''Seven Years – Ten Weeks'' is the debut and only studio album released by former ''

Fame Academy ''Fame Academy'' was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner would receive a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise ''Star Academy'' known un ...

'' winner

David Sneddon David Sneddon (born 15 September 1978) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and music producer of contemporary pop music. He began his career performing on stage and television, singing lead roles in stage musicals in Glasgow. In 2002, ...

. Released on 28 April 2003, the album was recorded on the back of the success of Sneddon's winner's single, the self-penned " Stop Living the Lie", which peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and went on to become the eighteenth highest-selling single of the year. The album's second single, " Don't Let Go", was released a week prior to the album on 21 April. On 27 April 2003, the album was launched with a special campaign during which David performed seven gigs in ten hours across several towns and cities in Scotland. The album peaked at #5 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, before falling to #18 the following week. Two further singles were released; "

Best of Order "Best of Order" is a song written by Scottish musician, singer and songwriter David Sneddon and Scott MacAlister Scott MacAlister is a Scottish songwriter. His credits include the hits " Don't Let Go" and " Best of Order" by David Sneddon, b ...

", on 11 August 2003, and " Baby Get Higher", the lead single from a planned re-release of the album, which failed to materialise after the single's lacklustre chart performance, only peaking at #38.

Production

The album was composed entirely by Sneddon, with two tracks co-written with

Scott MacAlister Scott MacAlister is a Scottish songwriter. His credits include the hits " Don't Let Go" and " Best of Order" by David Sneddon, both songs feature on Sneddon's album, '' Seven Years – Ten Weeks''. Scottish Singles Chart Scottish Albums Chart ...

, and four co-written with John Kielty of The Martians. Sneddon claimed his inspirations for the album included the seven years after leaving university, performing on stage in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and his ten-week journey as a contestant on ''

''. The album was executively produced by

Hugh Padgham Hugh Charles Padgham (born 15 February 1955) is an English record producer and audio engineer. He has won four Grammy Awards, for Producer of the Year and Album of the Year for 1985, Record of the Year for 1990, and Engineer of the Year for 199 ...

, known for his work with

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

in the 1980s, and was recorded with members of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

's backing band over a two-month period from February to March 2003.

Singles

* " Stop Living the Lie" was released as the album's lead single on 13 January 2003, also serving as Sneddon's winner's single from his time on ''

''. The single charted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart. Notably, it was one of the first self-penned songs by the winner of a television talent show, with ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' contestants

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. He came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Ido ...

and

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

both opting to release covers as their debut singles. * " Don't Let Go" was released as the album's second single on 21 April 2003. It became Sneddon's second top-ten hit, peaking at #3 on the UK Singles Chart. * "

" was released as the third and final single from the album on 11 August 2003, peaking at #19 in the UK. * " Baby Get Higher", the lead single from a planned re-release of the album, was released on 27 October 2003, peaking at #38 in the UK. Due to the single's poor chart performance, the re-release of the album was cancelled.

Track listing

Personnel

Guitar:

Boz Boorer Martin James "Boz" Boorer (born 19 May 1962 in Edgware, Middlesex, England) is an English guitarist and producer. He founded the new wave rockabilly group the Polecats, and starting in 1991 had a 30-year collaboration with singer Morrissey as c ...

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a Scottish rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone was born in Edinburgh. At the age of s ...

, Chris Leonard, Dominic Miller (+mandolin), John Kielty (acoustic)
Bass: Bob Birch, Jamie Mein
Drums: Aaron Fagan, John Mahon,

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English drummer, best known for being a lifelong member of the Elton John Band. He has had an equally long career as a session musician and composed, recorded and produced albums as a solo artist. Ca ...

Percussion: Aaron Fagan, John Mahon,

Wix Wickens Paul "Wix" Wickens is an English musician best known as keyboardist and musical director of Paul McCartney's touring band since 1989. In a career that started in 1973, Wickens has also worked with artists including Nik Kershaw, Bob Dylan, Joni ...

Keyboards:

Guy Babylon Guy Babylon (December 20, 1956 – September 2, 2009) was an American keyboardist/composer, most noted for his work with Elton John. Babylon was born in New Windsor, Maryland. He attended Francis Scott Key High School before moving on to th ...

Backing Vocals:

Margo Buchanan Margo Buchanan is a Scottish singer-songwriter, composer, musician, and recording artist. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Buchanan is best known for her work as a session backing vocalist. Early years Margo Buchanan was born in Lanark, ...

, Michelle John Douglas, John Kielty,

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 ...

, Jackie Rawe

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seven Years - Ten Weeks 2003 debut albums David Sneddon albums Mercury Records albums