I’ve been nominated on Facebook to share my musical history. So anything that is 80s related I thought I'd share here too.
“The Word Is Out” by Jermaine Stewart.
Jermaine had started his career as a dancer on American TV show “Soul Train” where he met Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, who would go on to form Shalamar. Jermaine was up for lead vocalist in the group but lost out on the position. He did later tour with Shalamar as a dancer and backing singer. He met Mikey Craig of Culture Club and performed backing vocals for the group. Mikey helped him put together a demo to secure him a record deal.
In the Summer of 1986 Jermaine’s single “We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off” was zooming up the charts. I loved it straight away and had bought the 12 inch single which I had on repeat. I not only loved the A side but the B side song “Brilliance” is one of my all time favourite songs.
I was hungry for more and went in search of an album. “We Don’t Have To...” was actually from his second album “Frantic Romantic”, although at this point that album hadn’t been released in the U.K.
Disappointed but undeterred I still kept looking and in the Virgin Megastore in Birmingham I found the only copy of “The Word Is Out”. This was his first album which had actually been released two years earlier in 1984 but had passed everybody, including me by and it didn’t chart in the U.K. at all. Neither did any of the 3 singles that were released from it, but I loved it.
The vocals, the music, the funky beats and Jermaine’s wonderful sense of fashion I loved it all. Although most of all I loved his hair! Of course this was the era of huge 80s hair, with perms and mullets but Jermaine’s was perfectly straight. This was years before it became fashionable for everyone to straighten their hair. Back in 1986 I too had long hair, didn’t we all? And I so wanted my hair to be like Jermaine’s. I never quite achieved that!
Night after night back in 1986 I would play this album on repeat while trying in vain to beat pac man on my newly acquired home computer and devouring bags of wine gums!
I bought all his other albums and singles but nothing compared to the glory of this first album for me.
Despite the number 2 success of “We Don’t Have To....” and a couple of other hit singles “Say It Again” and “Get Lucky” over the next couple of years, Jermaine is largely forgotten and much of his music unknown. Jermaine sadly died of AIDS related liver cancer in 1997 aged 39.
All these years later I never tire of this album and it took me until the early 2000s to finally acquire it on CD. Even now I can taste those wine gums when I listen to it!
Track listing:
The Word Is Out
I Like It
In Love Again
Debbie
Reasons why
Get Over It
Month of Mondays
You
Spies
Brilliance
Listen to the Full Album
Music Week Review:
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