Somebody Loves You (Nik Kershaw song)

"Somebody Loves You"
Single by Nik Kershaw
from the album 15 Minutes
B-side	The Wrong Man Woman
Released	1999
Format	CD single
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:59
Label	Eagle
Writer(s)	Nik Kershaw
Producer(s)	Nik Kershaw
Nik Kershaw singles chronology
"Wouldn't It Be Good (re-issue)" (1998) "Somebody Loves You" (1999) "What Do You Think of It So Far?" (1999)

"Somebody Loves You" is a song from English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was released as the lead single from Kershaw's fifth studio album 15 Minutes in 1999.

Background

Following a decline in Kershaw's commercial success starting in 1986, the 1989 album The Works failed to achieve much commercial success, and Kershaw, fed up of the lifestyle as a pop star, retreated into doing production and writing for other artists, including writing the UK number one Chesney Hawkes song "The One and Only".^[1] The album 15 Minutes was Kershaw's first release for a decade, released in 1999. "Somebody Loves You" was the first of two singles from the album, and whilst the album and the second single failed to enter the UK charts, "Somebody Loves You" peaked at #70 for one single week in February 1999. The album followed in April 1999. It was his first chart entry since the 1989 single "One Step Ahead".^[2]

"Somebody Loves You" was written and produced by Kershaw who would write most of his material solely.^[3] Kershaw's reputation was seriously reassessed after the release of the highly acclaimed 15 Minutes and the quality of "Somebody Loves You" reaffirmed Nik as one of the UK's finest songwriting talents and finally started laying the image of the 80s Nik Kershaw to rest.^[4] Reinvigorated by the critical acclaim, the extensive radio play of the single, along with the second single "What Do You Think of It So Far?", and record company demands for more of the same, work began in 2000 on the follow-up album, To Be Frank, which was released in 2001.^[5]

In the Express of 7 February 1999, an interview with Kershaw by James O'Brian spoke of the song and stated "His first single in a decade called "Somebody Loves You", hits the streets soon and could well propel him back into the charts." Kershaw's reply was ""That doesn't matter overmuch. I'm not-doing this for the money, I'm doing it because all songwriters want their stuff heard by as many people as possible. I feel more protective of this album than anything before. Real life started for me when I turned my back on stardom and "15 Minutes" is nothing if not real."^[6]

In a 28 January 1999 interview with Kershaw by Amanda Cagan and Melissa Sprawl, the authors noted that "Somebody Loves You," dealt directly with a concept close to the artist: the idea and misconception of stardom. Kershaw explained "When you're up onstage, it feels like there's so much love coming off the audience. While it's good to experience that, you have to remember it's not for you, but something being projected onto you. You can enjoy it while it's happening, but it's very dangerous if you start believing it."^[7]

In a 1998 interview by Sven Kardelke for Kuno On Line, Kardelke asked "Could you please tell us something about the lyrical content of some of your new songs?" For "Somebody Loves You", Kershaw stated "That's basically about being on stage and being famous. It's a negative look on what you get when you are famous, and when I was famous. I became the person I was playing in publicity. You know, you walk into a room. You didn't have to try too hard. Everyone knew who you were. It's just the images and pictures for me of that time, when I was onstage and saw the faces singing all those songs back to me. It was weird. And the chorus, "Somebody Loves You", that's really what it feels like. There is all this love coming back towards you. You have stop and think, "How much of that is really you?" You aren't what they think you are."^[8]

In the 3 April 1999 issue of the Billboard magazine, an article based on Kershaw by Charles Karel Bouley II noted "Kershaw returns May 4 with a collection that aims to be more than a comeback attempt for a faded pop star. More accurately, it's a sharp chronicle of an artist's experience in becoming a "normal" person after a bout of fame. In fact, the lead single is "Somebody Loves You," which takes a sharp poke at the hollow adoration of stardom." Kershaw revealed "During the '80s, I was 'Nik Kershaw: Pop Star'. That's what everybody else wanted me to be. I tried to play that role. It's very difficult to know who you are when all of that is going on. When it all finished in 1989, I went through a period of really wondering who I really was, because I wasn't a pop stay anymore."^[9]

Release

The single was released on two different CD issues in the UK via Eagle Records.^[10][11] The single used a "radio edit"/"single edit" of "Somebody Loves You", which cut the album version by approximately a minute.^[12]

