''The Stars We Are'' is the fourth studio album by British singer/songwriter

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...

. It was released in September 1988, reaching number 41 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, and 144 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. It is Almond's highest selling solo album in both countries and was certified silver by the BPI. ''The Stars We Are'' includes the singles "Tears Run Rings", "Bitter Sweet", "

Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" is a song written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook (songwriter), Roger Cook. Originally recorded by David and Jonathan (band), David and Jonathan, and then Gene Pitney in 1967, the latter's version of the ...

" and "Only the Moment". With his assembled band La Magia (made up of former Willing Sinners members

Annie Hogan Annie Hogan (sometimes spelled as Anni Hogan) also known as Ann Margaret Hogan is a British musician, record producer, composer and club DJ, born in 1961. Originally known for her association with British musician Marc Almond, Hogan has since c ...

, Billy McGee and Steve Humphreys) and accompanied by various studio musicians, Almond recorded the album at Matrix Studios in London. The artwork was designed by Huw Feather with a cover photograph by Andy Catlin.

Music and recording

The album includes a duet with the German singer

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company Société à responsabilité limitée#In Switzerland, limited (NICO) is a Switzerland, Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC bu ...

, titled "Your Kisses Burn", which was recorded shortly before her death. Almond also duets with

Agnes Bernelle Agnes Bernelle (born Agnes Elisabeth Bernauer; 7 March 1923 – 15 February 1999) was a Berlin-born expatriate actress and singer, who lived in England for many years, then Ireland. She appeared in over 20 films and also made stage and televisio ...

on the track "Kept Boy" (a bonus track on the CD and cassette versions of the album) and also with US singer

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

as they perform Pitney's 1967 hit "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart". This version became a UK number one hit in early 1989 and was the UK's sixth best-selling single of that year, being certified Gold by the BPI.''The Stars We Are'' CD Booklet Original editions of the album did not feature Almond's duet with Pitney on "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart", and simply contained Almond's original solo version of the track instead. The duet version was recorded after the album was released and, after the success of the single in 1989, the duet was appended to CD and cassette versions and appeared in-place of the original solo version on some LP versions. "Tears Run Rings" was Almond's only solo single to peak inside the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Track listing

Personnel

*Marc Almond – vocals, arrangements *

– vocals on "Your Kisses Burn" *

Victoria Wilson-James Victoria Wilson-James is an American-born British singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she performed in various theatre plays and musicals as a teenager. Following the release of her debut single "I Want You ...

– vocals on "These My Dreams Are Yours" *Suraya Ahmed – vocals on "She Took My Soul in Istanbul" *Gini Ball – violin *Sue Dench – viola *Julia Girdwood – oboe, cor Anglais *Derek Hannigan – bass clarinet *Sally Herbert – violin *

– piano, marimba, vibraphone, arranger *Philippa Holland – violin *Steven Humphreys – drums, percussion, programming, timpani, sampling *Christine Jackson – cello *

Bob Kraushaar Bob Kraushaar is an English pop music record producer specializing in mixing. Kraushaar has mixed and produced commercially successful songs and albums for numerous British and international artists. His first industry appointment was as runner for ...

– additional percussion, mixing, producer on "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" *Billy McGee – bass, keyboards, doubek, string arranger, string conductor *Chris Pitsillides – viola *

Jocelyn Pook Jocelyn Pook (, rhyming with "book"; born 14 February 1960) is an English composer and viola player. She is known for her scores for many films, including ''Eyes Wide Shut'', ''The Merchant of Venice'' and '' The Wife''. Education Pook gradua ...

– viola *

Audrey Riley Audrey Riley is an English cellist and string arranger, based in the UK. Career Riley trained at the Guildhall School of Music with Leonard Stehn. She was a cellist for Virginia Astley from 1983 to 1986 and a one-time auxiliary member of The Fam ...

– cello *Enrico Tomasso – trumpet, flugelhorn *Chris Tombling – violin *Audrey Ahmed – vocals *

– vocals

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stars We Are, The 1988 albums Marc Almond albums Capitol Records albums Parlophone albums Some Bizzare Records albums