This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Wonderful Life" Black album – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(July 2018)
Wonderful Life is the debut album by English singer Black (the stage name of Colin Vearncombe). Released in 1987, it peaked at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart in September of that year.
In 1985 Vearncombe wrote the minor key song "Wonderful Life". It was released independently through Ugly Man Records, and got Black noticed by A&M Records who signed Vearncombe and launched his international career. Vearncombe said:
By the end of 1985 I had been in a couple of car crashes, my mother had a serious illness, I had been dropped by a record company, my first marriage went belly-up and I was homeless. Then I sat down and wrote this song called 'Wonderful Life'. I was being sarcastic.[4][5]
Vearncombe suffered from the feeling of being a one-hit wonder, however, saying later:
Once you have had a hit, it's hard to write another song without having that in the back of your mind. For a long time, I would find myself hearing, 'I like it but it's not Wonderful Life'.[6]
The album's second single "Everything's Coming Up Roses" was also accompanied by a video,[7] but reached only No. 76 in the UK Singles Chart, although also making No. 8 in both the Austrian and German charts.[citation needed] The follow-up "Sweetest Smile", however, became a UK top-10 hit. The third single, a re-release of "Wonderful Life", was a massive hit worldwide. The album of the same name, released in 1987, had similar success, reaping commercial and critical acclaim.[8][9]
When interviewed in 2013 for superdeluxeedition.com, Vearncome was asked if the album had turned out how he wanted and if the record company had forced producers on him. He replied:
No, we were very, very lucky. You see I’d already been through the mill with Warners and stuff, and then I’d been homeless. There wasn’t much you could scare me with. I was actually homeless when I wrote "Sweetest Smile" and "Wonderful Life," but I was couch-surfing, and nothing touches you when you’re that age. For a while you can get away with it.[10]
Ugly Man Records issue a double-pack single, in September 1986 (Cat. JACK 71D), featuring "Wonderful Life", "Birthday Night", "Sometimes for the Asking" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses".[11]
Track listingEdit
All tracks are written by Colin Vearncombe unless otherwise noted
^"Australiancharts.com – Black – Wonderful Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Austriancharts.at – Black – Wonderful Life" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Black – Wonderful Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Black". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 31. ISBN978-952-7460-01-6.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Black – Wonderful Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Charts.nz – Black – Wonderful Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Swedishcharts.com – Black – Wonderful Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Swisscharts.com – Black – Wonderful Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Black | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Jaaroverzichten – Album 1987". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Jahreshitparade Alben 1988". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"French album certifications – Black – Wonderful Life" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 22 July 2022. Select BLACK and click OK.
^"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Black; 'Wonderful Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002(PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 924. ISBN84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ abStratton, Sally (28 October 1989). "Spotlights - Black's Future Looks Bright" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 43. p. 40. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 15 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
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This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Wonderful Life Black album news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2018 Wonderful Life is the debut album by English singer Black the stage name of Colin Vearncombe Released in 1987 it peaked at No 3 on the UK Albums Chart in September of that year Wonderful LifeStudio album by BlackReleased18 September 1987 1 StudioPowerpoint Studios London Square One Studio BuryGenrePop rock new waveLength44 40LabelA amp MProducerDave Dix Dickie Robin Millar I m Not Afraid only Black chronologyWonderful Life 1987 Black 1987 Singles from Wonderful Life Wonderful Life Released September 1986 Everything s Coming Up Roses Released April 1987 Sweetest Smile Released June 1987 I m Not Afraid Released October 1987 Paradise Released 4 January 1988Audio sample source source Sweetest Smile filehelpProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 2 Record Mirror 3 Three of the songs were co written with Vearncombe s friend and musical collaborator keyboardist Dave Dix Dickie Contents 1 Background 2 Track listing 3 Singles 4 Personnel 4 1 Musicians 4 2 Production 5 Charts 5 1 Weekly charts 5 2 Year end charts 6 Sales and certifications 7 References 8 External linksBackground EditIn 1985 Vearncombe wrote the minor key song Wonderful Life It was released independently through Ugly Man Records and got Black noticed by A amp M Records who signed Vearncombe and launched his international career Vearncombe said By the end of 1985 I had been in a couple of car crashes my mother had a serious illness I had been dropped by a record company my first marriage went belly up and I was homeless Then I sat down and wrote this song called Wonderful Life I was being sarcastic 4 5 Vearncombe suffered from the feeling of being a one hit wonder however saying later Once you have had a hit it s hard to write another song without having that in the back of your mind For a long time I would find myself hearing I like it but it s not Wonderful Life 6 The album s second single