Radio Musicola
| Radio Musicola | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Nik Kershaw | ||||
| Released | 24 October 1986 | |||
| Studio | Swanyard Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:20 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Nik Kershaw | |||
| Nik Kershaw chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from Radio Musicola | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Radio Musicola is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was originally released in October 1986, on the label MCA Records, two and a half years after Kershaw's successful album, The Riddle. It was the first album to be produced by Kershaw. It features guest backing vocalists, including Icehouse's Iva Davies, and Night's Stevie Lange, and .
The album was released to critical acclaim, but wasn't as successful as Kershaw's previous albums, it went on to peak at #47 on the UK Albums Chart and reached #92 on the Australian ARIA Charts, which marked the beginning of a downturn in Kershaw's fortunes on the album charts. Four singles were issued from Radio Musicola: "When a Heart Beats", "Nobody Knows", "Radio Musicola", and James Cagney, but none of them reached the Top 20, a first for Kershaw. However, Kershaw did find some minor success with the aforementioned single "When a Heart Beats" (which was not featured on the LP release, only on the cassette and CD versions of the album). The album (to date) remains Kershaw's last album to make the Top 75, and was his last to receive a certification, being certified silver by the BPI.
After the original release, the album remained out-of-print on any format for many years. However, the album became available via online MP3 download on major sites such as Amazon, and iTunes.
The album showcased Kershaw's frustration at the time, with subjects of integrity – media scepticism (particularly towards tabloid journalism), privacy, insecurity and mass-produced run-of-the-mill pop music ("Why can't you let us do it like Joni does it? There you go again, giving it your very best - trying so hard to make it sound like all the rest"). The subject is reflected in the cover artwork's concept. The LP record release featured 1950's style spoof advertisements with the song titles woven in, some of which were replicated in the compact disc's booklet.
...
Wikipedia