Don't Suppose
Encyclopedia
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".)
"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
"). Much of the record features a string section
; flute
s and saxophone
s 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.
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 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; in the remaining countries where the single charted, it reached a position within the top five. 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.
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.
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
debut album by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
/dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
singer Limahl
Limahl
Christopher Hamill better known by his stage name Limahl is an English pop singer. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the 1980s pop group Kajagoogoo, before embarking on a briefly successful solo career, which reached its peak with the 1984 hit "The NeverEnding Story", taken from the film of...
(formerly and currently lead singer with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band Kajagoogoo
Kajagoogoo
Kajagoogoo are a British pop band, best known for their hit single, "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 5 on the U.S...
), released in 1984 by EMI Records
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
on vinyl LP and cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
only.
The album was never released on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, but songs from the album have appeared on other albums. The compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
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
Kajagoogoo
Kajagoogoo are a British pop band, best known for their hit single, "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 5 on the U.S...
. 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".)
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 singleHit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
"The Never Ending Story", from the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the film The NeverEnding Story
The NeverEnding Story (film)
The NeverEnding Story is a 1984 German-American epic fantasy film based on the novel of the same name written by Michael Ende. The film was directed and co-written by Wolfgang Petersen and starred Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway and Tami Stronach. At the time of its release, it was the most...
. The new track was composed by American producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
; Moroder also authored the instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
B-side on the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
release of "Ivory Tower", as well as most of the singer's second solo album, Colour All My Days
Colour All My Days
Colour All My Days was released in 1986 on EMI label, and was the second album by pop rock/dance singer Limahl.-The record:Following the huge international success of "The NeverEnding Story", the main theme to the soundtrack for the film of the same name, in 1984, Limahl's second long playing work...
. Limahl came to know Moroder while performing his song "Only for Love" at a rock festival
Rock festival
A rock festival, or a rock fest, is a large-scale rock music concert, featuring multiple acts.The first rock festivals were put on in the late 1960s and were important socio-cultural milestones. In the 1980s a minor resurgence of festivals occurred with charity as the goal.Today, they are often...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
; 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
Dave Harris
Dave Harris is an American disc jockey, songwriter, and musician.He was born in Glasgow, Kentucky and has hosted the syndicated radio show, Retro Rewind since 1999. Harris created Retro Rewind in October 1997. He also wrote for other syndicated radio shows in the late 1980s...
and Tim Palmer
Tim Palmer
Tim Palmer is a British music producer, audio engineer and songwriter of rock and alternative music.-1980-1990:Palmer worked as an assistant engineer at Utopia Studios in London, England in the early 1980s...
; Palmer had previously collaborated with Kajagoogoo. "The Never Ending Story" had lyrics by Keith Forsey
Keith Forsey
Keith Forsey is an English soundtrack composer, drummer, songwriter and record producer.-Biography:Forsey's first recordings were as the younger member of the group The Spectrum, better known for the end title theme for Gerry Anderson's Captain Scarlet, but hit makers across Europe in their own...
and was produced by Moroder. In a 1984 Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
television interview, Limahl said that Don't Suppose saw him experimenting much more than he did on White Feathers
White Feathers
White Feathers is the debut album by British New Romantic band Kajagoogoo, released in spring 1983. It was produced by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and Colin Thurston, who was Duran Duran's producer at the time, except for track #5, the self-titled "Kajagoogoo", an instrumental , which was produced...
, Kajagoogoo's debut album (which included "Too Shy
Too Shy
Too Shy is a song written and recorded by English New Wave/pop music band Kajagoogoo, released in 1983. The first single from their debut album White Feathers, the song was an immediate hit and reached no.1 on the UK Singles Chart...
"). Much of the record features a string section
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
; flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s and saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s 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.
The album was moderately successful, although it performed no better than number 63 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for 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 ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. 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
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
track partially sung by Limahl with Nick Beggs
Nick Beggs
Nick Beggs is a British musician, noted for playing the bass guitar and the Chapman Stick; he is a member of Kajagoogoo and formerly Iona and Ellis, Beggs, & Howard.-Personal life:...
during the concert filmed for the VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
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
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the song reached the number-two position. In the US the song only reached number 17 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart; in the remaining countries where the single charted, it reached a position within the top five. In France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and other French-speaking
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
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.
| Single (A-side) | B-side | Chart | Chart position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only for Love | O.T.T. (Over The Top) | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
16 |
| Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... (US) |
51 | ||
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
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 Giorgio Moroder Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records... ] |
UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| Billboard Hot 100 (US) | 17 | ||
| Germany | 2 | ||
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
2 | ||
| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
1 | ||
| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
1 | ||
| The Never Ending Story (L'histoire sans fin) | The Never Ending Story (Instrumental Version) | France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
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 Keith Forsey Keith Forsey is an English soundtrack composer, drummer, songwriter and record producer.-Biography:Forsey's first recordings were as the younger member of the group The Spectrum, better known for the end title theme for Gerry Anderson's Captain Scarlet, but hit makers across Europe in their own... |
Giorgio Moroder Giorgio Moroder Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records... |
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 United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
1984 1984 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's... |
EMI EMI Records EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide... |
LP | 64-? |
| MC Compact Cassette The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel... |
64-? |
External links
- Limahl Official German Website (either in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) - 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