Everything s Coming Up Roses was also accompanied by a video 7 but reached only No 76 in the UK Singles Chart although also making No 8 in both the Austrian and German charts citation needed The follow up Sweetest Smile however became a UK top 10 hit The third single a re release of Wonderful Life was a massive hit worldwide The album of the same name released in 1987 had similar success reaping commercial and critical acclaim 8 9 When interviewed in 2013 for superdeluxeedition com Vearncome was asked if the album had turned out how he wanted and if the record company had forced producers on him He replied No we were very very lucky You see I d already been through the mill with Warners and stuff and then I d been homeless There wasn t much you could scare me with I was actually homeless when I wrote Sweetest Smile and Wonderful Life but I was couch surfing and nothing touches you when you re that age For a while you can get away with it 10 Ugly Man Records issue a double pack single in September 1986 Cat JACK 71D featuring Wonderful Life Birthday Night Sometimes for the Asking and Everything s Coming Up Roses 11 Track listing EditAll tracks are written by Colin Vearncombe unless otherwise notedSide ANo TitleWriter s Length1 Wonderful Life 4 462 Everything s Coming Up Roses 4 043 Sometimes for the Asking 4 094 Finder 4 125 Paradise Colin Vearncombe Dave Dickie4 51 Side BNo TitleWriter s Length6 I m Not Afraid Colin Vearncombe Dave Dickie5 007 I Just Grew Tired 4 158 Blue Colin Vearncombe Dave Dickie3 389 Just Making Memories 4 2610 Sweetest Smile 5 19Total length 44 40 CD Bonus tracksNo TitleWriter s Length11 Ravel in the Rain Colin Vearncombe Dave Dickie3 4712 Leave Yourself Alone 4 3213 Sixteens 3 5614 It s Not You Lady Jane Colin Vearncombe Dave Dickie3 2515 Hardly Star Crossed Lovers 2 51Total length 63 11Singles EditThe album produced five singles Wonderful Life I m Not Afraid Everything s Coming Up Roses Sweetest Smile and Paradise Personnel EditMusicians Edit Colin Vearncombe vocals guitar Roy Corkill fretless bass Jimmy Hughes drums Martin Green saxophone Dave Dix Dickie keyboards programming The Creamy Whirls Tina Labrinski Sara Lamarra backing vocals Jimmy Sangster electric bass Doreen Edwards additional backing vocals The Sidwell Brothers brass sectionSource 12 Production Edit Recorded at Powerplant Studios London Square One Studio Bury Engineered by Stephen Boyce Buckley and Pink Studio Liverpool Charts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1987 1988 PeakpositionAustralian Albums ARIA 13 34Austrian Albums O3 Austria 14 6Dutch Albums Album Top 100 15 11Finnish Albums Suomen virallinen lista 16 31German Albums Offizielle Top 100 17 9New Zealand Albums RMNZ 18 21Swedish Albums Sverigetopplistan 19 30Swiss Albums Schweizer Hitparade 20 5UK Albums OCC 21 3 Year end charts Edit Chart 1987 PositionDutch Albums Album Top 100 22 76Chart 1988 PositionAustrian Albums O3 Austria 23 25German Albums Offizielle Top 100 24 29Sales and certifications EditCertifications for Wonderful Life Region Certification Certified units salesFrance SNEP 25 Gold 100 000 Germany BVMI 26 Gold 250 000 Spain PROMUSICAE 27 28 Platinum 100 000 Switzerland IFPI Switzerland 28 Gold 25 000 United Kingdom BPI 29 Platinum 300 000 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone References Edit Index Record Mirror 12 September 1987 p 4 ISSN 0144 5804 Black Wonderful Life Review at AllMusic Cohen Lysette 12 September 1987 Albums Record Mirror p 12 ISSN 0144 5804 The Daily Telegraph paper only 28 Jan 2016 p 27 Roche Barry 3 February 2016 Funeral of singer Black to take place in Co Cork The Irish Times The Daily Telegraph ibid p 27 Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine Black Everything Is Coming Up Roses YouTube Sweeting Adam 26 January 2016 Colin Vearncombe obituary via www theguardian com Colin Vearncombe Singer known as Black who wrote Wonderful Life The Independent 28 January 2016 Wonderful Life The lost interview with Colin Vearncombe RIP superdeluxeedition Black Wonderful Life Wonderful Life Black via www allmusic com Australiancharts com Black Wonderful Life Hung Medien Retrieved 5 March 2021 Austriancharts at Black Wonderful Life in German Hung Medien Retrieved 5 March 2021 Dutchcharts nl Black Wonderful Life in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved 5 March 2021 Pennanen Timo 2021 Black Sisaltaa hitin 2 laitos Levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1 1 1960 30 6 2021 Helsinki Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava p 31 ISBN 978 952 7460 01 6 Offiziellecharts de Black Wonderful Life in German GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved 5 March 2021 Charts nz Black Wonderful Life Hung Medien Retrieved 5 March 2021 Swedishcharts com Black Wonderful Life Hung Medien Retrieved 5 March 2021 Swisscharts com Black Wonderful Life Hung Medien Retrieved 5 March 2021 Black Artist Official Charts UK Albums Chart Retrieved 5 March 2021 Jaaroverzichten Album 1987 dutchcharts nl Retrieved 5 March 2021 Jahreshitparade Alben 1988 austriancharts at Retrieved 5 March 2021 Top 100 Album Jahrescharts in German GfK Entertainment Retrieved 5 March 2021 French album certifications Black Wonderful Life in French InfoDisc Retrieved 22 July 2022 SelectBLACKand clickOK Gold Platin Datenbank Black Wonderful Life in German Bundesverband Musikindustrie Retrieved 22 July 2022 Salaverrie Fernando September 2005 Solo exitos ano a ano 1959 2002 PDF in Spanish 1st ed Madrid Fundacion Autor SGAE p 924 ISBN 84 8048 639 2 Retrieved 22 July 2022 a b Stratton Sally 28 October 1989 Spotlights Black s Future Looks Bright PDF Music amp Media Vol 6 no 43 p 40 OCLC 29800226 Retrieved 15 August 2023 via World Radio History British album certifications Black Wonderful Life British Phonographic Industry Retrieved 22 July 2022 External links EditInformation at Colin Vearncombe s official website Wonderful Life at Discogs list of releases Black Everything Is Coming Up Roses on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wonderful Life Black album amp oldid 1179047249, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
