Tense Nervous Headache: Difference between revisions

**Tense Nervous Headache**
Tense Nervous Headache
Studio album by Boy George
Released	October 24, 1988
Recorded	1988
Genre	Pop; dance; soul; rock;
Length	66:49 (CD/MC), 49:33 (LP)
Label	Virgin
Producer	Bobby Z.; Mike Pela; Jeremy Healy; Vlad Naslas;
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Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Tense Nervous Headache is the second solo studio album by English singer Boy George, released in October 1988 by Virgin Records. While the album was withdrawn from the UK shops, it was still released in Europe but was not released by Virgin in the USA. The title was a reference to a UK television commercial for Anadin^[1]

Background

When the recordings for the album began, Boy George, in his own words, did not know if he wanted to be Prince, Bowie, or Roy Orbison. He started working with Prince-collaborator Bobby Z. but was at the same time inspired by the growing acid house scene and garage music which he had already explored on his protest single "No Clause 28" (UK No. 57)^[2] earlier in the year. At one point, Pete Waterman had also been suggested as a producer although no recordings were initiated. Teddy Riley was then flown in from the USA to record four New jack swing titles which Boy George was ultimately not happy with and asked to be left off the album. Vlad Naslas produced one dance track ("I Go Where I Go"), and Mike Pela was brought in to contribute three tracks to finish off the album, including a cover version of Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted". "Finally, and too late, I was feeling the inspiration", Boy George would later tell in his biography Take It Like a Man ^[3], eventually calling the album "self-indulgent, scatterbrained, and painfully out of touch." He still went ahead with a concert tour, "Boy's Own Tour", performing 8 of the new tracks, with one show being filmed for a Japanese TV-special^[4].

Commercial performance

The album had been scheduled for an October 1, 1988 release in the UK but was postponed 3 weeks in the UK to see if sales from the first single "Don't Cry" (released in September) would pick up. When the single stalled at No. 60 in the UK charts, Virgin eventually decided to pull the album from the UK shops. It was still released in Europe where it would reach No. 46 in the Swedish charts ^[5] and No. 38 in Italy. ^[6] Following its disappointing sales, Virgin quickly released a new album Boyfriend in March 1989 with the three previously unreleased Teddy Riley tracks, the single-only track "No Clause 28" from the previous year and 4 new recordings by George.

Singles

"Don't Cry" was the only single released from album. It peaked at No. 60 in the UK charts but became a Top 20 hit in Italy where it reached No. 13.^[7] "No Clause 28", released in June 1988, would not be included on the final album. "A Boy Called Alice" and "Leave In Love" (a duet with Carroll Thompson) were released as B-sides only.

Track listing

The LP included 9 titles, while the CD & MC editions included 12 titles. The song "Something Strange Called Love" was edited on the LP.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Don't Cry"	George O'Dowd Bobby Z. Ian Maidman	7:01
2.	"You Are My Heroin"	O'Dowd Glenn Nightingale Ian Maidman Richie Stevens Steve Fletcher	6:20
3.	"I Go Where I Go"	O'Dowd Vlad Naslas	4:42
4.	"Girl With Combination Skin"	O'Dowd Nightingale Maidman Fletcher	6:02
5.	"Whisper"	O'Dowd Bobby Z. Maidman	5:41
6.	"Something Strange Called Love" (LP Edit 4:00)	O'Dowd Amanda Vincent Andy Dewar	6:02
7.	"I Love You"	O'Dowd Nightingale Maidman Fletcher	4:47
8.	"Kipsy"	O'Dowd Caron Geary Nightingale Dewar	6:06
9.	"Mama Never Knew"	O'Dowd Vincent Maidman	4:57
10.	"What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" (CD & MC only)	William Weatherspoon James Dean Paul Riser	3:42
11.	"American Boyz" (CD & MC only)	O'Dowd Vincent Maidman Nightingale	6:20
12.	"Happy Family" (CD & MC only)	O'Dowd Healey	5:07

Singles

"Don't Cry" (4:06 Edit) (September 1988)

