''Hold Me in Your Arms'' is the second studio album by English singer

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality, who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits including his signature song "Ne ...

, released on 26 November 1988 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. It is the follow-up to his successful debut album ''

Whenever You Need Somebody ''Whenever You Need Somebody'' is the debut studio album by English singer Rick Astley, released on 16 November 1987 by RCA Records. It is his best-selling album and, according to his own official website, has sold 15.2 million copies worldwi ...

'', and was his last album produced and written with the

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

team.

Background

Half of the tracks on ''Hold Me in Your Arms'' were written and produced by

and the other half were Astley's own compositions, produced by

PWL Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), is most famous for being the home of hit record prod ...

associates Phil Harding, Ian Curnow and Daize Washbourn. The release of the album was delayed a few months due to a fire at PWL Studios which destroyed some of Astley's recorded material. This would be Astley's last album with Stock Aitken Waterman, due to Astley wanting to leave behind the

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

sound of the producers and wanting to shed his boy next door image. Astley wanted to focus on his original compositions for future albums, reappearing in 1991 with the soul album ''

Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

''. A remastered version of ''Hold Me in Your Arms'', containing some

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es, was released on 12 April 2010.

Single releases

The album spawned five singles. Unlike his previous album, where all the singles were Stock Aitken Waterman compositions and productions, Astley's compositions were also released as singles. The lead single, "

She Wants to Dance with Me "She Wants to Dance with Me" is a song written and recorded by Rick Astley in 1988. It is the lead single from his second studio album, '' Hold Me in Your Arms''. The song was released in United Kingdom on September 20, 1988; it entered the cha ...

", was Astley's first single that he wrote himself, and became a worldwide top 10 hit. In Europe, " Take Me to Your Heart" and " Hold Me in Your Arms" were released as the next singles. "

Giving Up on Love "Giving Up on Love'" is a song written and recorded by English singer Rick Astley. It was produced by Daize Washbourn with Astley. The song was recorded for Astley's second album, '' Hold Me in Your Arms''. The single peaked at number 38 in US ' ...

" was released as the second single from the album in the US and Canada, and was later released in some countries of continental Europe as the fourth and last single from the album, and a cover of

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

' "

Ain't Too Proud to Beg "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" is a 1966 song and hit single by The Temptations for Motown Records' Gordy label, produced by Norman Whitfield and written by Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Chart, a ...

" was released as the third and last single in the US and Japan.

Commercial performance

''Hold Me in Your Arms'' continued Astley's success, with the three UK singles from the album becoming top 10 hits. While it did not achieve the same level of sales as his debut album, it sold well all around the world, achieving Platinum and Gold certifications worldwide.

Track listing

All tracks written by

, except where noted. #"

" – 3:14 #" Take Me to Your Heart" (

) – 3:27 #"I Don't Want to Lose Her" (Stock Aitken Waterman) – 3:31 #"

" – 4:01 #"

" (

Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s.allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motow ...

) – 4:19 #"Till Then (Time Stands Still)" (Stock Aitken Waterman) – 3:14 #"Dial My Number" – 4:09 #"I'll Never Let You Down" – 3:55 #"I Don't Want to Be Your Lover" – 3:58 #" Hold Me in Your Arms" – 4:32 2010 bonus tracks #

"My Arms Keep Missing You" (Stock Aitken Waterman) – 3.14 # "I'll Be Fine" (Rick Astley) – 3:44 # "She Wants to Dance with Me"

xtended Mix ''X'' is the second studio album by American rapper Ken Carson, released through Opium and Interscope Records on July 8, 2022. In the United States, the album entered at number 115 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The deluxe version, titled ''Xtended' ...

– 7:14 # "Take Me to Your Heart" utumn Leaves Mix– 6:38 # "My Arms Keep Missing You" he No L Mix– 6:46 # "Hold Me in Your Arms"

– 7:37 # "Rick's Hit Mix" egamix– 5:49 Disc two (remixes and instrumentals) #

"My Arms Keep Missing You" he "Where's Harry?" Remix– 3.15 # "Giving Up On Love" " R&B Mix– 4:07 # "She Wants To Dance With Me" ordering On A Collie Mix– 6:04 # "Take Me to Your Heart" he Dick Dastardly Mix– 6:59 # "Hold Me In Your Arms" old Me In Your Prayers Mix– 6:53 # "Giving Up On Love" 2" R&B Extended Mix– 7:08 # "My Arms Keep Missing You" runo's Mix– 6:15 # "She Wants To Dance With Me" S Remix– 5:42 # "Giving Up On Love" 2" Pop Extended Mix– 7:18 # "She Wants To Dance With Me" ave Ford Remix– 5:00 # "My Arms Keep Missing You" ub– 4:54 # "Giving Up On Love" 2" Dub Mix– 5:00 # "She Wants To Dance With Me" nstrumental– 4:53 # "Take Me to Your Heart" nstrumental– 3:27

Personnel

Adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. * Robert Ahwai – guitar *

Matt Aitken Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s and early 1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman ...

– guitar, keyboards, producer *

– drums, keyboards, lead vocals, producer, background vocals *

Gary Barnacle Gary Barnacle (born 1959 in Dover, England) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wem ...

– saxophone * Jason Barron – assistant * Paul Cox – photography * Ian Curnow – Fairlight, keyboards, producer, programming * Steve Davies – assistant * Peter Day – assistant * Stewart Day – assistant * George DeAngelis – keyboards * Gordon Dennis – assistant * Mike Duffy – engineer * Dave Ford – mixing * Les Spaine Jr – assistant * Julian Gingell – assistant * Peter Hammond – mixing * Phil Harding – engineer, mixing, producer * Karen Hewitt – engineer * Tony King – assistant * Shirley Lewis – background vocals * A. Linn – drums * Roddy Matthews – guitar * Mainartery – sleeve design * Chris McDonnell – assistant * Mark McGuire – engineer * Mae McKenna – background vocals * Leroy Osbourne – background vocals * Mike Stock – keyboards, producer, background vocals * Philip Todd – saxophone * Daize Washbourn – drums, keyboards, producer * Pete Waterman – producer * Yo-Yo – engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hold Me In Your Arms (Album) 1988 albums Albums produced by Stock Aitken Waterman RCA Records albums Rick Astley albums