Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby

Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
Studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby
Released	July 13, 1987 (UK) October 2, 1987 (US) [1]
Recorded	1986–1987
Genre	Funk rock [2] soul [2]
Length	47:11
Label	Columbia
Producer	Martyn Ware Terence Trent D'Arby Howard Gray
Terence Trent D'Arby chronology
Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby (1987) Neither Fish nor Flesh (1989)
Singles from Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
"If You Let Me Stay" Released: February 1987 [3] "Wishing Well" Released: June 1987 "Dance Little Sister" Released: September 1987 "Sign Your Name" Released: December 1987 "Rain (remix)" Released: April 1988 (EU)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[6]
Q	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
The Village Voice	B+ [9]

Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby is the debut studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby. It was first released in the United Kingdom on July 13, 1987 on Columbia Records, and debuted at number one there, spending a total of nine weeks (non-consecutively) at the top of the UK Albums Chart. It also hit number one in Switzerland and number two in New Zealand and The Netherlands. It was eventually certified 5× Platinum (for sales of 1.5 million copies). Worldwide, the album sold a million copies within the first three days of going on sale. ^[10]

The album was also a hit in the US, although its success was slower. It was released there in October 1987, eventually peaking at number four on May 7, 1988, ^[11] – the same week that the single "Wishing Well" hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. It reached number one on the Billboard R&B Albums chart around the same time. ^[12]

Other singles from the album included "If You Let Me Stay", which was a top-ten hit in the UK, and "Sign Your Name", which reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the UK. A fourth single, "Dance Little Sister", reached the UK top 20 as well. As was common for big-selling artists at that time, the singles were released in a plethora of limited editions in multiple formats. These were bolstered by a multitude of non-album studio and live tracks. ^[13]

The album is titled on streaming music sites as Introducing the Hardline According to Sananda Maitreya, reflecting D'Arby's name change to Sananda Maitreya. ^{[14] [15]}

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . ^[16] In 2012, journalist Daryl Easlea said the album was crystallized as Trent's moment, "a soundtrack to the turning point when the 80s turned from austerity to prosperity. It's as central to that decade as the much-seen image of the city trader waving his wad of banknotes to the camera. It remains one big, infectiously glorious record." ^[17]

Track listing

All tracks written by D'Arby, except where noted.

1. "If You All Get to Heaven" – 5:17
2. "If You Let Me Stay" – 3:14
3. "Wishing Well" (D'Arby, Sean Oliver) – 3:30
4. "I'll Never Turn My Back on You (Father's Words)" – 3:37
5. "Dance Little Sister" – 3:55
6. "Seven More Days" – 4:32
7. "Let's Go Forward" – 5:32
8. "Rain" – 2:58
9. "Sign Your Name" – 4:37
10. "As Yet Untitled" – 5:33
11. "Who's Loving You" (William "Smokey" Robinson) – 4:24

Personnel

• Terence Trent D'Arby – lead vocals (1–8, 11), backing vocals (1–7), keyboards (1, 3, 6, 7), drums (1, 7), percussion (2–7), baritone saxophone (3), acoustic piano (4, 5), clavinet (5), string arrangements (7, 9), all vocals (9, 10), all instruments (9, 10)
• Nick Plytas – keyboards (2, 6, 7), Hammond organ (5)
• Andy Whitmore – keyboards (4, 5, 8, 11)
• Pete Glenister – guitar (1–4, 6)
• Christian Marsac – guitar (4, 5, 8, 11), saxophone (11)
• "Blast" Murray – guitar (4, 5, 8, 11)
• Tim Cansfield – guitar (7)
• Sean Oliver – bass guitar (2, 6)
• Phil Spalding – bass guitar (3, 7)
• Cass Lewis – bass guitar (4, 5, 8, 11)
• Bruce Smith – drums (2, 6)
• Preston Heyman – percussion (1, 7), drums (3)
• Frank Ricotti – percussion (2, 6)
• Clive Mngaza – hi-hat (3), drums (4, 5, 8, 11)
• Ivar Ybrad – sinubla (7)
• Mel Collins – saxophone (5)
• Chris Cameron – string scoring (9)
• Glenn Gregory – backing vocals (1)
• Lance Ellington – backing vocals (2, 6)
• Tony Jackson – backing vocals (2, 6)
• Frank Collins – backing vocals (8, 11)
• Ebo Ross – backing vocals (8, 11)

The 'Shout It Out' Reply Vocal Chorale Ensemble on "Dance Little Sister"

• Terence Trent D'Arby, Phil Legg, Michele Oldland and Martyn Ware

Production

• Terence Trent D'Arby – producer (1, 3–5, 7–11), arrangements (1–10)
• Martyn Ware – producer (1, 3–5, 7–11)
• Howard Gray – producer (2, 6)
• Phil "Foghorn" Legg – recording, mixing
• Michael H. Brauer – remixing (2), additional overdubs (2)
• Peter Barrett – sleeve design
• Andrew Biscomb – additional sleeve design
• Sheila Rock – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1987–1988) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [19] 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [20] 2 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [21] 4 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [22] 2 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [23] 4 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [24] 5 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [25] 1 UK Albums (OCC) [26] 1 US Billboard 200 [11] 4 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [12] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1987) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [27] 21 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [28] 17 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [29] 32 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [30] 19 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [31] 7 Chart (1988) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) [32] 8 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [33] 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [34] 9 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [35] 9 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [36] 8 US Billboard 200 [37] 11 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [38] 4

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia	—	230,000 [39]
Brazil	—	95,000 [40]
Canada (Music Canada) [41]	2× Platinum	200,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [42]	Gold	29,843 [42]
France (SNEP) [43]	Platinum	300,000*
Germany (BVMI) [44]	Platinum	500,000^
Italy	—	470,000 [45]
Netherlands (NVPI) [46]	3× Platinum	300,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [47]	Platinum	15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [48]	Platinum	100,000^
Sweden (GLF) [49]	Platinum	100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [50]	2× Platinum	100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [51]	5× Platinum	1,721,685 [52]
United States (RIAA) [53] video	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA) [54]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
Summaries
Europe 1987-1988 sales	—	4,000,000 [55]
Worldwide	—	8,000,000 [56]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Awards and nominations

• 1988 – Soul Train and Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist
• 1988 – BRIT Awards International Breakthrough Act – Terence Trent D'Arby
• 1988 – Grammy Awards Best Male R&B Vocal Performance

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1988 (U.S.)
• List of number-one albums from the 1980s (UK)
• Number-one albums of 1988 (Australia)

References

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7. "Terence Trent D'Arby: Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby". Q (107): 138. August 1995.
8. Gross, Joe (2004). "Terence Trent D'Arby". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  211–12. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
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46. "Dutch album certifications – Terence Trent D'Arby – Introducing the Hardline" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved March 5, 2021.Enter Introducing the Hardline in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1997 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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49. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
50. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Introducing the Hardline')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
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52. Harris, Bill (November 17, 2006). "Queen rules – in album sales". Jam! . Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
53. "American video certifications – Terence Trent D'Arby – Introducing the Hardline". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved March 5, 2021.
54. "American album certifications – Terence Trent D'Arby – Introducing the Hardline". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved March 5, 2021.
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56. Mckelvy, Tara (May 14, 1993). "Terence Trent D'Arby Repents". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved April 4, 2021.

External links

• Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)