Tense Nervous Headache

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Tense Nervous Headache
Studio album by
Boy George
Released24 October 1988
Recorded1988
Genre
Length66:49 (CD/MC), 49:33 (LP)
LabelVirgin
Producer
Boy George chronology
Sold
(1987) 		Tense Nervous Headache
(1988) 		Boyfriend
(1989)
Singles from Tense Nervous Headache
  1. "Don't Cry"
    Released: 25 September 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Tense Nervous Headache is the second solo studio album by English singer Boy George, released in October 1988 by Virgin Records. While the album was withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom, it was still released in Europe but was not released by Virgin in the United States. The title was a reference to a UK television commercial for Anadin.[2]

Background[edit]

When the recordings for the album began, Boy George, in his own words, did not know if he wanted to be Prince, Bowie, or Roy Orbison. He started working with Prince-collaborator Bobby Z. but was at the same time inspired by the growing acid house scene and garage music which he had already explored on his protest single "No Clause 28" (UK No. 57)[3] earlier in the year. At one point, Pete Waterman had also been suggested as a producer although no recordings were initiated. Teddy Riley was then flown in from the US to record four new jack swing titles which Boy George was ultimately not happy with and asked to be left off the album. Vlad Naslas wrote and produced a number of dance tracks which Boy George found difficult to write lyrics to, and as a consequence only "I Go Where I Go" made it to the final tracklist. Mike Pela was brought in to contribute three tracks to finish off the album, including a cover version of Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted". "Finally, and too late, I was feeling the inspiration", Boy George would later tell in his biography Take It Like a Man,[4] eventually calling the album "self-indulgent, scatterbrained, and painfully out of touch." He still went ahead with a concert tour, "Boy's Own Tour", performing eight of the new tracks, with one show being filmed for a Japanese TV-special.[5]

Commercial performance[edit]

The album had been scheduled for an October 1, 1988 release in the UK but was postponed for three weeks to see if sales from the first single "Don't Cry" (released in September) would pick up. When the single stalled at No. 60 in the UK Singles Chart, Virgin eventually decided to pull the album from sale in the UK. It was still released in Europe where it would reach No. 46 in the Swedish charts [6] and No. 38 in Italy.[7] Following its disappointing sales, Virgin quickly released a new album, Boyfriend, in March 1989 with the four previously unreleased Teddy Riley tracks, three other left-over tracks, and the single-only track "No Clause 28" from the previous year.

Singles[edit]

"Don't Cry" was the only single released from album. Featuring a more crooner-style vocal, emulating Roy Orbison, it peaked at No. 60 in the UK charts but became a Top 20 hit in Italy where it reached No. 13.[7] "No Clause 28", released in June 1988, would not be included on the final album, except on the Japanese release. "A Boy Called Alice" and "Leave In Love" (a duet with Carroll Thompson) were released as B-sides only.

Track listing[edit]

The LP included 9 titles, while the CD & MC editions included 12 titles. The song "Something Strange Called Love" was edited on the LP.

MC: Side 1 (Trk. 1 to 4 + trk. 10 & 11), Side 2 (Trk. 5 to 9 + trk. 12).

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Cry"
7:01
2."You Are My Heroin"
  • O'Dowd
  • Glenn Nightingale
  • Maidman
  • Richie Stevens
  • Steve Fletcher
6:20
3."I Go Where I Go"
  • O'Dowd
  • Vlad Naslas
4:42
4."Girl with Combination Skin"
  • O'Dowd
  • Nightingale
  • Maidman
  • Fletcher
6:02
5."Whisper"
  • O'Dowd
  • Bobby Z.
  • Maidman
5:41
6."Something Strange Called Love" (LP Edit 4:00)
  • O'Dowd
  • Amanda Vincent
  • Andy Dewar
6:02
7."I Love You"
  • O'Dowd
  • Nightingale
  • Maidman
  • Fletcher
4:47
8."Kipsy"
6:06
9."Mama Never Knew"
  • O'Dowd
  • Vincent
  • Maidman
4:57
10."What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" (CD & MC only)
3:42
11."American Boyz" (CD & MC only)
  • O'Dowd
  • Vincent
  • Maidman
  • Nightingale
6:20
12."Happy Family" (CD & MC only)
5:07

Singles[edit]

  • "Don't Cry" (4:06 Edit) (September 1988)

B-sides[edit]

  • "Leave in Love" – Featuring Carroll Thompson (O'Dowd, Bobby Z.)
  • "A Boy Called Alice" - (O'Dowd, Vic Martin)

Other songs[edit]

  • "No Clause 28" (June 1988 single, included as a bonus track on Japanese album only)[8]

Personnel[edit]

Musicians[edit]

  • Boy George – lead vocals
  • Glenn Nightingale – guitars and other voices
  • Ian Maidman – bass, keyboards
  • Bobby Z. – drums
  • Amanda Vincent – keyboards
  • Vic Martin – keyboards
  • Richie Stevens – drums ("Kipsy")
  • Derek Green – other voices
  • Carroll Thompson – other voices
  • Helen Terry – other voices
  • Beverley Skeete – other voices
  • Belva Haney – other voices
  • Wendell Morrison – other voices
  • Juliet Roberts, Nevada Cato – other voices
  • David Ulm, Carol Steel – percussion
  • Jagdeep Singh – tabla and other voices
  • Simon Tyrell – drum programming
  • Andy Dewar – drum programming
  • Anne Dudley – all string arrangements
  • Kenny Wellington – brass section
  • David "Baps" Baptiste – brass section
  • Nat Augustin – brass section
  • Sid Gauld – brass section
  • Ed Jones – major saxophone
  • Desmond Foster – other bass
  • MC Kinky (Caron Geary) – toasting ("Kipsy")
  • Paul Lee – choir ("Mama Never Knew")
  • Iris Sutherland – choir ("Mama Never Knew")
  • Yvonne White – choir ("Mama Never Knew")
  • Jock Loveband – engineer
  • Alan Douglas – engineer
  • Martin White – engineer
  • Teri Reed – engineer
  • Paul Wright – engineer
  • Renny Hill – engineer
  • Phil Legg – engineer
  • Robin Evans – engineer

Production[edit]

  • Bobby Z. – producer tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 & 11
  • Boy George & Mike Pela - producer tracks 6, 8 & 10
  • Vlad Naslas - producer track 3
  • Jeremy Healy - producer track 12

Charts and certifications[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Italian Albums Chart[9] 38
Swedish Albums Chart[10] 46

Release history[edit]

Country Year Label Format Catalogue
Europe 1988 Virgin Records CD 259 253, CDV2546
Europe 1988 Virgin Records MC 409 253, TCV2546
Europe 1988 Virgin Records LP 209 253, V2546

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Tense Nervous Headache Review by Aaron Badgley". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  2. ^ "UK television adverts 1955-1985". www.headington.org.uk.
  3. ^ "Boy George | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  4. ^ George, Boy (1995). Take It Like A Man. Sidgwick & Jackson. pp. 447–451. ISBN 9780060173685.
  5. ^ "BOY GEORGE Live In London Japanese TV Special 1989" – via www.youtube.com.
  6. ^ "Boy George - Tense Nervous Headache - hitparade.ch". swisscharts.com.
  7. ^ a b "Top Of The Charts". www.boygeorgefever.com.
  8. ^ "Boy George – Tense Nervous Headache (1988, CD)" – via www.discogs.com.
  9. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1987". www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  10. ^ "swedishcharts.com - Discography Boy George". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
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