''Ignition'' is the debut solo album by English singer-songwriter

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

(ex-vocalist for

The Babys The Babys are a British rock group best known for their songs " Isn't It Time" and "Every Time I Think of You". Both songs were composed by Jack Conrad and Ray Kennedy, and each reached No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 8 on the ...

). It was released on Chrysalis Records in June 1982 and produced by

Neil Giraldo Neil Thomas Giraldo (born December 29, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, arranger, and songwriter best known as the musical partner of Pat Benatar since 1979and spouse since 1982. He has also performed, written and produced for art ...

(producer/guitarist for

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

, who was on the same label). Two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

were lifted from the record: the

Holly Knight ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

-penned "

Change Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

" which initially failed to make a significant dent on any chart except for the

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

, where it scored the No. 16 position. It was, however, one of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's most popular early videos. Upon the 1985 release of the soundtrack to the film ''

Vision Quest A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. It is usually only undertaken by young males entering adulthood. Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English- ...

'', the single was re-issued and broke into the top 50 on the Pop charts. Its follow-up single was "Going to the Top". A few well-known musicians guested on the album as well. Singer

Patty Smyth Patricia Smyth (born June 26, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She first came into national attention with the rock band Scandal and went on to record and perform as a solo artist. Her distinctive voice and new wave image gained broa ...

(then in the band

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

) handled vocal backing, and drummer

Frankie LaRocka Frankie LaRocka (April 17, 1954 – May 12, 2005), born Frank LaRocca, was an American rock musician and producer. He was a member of Scandal, playing drums on their debut EP, and, at various stages, played the drums with Bon Jovi, David Johans ...

(also from Scandal) and bassist Don Nossov (who also played with Benatar) guest here.

Track listing

#"White Heat" (John Waite) – 3:22 #"

" (

) – 3:15 #"Mr. Wonderful" (John Waite,

Ivan Kral Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

) – 4:07 #"Going to the Top" (Waite,

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1959 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and the C ...

) – 4:36 #"Desperate Love" (Waite, Kral) – 3:55 #"Temptation" (Chas Sandford) – 2:59 #"Be My Baby Tonight" (Waite, Kral) – 3:22 #"Make It Happen" (Waite, Bruce Brody) – 3:18 #"Still in Love with You" (

Paul Sabu Paul Sabu (born January 2, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist. He is the son of Indian-born film star Sabu and American actress Marilyn Cooper. Career He first burst onto the music scene in the late 1970s, as a writ ...

) – 3:42 #"Wild Life" (Waite, Kral) – 3:23

Personnel

Credits at allmusic
/ref> * John Waite – lead vocals *

Bruce Brody Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

– keyboards, pianos *

– keyboards, pianos, rhythm guitars *

– lead guitars * Spyder Downtone Butane James – guitar solo on "Mr. Wonderful" * Donnie Nossov – bass, backing vocals *

– drums, percussion * Crispin Cioe – saxophones * Arno Hecht – saxophones * "Hollywood Paul" Litteral – trumpets * Rahni Kugel – backing vocals * Ilana Morrilo – backing vocals *

– backing vocals Handclaps and screams on "White Heat" * Mark Betz, Brendan Bourke, Dave Lang, Chris Pollan, Suzan, John Waite and John Elijah Wright

Production

* Neil Giraldo – producer, mixing *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...

– engineer, mixing * Jeff Hendrickson – engineer *

Neil Dorfsman Neil Dorfsman (born May 31, 1952) is an American sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Dire Straits, Bruce Hornsby, Mark Knopfler, Paul McCartney and Sting. He won Grammy Awards for Best Producer for Bruce Hornsby's ...

– assistant engineer *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– original mastering at

Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production. Their clients include such no ...

(New York, NY) * Dave Lang – studio assistant * Chris Pollan – studio assistant * Miss Pam – studio assistant *

Jon Astley Jon Astley is a British record producer who has also recorded and released two albums as a singer-songwriter in the late 1980s. His most commercially successful song was "Jane's Getting Serious", later popularized by a Heinz ketchup television ...

– remastering * Sandy Pearman and Dyer/Kahn, Inc. – design * Brian Aris – photography

References

{{Authority control Chrysalis Records albums 1982 debut albums John Waite albums