''Reputation'' is the thirteenth studio album by British singer

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

, and twelfth released. Issued on the

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

label in the UK and the rest of Europe in June 1990, ''Reputation'' was not only Springfield's first studio album in eight years at the time but also her first album to be released in her native UK since 1979's ''

Living Without Your Love ''Living Without Your Love'' is the eleventh studio album recorded by singer Dusty Springfield, and tenth released. The album was recorded in summer 1978 and released in early 1979. Background While ''Living Without Your Love'' was produced ...

''. After a string of commercially overlooked albums through the late 1970s and early 1980s ''Reputation'' finally managed to resurrect Springfield's career and belatedly resulted in her being re-evaluated and recognised by both music critics and the general public as the UK's foremost '

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly black Motown and St ...

' singer. Mainly produced by

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

and

Julian Mendelsohn Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run by ...

and recorded in the UK over a period of some eighteen months, ''Reputation'' became her highest charting and best-selling album in the UK since 1970's '' From Dusty with Love'', peaking at No. 18 and selling 60,000 copies within two weeks of its release.

Background

In late 1987, Springfield was beginning to look back towards the UK as a source of recording work, due in large part to her collaboration with

on their single " What Have I Done to Deserve This?". Pet Shop Boys had contacted Springfield's manager to ask if Springfield would perform guest vocals on the duet. Being a fan of their work, Springfield accepted the offer and the song became a massive hit all over the world, peaking at No. 2 in both the UK and the United States, which proved to be the biggest hit of her career in the US. A brand new greatest hits album, ''

Dusty – The Silver Collection ''Dusty – The Silver Collection'' is a greatest hits album by English singer Dusty Springfield, released by Philips Records in 1988. It contains 24 selected tracks recorded between 1963 and 1970, including all of Springfield's top 10 singles fro ...

'', also proved highly popular, achieving Platinum status and charting in the UK at No. 14. This renewed Springfield's confidence in recording, as well as interest in her work from the general public, and led to another hit single "

Nothing Has Been Proved "Nothing Has Been Proved" is a song and a single release by British singer Dusty Springfield, written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys. The song was the second collaboration between Springfield and the Pet Shop Boys, following their UK #2 and ...

", also written by Pet Shop Boys with Springfield in mind. The song was written for the movie ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

'', an account of the so-called

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model ...

of 1963, starring

Joanne Whalley Joanne Whalley (born 25 August 1961) is an English film and television actress. She was credited as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer from 1988 to 1996 during her marriage to Val Kilmer. Whalley came to fame through television with appearances in drama se ...

and

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

. "Nothing Has Been Proved" made the Top 20 in Britain, and led to yet another hit single, "

In Private "In Private" is a song by British singer Dusty Springfield, released as a single on 20 November 1989. It was Springfield's third single in a row to be a chart success, after an absence of nearly two decades from the charts. Both "In Private" and ...

", which peaked at No. 14 on the British charts. Despite the fact that "In Private" never was commercially released in the US it managed to become a dance-floor hit in the States as well, peaking at No. 14 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s Hot Dance Club Play chart in early 1990. Both singles were included on ''Reputation'', and Pet Shop Boys collaborated with Springfield on half the album's tracks, which made up side B of the original vinyl edition. Side A included tracks produced by the Pet Shop Boys' longtime collaborator

Andy Richards Andrew John Richards (born 26 October 1952) is an English pianist, Film score, composer, music producer and keyboardist. Richards has played with artists including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, George Michael, Propaganda (band), Propaganda, Grace ...

Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop band, best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include " Surrender", " You On My Mind", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the ...

producer

Paul Staveley O'Duffy Paul Staveley O'Duffy (born 31 December 1963, London) is a British record producer, composer and mixer. He is best known for producing Swing Out Sister's multi-platinum debut album '' It's Better to Travel'', for his BMI nomination as "Producer ...

and

Dan Hartman Daniel Earl Hartman (December 8, 1950 – March 22, 1994) was an American pop rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including the Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wri ...

. Three of these titles were also mixed by the Pet Shop Boys' co-producer Julian Mendelsohn. Critics gave ''Reputation'' very favourable reviews, saying it was a long overdue return to form for Springfield, and the album spawned two further single releases, the title track "Reputation", written by

Brian Spence Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...

, and the ballad "Arrested by You", written by

Rupert Hine Rupert Neville Hine (21 September 1947 – 4 June 2020) was an English record producer and musician. He produced albums for artists including Rush, Kevin Ayers, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Saga, the Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Stevie Nic ...

and Jeanette Obstoj, previously recorded by Hine for the '' Better Off Dead'' soundtrack. Dan Hartman contributed to the production of three songs from the album: "Send It to Me", "Time Waits for No One" and "Born This Way". "Time Waits for No One" was written by Hartman and

Holly Knight Holly Knight (born 1956) is an American songwriter, musician, and singer. She was a member of the 1980s pop rock groups Spider and Device, and wrote or co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, such as " Rag Doll", " Obsession", " Love Is ...

. He also played various instruments and provided backing vocals. In a 1990 interview with Springfield, she revealed, "Certainly the record company wanted to keep it as much in this country as possible. They finally relented on Dan Hartman, but basically they wanted it to be as British as possible." The three songs were produced at Hartman's own Multi-Level Studios, located within his riverside home in Connecticut. Both Springfield and her close friend Helene Sellery stayed at his home during the sessions, which were reported to be slower than anticipated as Hartman was as fussy as Springfield about her vocals, and stopped and started her over and over again.

