Wired for Sound

This article is about the Cliff Richard album. For the title track, see Wired for Sound (song).

Wired for Sound is the 24th studio album by Cliff Richard, released in September 1981. The album peaked at number 4 in the UK album charts upon release, and spent a total of 25 weeks on the chart in 1981–82.^[4] The album was certified Platinum by the BPI, and achieved global sales of over one million.^[5][6]

Wired for Sound
Studio album by Cliff Richard
Released	14 September 1981
Recorded	1 May 1981 ("Daddy's Home")[1] 27 May – 9 June 1981[2]
Venue	Hammersmith Odeon ("Daddy's Home" only)
Studio	Gallery Studios, London
Label	EMI
Producer	Alan Tarney Cliff Richard ("Daddy's Home" only)
Cliff Richard chronology
Love Songs (1981) Wired for Sound (1981) Now You See Me, Now You Don't (1982)
Singles from Wired for Sound
"Wired for Sound" Released: 17 August 1981 "Daddy's Home" Released: 6 November 1981

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]

The title track was released as the lead single of the album, and was followed up by a cover of Shep and the Limelites 1961 US doo-wop hit, "Daddy's Home". The singles peaked at numbers 4 and 2 respectively on the UK singles chart.^[7] "Daddy's Home" was held off number 1 for four consecutive weeks by the Human League's "Don't You Want Me", but earned gold certification from the BPI for sales over half a million.^[8][9] The track was recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon on 1 May 1981, for a rock 'n' roll special to be broadcast later by BBC Television.^[5]

"Broken Doll" is a cover of a Wreckless Eric single from 1980. Reportedly, Richard also wanted to record Eric's "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World" too, but only if he could change some of the lyrics – which Eric refused.^[3] "Young Love" was given new lyrics and retitled "The Last Kiss" for a cover version by David Cassidy featuring George Michael. It was released as the lead single for Cassidy's 1985 album Romance, becoming a top ten hit in the UK and Germany.^[10][11] "Once in a While" was originally recorded by Leo Sayer on his 1980 album Living in a Fantasy and released as a single in the UK and Australia.

The promotional video for the title track is one of Richard's best-known, and was filmed around the centre of Milton Keynes, the new town in Buckinghamshire that was developed after the Second World War. It features Richard walking around and on rollerskates, while listening to music on a Walkman cassette player; such devices were then newly available in the UK.^[12]

A remastered version of the album was issued in July 2001, with the B-sides of both singles included as bonus tracks.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Alan Tarney except where indicated.

Side one

1. "Wired for Sound" (Tarney, B. A. Robertson) – 3:36
2. "Once in a While" – 4:38
3. "Better Than I Know Myself" (Dave Cooke, Judy MacKenzie) – 3:39
4. "Oh No, Don't Let Go" – 3:37
5. "'Cos I Love That Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:10

Side two

6. "Broken Doll" (Eric Goulden, Walter Hacon) – 4:15
7. "Lost in a Lonely World" (Chris Eaton) – 4:01
8. "Summer Rain" (Eaton) – 4:15
9. "Young Love" – 4:03
10. "Say You Don't Mind" (does not appear on the US release) – 4:01
11. "Daddy's Home" (live) (James Sheppard, William Miller) – 2:56

2001 reissue bonus tracks

12. "Shakin' All Over" (live) (Frederick Heath) (B-side of "Daddy's Home") – 2:43
13. "Hold On" (B-side of "Wired for Sound") – 3:43

Personnel

• Cliff Richard – vocals and backing vocals
• John Clark – guitar on "Lost in a Lonely World"
• Nick Glennie-Smith – piano on "Young Love", engineer
• Graham Jarvis – drums on all tracks except "Once in a While", "Summer Rain" and "Young Love"
• Trevor Spencer – drums on "Once in a While", "Summer Rain" and "Young Love"
• Alan Tarney – all instruments except those listed in credits, backing vocals, arrangements, production
• Rebecca Swearingen – photography

Charts and certifications

Charts Weekly chart performance for Wired for Sound Chart (1981–82) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[13][14] 13 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 23 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 44 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 4 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18] 22 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 39 UK Albums (OCC)[4] 4 US Billboard 200[20] 132

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Wired for Sound Chart Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[21] 33 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[22] 100 UK Albums (OCC)[23] 31

Certifications

Certifications for Wired for Sound

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24]	Platinum	50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[25]	Gold	50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[26]	Gold	7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]	Platinum	300,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Cliff Richard - Daddy's Home". www.cliffrichardsongs.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
2. Lewry, Peter; Goodall, Nigel (1991). Cliff Richard: The Complete Recording Sessions, 1958–1990. London, England: Blandford Press. pp. 127–129, 156–157, 175. ISBN 978-0-71372-242-0.
3. Wired for Sound at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
4. "Cliff Richard | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
5. Wired for Sound (CD liner). EMI Records. 2001.
6. "Cliff Richard - The Six Continental Man" (PDF). Billboard. 12 February 1994. p. 72. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
7. Roberts, David, ed. (2001). British Hit Singles (14th ed.). London, England: Guinness World Records. p. 378. ISBN 978-0-85112-156-7.
8. "Cliff Richard's UK Chart positions". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
9. "UK certification Database". BPI. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
10. "David Cassidy's UK Chart positions". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
11. "David Cassidy's Germany Chart positions". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 4 April 2015.^{[dead link‍]}
12. Bromley, Tom (2012). Wired for Sound: Now That's What I Call an 80s Music Childhood. London, England: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-84983-393-6.
13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
14. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (16 January 1982). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 50. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
15. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 402". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
16. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
17. "Charts.nz – Cliff Richard – Wired for Sound". Hung Medien.
18. "Norwegiancharts.com – Cliff Richard – Wired for Sound". Hung Medien.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – Cliff Richard – Wired for Sound". Hung Medien.
20. "Cliff Richard Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
21. "Top 100 National Albums 1982 - Australia". Retrieved 27 December 2016.
22. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7529". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
23. UK 1981 Best Selling Albums
24. "Kent Music Report No 453 – 28 February 1983 > Platinum Albums 1982 (Continued)". Retrieved 26 December 2022 – via Imgur.com.
25. "Canadian album certifications – Cliff Richard – Wired for Sound". Music Canada.
26. "New Zealand album certifications – Cliff Richard – Wired for Sound". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
27. "British album certifications – Cliff Richard – Wired for Sound". British Phonographic Industry.