Classic_Pop_Issue_30_July_2017

43

T

ime has decreed

that 1987 was a

monumental year

for our male pop

superstars with the holy

triumvirate of Michael Jackson,

Prince and George Michael

all delivering career-defining

opuses in Bad, Sign O’ The

Times and Faith respectively.

One name frequently omitted

yet worthy of inclusion in the list

of that year’s incredible albums

is Terence Trent D’Arby, at the

time one of the brightest hopes

of the music scene, whose

debut album, Introducing The

Hardline According To Terence

Trent D’Arby matched his peers

in terms of quality and success.

A one-man amalgamation

of the artists he had been

inspired by, Terence’s arrival

on the scene was initially

met with trepidation. With

a raspy, soulful voice that

could seamlessly evoke Stevie

Wonder, Sam Cooke and Otis

Redding, a stage presence

which alluded to James

Brown and Mick Jagger, an

androgynous visage akin to

that of Prince and a backstory

that placed him as a former

boxer and soldier, many

questioned whether he was

indeed too good to be true.

He had been born in 1962

to a Minister father and

teacher mother, both of whom

sang gospel in church and

encouraged young Terence

to do the same. When he got

older, Terence, disillusioned by

his strict religious upbringing,

escaped first by going to

college to study journalism,

then training as a boxer before

enlisting in the US Army. After

a short spell in Oklahoma,

Terence was posted overseas

to Frankfurt’s Third Armored

Division, the same outfit Elvis

Presley served at in the 60s.

It was while in Germany that

Terence began his burgeoning

career as a musician. He threw

himself into Frankfurt’s vibrant

bustling live music scene,

eventually finding himself as

the frontman of a band called

Touch, which he described as

“Earth Wind & Fire-meets-The

Who”. As his career in music

progressed, Terence was

unsuccessful in his request to

be discharged from the army

and forced to go AWOL. He

spent his days hiding out in

INTRODUCING THE HARDLINE... CLASSIC ALBUM

As a performer, songwriter

and multi-instrumentalist,

Terence Trent D’Arby was the

complete package and made a

huge splash with his debut album

© Getty Images

friends’ apartments and record

shops and at night performed

in clubs. While touting Touch’s

demo tape, Terence met Klaus

Pieter Scheinlitz, a press

officer at a German record

label, who mentored the

singer, introducing him to an

expansive range of musicians

and becoming his manager,

trying to secure a record deal

for Touch.

However, with Terence still

obligated to fulfil his army

duties, a lengthy battle ensued

to get him released. He was

eventually discharged from the

army in April 1983 and free to

pursue his music career.

Relationships within Touch

were strained (“There was a

lot of jealousy in the band,”

Terence told Rolling Stone in

1988. “I was the frontman, and
      to be honest, I just wanted to
      be a star – I wanted a fast car
      and fast women. I just wanted
      to shake my butt onstage and

get laid.”), the band broke

up and Terence and Klaus

moved to London. Following

a spell in another band, The

Bojangles, a headstrong and

focused Terence decided he

would prefer to be a solo artist,

eventually landing a deal with

Columbia Records.

Beginning work on his

album, Terence had already

written a wealth of material

and was clear in what direction

he wanted to head. However,

recognising his inexperience,

Columbia paired him with

Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware,

who had been working as a

producer and helmed Tina

Turner’s career-relaunching

Private Dancer album. Looking

for his next project, Martyn

had refused offers to produce

records for Rod Stewart and

Bette Midler, opting instead to

work with new artists.

“I was actually just about to

do another weird soul project

when this tape landed on my

desk from a new A&R man

THE

PLAYERS

TERENCE TRENT

D’ARBY

With a clear vision of how

he wanted the album to

sound, Terence took on the

role of playing most of the instruments as

well as writing and co-producing the record.

The majority of keyboards, piano, drums,

percussion and saxophone were all played

by the singer on the LP, something he has

continued to do throughout his career.

MARTYN WARE

A founding member of the

Human League, Heaven

17 and the British Electric

Foundation (B.E.F), Martyn

became a hugely successful producer in the

80s. He revitalised Tina Turner’s career with

the Private Dancer album and, as well as

producing Introducing The Hardline... (the

sleevenotes credit him with “Hardening” the

songs) he has produced acts such as Erasure.

CP30.ClassicAlbum_TTD.print.indd 43 07/06/2017 16:33