Dreams That Money Can't Buy (Album)
| Dreams That Money Can't Buy | ||||
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| Studio album by Holly Johnson | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Genre | Dance, Synthpop | |||
| Length | 40:06 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Andy Richards (tracks 1–6, 8–10), Dan Hartman (track 7) | |||
| Holly Johnson chronology | ||||
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Dreams That Money Can't Buy is the second solo album by English singer Holly Johnson, released by MCA Records in 1991. The album was produced by Andy Richards, except "Penny Arcade" which was produced by Dan Hartman.
Following his 1989 UK chart topping debut album Blast, Johnson began writing and recording his second album in 1990. The first single preceding the album was "Where Has Love Gone?", which was released in November 1990 and reached No. 73 in the UK. The follow-up was "Across the Universe", which reached No. 99 following its release in March 1991. The entire album had been completed in early 1991, however Johnson's relations with MCA then collapsed when the label, disappointed by the limited success of the two singles, decided to limit the marketing budget for the album.
Dreams That Money Can't Buy was given a half-hearted release later in the year and with little promotion it failed to chart. The third and final single, "The People Want to Dance", was released in September but also failed to chart. Having left the label by the time of the album's release, Johnson discovered he was HIV positive in November 1991, which resulted in him largely withdrawing from music.
In a 2014 interview with The Arts Desk, Johnson spoke of the failure of the album and the making of it:
"It was written under pressure. I'd had this validation of a No.1 album and suddenly found myself with a contractual obligation to deliver an album in a certain time period. I was chained to the keyboard and sampling machine for what seemed like an eternity. I still stand by some of the songs, but the tide had turned in music-land and in my life. The person who signed me to MCA was either pushed out or left and, as so often happens in that situation, with my champion gone the label turned on me. In a way it was blessing because soon after that I was very ill and had a whole other challenge in my life."
In a 2011 fan question interview, Johnson chose "Penny Arcade" and "The Great Love Story" as his two favourite tracks from the album. He added that he would have liked to have seen "Penny Arcade" released as a single, noting "there could have been some really good remixes done for that".
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