Human Racing

Human Racing is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was originally released in February 1984, on the label MCA. Several songs like "Drum Talk" were based around improvisation; other songs, like "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", had a political message.

Human Racing
Studio album by Nik Kershaw
Released	27 February 1984
Recorded	Summer 1983
Studio	Sarm East Studios, London; Sarm West Studios, London; Marcus Music; and Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles[1]
Genre	Pop new wave synth-pop pop rock
Length	39:39
Label	MCA
Producer	Peter Collins
Nik Kershaw chronology
Human Racing (1984) The Riddle (1984)
Singles from Human Racing
"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" Released: 16 September 1983 "Wouldn't It Be Good" Released: 21 January 1984 "Dancing Girls" Released: 2 April 1984 "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Re-release)" Released: June 1984 "Human Racing" Released: August 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Billboard	favourable[3]
Record Mirror	[4]
Smash Hits	[5]

Kershaw's most commercially successful solo album, it went on to peak at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and reached No. 35 on the Australian ARIA Charts. The album also reached the top ten in several other countries including Germany, Finland, and Norway. The album launched four charting singles in the UK. "Wouldn't It Be Good" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart; "Dancing Girls" peaked at No. 13; "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" at No. 2; "Human Racing" at No. 19. The album was the 22nd highest selling album of 1984 in the UK and received a nomination for Best British Album at the 1985 Brit Awards.[6] The album was certified multi-platinum by the BPI.

The album was re-released on 27 February 2012,[7] on Universal's new Re-presents imprint featuring rare bonus content. The reissue is a 2-CD set with the original album digitally remastered from the original 1/2" mix tapes; the bonus content consists of associated 12" mixes and B-sides including a previously unreleased version of "Bogart", a special brass mix of "Shame on You" and a live version of "Cloak and Dagger" recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon.

Critical reception

Smash Hits magazine gave the album a highly negative review, awarding it 1 out of 10, and calling it "Competent but relentlessly dull synthesised meanderings of no importance to anyone but Mr Kershaw himself (and even he doesn't sound that interested)."[5] Reviewing retrospectively for AllMusic, critic Scott Bultman wrote of the album: "His debut, although rough around the edges, showed talent and promise.".[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nik Kershaw.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dancing Girls"	3:46
2.	"Wouldn't It Be Good"	4:32
3.	"Drum Talk"	3:10
4.	"Bogart"	4:38
5.	"Gone to Pieces"	3:11

Side two

No.	Title	Length
6.	"Shame on You"	3:33
7.	"Cloak and Dagger"	4:55
8.	"Faces"	4:05
9.	"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"	3:23
10.	"Human Racing"	4:26
Total length:		39:39

Additional tracks

Bonus tracks on 2012 release

No. Title Length 1. "Dancing Girls" (extended 12" remix) 8:05 2. "Bogart" (extended 12" remix) 4:29 3. "Monkey Business" 3:30 4. "Shame on You" (additional brass mix) 3:40 5. "Drum Talk" (extended 12" remix) 5:00 6. "Faces" (extended 12" remix) 4:40 7. "Dark Glasses" 4:16 8. "Wouldn't It Be Good" (extended 12" remix) 6:52 9. "Human Racing" (extended 12" remix) 5:24 10. "She Cries" 3:48 11. "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (extended 12" remix) 6:33 12. "Cloak and Dagger" (live at Hammersmith Odeon 1984) 5:07

Original track listing

The master tapes for Human Racing are shown in the booklet that accompanies the 2012 re-release. They show the original track listing of the album was:[9] Side 1 "Drum Talk" "Wouldn't It Be Good" "Bring on the Dancing Girls" "Bogart" "Gone to Pieces" Side 2 "Shame on You" "Cloak and Dagger" "Faces" "Wide Boy" "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down" "Human Racing" "Wide Boy" was dropped before the album's official release, but was later released on Kershaw's next album, The Riddle. The master tapes also show that the album was completed in November 1983. The master tapes were later baked for preservation purposes.[10] Side 1 was baked on 15 September 2011, and Side 2 on 23 February 2005.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[11]

• Nik Kershaw – lead and background vocals; vocal percussion and effects; guitar; bass guitar; keyboards; percussion
• Paul "Wix" Wickens – keyboards; Fairlight CMI
• Charlie Morgan – drums

Additional personnel

• Reg Webb – keyboards
• Nick Glennie-Smith – keyboards
• Don Snow – keyboards
• Paul Westwood – additional bass guitar on "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
• Martin Ditcham – percussion
• Jerry Hey – horns
• Gary Grant – horns
• Larry Williams – horns
• Bill Reichenbach – horns
• Kim Hutchcroft – horns
• Sheri Kershaw – backing vocals on "Faces"
• Lynda Hayes – voice-over on "Bogart"

Production team

• Peter Collins – producer
• Julian Mendelsohn – engineer; mixer
• Stuart Bruce – assistant engineer
• Keith Finney – assistant engineer
• Bob Kraushaar – assistant engineer
• Roger Howorth – assistant engineer
• Nick Campey – assistant engineer
• Greg Fulginiti – mastering

Chart performance

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12]	35
Canadian Albums Chart[13]	19
Dutch Albums Chart[14]	13
German Albums Chart[15]	8
New Zealand Albums Chart[16]	32
Norwegian Albums Chart[17]	7
Swedish Albums Chart[18]	38
Swiss Albums Chart[19]	12
UK Albums Chart[20]	5
US Billboard 200[21]	70

Chart (2012)	Peak position	Total weeks
UK Albums Chart	159	1

Singles

• "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (No. 47 on first release in 1983; No. 2 on re-release in 1984)
  • B-side – "Dark Glasses"
• "Wouldn't It Be Good" (No. 4)
  • B-side – "Monkey Business"
• "Dancing Girls" (No. 13)
  • B-side – "She Cries"
• "Human Racing" (No. 19)
  • B-side – "Faces" (Simon Boswell remix)

See also

• List of albums released in 1984
• Nik Kershaw's discography

References

1. Kershaw 2012, p. 2-3.
2. Scott Bultman. "Human Racing – Nik Kershaw | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
3. Billboard magazine - Reviews: albums - April 21, 1984 - page 60
4. Hills, Simon (3 March 1984). "Albums". Record Mirror.
5. Cranna, Ian (1 March 1984). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. Vol. 6 no. 5. EMAP Metro. p. 37.
6. "Shows". Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
7. "Nik Kershaw To Release Expanded Reissue Of 'Human Racing'". thisisnotretro.com. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
8. Human Racing, AllMusic, retrieved 14 August 2014
9. Kershaw 2012, p. 14-15.
10. "Nik Kershaw talks 80s pop and Human Racing 28 years on". Superdeluxeedition.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
11. Human Racing liner notes. MCA Records. 1984.
12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 165. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
13. "Welcome to the LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA website | Bienvenue au site Web BIBLIOTHÈQUE ET ARCHIVES CANADA". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
14. Steffen Hung. "Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
15. Steffen Hung. "germancharts.com – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". Germancharts.de. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
16. Steffen Hung. "Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". charts.nz. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
17. Steffen Hung. "Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
18. Steffen Hung. "Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
19. Steffen Hung. "Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
20. "NIK KERSHAW - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
21. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (21 July 1984). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books.

• Kershaw, Nik (2012). Human Racing (2CD Expanded Edition) (CD booklet). Nik Kershaw. Universal/Island Records Ltd. UMCREP2013.

External links

• Human Racing at Discogs (list of releases)
• Human Racing at AllMusic