D-Days Explained

D-Days
Caption:UK cover
Type:single
Artist:Hazel O'Connor
Album:Sons and Lovers
B-Side:Time is Free
Recorded:1980
Studio:Good Earth Studios, London
Genre:New wave
Length:
  • (single version)
  • (album version)
Label:Albion
Producer:Nigel Gray
Prev Title:Time
Prev Year:1980
Next Title:Will You?
Next Year:1981

"D-Days" is a song by British singer-songwriter Hazel O'Connor, released in March 1981 as a single from her second album, Sons and Lovers. The single was produced by Nigel Gray and remixed for single release by Tony Visconti, who had produced her previous album Breaking Glass. The song stands for 'Decadent Days' and was inspired by a trip to a night in London where there were lots of poseurs and "people looking very bizarre".[1] It peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

Reception

Reviewing the song for Record Mirror, Rosalind Russell wrote that "the smart marching pace suits Hazel's sense of style and drama and she hasn't deviated too far from her previous material to risk failure. This has a slap-in-the-face sting to it that should see her through to another hit".[2] David Hepworth for Smash Hits wrote "eight bars into this and I'm reaching for Red Starr's [sic] Russian fur hat and cossack dancing round the office like a good'un. Hazel keeps the mannerisms down to a minimum and seems to have her best chance of a hit in a while.[3]

Track listings

7": Albion / ION 1009 (UK)

  1. "D-Days" – 2:48
  2. "Time is Free" – 3:28

12": Albion / 12 ION 1009 (UK)

  1. "D-Days"
  2. "Zoo"
  3. "Time is Free"

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart (1981)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 96
UK Indie Singles (MRIB)[5] 2

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Songfacts. D-Days by Hazel O'Connor - Songfacts. 2020-11-12. www.songfacts.com. en.
  2. 21 March 1981. Singles. Record Mirror. 12. 12 November 2020. flickr.com.
  3. 19 March – 1 April 1981. Singles. Smash Hits. 32. 12 November 2020. sites.google.com.
  4. Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. St Ives, N.S.W.. 311. David Kent (historian).
  5. Chartfile. Record Mirror. 25 April 1981. 36. flickr.com. 31 January 2021.