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
Recorded	1986-1987
Genre	R&B, soul, funk, rock
Length	47:11
Label	Columbia CK-40964
Producer	Martyn Ware, Terence Trent D'Arby and Howard Grey
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: 1987 "Wishing Well" Released: 1987 "Dance Little Sister" Released: 1987 "Sign Your Name" Released: 1988 "Rain" Released: 1988

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
BBC	(favourable)[2]
Billboard	(favourable)[3]
Robert Christgau	B+[4]
Q	[5]

Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby is Terence Trent D'Arby's debut solo album. It was released in July 1987 on Columbia Records, and became an instant number one smash in the UK, spending a total of nine weeks (non-consecutively) at the top of the UK Albums Chart. It was eventually certified 5 x Platinum (for sales of 1.5 million copies). Worldwide, the album sold a million copies within the first three days of going on sale.^[6] The album's success was slower in the U.S. It was released there in October 1987, eventually peaking at number four on May 7, 1988^[7] - the same week that the single "Wishing Well" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It did peak higher on the Billboard R&B Albums chart at #1 around the same time.

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 #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #2 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 on multiple formats. These were bolstered by a multitude of non-album studio and live tracks.^[8]

Track listing

All songs were 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" (lyrics: D'Arby; music: 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 Lovin' You" (William "Smokey" Robinson) – 4:24

Personnel

• Terence Trent D'Arby: Vocals, Keyboards, Piano, Drums, Percussion, Baritone Saxophone, All Instruments on "Sign Your Name" and "As Yet Untitled"
• Bruce Smith, Preston Heyman, Clive Mngaza: Drums, Percussion
• Sean Oliver, Phil Spalding, Cass Lewis: Bass
• Nick Plytas, Andy Whitmore: Keyboards
• Pete Glenister, "Blast" Murray, Tim Cansfield: Guitars
• Christian Marsac: Guitars, Saxophone
• Ivar Ybrad: Sinubla
• Frank Ricotti - percussion
• Mel Collins - saxophone
• Glenn Gregory, Tony Jackson, Frank Collins, Ebo Ross, Lance Ellington: Backing vocals
• Strings on "Sign Your Name" scored by Chris Cameron

Awards and nominations

• 1988 – Soul Train & 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 Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby

Chart positions

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart	1
UK Albums Chart	1
Italian Albums Chart	5
US Billboard 200	4

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[9] In 2012, the BBC said the album was crystallized "as his 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."^[10]

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

1. Allmusic review
2. BBC review
3. Billboard review
4. Robert Christgau review
5. Q review
6. Whaley, Christopher (September 2007). "Sananda Maitreya Speaks! (interview)". Sobo Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
7. "Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent d'Arby". Billboard. Peaked #4 on 7 May 1988.
8. "Introducing the Hardline Non-Album Tracks for That Expanded Reissue". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
9. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
10. "Terence Trent D’Arby Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby Review". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-26.

External links

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