- Don't Suppose
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Don't Suppose Studio album by Limahl Released 1984 Recorded 1983-1984 Genre Pop rock
Dance
Synthpop
ElectronicLabel EMI Producer Dave Harris
Tim Palmer
Giorgio MoroderLimahl chronology White Feathers
[with Kajagoogoo]
(1983)Don't Suppose
(1984)Colour All My Days
(1986)Singles from Don't Suppose - "Only for Love"
Released: 1983 - "Too Much Trouble"
Released: 1984 - "The Never Ending Story"
Released: 1984 - "The Never Ending Story (L'histoire sans fin)"
Released: 1984 - "Tar Beach (Remix)"
Released: 1985
Don't Suppose is the solo debut album by English pop rock/dance singer Limahl (formerly and currently lead singer with the British band Kajagoogoo), released in 1984 by EMI Records on vinyl LP and cassette only.
The album was never released on compact disc, but songs from the album have appeared on other albums. The compilation album The Best of Limahl features eight tracks from Don't Suppose, and the compilation Neverending Story—Best of Limahl features seven tracks. The song "Tar Beach", which appears on neither of those albums, is featured on two joint compilations with Kajagoogoo. The two tracks that originally ended the two sides of the album, "Oh Girl" and "The Greenhouse Effect", have never been officially released on compact disc. (Later editions of Don't Suppose replaced "The Greenhouse Effect" with "The Never Ending Story".)
Contents
The record
The album was released twice, in two slightly different editions. The second edition omitted "The Greenhouse Effect", which came at the end of side one; it was replaced with the hit single "The Never Ending Story", from the soundtrack to the film The NeverEnding Story. The new track was composed by American producer Giorgio Moroder; Moroder also authored the instrumental B-side on the single release of "Ivory Tower", as well as most of the singer's second solo album, Colour All My Days. Limahl came to know Moroder while performing his song "Only for Love" at a rock festival in Tokyo; Moroder suggested that Limahl sing the movie's title song.
With the exception of "The Never Ending Story", Limahl composed the lyrics and music for the album himself. The original release was produced by Dave Harris and Tim Palmer; Palmer had previously collaborated with Kajagoogoo. "The Never Ending Story" had lyrics by Keith Forsey and was produced by Moroder. In a 1984 Japanese television interview, Limahl said that Don't Suppose saw him experimenting much more than he did on White Feathers, Kajagoogoo's debut album (which included "Too Shy").[citation needed] Much of the record features a string section; flutes and saxophones also join Limahl's keyboards.
Limahl explained that the title, Don't Suppose, was an invitation to the listener to personally verify the value of his music, without supposing, assuming, or guessing.[citation needed]
The album was moderately successful, although it performed no better than number 63 on the UK Albums Chart (much lower than Kajagoogoo's second album, released that same year, which peaked at number 35).
The singles
The song "Only for Love", the first single released from the album, peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. The B-side of the single, "O.T.T. (Over The Top)", was never released in album form; it was a studio version of "Over the Top", an a cappella track partially sung by Limahl with Nick Beggs during the concert filmed for the VHS and Laserdisc release of Kajagoogoo's White Feathers Tour. The original live version included only the first two verses; the single includes a third verse, a middle section, and a final chorus with a brief coda.
"Too Much Trouble" was the second release.
The third single, "The Never Ending Story", charted in 17 countries; in eight countries, it reached number one. In Italy and Germany, the song reached the number-two position. In the US the song only reached number 17 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart[1]; in the remaining countries where the single charted, it reached a position within the top five.[citation needed] In France and other French-speaking countries, "The Never Ending Story (L'histoire sans fin)", a French version of the song also sung by Limahl, was released instead.
The fourth single, "Tar Beach", was released only in Germany, with "The Greenhouse Effect (Live)" as its B-side.
Peak Chart Positions Single (A-side) B-side Chart Chart position Only for Love O.T.T. (Over The Top) UK Singles Chart 16 Billboard Hot 100 (US) 51 Germany 8 Too Much Trouble You've Been Gone for a Little While (Too Much Trouble Reprise) UK Singles Chart 64 Germany 26 The Never Ending Story Ivory Tower (Instrumental) [ performed by Giorgio Moroder ] UK Singles Chart 4 Billboard Hot 100 (US) 17 Germany 2 Italy 2 Norway 1 Sweden 1 The Never Ending Story (L'histoire sans fin) The Never Ending Story (Instrumental Version) France 7 Tar Beach (Remix) The Greenhouse Effect (Live) Germany 30 Tracks on compact disc
Because of the album's modest success, it was never re-released on compact disc.
The first eight tracks were digitized by record label Disky Communications for inclusion on the compilation album The Best of Limahl, released in 1996. That album omits the last two tracks of Don't Suppose: "Tar Beach" and "Oh Girl"; also missing is "The Greenhouse Effect", although "The Never Ending Story" is included. The compilation was re-released in 2003.
In 2002, Disky released a reduced version of the compilation, Neverending Story—Best of Limahl, which included seven songs from Don't Suppose.
Track listing
Track Title Lyrics Music Notes 1 Don't Suppose Limahl Limahl 2 That Special Something Limahl Limahl 3 Your Love Limahl Limahl 4 Too Much Trouble Limahl Limahl 5 The Greenhouse Effect Limahl Limahl The Never Ending Story Keith Forsey Giorgio Moroder replaces "The Greenhouse Effect" on the second and subsequent releases of the album 6 Only for Love Limahl Limahl 7 I Was a Fool Limahl Limahl 8 The Waiting Game Limahl Limahl 9 Tar Beach Limahl Limahl 10 Oh Girl Limahl Limahl Release details
Country Date Label Format Catalogue UK 1984 EMI LP 64-? MC 64-? References
- Gambaccini, Paul; Rice, Tim; Rice, Jonathan (1993). British Hit Singles. Enfield: Guinness. ISBN 9780851125268. OCLC 29182793.
External links
- Limahl Official German Website (either in English and German)
- Limahl Official British Website: page dedicated to the Don't Suppose album, also including all lyrics
- Amazon.com: general index page of Limahl records
- You Tube: interview for the promotion of the Don't Suppose album on Japanese TV
- HitParadeItalia
Categories:- 1984 albums
- Limahl albums
- Debut albums
- Albums produced by Giorgio Moroder
- EMI Records albums
- "Only for Love"
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