Friday, 1 September 2017

696 Goodbye Feargal Sharkey - I've Got News For You


Chart  entered : 16  March  1991

Chart  peak : 12

The  first  of  the  Undertones'  diaspora  to  disappear  from  the  chart  was  their  singer.

The  Undertones's  decline  had  been  surprisingly  swift . The  public seemed willing  to  accept  more  thoughtful  songs  such  as  It's  Going  To  Happen" which  reached   number  18  in  May  1981  but  the  follow-up  "Julie  Ocean"  was  just  too  diffuse  and  failed  to make  the  Top  40  despite  the  band  performing  it   on  Top  of  the  Pops  ( their  last  appearance ). Thereafter , their  fall  from  grace  was  emphatic. The  standalone  single  "Beautiful  Friend" didn't make  it  out  of  the  Bubbling  Under  section  at  the  beginning  of  1982  and  their  fourth  album "The  Sin  of  Pride"  the  following  year  could  only  make  number  43  as  all  three  of  its  singles flopped. The  band  tried  to  revive  it  by  touring  but  to  the  general  relief  of  all  Feargal   announced  he  was  quitting  and  the  band  was  put  to  bed  in  the  summer  of  1983. A compilation LP   "All  Wrapped  Up"  released  a  few  months  later  emphasised  the  lack  of interest  in  the  band  by   peaking  at  67  although  it  wasn't  helped  by  a  hideous  sleeve. "Teenage  Kicks  "  was  re-released  and  reached  number  60.

Although  he  only  qualifies  for  this  blog  by  including  the  Undertones'  hits , Feargal  still  had  a  more  successful  solo  career  than  I  was  expecting. He  has  just  one  writing  credit  in  the  Undertones  catalogue, his  voice  wasn't  to  everyone's  taste and  he  was  coming  out  of  a  band  that  had  mislaid  its  audience.  However , he  hit  big  later  in  the  year  as  the  first  ( and,  as  it  turned  out, only )  guest  singer  for  Vince  Clarke's  Assembly  project  on  the  number 4 hit  "Never  Never".  He  then  teamed  up  with  Madness  whose  Carl  Smyth  wrote  his  first  solo  single  "Listen  To  Your  Father "  a  number  23  hit  in  the  autumn  of  1984  released  on  Madness's  label  Zarjazz. Zarjazz  was  financed  by  Virgin  and  Feargal  decided  to  cut  out  the  middle  men  and  sign  for  Virgin  directly. The  following  year  he  was  at  number  one  with   a  synth-pop  cover  of   Maria  McKee's  song  "A  Good  Heart"   and  his  debut  LP  reached  number  12.  Feargal  took  too  long  over  the  follow-up  "Wish"   which  failed  to  chart  after  its  lead  single  "More  Love"  had  turned  tail  at  number  44  in  1988.

"I've  Got  News  For  You"  was  the  lead single  from  his  next  album  "Songs  from  the  Mardi  Gras" . It  seems  like  Feargal's  got  a  touch  of  the  blues  as  it  sounds  like  Fleetwood  Mac's  Need  Your  Love  So  Bad    over  the  guitar  riff  from  Unchained  Melody  . The  song  was  co-written  with  Dennis  Morgan and  is  a  lament  for  a  girl  in  the  arms  of  another.  Feargal's  vocals  never  lack  passion  but  the  effect  is  somewhat  neutered  by  a  cheesy  sax  solo.

 It  helped  the  album  reach  number  27 . It's  an  eclectic  set  from  the  Latin-tinged  title  track  to  Erasure-styled  synth  pop   on  "Sister  Rosa "There  were  two  more  singles ,  a  stab  at  blue-eyed  soul  with  "Women  &  I"  and  another, more  faithful,   Maria  McKee  cover  "To  Miss  Someone"  but  lightning  didn't  strike  twice.

The  failure  of  the  two  follow-up  singles  seems  to  have  convinced  Feargal  that  his  future  as  a  recording  artist  wasn't  bright  enough  to  justify  the  effort . In  1992   he  took  a job  as  an  A  &  R  man  at  Polydor  then  became  managing  director  at  EXP. In  1998  he  began  a  five  year  stint  as  a  member  of  the  Radio  Authority.

To  no  one's  surprise,  he  turned  down  the  invitation  to  rejoin  the  revived  Undertones  in  1999.

In  2004  he  joined  the  government's  task  force  the  Live  Music  Forum. He  criticised  the  police's  requirements  for  live  music  events. In  2008  he  became  chair  of  UK   Music  until  he  resigned  in  2011. He  has  been  repeatedly  recognised  as  a  major  player  in  the  music  industry  although   he's  currently  on  an  extended  sabbatical  with  his  family .  
  

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