rock band formed in London in 1975 with Trevor Spencer on drums and Alan Tarney on lead guitar, bass guitar and lead vocals. Both had been in Australian bands, including James Taylor Move, prior to relocating to the United Kingdom, where they formed the duo. The group issued three albums, Tarney and Spencer (1976), Three's a Crowd (1978) and Run for Your Life (1979). Their single, "No Time to Lose" (1979), received airplay in the United States on album-oriented rock radio stations. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in both 1979 and again in 1981 upon re-issue. By the end of 1979, Tarney/Spencer Band had broken up and both founders undertook careers as songwriters, session musicians and record producers.
Always Guaranteed is the 28th studio album by Cliff Richard, released in 1987. The album peaked at number 5 in the UK Albums Chart, and spent a total of 24 weeks on the chart over 1987–88. The album was certified Platinum by the BPI and achieved sales over 1.3 million globally. The album was produced by Alan Tarney who had produced two of Richard's previous albums, Wired for Sound and I'm No Hero in the early 1980s and written Richard's highest selling single "We Don't Talk Anymore" in 1979. Tarney wrote all but one track on the album.
Alan Tarney is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spencer. He is best known for his association with Cliff Richard and producing "Take On Me" by a-ha.
Every Face Tells a Story is the nineteenth studio album by Cliff Richard. Released in March 1977, it followed-up Richard's comeback album, I'm Nearly Famous. The album peaked at No.8 during a 10-week run on the UK Album Chart and spawned three hit singles. "Hey Mr. Dream Maker" was released as the first lead single in November 1976 and reached number 31 in the UK Singles Chart. "My Kinda Life" was released as a single in late February 1977 and peaked at number 15 in the UK. The third single, "When Two Worlds Drift Apart" was released in late June and reached number 46 in the UK.
Green Light is a studio album by Cliff Richard, released in September 1978. It was his 21st studio album.
Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile is the 22nd studio album by Cliff Richard, released in 1979. It featured his biggest-ever single, "We Don't Talk Anymore", which was a UK No. 1 hit and the No. 4 hit "Carrie".
I'm No Hero is the 23rd studio album by Cliff Richard, released in 1980. The album includes three hit singles, of which "Dreamin'" and "A Little in Love"were top 20 hits in both the UK and the US.
"Devil Woman" is a 1976 single by British singer Cliff Richard from his album I'm Nearly Famous.
Stronger is the 29th studio album by British singer Cliff Richard, released in October 1989. The album was produced by Alan Tarney and includes the singles "The Best of Me"(UK No. 2), "I Just Don't Have the Heart", "Lean on You" and "Stronger Than That". The album reached platinum, peaking at number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Miss You Nights" is a song written by Dave Townsend and made famous worldwide by Cliff Richard. The song has been recorded by numerous other artists, most notably Westlife, who released it as the second track on a double A-side single in 2003. The Westlife single reached number 3 in the UK singles chart.
"Dreamin'" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard from his 1980 album, I'm No Hero. The track was the first of three singles released and was the biggest hit from the album, becoming a top-ten hit in numerous countries including the UK and the US where it became his third and last top ten hit.
Dressed for the Occasion is an album by English singer Cliff Richard, recorded live with the accompaniment of the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in November 1982. It was released in May 1983 on the EMI label and reached No. 7 in the UK Albums Chart and No. 30 in Australia. It was certified Silver in the UK.
Thank You Very Much is an album of the March 1978 reunion concerts at the London Palladium by English singer Cliff Richard and the group that backed him in the 1950s and 1960s The Shadows. It was released in February 1979 on the EMI label and reached No. 5 in the UK Albums Chart.
"Green light" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard and released as a single in February 1979. It was the third single and title track taken from his 1978 studio album Green Light. The song is written by Alan Tarney who went on to write some of Richard's biggest hits, such as the follow-up single "We Don't Talk Anymore", "Dreamin'" (1980), "Wired for Sound" (1981) and "Some People" (1987).
Stronger Thru the Years is a compilation album by Cliff Richard, released in 2017.
The Whole Story: His Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by Cliff Richard, released in 2000. It includes 46 of Richard's biggest hits, from his first single "Move It" to his then most recent single, "The Millennium Prayer". The album reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart.
"I Can't Ask for Anymore Than You" is a song by British singer Cliff Richard, released as the third single from his album I'm Nearly Famous in July 1976. It reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart and number 80 in the Billboard Hot 100. It also did particularly well in Ireland, reaching number 2.
The singles discography of English singer Cliff Richard consists in excess of 200 singles, of which 159 singles have been released in the UK in varying vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats. Listed alongside the UK singles in the discography below are a further 20 singles which were released in other territories, as well as 22 singles which were sung in German and only released in German-speaking countries.