Heart First
Studio album by
Hazell Dean
Released29 October 1984
GenrePop, hi-NRG
Length33:37
LabelProto
ProducerStock Aitken Waterman, Ian Anthony Stephens
Hazell Dean chronology
The Sound of Bacharach and David
(1981)		 Heart First
(1984)		 Always
(1988)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Smash Hits4/10[1]

Heart First is a 1984 album by British singer Hazell Dean. It was her first album as a mainstream pop artist following the top ten successes of "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" and "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)". It was the first album to be produced by the highly successful Stock Aitken Waterman production team.

Background

Released in late 1984, the album featured the top 10 hits "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" and "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" as well as the singles "Back in My Arms (Once Again)" and "No Fool (For Love)", which both reached No.41. "Harmony" and "Devil In You" were also released as singles in Germany.

Heart First was released on the Proto record label and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman - the first album the trio were responsible for. The first single they produced for Dean was "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)", which was originally titled "Dance Your Love Away" and reworked by Waterman when Dean was unhappy with the chorus. The engineer of the song had accidentally mixed the drum beats backwards, which produced an unusual juddering sound across the recording, but Waterman was so impressed with the result that it stayed on the song. The single went on to sell 300,000 copies in the UK and was the producers' first top-10 hit together.[2]

Despite the hit, Stock Aitken Waterman were in dire financial straits, as was the record company, Proto. Waterman was keen to complete the album and considered it to be the very first full Hi-NRG album - a genre normally limited to singles and 12" remixes. The album was completed on a shoestring budget, but everyone involved was happy with the finished product.[2] However, problems were apparent at the record company and despite the hit singles, the album failed to chart.[3] Dean blamed the album's failure on poor promotion and bad timing.[4] Dean parted company with Proto Records after the fourth single was released, but did go on to work with Stock Aitken Waterman again in future years.

The album was released on compact disc in 1984 in Germany and elsewhere in 1997.[5] It was later re-released on 15 March 2010 as a remastered special edition featuring bonus tracks through the UK label Cherry Red Records. This version included the song "Stay In My Life" (Dean's entry for the A Song for Europe competition in 1984), as well as B-sides and extended mixes not previously available on CD.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Back in My Arms (Once Again)"Stock, Aitken3:10
2."Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)"I. A. Stephens3:38
3."Break the Rules"Shelley, Woloshuk, Roth3:23
4."Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)"Stock, Aitken3:42
5."You're Too Good to Be True"H. Dean4:20
6."Back in My Arms (Once Again) (Reprise)"Stock, Aitken0:55
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Heart First"Pickus, Thomas3:22
8."No Fool (For Love)"Stock, Aitken3:35
9."Harmony"Clift, Marsh3:51
10."Devil in You"H. Dean3:10
11."Everything I Need"Dean, Bradley3:31

The cassette version of the album also featured the song "Evergreen".[6]

2010 CD issue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Stay in My Life"Dean, Bradley3:03
13."Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man) (12" version)"I. A. Stephens8:18
14."Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go) (12" mix)"Stock, Aitken8:15
15."Young Boy in the City"Dean3:32
16."Back in My Arms (Once Again) (12" mix)"Stock, Aitken6:41
17."Take Me Home"Dean3:22
18."No Fool (For Love) (12" version)" (Disc actually plays the Murray Mix, not the original 12")Stock, Aitken6:12

All songs produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, except "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)" by Ian Anthony Stephens.

References

  1. ↑ Duff, Linda (22 November – 5 December 1984). "Albums: Hazell Dean – Heart First (Proto)". Smash Hits. Vol. 6, no. 24. Peterborough: EMAP National Publications, Ltd. p. 25. ISSN 0260-3004. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "I Wish I Was Me", Pete Waterman, Virgin Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7535-0573-8
  3. ↑ OfficialCharts.com - Hazell Dean chart discography
  4. ↑ "Official Hazell Dean site - answers from emails". Archived from the original on 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  5. ↑ Heart First release information
  6. ↑ Hazelldean.com - Heart First
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