Release

The ''Reputation'' album was, in late 1990, followed by the video collection ''Reputation – The Videos'', released on VHS in the UK and Europe by EMI's subsidiary Picture Music International, including the promo videos for "Nothing Has Been Proved", "In Private", "Reputation", "Arrested by You", interviews with Springfield, as well as a fifth animated promo video for the album track "I Want to Stay Here". The ''Reputation'' album was first released in the US in 1997, then under the title '' Reputation and Rarities'' and expanded with additional tracks. This version of the album is also sold digitally from

and is the only variant of the album currently available in digital distribution. A three-disc expanded deluxe collector's edition of Reputation was released in August 2016 on Strike Force Entertainment, a division of Cherry Red Records. The set includes the original album, extended versions, remixes, B-sides, outtakes, and Reputation - The Videos on a DVD.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians * Simon Bell – backing vocals (1, 4) * Andy Caine – backing vocals (1) * Brian Spence – backing vocals (1) * Lance Ellington – backing vocals (1) *

– keyboards (1) *

– all non-sax instruments (2), all instruments (4),

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

(4), backing vocals (4), additional overdubs and vocals (5) * Crispin Cioe – saxophone solo (2) *

Claudia Fontaine Claudia Fontaine (26 August 1960 – 13 March 2018) was a backing vocalist from Peckham, London. Career During the 1980s, Fontaine and fellow backing vocalist Caron Wheeler (and later, third member Naomi Thompson) were known as Afrodiziak. S ...

– backing vocals (3) *

–

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mu ...

(3) *

Phil Palmer Philip John Palmer (born 9 September 1952) is a British rock sideman and session guitarist who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous artists. He is best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. Biography Palmer grew up ...

– guitar (3) * Jean de Aguir – keyboards (3) * Will Mowat – keyboards (3) *

Luís Jardim Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim (born 4 July 1950) is a Portuguese percussionist born on the island of Madeira. He is best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn. Family Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim (former presiden ...

– percussion (3) * Snake Davis –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

(3),

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

(3) *

Sylvia Mason-James Sylvia Mason-James (born 8 December 1958) is a British singer who has worked extensively as a backing vocalist and solo artist. Early life and career Mason-James was born on 8 December 1958 in south London, United Kingdom to immigrants from J ...

– backing vocals (4) * Geoffrey Williams – programming (5), vocal harmonies (5) *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the re ...

– backing vocals (5) * Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (5) *

Vaneese Thomas Vaneese Yseult Thomas (born August 24, 1952) is an American R&B, jazz and soul blues singer, best known for her 1987 US ''Billboard'' R&B chart hit single, "Let's Talk It Over". In addition, in more recent times, she has supplied backing vocal ...

– backing vocals (5) * Jingles – bass guitar (5) * Michael Graves –

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(5) * Simon Stirling – programming (5) *

Carol Kenyon Carol Kenyon (sometimes spelt Karol; born 1959) is a British singer. She is best known for her vocals on the Heaven 17 hit song "Temptation", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1983. When the song was re-released as a remix by ...

– backing vocals (6) *

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). Ea ...

– backing vocals (6) * Gary Maughan –

Fairlight Fairlight may refer to: In places: * Fairlight, East Sussex, a village east of Hastings in southern England, UK * Fairlight, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Fairlight, Saskatchewan, Canada In other uses: * Fairlight (company), ...

programming (6, 8), keyboard programming (6) * Jay Henry – vocals (7) *

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for '' Smash Hits'', and assist ...

– vocals (8) *

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964) is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

– saxophone (8) *

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and career Niles began h ...

– backing vocals (9) * Dominic Clarke - programming (7, 9, 10) Technical * Andy Richards – producer (1) * Peter Jones – engineer (1), mixing (1) * Paul Wright – assistant engineer (1), engineer (8) * Michael Ade – mixing assistant (1) * Richard Arnold – mixing assistant (1–2) * Steve Fitzmaurice – mix assistant (1) * Dan Hartman – producer (2, 4–5), arranger (4), mixing (4) * Rico Conning – engineer (2, 4) * Jeremy Wheatley – assistant engineer (2) *

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1962) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at Unique Recording in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground ...

– mixing (2) * Paul Staveley O'Duffy – producer (3), engineer (3) *

– arranger (4) * Geoffrey Williams – arranger (5) * Simon Stirling – arranger (5) * Tim Hunt – engineer (5) * Dave Ogrin – mixing (5) *

– producers (6–10) *

– producer (6–10), engineer (6), mixing (2–4) * Danton Supple – assistant engineer (6–7) * Ren Swan – engineer (7) *

Angelo Badalamenti Angelo Daniel Badalamenti (March 22, 1937 – December 11, 2022) was an American composer and arranger best known for his film music, notably the scores for his collaborations with director David Lynch, '' Blue Velvet'' (1986), ''Twin Peaks'' (1 ...

– orchestral arranger (8), orchestral conductor (8) * Dave Eden – assistant engineer (8) * David Jacobs – assistant engineer (10)

Chart performance

Album

Singles

* Official promo singles for "Born this Way" and "Daydreaming" were released to radio and clubs.

Certifications

References

Bibliography

* Howes, Paul (2001). ''The Complete Dusty Springfield''. London: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. * O'Brien, Lucy (1988, 2000): ''Dusty''. London: Pan Books Ltd.

External links

Discogs infoDiscogs info 2
{{Authority control 1990 albums Dusty Springfield albums Albums produced by Dan Hartman Parlophone albums Albums produced by Julian Mendelsohn Albums produced by Paul Staveley O'Duffy