B-sides

"Leave in Love" – Featuring Carroll Thompson (O'Dowd, Bobby Z.)
"A Boy Called Alice" - (O'Dowd, Vic Martin)

Other songs

"No Clause 28" (June 1988 single, included as a bonus track on Japanese album only)^[8]

Personnel

Musicians

Boy George – lead vocals
Glenn Nightingale – guitars and other voices
Ian Maidman – bass, keyboards
Bobby Z. – drums
Amanda Vincent – keyboards
Vic Martin – keyboards
Richie Stevens – drums ("Kipsy")
Derek Green – other voices
Carroll Thompson – other voices
Helen Terry – other voices
Beverley Skeete – other voices
Belva Haney – other voices
Wendell Morrison Jr. – other voices
Juliet Roberts, Nevada Cato – other voices
David Ulm, Carol Steel – percussion
Jagdeep Singh – tabla and other voices
Simon Tyrrel – drum programming
Andy Dewar – drum programming
Anne Dudley – all string arrangements
Kenny Wellington – brass section
David "Baps" Baptiste – brass section
Nat Augustin – brass section
Sid Gauld – brass section
Ed Jones – major saxophone
Desmond Foster – other bass
MC Kinky (Caron Geary) – toasting ("Kipsy")
Paul Lee – choir ("Mama Never Knew")
Iris Sutherland – choir ("Mama Never Knew")
Yvonne White – choir ("Mama Never Knew")
Jock Loveband – engineer
Alan Douglas – engineer
Martin White – engineer
Terry Reed – engineer
Paul Wright – engineer
Renny Hill – engineer
Phil Legg – engineer
Robin Evans – engineer

Production

Bobby Z. – producer tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 & 11
Boy George & Mike Pela - producer tracks 6, 8 & 10
Vlad Naslas - producer track 3
Jeremy Healy - producer track 12

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Italian Albums Chart^[9]	38
Swedish Albums Chart^[10]	46

Release history

Country	Year	Label	Format	Catalogue
Europe	1988	Virgin Records	CD	259 253, CDV2546
Europe	1988	Virgin Records	MC	409 253, TCV2546
Europe	1988	Virgin Records	LP	209 253, V2546

References

^ http://www.headington.org.uk/adverts/medical_products.htm
^ https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/24000/boy-george/
^ George, Boy (1995). Take It Like A Man. Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 447-451. ISBN 9780060173685.
^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrtjaSZDWBM&t=1711s
^ http://swisscharts.com/showitemurl.asp?cat=a&id=46812
^ https://www.boygeorgefever.com/topofthecharts.html
^ https://www.boygeorgefever.com/topofthecharts.html
^ https://www.discogs.com/Boy-George-Tense-Nervous-Headache/release/2123720
^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1987". www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
^ "swedishcharts.com - Discography Boy George". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.

[1] ttp://www.headington.org.uk/adverts/medical_products.htm

[2] ttps://www.officialcharts.com/artist/24000/boy-george/

[3] George, Boy (1995). Take It Like A Man. Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 447-451. ISBN 9780060173685.

[4] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrtjaSZDWBM&t=1711s

[5] ttp://swisscharts.com/showitemurl.asp?cat=a&id=46812

[6] ttps://www.boygeorgefever.com/topofthecharts.html

[7] ttps://www.boygeorgefever.com/topofthecharts.html

[8] ttps://www.discogs.com/Boy-George-Tense-Nervous-Headache/release/2123720

[9] "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1987". www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 5 February 2019.

[10] "swedishcharts.com - Discography Boy George". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.

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 | prev_title = [[Sold (Boy George album)|Sold]]
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-| next_title = [[High Hat (album)|High Hat]]
+| next_title = [[Boyfriend (Boy George album)|Boyfriend]]
 | next_year  = 1989
 }}
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-[[Category:1988 debut albums]]
+[[Category:1988 albums]]
 [[Category:Pop rock albums by English artists]]
 [[Category:Boy George albums]]