The Secret of Association

The Secret of Association
Studio album by Paul Young
Released	25 March 1985 (1985-03-25)
Recorded	1984–1985
Genre	Pop rock blue-eyed soul
Length	52:29 (LP)
Label	Columbia
Producer	Laurie Latham
Paul Young chronology
No Parlez (1983) The Secret of Association (1985) Between Two Fires (1986)
Singles from The Secret of Association
"I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" Released: 1 October 1984 "Everything Must Change" Released: 26 November 1984 "Everytime You Go Away" Released: 25 February 1985 "Tomb of Memories" Released: June 1985

The Secret of Association is the second studio album by the English singer Paul Young. Released in 1985, it reached number one on the UK album charts and the Top 20 in the US. The album spawned hits including a cover of Hall & Oates' 1980 song "Everytime You Go Away", "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down", "Everything Must Change" and "Tomb of Memories".

The album has been certified Double Platinum (600,000 copies sold) by the BPI in the UK and Gold (500,000 copies sold) in the US by the RIAA.

The album followed the pattern of Young's debut album, No Parlez , combining cover versions with original songs written by Young and keyboard player Ian Kewley. However, on this album the Young/Kewley partnership was better represented with five of their compositions featuring.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Classic Pop	[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]
Sounds	[4]
The Village Voice	B+ [5]

In his review of the album for Sounds , Garry Bushell found Young's voice "as expressive as ever" and Laurie Latham's production "less cluttered and obtrusive" than on No Parlez, concluding that "the overall feel is one of growing confidence and maturity", and that "The Secret of Association earmarks Young as a talent of lasting value". ^[4]

Retrospectively, AllMusic critic Jose F. Promis called The Secret of Association a "stellar" record "featuring lush orchestration and Young's signature, soulful vocals," and "one of the better albums of the 1980s." ^[1]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Paul Young and Ian Kewley; except where indicated.

1. "Bite the Hand That Feeds" (Billy Livsey, Graham Lyle) - 4:31
2. "Everytime You Go Away" (Daryl Hall) - 5:23
3. "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" (Earl Randle) - 5:05
4. "Standing on the Edge" (Andrew Barfield) - 4:38
5. "Soldier's Things" (Tom Waits) - 6:21
6. "Everything Must Change" - 5:35
7. "Tomb of Memories" - 3:53
8. "One Step Forward" - 3:42
9. "Hot Fun" - 4:26
10. "This Means Anything" - 3:13
11. "I Was in Chains" (Gavin Sutherland) - 5:42
12. "Man in the Iron Mask" (Billy Bragg) - 3:13 (Not included on vinyl record or U.S. releases.)

Note: some cassette releases feature "Man In The Iron Mask" as track 6 and replace tracks 2, 3, 6, 9 and 11 with extended remix versions.

The Secret Of Association was re-released as a 2 x CD album in 2007 under licence on Edsel (EDSD2006) and contained a second CD containing 12" remixes and live tracks. "The Man In The Iron Mask" was excluded from the first CD but was instead featured on the second CD.

CD2 Listing

1. "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (special extended mix)"
2. "Everything Must Change (12" mix)"
3. "Give Me My Freedom"
4. "Everytime You Go Away (12" mix)"
5. "Tomb Of Memories (12" mix)"
6. "Man in the Iron Mask"
7. "Bite the Hand That Feeds (live at Hammersmith Odeon)"
8. "No Parlez (live at Hammersmith Odeon)"

Personnel

• Paul Young – lead vocals, backing vocals, arrangements
• Ian Kewley – acoustic piano, Hammond organ, Yamaha DX7, Oberheim OB-Xa, Fairlight CMI, E-mu Emulator, arrangements
• Steve Bolton – guitars
• John Turnbull – guitars, electric sitar (2)
• B. J. Cole – pedal steel guitar
• Matt Irving – keyboard bass
• Pino Palladino – bass guitar, Chapman stick
• Mark Pinder – drums, Simmons drums, LinnDrum, Roland TR-808, percussion
• Marc Chantereau – percussion
• Laurie Latham – effects, arrangements
• Nick Payn – saxophone (7)
• Paul Nieman – trombone (5)
• Jim Paterson – trombone (9)
• Mark Feltham – bass harmonica (11)
• Graham Preskett – violin (11)
• Jimmy Chambers – backing vocals
• George Chandler – backing vocals
• Ged Doherty – backing vocals
• Tony Jackson – backing vocals
• Kim Lesley – backing vocals
• Maz Roberts – backing vocals
• Chris Difford – backing vocals (7)
• Glenn Tilbrook – backing vocals (7)

