One of probably the most skilfully-crafted albums of the British pop growth of the Nineteen Eighties made its massive entrance on November 10, 1984. The Riddle, the second LP launch by British singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, swiftly constructed on the success of his debut launch Human Racing, which had appeared solely 9 months earlier.
By this time, Kershaw was a well-recognized customer to each the British singles and album charts. After scoring a minor chart entry with “I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” on the finish of 1983, he broke massive early within the new yr with the irresistibly catchy “Wouldn’t It Be Good,” following it with the highest 20 “Dancing Girls” after which a significant No.2 success when that first chart entry was reissued. Human Racing, the album containing all these tracks, made No.5 within the UK.
It all set the scene for a giant follow-up, and The Riddle didn’t disappoint. The title monitor, launched as a single a month earlier, climbed to No.3, and the album peaked at No.8, additionally performing nicely round Europe, notably in Norway, with a Top 5 peak. It made No.113 within the States, though that was one thing of a step again from the No.70 peak of Human Racing.
All the identical, there have been additional wealthy pickings on the UK singles chart when each “Wide Boy” and “Don Quixote” made the Top 10. The Riddle, produced like its predecessor by Peter Collins, featured some notable visitor contributors, together with Level 42’s Mark King on “Easy,” short-term Squeeze member Don Snow, and future Paul McCartney band stalwart Paul “Wix” Wickens.
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“I’m not embarrassed about the fans I have now,” Kershaw informed Smash Hits in September 1984. “Nobody who issues goes to look down on me as a result of I’ve had women throwing teddy bears at me. Anyway I’ve solely bean right here ten months and even my followers can solely see the floor of me up to now.
“That’s not their fault at all,” he continued. “I’m on stage, I’m on TV. They can’t possibly see and understand me as a normal human being. But I don’t worry about that too much. It’s changing all the time.”
Buy or stream The Riddle.