Tigers and Fireflies

Tigers and Fireflies (sometimes referred to as Tigers & Fireflies) is an album released by Lynsey de Paul[1] in April 1979[2] on the Polydor record label.[3][4][5][6] It was launched at a special event at the Mayfair Club in London, with de Paul looking similar to the 1940s film star Veronica Lake. The album was recorded at Long View Farm Studios[7][8] with additional recording at Mediasound and produced by Rupert Holmes.[9][10][11] In his 1986 biography, Justin de Villeneuve, de Paul's manager at the time wrote "I gave Rupert Holmes a call in New York. He agreed to see me if I flew to America. Polydor, with the prospect of the involvement with Holmes, agreed to up the budget".[12] The collaboration between de Paul and Holmes on "Tigers and Fireflies" was mentioned on the Ray Shasho Show, when Shasho interviewed Holmes on his BBS radio show on 7 August 2018.[13]

Tigers and Fireflies
Studio album by
Lynsey de Paul
ReleasedApril 1979
StudioLong View Farm Studios
GenrePop
ProducerRupert Holmes
Lynsey de Paul chronology
Getting a Drag
(1976)		 Tigers and Fireflies
(1979)		 Profile
(1981)

Tracks

The track listing and lyrics for each song are listed on Musixmatch.com.[14] The first album track is the lead single "Hollywood Romance"[15][16] (co-written by de Paul and David Jordan) which was released ahead of the album in October 1978 and was well received,[17] was DJ Dave Lee Travis's record of the week during his time as "the Hairy Cornflake" and became a radio hit.[18] It is still played on BBC radio.[19] The follow-up single "Tigers and Fireflies"[20] was released just prior to the album itself.[21] Some years later, de Paul revealed that the song 'Tigers and Fireflies' was about two of her former managers Gordon Mills and Don Arden and is about being cheated and lied to with dazzling promises.[22][23][24]

Other tracks include "Losin' the Blues for You" (which was the B-side to the single version of "Hollywood Romance")[25][26] and "Melancholy Melon",[27] both co-written by de Paul and her boyfriend at the time,[28][29] the actor James Coburn,[30][31][32] Indeed, Coburn was around when the album was being recorded, having flown from South America where he was filming Firepower (film) with Sophia Loren.[33] "'Twas" is a piano bar song with a blues tinged feel and is to date the only song that was co-written with the album's producer, Rupert Holmes.[34][18][35][36] "Before You Go Tonight" was an affectionate song for former partner Ringo Starr, who was leaving for the U.S. while de Paul remained in the U.K. De Paul teamed up with former Eurovision singing partner Mike Moran to write the jaunty, jazzy and uptempo "Without You".[37] The album also featured an updated, re-recording of her earlier hit single "My Man and Me", giving it a more blues/country style than the original ballad.[5][38] The final track "Beautiful" is a song in its own right but ends by reprising snatches of each of the album's songs woven into the fade out, giving it a moody atmospheric feel.[39]

As noted elsewhere, de Paul's vocals had never sounded stronger, in a style somewhere between Crystal Gayle and Maria Muldaur, in spite of her apparently suffering from a bout of hay fever at the time.[12] The album was well received and garnered positive reviews in the music press,[40] with Smash Hits nominating "Hollywood Romance" and "Losin' the Blues for You" as the album's best tracks.[41]

Six of the original tracks, including the title track, "Melancholy Melon" and "Without You", were finally released on CD on de Pauls' anthology CD Into My Music in March 2013 and the original album sleeve was used for a limited issue release on Think! Records label in Japan.[42][43] "Hollywood Romance" was not included and has yet to be released on CD although it is available as a mp3 download.

Musicians and other credits

A number of well respected musicians played on the album, including Tom Malone who played brass, reeds and flutes on the album[44] and Joel Diamond played acoustic piano. Long term Holmes collaborators Dean Bailin[45] and John Caruso[46] played various guitars and electric bass guitar, respectively. Gary Burke of Professor Louie & The Crowmatix played drums and percussion, Bob Christianson[47] played synthesizers as well as clarinet and singing backing vocals, and former Mick Ronson collaborator Dede Washburn[48] provided percussion and backing vocals. Holmes also played clarinet and electric piano.[49] Jesse Henderson and Michael Barbiero were the engineers and Henderson mixed the album.[50] The photography for the front and back sleeve was by John Shaw, with art direction and design by Jo Mirowski.[51]

Cover versions

Songs on the album that have been covered by other artists include "My Man and Me", recorded by Carl Wayne (as "My Girl and Me"),[52] as well as the Swedish artist Agneta Munther[53] and by the Japanese musician Hummingbird;[54] as well as "Hollywood Romance", which was given Japanese lyrics and recorded as "Romance" on Hummingbird's album Froggie. Lena Zavaroni also covered "Hollywood Romance" as the fifth number from the second episode of her first TV series, Lena Zavaroni and Music.[55][56]