The main CD release featured two extra tracks; a 1999 acoustic version of Kershaw's 1984 hit song "Wouldn't It Be Good" and a live acoustic version of Kershaw's 1984 hit song "The Riddle".^[13] For the second "Part 2" CD single, two alternative extra tracks were issued, both of which were non-album tracks written and produced by Kershaw; "The Wrong Man" and "Woman".^[14] Both of these CD singles came with the same artwork with an edited/designed photograph of Kershaw, similar to the one seen on the 15 Minutes album cover.^[15] A UK Eagle Records promo CD-R acetate was also issued, which featured a custom disc and custom title sleeve.^[16]

Additionally the song was also issued as a promotional only single in America. Released as a "Limited Edition CD-Pro", the single featured the same track-listing as the "Part 2" UK CD single, and featured a CD disc picture of Kershaw with glittery holographic glasses and had a custom back picture insert.^[17] The CD disc picture used the same image of Kershaw as seen on the Japanese promo album cover of 15 Minutes.^[18]

Following the song's release on the 15 Minutes album and as a single, the song has also appeared on the 2005 compilation Then & Now: The Very Best of Nik Kershaw,^[19] the November 2005 2-CD set Your Brace Face (which combined both the 15 Minutes album and Kershaw's 2001 album To Be Frank)^[20] and the March 2006 German, Austrian and Swiss compilation The Riddle which featured all of the tracks of the 15 Minutes album and the two acoustic b-sides of the "Somebody Loves You" single that appeared on the "Part 2" CD single.^[21]

An acoustic version of the song would later appear on Kershaw's solo-acoustic studio album No Frills, released in February 2010. The album featured fifteen previously recorded Kershaw-tracks, all re-recorded acoustically.^[22]

Promotion

A music video was created to promote the single. Since appearing unofficially on YouTube in November 2007, the video has gained over 170,000 views.^[23] In a 28 January 1999 interview with Kershaw by Amanda Cagan and Melissa Sprawl, the article revealed that the video had already been completed by that date.^[7]

A live TV broadcast of Kershaw performing "Somebody Loves You" at the MCM Café, France was broadcast on 20 May 1999. The MCM Cafe Bar and Club in Paris was run by the French cable music channel MCM with a capacity of 500. At the time, Kershaw was undertaking a tour to promote the 15 Minutes album, where the song was included in the set.^[24]

Since being performed live during the 15 Minutes tour, Kershaw has regularly included the song in the live set of future gigs and concerts. Various unofficial audience recordings of the song being performed live in recent years have been uploaded onto YouTube.^{[25][26][27][28][29][30]}

Formats

CD Single (UK Part 1)

1. "Somebody Loves You (Single Edit)" - 3:59
2. "Wouldn't It Be Good ('99 Acoustic)"
3. "The Riddle (Acoustic - Live)"

CD Single (UK Part 2)

1. "Somebody Loves You (Radio Edit)" - 3:59
2. "The Wrong Man" - 5:15
3. "Woman" - 4:25

CD Single (UK Promo Acetate CD-R)

1. "Somebody Loves You (Single Edit)" - 3:59

CD Single (US Promo)

1. "Somebody Loves You" - 3:56
2. "Wouldn't It Be Good (New Acoustic Version)"
3. "The Riddle (Live)"

Critical reception

In the Billboard magazine issue of 17 July 1999, a review of the single was included under the "Rock Tracks" section of the "Singles" page. Written by Chuck Taylor, the review stated: "The long-lived Nik Kershaw previews his upcoming "15 Minutes" opus with this easy-flowing, highly melodic tune, which he wrote and produced as well as played guitar on. Kershaw sounds youthful and up to the minute here, capitalizing on a beautiful, harmony-enriched chorus, moody organs, and guitars that guide this track like an instrumental beacon. This is a great little tune, well-constructed and adeptly delivered. It would be mighty nice for modern rock and triple-A to offer this favored artist a slot on the airwaves, where listeners are certain to feel nothing but warmth as they're compelled to sing along."^[31]

In the Hartford Courant of 5 August 1999 featured a review of the album by Dana Tofig. In the review, Tofig stated: "...The same lyrical and melodic synergy can be found on the beautiful "Fiction" and the poppy "Somebody Loves You", which is the first single."^[32][33]

In the Express of 7 February 1999, an interview with Kershaw by article writer James O'Brian spoke of the song and stated: "His first single in a decade, an anthem to the power of affection, called "Somebody Loves You", hits the streets soon and could well propel him back into the charts."^[6]

Chart performance

Personnel

• Nik Kershaw - Vocals, Producer, Writer
• Dave Bronze - Bass
• Steve Washington - Drums, Percussion
• Mark "Tuffty" Evans - Mixing
• Tony Cousins - Mastering

References