Joseph Hughes is a British bassist and songwriter, best known for being a member of the punk band the Flys and the new wave duo

the Lover Speaks The Lover Speaks were an English new wave duo consisting of David Freeman (vocals) and Joseph Hughes (arranger, composer). They wrote and sang the original version of the song " No More "I Love You's"", covered by Annie Lennox in 1995 on her ...

Background

Hughes began his musical career in the mid-1970s as bassist in the band Midnight Circus. In 1976, the band evolved into the punk group the Flys, which also featured Neil O'Connor and David Freeman. The band recorded a number of singles, two EPs; ''Bunch of Fives'' (1977) and ''Four from the Square'' (1980), and two studio albums; ''Waikiki Beach Refugees'' (1978) and ''Own'' (1979) After the band split in 1980, Hughes went on to play bass in Tearjerkers, a band formed by

Roddy Radiation Roddy Radiation (born Roderick James Byers, 5 May 1955 in Keresley, Coventry, England) is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers. He wrote the S ...

. In 1985, Hughes reunited with Freeman, who had suggested to him that they form a duo which became

. The pair began writing material and also recruited the assistance of keyboardist Barry Gilbert. With the help of Dave Stewart of

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

and

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

the Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

, producer

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...

received the duo's demo tape, who then helped them sign to A&M Records in early 1986. Later that year, the duo's self-titled debut album, ''

The Lover Speaks The Lover Speaks were an English new wave duo consisting of David Freeman (vocals) and Joseph Hughes (arranger, composer). They wrote and sang the original version of the song " No More "I Love You's"", covered by Annie Lennox in 1995 on her ...

'', was released. Produced by Iovine, it contained the single "

No More "I Love You's" "No More 'I Love You's' is a song written by British musicians David Freeman and Joseph Hughes and originally recorded by them as the Lover Speaks. It was released in 1986 as the lead single from their self-titled debut album. The song was c ...

", which peaked at No. 58 in the UK. A further two singles were lifted from the album; "Tremble Dancing" and "

Every Lover's Sign "Every Lover's Sign" is a song by the British duo The Lover Speaks, released in 1986 as the third single from their self-titled debut album. It was written by David Freeman and Joseph Hughes, and produced by Jimmy Iovine and The Lover Speaks. ...

". The latter reached peaked at No. 6 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart. In 1987, the Lover Speaks released a cover of Dusty Springfield's "

I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" is a song written by Clive Westlake and recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield. Recorded on 1 June 1968 at Chappel Studios in London, "I Close My Eyes..." was released that August to reach No. 4 in the UK ...

" as their next single, but it was not a commercial success. During that same year, the duo recorded their second album ''The Big Lie'', however A&M Records decided not to release it. Having worked with

Alison Moyet Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard ( ; born 18 June 1961) is an English singer noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice. She came to prominence as half of the duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist. Her ...

in 1986, the Freeman/Hughes-penned " Sleep Like Breathing" was lifted as the fourth and final single in late 1987 from her album ''

Raindancing ''Raindancing'' is the second solo studio album by English singer Alison Moyet, released on 6 April 1987 by CBS Records. It reached 2 on the UK Albums Chart and features the singles " Is This Love?", " Weak in the Presence of Beauty", " Ordinar ...

''. A duet with Freeman, the song reached No. 80 in the UK. The Lover Speaks would split in 1988. In 1995, "

" was covered by

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

for her ''

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

'' album. Released as a single in February, the song reached No. 2 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

that month and went on to secure Lennox a Grammy Award. The success of Lennox's cover saw Hughes and Freeman each receive a BMI award in 1996, as well as three Ivor Novello award nominations; the "PRS Most Performed Work", "International Hit of the Year" and "Best Song Musically and Lyrically". In 2000, Hughes formed Cicero Buck with singer-songwriter Kris Wilkinson. The pair had initially met at the

Exit/In Exit/In is a music venue in Nashville, Tennessee. Exit/In is located on Elliston Place near Centennial Park and Vanderbilt University, west of downtown. It opened in 1971 under the management of Owsley Manier and Brugh Reynolds. As a small ven ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

during 1998, and started a long distance relationship before Wilkinson relocated to the UK. The duo's debut album, ''Delicate Shades of Grey'', was released in 2002, and has been followed by ''Humbucky'' (2004), ''A Taste of Wonderful'' (EP, 2012) and ''The Birth of Swagger'' (2015). For the 2015 re-issue of ''The Lover Speaks'' album by Cherry Red, both Hughes and Freeman contributed to the album's booklet by providing song annotations.

Discography

Roddy Radiation & The Tearjerkers

*"Desire" (single, 1982)

Cicero Buck

*''Delicate Shades of Grey'' (album, 2002) *''Humbucky'' (album, 2004) *''A Taste of Wonderful'' (EP, 2012) *''The Birth of Swagger'' (album, 2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Joseph Living people English bass guitarists English male guitarists English new wave musicians Male bass guitarists English male songwriters Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)