''Perfect Timing'' is a 1981 album by British singer
Kiki Dee. The album marked a brief comeback for the singer, led by the top 20 single "Star".
It was her only album on
Ariola Records and reached No.47 on the UK album charts. The title track was also released, peaking at No.66.
Two further singles were released; "Midnight Flyer" and "
Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (a duet with
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
). The album was produced by
Pip Williams
Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947) is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues and acting as well as supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrangem ...
.
The album was re-released on CD in 2008 with four bonus tracks - those included are "Give It Up", which had been released as a single in Japan in 1980 and was the B-side to "Star".
Opening track "Star" was later used as the opening theme for TV's ''
Opportunity Knocks'' between 1987 and 1990. It was also used by
Debenhams as part of their Christmas Advert 2018
with the tagline “do a bit of you know you did good”.
Among the musicians playing on this album are keyboardist
Patrick Moraz of
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...
and the
Moody Blues
Moody may refer to:
Places
* Moody, Alabama, U.S.
* Moody, Indiana, U.S.
* Moody, Missouri, U.S.
* Moody, Texas, U.S.
* Moody County, South Dakota, U.S.
* Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
* Hundred of Moody, a cadastral division in South A ...
and
Steve Holley
Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1954) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of Wings from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album ''Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian Hu ...
of
Wings.
Critical reception
AllMusic gave the album a highly positive review (despite it awarding it just two stars) saying that the album had "great substance" and was "a real gem worth hearing anytime and anyplace",
while ''
Record Collector'' said that on the album "she sings like
star treating highly-produced numbers such as the title track, roadhouse raunchers such as 'Midnight Flyer' and a slowed-down '
Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever' (duetting with her pal Elt) with soul and panache".
Track listing
Side One
# "Star" (
Doreen Chanter
Doreen Chanter is a British singer best known as a member of the Chanter Sisters, and for her work as a backing vocalist and session vocalist, primarily during the 1970s and 1980s.
Chanter Sisters
Chanter started as a member of a group called ...
) – 3:18
# "
Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (duet with
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
) – (
Ivy Hunter,
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
) – 5:05
# "Wild Eyes" (
Chris Bradford
Chris Bradford is an English author and black belt martial artist, best known for his children's fictional series, ''Young Samurai''.
The first ''Young Samurai'' book, '' The Way of the Warrior'', was published by Puffin Books in 2008. Disney b ...
) – 4:26
# "Twenty Four Hours" (Reid Kaelin,
Gary Osborne, Kiki Dee) – 4:15
# "Perfect Timing (It Will Be Precise)" (
Kit Hain
Kit Hain (born 15 December 1956) is a British musician, songwriter and writer. She was a member of the rock duo Marshall Hain and had a solo career as a performer and songwriter.
Musical career
Hain met Julian Marshall while they were pupils ...
) – 5:45
Side Two
# "Midnight Flyer" (Doreen and Irene Chanter) – 3:30
# "There's a Need" (Erik Kaz, Kiki Dee) – 4:10
# "Another Break" (
Pip Williams
Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947) is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues and acting as well as supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrangem ...
,
Peter Hutchins) – 4:23
# "Love is Just a Moment Away" (Teresa Straley, Eddy Brown) – 3:35
# "You Are My Hope in This World" (
Bias Boshell) – 5:40
Bonus tracks
# "Give It Up" (Erik Kaz, Kiki Dee) – 4:15
# "Perfect Timing" (12" version) (Kit Hain) – 7:20
# "The Chase is Finally On" (Bias Boshell, Gary Osborne, Kiki Dee, Pip Williams) – 3:27
# "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (Alternate Mix) (Ivy Hunter, Stevie Wonder) – 5:13
Personnel
* Kiki Dee - lead vocals, guitar
*
Pip Williams
Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947) is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues and acting as well as supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrangem ...
- guitar, production
* Gary Twigg - bass
*
Patrick Moraz - keyboards
*
Bias Boshell - keyboards
*
Steve Holley
Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1954) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of Wings from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album ''Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian Hu ...
- drums
*
Bob Jenkins - drums
*
Frank Ricotti - percussion
;Technical
* Gregg Jackman - recording engineer
*
Phil Thornalley - recording and mixing engineer
References
{{Authority control
Ariola Records albums
Kiki Dee albums
1981 albums