Production

• Producer and Engineer – Laurie Latham
• Additional Engineers – Stewart Barry and James Illes
• Mastered by Tim Young
• Art Direction and Design – Rob O'Conner
• Cover Photography – Simon Fowler
• Inner Sleeve Photos – "Everyone"

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performance for The Secret of Association Chart (1985–1986) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [6] 6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [7] 20 Canadian Albums (The Record) [8] 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [9] 1 European Albums (IFPI) [10] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [11] 9 French Albums (IFOP) [12] 7 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [13] 6 Italian Albums (AFI) [14] 5 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [15] 8 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [16] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [17] 2 Spanish Albums (AFYVE) [18] 5 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [19] 1 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [20] 4 UK Albums (OCC) [21] 1 US Billboard 200 [22] 19

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Secret of Association Chart (1985) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [23] 107 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [24] 27 French Albums (IFOP) [25] 20 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [26] 54 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [15] 84 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [27] 18 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [28] 11 Spanish Albums (AFYVE) [18] 32 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [29] 47 UK Albums (OCC) [30] 10 US Billboard 200 [31] 66 US AOR (Radio & Records) [32] 85

Certifications

Certifications and sales for The Secret of Association

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [33]	Platinum	70,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [34]	2× Platinum	200,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [35]	Gold	30,254 [35]
France (SNEP) [36]	Gold	100,000*
Japan (RIAJ) [37]	Platinum	200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [38]	Platinum	15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [18]	Platinum	100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [39]	2× Platinum	600,000^
United States (RIAA) [40]	Gold	500,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

External links

• The Secret of Association at Discogs

References

1. Promis, Jose F. "The Secret of Association – Paul Young". AllMusic . Retrieved 29 June 2025.
2. Earls, John (March–April 2022). "Paul Young: The Secret of Association". Classic Pop . No. 74. p. 87.
3. Evans, Paul (1992). "Paul Young". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 797. ISBN   0-679-73729-4.
4. Bushell, Garry (30 March 1985). "Secret Service". Sounds . p. 35.
5. Christgau, Robert (24 September 1985). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved 29 June 2025.
6. "Hits of the World – Australia" (PDF). Billboard. 29 June 1985. p. 62. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
8. "Hits of the World – Canada" (PDF). Billboard. 17 August 1985. p. 64. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
10. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). 2 (19). Music & Media. 13 May 1985: 16. Retrieved 28 December 2021.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
12. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – Lettre Y" (in French). Institut français d'opinion publique . Retrieved 28 December 2021.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
14. "International Bestsellers – Italy" (PDF). 48 (52). Cashbox. 8 June 1985: 41. Retrieved 28 December 2021.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
15. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
16. "Charts.nz – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
18. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
22. "Paul Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
23. "Alben 1985 Österreich – Album-Charts – Top 75 Auswertung" (in German). chartsurfer.de. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
24. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1985" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
25. "Les Albums (CD) de 1985 par InfoDisc" (in French). Institut français d'opinion publique. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
26. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
27. "Top Selling Albums of 1985 – The Official New Zealand Music Chart". nztop40.co.nz. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
28. "Alben 1985 Norwegen – Album-Charts – Top 10 Auswertung" (in German). chartsurfer.de. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
29. "Alben 1985 Schweiz – Album-Charts – Top 10 Auswertung" (in German). chartsurfer.de. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
30. "Alben 1985 UK – Album-Charts – Top 10 Auswertung" (in German). chartsurfer.de. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
31. "1985 The Year in Music & Video – Top Pop Albums" (PDF). Billboard. 28 December 1985. p. T–19. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
32. "AOR Tracks: Top 85 of '85" (PDF). Radio & Records . 13 December 1985. p. 82. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
33. "Young In Australia" (PDF). 50 (50). Cashbox. 13 June 1987: 39. Retrieved 28 December 2021.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
34. "Canadian album certifications – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association". Music Canada . Retrieved 28 December 2021.
35. "Paul Young" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland . Retrieved 28 December 2021.
36. "French album certifications – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 28 December 2021.Select PAUL YOUNG and click OK. 
37. "Played In Japan" (PDF). 49 (52). Cashbox. 14 June 1986: 19. Retrieved 28 December 2021.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
38. "New Zealand album certifications – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 20 November 2024.
39. "British album certifications – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 28 December 2021.
40. "American album certifications – Paul Young – The Secret Of Association". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 28 December 2021.