''Silverbird'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

. It was originally released in November 1973 by Chrysalis (UK), and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

(US). It was co-produced by former British pop teen idol

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with " What Do You Want?" (1959) and "P ...

and

David Courtney David Courtney (born David Cohen, 1950, Brighton, East Sussex) is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. Courtney's first big break was as a songwriter with Adam Faith and Leo Sayer; Courtney co-wrote several hit songs with them (incl ...

. Sayer began his career as a recording artist under the management guidance of Adam Faith, who signed Sayer to the Chrysalis label in the UK and

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

in the USA. His debut single "Why Is Everybody Going Home" failed to chart, but he shot to national prominence in the UK with his second single, the plaintive music hall-styled song "

The Show Must Go On "The show must go on" is a phrase in show business, meaning that regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons. There is no evidence to suggest that it is the abbreviation of a longer phra ...

", which Sayer memorably performed on British television wearing a

pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''Pi ...

costume and make-up. The single went quickly to No. 2 on the UK chart,Rice, Jo. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'', first ed., Guinness Superlatives Ltd, Middlesex, UK, p.181. as did this debut album, for which Sayer wrote nine of the eleven tracks; the other two tracks were co-written with Courtney.

Recording

The recording of ''Silverbird'' was a difficult and somewhat experimental process, Adam Faith and David Courtney were having loads of ideas but had no real experience in record production. The writers were inspired however and the album started to come together at Virgin Records' Manor Studios in Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire. Further recording took place at

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's lead singer

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...

's Barn Studio, Burwash, East Sussex, Nova Studios and Olympic Studios, and later at

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' Apple studios. At Daltrey's the recording took further shape with the team creating, amongst others, the unique "The Show Must Go On".

Track listing

All lyrics by Leo Sayer, music by David Courtney.

Side one

#"Innocent Bystander" – 3:02 #"Goodnight Old Friend" – 2:50 #"Drop Back" – 3:29 #"Silverbird" – 1:12 #"

" – 3:32 #"The Dancer" – 4:30

Side two

#"Tomorrow" – 4:12 #"Don't Say It's Over" – 3:15 #"Slow Motion" – 1:44 #"Oh Wot a Life" – 2:53 #"Why Is Everybody Going Home" – 4:14

Personnel

* Leo Sayer - guitar, harmonica, vocals *

Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Argent, Ballard became a songwriter and producer by the late 1970s. His co ...

- guitar, keyboards * Max Chetwyn - guitar on "Drop Back" *

– piano * Michael Giles - drums * Robert Henrit - drums *

Henry Spinetti Enrico Antonio Giorgio Spinetti (born 31 March 1951) is a Welsh session drummer whose playing has featured on many prominent rock and pop albums. Career Spinetti was born in Cwm, near Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, Wales. His first band, aged about ...

- drums * Dave Wintour - bass guitar Allmusic.com album credits/ref> *

Del Newman Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...

- string arrangements ;Technical *Graham Hughes - sleeve concept, photography

Production

*Record producer: David Courtney, Adam Faith *

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the ...

: John Mills (Apple Studios). Richard Dodd, Keith Harwood, Tom Newman

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1974 debut albums Chrysalis Records albums Leo Sayer albums Warner Records albums Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios