| The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | September 1980 May 1982 (re-issue) | |||
| Genre | Pop, Rock | |||
| Length | 57:44 | |||
| Label | EMI Records/Fame | |||
| Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel is a compilation album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released in 1980. It features material from the original line-up of Cockney Rebel, the Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel line-up, and two tracks from Harley's solo career.
Following the disappointing sales of his second solo album The Candidate in 1979, EMI Records dropped Harley from their label. A year later, EMI decided to release a compilation album of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's work. The compilation producer Colin Miles was selected to compile the album, and The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel was released in September 1980. It was the band's first compilation to be released in the UK.
The compilation features twelve tracks spanning from 1973 to 1978. Six are Cockney Rebel tracks from 1973–74, four are Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel tracks from 1975–76, and two are from Harley's solo career, which were 1974's "Big Big Deal" and 1978's "Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)". Of the chosen inclusions, "Cavaliers" and "Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)" were never released as singles. [1]
In an effort to promote the compilation, EMI re-issued the band's 1975 UK number one hit "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)". It was released as a 7" vinyl single on 3 October 1980. The chosen B-Side was the band's 1973 European hit "Sebastian". The single came with a full picture sleeve, which featured the same photographs of Cockney Rebel, on both the front and back of the sleeve, as would appear on the sleeve of the compilation album. [2] Like the album, the single did not make a chart appearance in the UK. [3]
After the release of the compilation, Harley and a new line-up of Cockney Rebel embarked on a UK Christmas tour. During this tour, Harley introduced three new songs; "Warm My Cold Heart", "I Can Be Anyone" and "Such is Life", as well as a reggae-version of "Mr. Soft". [3]
The album was released by EMI on vinyl and cassette in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, and Australia. [1] The front cover features a photograph of the original Cockney Rebel line-up, while the back sleeve features a photograph of the Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel line-up. Both photographs were taken by Mick Rock. [1] The back sleeve biography and overview was written in 1980 by Chris Welch.
In May 1982, the compilation was re-issued in the UK on the Fame label, as a budget price re-issue. This edition featured the same track-listing and sleeve design. [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Hull Daily Mail |   [5] |
On its release, Mike Nicholls of Record Mirror felt the compilation "well lives up to its name". He wrote, "Present and correct are [the] singles and early epics 'Sebastian' and 'Tumbling Down', and another half dozen album cuts which kept the flag of style and individuality flying throughout the predominantly barren early seventies." [6] James Belsey of the Bristol Evening Post stated, "This well-chosen compilation - good liner notes too - shows the enduring quality of cuts like 'Make Me Smile', 'Judy Teen', 'Mr Raffles' and the classic 'Sebastian'." [7] Alan Burgess of the Hull Daily Mail described Harley as one of the "most essential pop stars of the early 1970s" and felt that "today Cockney Rebel's music still stands tall". He commented, "'Make Me Smile' is a classic pop tune, and 'Mr. Soft' and 'Psychomodo' illustrate a unique and original rhythmic jerk crowned by Harley's highly derivative, but unmistakable warble." [5]
All songs written and composed by Steve Harley, except "Here Comes the Sun" composed by George Harrison.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" | 3:56 |
| 2. | "Big Big Deal" | 4:30 |
| 3. | "Psychomodo" | 4:00 |
| 4. | "Mr. Soft" | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Judy Teen" | 3:39 |
| 6. | "Cavaliers" | 8:07 |
| 7. | "Sebastian" | 6:50 |
| 8. | "Here Comes the Sun" | 2:56 |
| 9. | "Riding the Waves (For Virginia Woolf)" | 4:27 |
| 10. | "Black or White" | 5:43 |
| 11. | "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" | 4:32 |
| 12. | "Tumbling Down" | 5:46 |
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel were an English glam rock band from the early 1970s from London. Their music covered a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years they have had five albums in the UK Albums Chart and twelve singles in the UK Singles Chart.
Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice, known by his stage name Steve Harley, was an English singer-songwriter and frontman of the glam rock group Cockney Rebel. He had six UK hit singles with the band in the mid-1970s, including "Judy Teen", "Mr. Soft", and the number one "Make Me Smile ".
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released in 1975 by EMI as the lead single from the band's third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. In February 1975, the song reached number one on the UK chart and received a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry in October 2021. It spent nine weeks in the Top 50, and as of 2015, has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. The song is one of the most-played songs in British broadcasting history.
The Human Menagerie is the debut studio album by Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI in 1973. It was produced by Neil Harrison.
The Psychomodo is the second studio album by Cockney Rebel, released on 2 June 1974 by EMI. It was produced by Steve Harley and Alan Parsons.
The Best Years of Our Lives is the third studio album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI in 1975. It was the first album to feature Harley's name ahead of the band's. The album was produced by Harley and Alan Parsons, and contains the band's only UK number one, the million-selling "Make Me Smile ".
Face to Face: A Live Recording is a live album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI in 1977. It was produced by Steve Harley and Tony Clark.
"(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released in 1976 as the second single from their fifth studio album Love's a Prima Donna. It was written and produced by Harley. The song reached No. 41 in the UK and would be the band's last charting single before their split in 1977.
"The Last Goodbye" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released in 2006 as a single from their 2005 studio album The Quality of Mercy. The song was written by Harley and ex-Cockney Rebel guitarist Jim Cregan, and produced by Harley.
"Big Big Deal" is a song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released as his debut, non-album solo single in 1974. The song, which was written and produced by Harley, would be his last release before scoring the UK number one hit "Make Me Smile " in 1975. "Big Big Deal" also preceded the formation of the second line-up of Harley's band Cockney Rebel.
"Roll the Dice" is a song by English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released in 1978 as the lead single from his debut solo album Hobo with a Grin. The song was written by Harley and Jo Partridge, and produced by Michael J. Jackson.
"Irresistible" is a song written and recorded by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley. It was released three times as a single; the first being in 1985 as a non-album single under his band's name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel In 1986, a remixed version of the song was released by Harley as a solo single in the UK, and in 1992, he re-released this version as a single in Europe from his solo album Yes You Can. "Irresistible" was written by Harley and produced by English producer Mickie Most.
More Than Somewhat – The Very Best of Steve Harley is a compilation album by Steve Harley, which was released by EMI in 1998. It features sixteen tracks recorded by Cockney Rebel, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Harley as a solo artist, spanning from Cockney Rebel's 1973 debut album The Human Menagerie to Harley's 1996 solo album Poetic Justice. At least one song from each studio album is included, with the exception of Harley's 1979 album The Candidate.
"Judy Teen" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as a non-album single in 1974, and became the band's first UK hit, after their debut single, "Sebastian", was only a hit in continental Europe. "Judy Teen" was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.
"Sebastian" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as the band's debut single in 1973 from their album The Human Menagerie. The song was written by Harley and produced by Neil Harrison.
"When I'm with You" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released as a non-album single in 1989. It was written and produced by Harley, ex-Cockney Rebel guitarist Jim Cregan and drummer Stuart Elliott.
"Hideaway" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. Released as the opening track on the band's 1973 debut album The Human Menagerie, "Hideaway" was released in 1974 as a single in Denmark only. It was written by Harley and produced by Neil Harrison.
"The Best Years of Our Lives" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released in 1975 as the title track from the band's third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. In 1977, a live version of the song was released as a single from the album Face to Face: A Live Recording.
A Closer Look is a compilation album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI Records in the United States in 1975. It features material recorded by the original Cockney Rebel as well as the reformed Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel line-up.
Beam of Light is the second studio album from Dutch singer Patricia Paay, which was released by EMI in 1975.
