Bright Lights & Back Alleys

Bright Lights & Back Alleys is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Smokie, released on 7 October 1977 in the United Kingdom^[2] by RAK Records. Recorded primarily at Whitney Recording Studios in Glendale, California, from March to April 1977, it was produced by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, as were all the band's previous albums.

Bright Lights & Back Alleys
Studio album by Smokie
Released	7 October 1977
Recorded	March – April 1977
Studio	Whitney Recording Studios (Glendale, California)
Genre	Pop rock country rock
Length	39:08[nb 1]
Label	RAK
Producer	Mike Chapman Nicky Chinn
Smokie chronology
Greatest Hits (1977) Bright Lights & Back Alleys (1977) The Montreux Album (1978)
Singles from Bright Lights & Back Alleys
"It's Your Life" Released: June 1977 "Needles and Pins" Released: 30 September 1977

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"It's Your Life"	Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman	3:33
2.	"I Can't Stay Here Tonight"	Chris Norman, Pete Spencer	4:05
3.	"Sunshine Avenue"	Norman, Spencer	3:09
4.	"Think of Me (The Lonely One)"	Norman, Spencer	4:41^^
5.	"In the Heat of the Night"	Chinn, Chapman	4:45

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Needles and Pins"	Jack Nitzsche, Sonny Bono	2:43
7.	"No One Could Ever Love You More"	Norman, Spencer	2:30
8.	"The Dancer"	Leo Sayer, David Courtney	3:50
9.	"Baby It's You"	Norman, Spencer	3:49
10.	"Walk Right Back"	Norman, Spencer	5:29
Total length:			39:08

^^The U.S. edition of the album replaces "Think Of Me (The Lonely One)" with "Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone" written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn.

2007 remastered edition bonus tracks^{[nb 2]}

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Now You Think You Know"	Terry Uttley	3:28
12.	"Lay Back in the Arms of Someone"	Chinn, Chapman	4:05
13.	"Here Lies a Man"	Norman, Spencer	3:28
Total length:			49:58

2016 remastered edition bonus tracks^{[nb 3]}

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Alone in a Cell"	Norman, Spencer, Alan Silson, Uttley	4:48
Total length:			54:50

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's 1977^{[nb 4]} and 2016^{[nb 3]} liner notes.

Smokie

• Chris Norman – lead vocals and backing vocals, guitars, synthesizers and electric piano
• Alan Silson – guitars and backing vocals
• Terry Uttley – bass and backing vocals
• Pete Spencer – drums, percussions and backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Tom Scott – lyricon and tenor saxophone (on "In the Heat of the Night")

Technical personnel

• Mike Chapman – production
• Nicky Chinn – production
• Pete Coleman – engineering
• Jimmie Haskell – string arrangements (on tracks 1-3 and 5)
• Phil Dennys – string arrangements (on tracks 4 and 8)
• Cream – sleeve design
• Gered Mankowitz – photography

Remastering

• Tim Turan at Turan Audio – 2007 remastering
• MM Sound Digital Mastering Studios – 2016 remastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1977) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 36 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] 6 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] 6 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[6] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 31

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[9]	Gold	250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[10]	Silver	60,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

Notes

^ "Baby It's You" was recorded in July 1976 at Decca Studios (Paris, France), and "Think of Me (The Only One)" — in August 1977 at Bovema Studios (Heemstede, Holland).

1. Ariola 261028-217
2. 7T's GLAM CD 39
3. Sony Music 88985321942
4. RAK SRAK 530

Citations

1. Guarisco, Donald A. Smokie: "Bright Lights & Back Alleys" > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
2. Hendriks, Phil (2007). Bright Lights & Back Alleys (booklet). Smokie. London: 7T's Records (GLAM CD 39). p. 4.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 279. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
6. "Norwegiancharts.com – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
7. "Swedishcharts.com – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
8. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1978. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
9. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Smokie; 'Bright Lights & Back Alleys')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
10. "British album certifications – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 October 2016.

External links

• Discography 1975-1982