Released on 20 October 1986, Paul Young’s third solo album shifted the balance toward original material and delivered three singles while earning platinum status in the UK.
Paul Young’s third solo album, Between Two Fires, turns 40 this month. Issued on 20 October 1986 by Columbia/CBS, the record marked a clear change in approach from its predecessors as the singer and his long-time collaborator Ian Kewley took greater control of the songwriting.
Young’s first two albums had leaned heavily on cover versions. Between Two Fires reversed that pattern. Only two covers appear on the original release. The Young/Kewley partnership supplied eight of the ten core tracks, with two of those co-written with bassist Pino Palladino. The album was recorded in 1986 at Lark Recording Studios in Carimate, Italy, and Logic Studios in Milan, with production shared by Hugh Padgham, Young and Kewley. Padgham also engineered the sessions. Bob Ludwig mastered the final mixes at Masterdisk in New York.
Three singles were issued. “Wonderland,” written by Betsy Cook who also contributed backing vocals, was the first and reached number 24 in the UK. “Some People” followed and peaked at number 56 in the UK and number 65 on the US Billboard chart. “Why Does a Man Have to Be Strong” arrived in January 1987 and climbed to number 63 in Britain. Two further tracks, “In the Long Run” and “War Games,” received limited international release as singles in the Netherlands and Canada respectively.
Commercially the album performed strongly at home. It peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the BPI for shipments of 300,000 units. In Australia it reached number 40 on the Kent Music Report. Other chart peaks included number 19 in Sweden, number 23 in the Netherlands, number 27 in Switzerland, number 39 in New Zealand, number 63 in Germany and number 77 on the US Billboard 200. Canada awarded it gold status for 50,000 units.
The core band featured Young on lead vocals and arrangements, Ian Kewley on keyboards and Hammond organ, Matt Irving on keyboards, Steve Boltz on guitars and sitar, Pino Palladino on bass, David Palmer on drums and programming, and Danny Cummings on percussion. Backing vocals came from Tony Jackson, Hamish Stuart and Betsy Cook. Art direction and design were handled by Rob O’Connor and Stylorouge, with sleeve photography by John Swannell. Management was through Ged Doherty and Renegade Artists Management.
The original vinyl and cassette editions contained ten tracks. Some CD pressings added an eleventh song, “Steps to Go.” In 2007 Edsel issued a two-CD expanded edition under licence. The first disc presented the main album without “Steps to Go.” The second disc collected that track alongside 12-inch remixes and B-sides, including the Milan Mix of “Wonderland,” the 12-inch and New York mixes of “Some People,” an extended mix of “Why Does a Man Have to Be Strong,” plus “A Matter of Fact” and “Trying to Guess the Rest.”
Musically the album sits in the pop-rock and soul territory Young had established, yet the greater proportion of original material gave it a more personal tone. Themes of relationships, responsibility and everyday tension run through songs such as “Some People,” “Wasting My Time,” “Prisoner of Conscience” and the title track. The production, with Padgham’s characteristic clarity, keeps the arrangements spacious while allowing the rhythm section and keyboards room to breathe.
Forty years on, Between Two Fires remains a snapshot of a British singer moving beyond the cover-driven success of his early career and asserting a stronger songwriting identity. The platinum certification in the UK and solid international chart performance confirmed that the shift found an audience. The 2007 expanded edition later gave listeners access to the wider body of work that surrounded the original release, including the extended mixes that were a staple of mid-1980s single campaigns.
As the anniversary arrives, the album stands as a complete statement from a particular moment in Young’s catalogue: recorded in Italy, finished in New York, and released into a competitive late-1980s landscape that still found room for its measured, song-focused approach.
Tracklisting:
Some People
Wonderland
War Games
In the Long Run
Wasting My Time
Prisoner of Conscience
Why Does a Man Have to Be Strong?
A Certain Passion
Between Two Fires
Wedding Day
Steps to Go (on some CD editions)
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