Whenever You Need Somebody Explained

Whenever You Need Somebody
Type:studio
Artist:Rick Astley
Cover:Rick Astley - Whenever You Need Somebody.png
Recorded:1986–1987
Studio:PWL Studios 1 & 2 (London)
Genre:
Label:RCA
Producer:
Next Title:Hold Me in Your Arms
Next Year:1988

Whenever You Need Somebody is the debut studio album by English singer Rick Astley released on 16 November 1987 by RCA Records. It is his best-selling album, which, according to his own official website, has sold 15.2 million copies worldwide.[1] The album is listed as the 136th best-selling album in Spain[2] and was the seventh best-selling album of 1987 in the United Kingdom. A remastered version, containing rare remixes and extended versions, was released on 12 April 2010.[3]

Critical reception

Alex Henderson of AllMusic stated that SAW "should definitely be proud of their work" on this "often captivating debut album" which "proved [the singer] to be a welcome addition to the British R&B scene"; he added that the "music approach is very much a production of the '70s" and underlined tracks like "Together Forever", "Never Gonna Give You Up" and "Don't Say Goodbye". Much more critical of both SAW and Astley, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice ranked the album in the "Must to avoid" category, and added: "Musically [Astley]'s a throwback to such long-forgotten big-band singers manqué as Don Rondo" revealed "as I-am-somebody for nobodies with a master plan". James Hamilton of Record Mirror presented the album as being "as vigorously voiced and unsubtle as you'd expect".[4] Carmen Keats of Melody Maker described the album as "Yuppie-boy muzak for those too poor and thick to be Yuppies." According to a reviewer of British magazine Music Week, the album proves Astley to be "a respectable if so far unexceptional writer", but concluded that the tone of the whole album is given by SAW's team.[5] Chris Heath of Smash Hits praised the album full of songs with "the same straightforward, deliriously catchy dance music as his first two hits", and underlined "Don't Say Goodbye" and "When I Fall in Love" as "brilliant" songs. Retrospectively, in 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop considered Whenever You Need Somebody as the ninth best album ever produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and underlined its worldwide success, selling 15 million copies.[6]

Track listing

2022 remaster (digital)

Track listing per Apple Music[7]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Whenever You Need Somebody.[8]

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1987–1988)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (Australian Music Report)[9] [10] 1
European Albums (Music & Media)[11] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 2
French Albums (IFOP)[13] 5
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[14] 2
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[15] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1987)! scope="col"
Position
UK Albums (Gallup)[16] 7
Chart (1988)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 10
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[19] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 74
European Albums (Music & Media)[21] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 7
Norwegian Winter Period Albums (VG-lista)[23] 12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 30
UK Albums (Gallup)[25] 39
US Billboard 200[26] 15

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Biography . Rickastley.co.uk . 12 December 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100210092804/http://www.rickastley.co.uk/biography/biography.html . 10 February 2010.
  2. http://www.albertocomesana.es/viewtopic.php?t=248 Untitled
  3. Web site: Whenever You Need Somebody: Music . . 2014-05-12.
  4. Hamilton . James . James Hamilton (DJ and journalist) . BPM by James Hamilton . . 28 November 1987 . 19 . London . Spotlight Publications Ltd.. World Radio History . 0144-5804 . 31 October 2023.
  5. LP Reviews . D. . L. . . 28 November 1987 . 26 . World Radio History . 11 September 2023.
  6. Web site: Top 15 Stock Aitken Waterman Albums . Mark . Elliot . https://web.archive.org/web/20190810022807/https://www.classicpopmag.com/2018/07/top-15-saw-albums/ . 10 August 2019 . 17 August 2023 . live . July 2018 . Classic Pop.
  7. Web site: Whenever You Need Somebody (Deluxe Edition - 2022 Remaster). 25 March 2022.
  8. Whenever You Need Somebody . liner notes . . 1987 . . PD 71529.
  9. Book: Kent, David . David Kent (historian) . Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . illustrated . St Ives, N.S.W. . Australian Chart Book . 1993 . 20 . 0-646-11917-6.
  10. Hits of the World . . 100 . 16 . 16 April 1988 . 63 . 0006-2510 . World Radio History.
  11. European Hot 100 Albums . . 5 . 3 . 9 January 1988 . 21 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
  12. Book: Pennanen, Timo . Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . fi . 1st . Helsinki . . 2006 . 978-951-1-21053-5.
  13. Web site: Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste . InfoDisc . fr . 3 August 2018. Select "Rick ASTLEY" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".
  14. Web site: Classifiche . . it . 3 June 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Whenever You Need Somebody" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  15. Book: Salaverrie, Fernando . September 2005 . Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 . es . 1st . Madrid . . 84-8048-639-2.
  16. News: Gallup Year End Charts 1987 – Albums . . 23 January 1988 . 37 . 0144-5804 . World Radio History.
  17. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Albums for 1988 . . 16 March 2021.
  18. Web site: Jahreshitparade Alben 1988 . austriancharts.at . de . 29 January 2018.
  19. Top 100 Albums of '88 . RPM . 49 . 10 . 24 December 1988 . 13 . 0033-7064 . World Radio History.
  20. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – CD 1988 . nl . . 29 January 2018.
  21. 1988 Year End Eurocharts – Top 100 Albums . Music & Media . 6 . 52/1 . 1 January 1989 . 31 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
  22. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1988 . GfK Entertainment . de . 29 January 2018.
  23. Web site: Topp 40 Album Vinter 1988 . no . . 7 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171016175007/http://lista.vg.no/liste/topp-40-album/2/dato/1988/periode/vinter . 16 October 2017.
  24. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988 . hitparade.ch . de . 16 March 2021.
  25. Top 100 Albums – Year-End Chart 1988 . Music Week Awards . . 4 March 1989 . 8 . 0265-1548 . World Radio History.
  26. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1988 . Billboard . 29 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180129193811/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1988/top-billboard-200-albums . 29 January 2018.

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