Sold (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Sold
Type = studio
Artist = Boy George


Released = June 1987
Recorded = Air Studios / Montserrat
Rak Studios / London
Genre = pop rock / reggae / white soul / ballad / Motown style
Length = 43:50
Label = Virgin Music
Producer = Steve Levine, Glen Skinner
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jifexqq5ldae link]
Last album = "From Luxury to Heartache
(with Culture Club
1986)
This album = "Sold"
(1987)
Next album = "Tense Nervous Headache"
(1988)

"Sold" is the debut solo album by British pop rock / soul singer Boy George, released in 1987, for Virgin Music label, including the following singles: "Everything I Own" (UK#1), "Keep Me In Mind" (UK#29), "To Be Reborn" (UK#13), and the title track "Sold" (UK#24).

The album was a big success in Europe, and a modest success in the UK. Things were worse in the USA because George was not able to tour and promote the record there due to drugs-related restrictions, so the record charted only in the lower regions of the U.S. Top 200, even though he was a multi-platinum artist with Culture Club in previous years. The album was instead a huge hit in Italy, where it became the artist's highest-charting and bestselling work ever - not even his band Culture Club, though extremely popular in that country, ever achieved such an outcome there.

The album got good reviews, even if Virgin Records didn't like the use of brass on many tracks.

Track listing

Album

#"Sold" – 3:54 (O’Dowd, Martin, Dozier)
#"I Asked For Love" – 4:43 (O’Dowd, Dozier)
#"Keep Me In Mind" – 4:05 (O’Dowd, Nightingale, Brown)
#"Everything I Own" – 3:53 (Gates)
#"Freedom" – 3:49 O’Dowd, Martin, Stevens)
#"Just Ain't Enough" – 4:18 (O’Dowd, Dozier)
#"Where Are You Now (When I Need You)" – 4:16 (O’Dowd, Skinner, Stevens, Martin, Nightingale, Maidman, Wickens)
#"Little Ghost" – 3:13 (Mooney, Peroni)
#"Next Time" – 3:28 (Lasley)
#"We've Got The Right" – 3:46 O’Dowd, Martin, Stevens)
#"To Be Reborn" – 4:25 (O’Dowd, Dozier)

B sides

#"Use Me" – (O'Dowd, Martin, Stevens)
#"State Of Love" (Edit & Extended Mix) – (O'Dowd, Hay, Pickett)
#"I Pray '87" – (O'Dowd, Hay, Moss, Craig, Pickett)
#"Are You Too Afraid" – (Hay, O'Dowd)

Other non-album tracks of the period

#"Let It Be" (with Ferry Aid) - 6:08 (Lennon, McCartney)
#"Wishing Well" (with GOSH!) - 5:30 (Copping)
# Live My Life (from the soundtrack Hiding Out)

ingles taken from the album

*"Everything I Own" / "Use Me"
*"Keep Me In Mind" / "State Of Love" (+ "I Pray '87" on the 12" maxi single)
*"Sold" / "Are You Too Afraid?"
*"To Be Reborn" / "Where Are You Now (When I Need You?)"

Credits

Band/Musicians

*Boy George: lead male vocals
*Helen Terry: female vocals
*Richie Stevens: drums, percussion
*Vic Martin: keyboards
*Glenn Nightingale: guitars and background vocals
*Ian Maidman: bass
*Paul "Wix" Wickens: keyboards and rhythm arrangement on tracks #2, 6 & 11
*Mike Timothy: keyboards
*Juliette Roberts: backing vox
*Carroll Thompson: backing vox
*Captain Crucial (Amos Pizzey): toastin’
*Lorenzo Hall: backing vox
*Jerry Hey: arrangiamenti strings and horns

taff/Production

*Stewart Levine: production
*Glenn Skinner: sound engineer; production on track #10
*Steve Reece: assistant sound engineer

*Malcom Garrett per Assorted
sleeve
*Paul Gobel, Johnny Rozsa, Bill Ling: photography

Release details

External links

* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002516M Amazon.com] : professional and customer reviews, product details, track listing and audio samples.
* [http://www.angelfire.com/mi/intpro/Main.html Lyrically Speaking] : Web page, including, in particular, all the lyrics to the "Sold" album, the lyrics of its singles B sides, "Wishing Well" and "Let It Be", as well as all lyrics to the songs by Culture Club, Boy George, Jesus Loves You and related projects, in general.