Track listing
A-side
  1. "Hollywood Romance" (written by Lynsey de Paul and Dave Jordan)[57][58]
  2. "My Man and Me" (written by Lynsey de Paul)[57][58]
  3. "Without You" (written by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran)[57][58]
  4. "Forever and a Day" (written by Lynsey de Paul)[57][58]
  5. "Tigers and Fireflies" (written by Lynsey de Paul)[57][58]
B-side
  1. "Melancholy Melon" (written by Lynsey de Paul and James Coburn)[57][58]
  2. "Losin' the Blues for You" (written by Lynsey de Paul and James Coburn)[57][58]
  3. "Before You Go Tonight" (written by Lynsey de Paul)[57][58]
  4. "'Twas" (written by Lynsey de Paul and Rupert Holmes)[57][58]
  5. "Beautiful" (written by Lynsey de Paul)[57][58]

References
  1. "Tigers and Fireflies by Lynsey De Paul album lyrics". Musixmatch.com. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. 431525, David Thomson, IT Department and Community Information, Central Library, The Wellgate, Dundee, DD1 1DB, 01382; 431525, David Thomson, IT Department and Community Information, Central Library, The Wellgate, Dundee, DD1 1DB, 01382 (31 March 2006). "Bygone Dundee". Bygone.dundeecity.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2018.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts – Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  4. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin; ISBN 0195313739
  5. "Lynsey De Paul – Tigers And Fireflies". Discogs. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  6. "Tigers and Fireflies by Lynsey de Paul (Album): Reviews, Ratings, Credits, Song list". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  7. A Ton of Talent in 89-Pound Rock Star Tiny Mite Seeks U. S. Stardom, Sibyl Farson, 25 June 1978, Worcester Sunday Telegram
  8. Billboard, 8 July 1978
  9. "RUPERT HOLMES Biography – Theater, Opera and Movie personalities". Findbiography.maklai.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  10. "Rupert Holmes Bio". Rupertholmes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  11. "RUPERT HOLMES A TRUE RENAISSANCE MAN OF THE 21ST CENTURY". Classicrockmusicwriter.com. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  12. An Affectionate Punch by Justin De Villeneuve. Publisher: Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1986. ISBN 9780283993466
  13. "Featured, Guest, Rupert Holmes August 7, 2018". Bbsradio.com. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  14. "Tigers and Fireflies by Lynsey De Paul album lyrics - Musixmatch - Song Lyrics and Translations". Musixmatch.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  15. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts – Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  16. "Release group "Hollywood Romance" by Lynsey de Paul - MusicBrainz". Musicbrainz.org. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  17. Smash Hits, page 25, 5–18 April 1979
  18. Roffel Automatisering. "Rupert Holmes: Biography". Classic Cat. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  19. "Lynsey de Paul - New Songs, Playlists & Latest News - BBC Music". BBC. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  20. "Release group "Tigers And Fireflies" by Lynsey de Paul - MusicBrainz". Musicbrainz.org. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  21. "Lynsey De Paul – Tigers And Fireflies (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  22. Michael Robson, February 2013, album booklet notes, Into My Music
  23. An Affectionate Punch by Justin De Villeneuve. Publisher: Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1986. ISBN 9780283993466
  24. "Lynsey De Paul - Tigers and Fireflies Lyrics - Musixmatch". Musixmatch.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  25. "Lynsey De Paul - Hollywood Romance". Discogs. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  26. "Lynsey De Paul - Hollywood Romance". 45cat.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  27. Actors of the Spaghetti Westerns By James Prickette Publisher: Xlibris, January 20, 2012, ISBN 1469144271
  28. Detroit Free Press, 18 March 1979, p.91
  29. "James Coburn Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards". TV Guide. 18 November 2002. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  30. "James Coburn | 1928". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  31. "Lynsey de Paul – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  32. "Overview for James Coburn". Tcm.com. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  33. "J. de Villeneuve". Gilmarkle.com. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  34. "Other works for Lynsey de Paul". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  35. "Rupert Holmes | Summary | Music Minder". Musicminder.com. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  36. "August – 2010 – Paul Roth's Music Liner Notes – Page 3". Musiclinernotes.wordpress.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  37. "Radio Swiss Classic". Radioswissclassic.ch. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  38. "Vinyl Album – Lynsey De Paul – Tigers And Fireflies – Polydor – UK". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  39. "Vinyl Album: Lynsey De Paul - Tigers And Fireflies (1979)". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  40. NME, 28 April 1979
  41. Smash Hits, volume 9, 5 April 1979
  42. "Into My Music Anthology 1975 1979 by Lynsey de Paul". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  43. "Into My Music: Anthology 1975–1979 – Lynsey de Paul | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  44. "Tom Malone". Jazzmasters.nl. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  45. "Dean Bailin Music - About". Deanbailinmusic.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  46. "John Caruso - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  47. "About - Bob Christianson". Bobchristianson.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  48. "Mick Ronson Articles". Mickronson.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  49. "Rupert Holmes Bio". Rupertholmes.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  50. "Jesse Henderson | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  51. "Vinyl Album: Lynsey De Paul - Tigers And Fireflies (1979)". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  52. "Carl Wayne - Hi Summer". 45cat.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  53. "Agneta Munther – Två Sidor". Discogs. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  54. Hung, Steffen. "Beautiful Hummingbird - My Man And Me - hitparade.ch". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  55. "Lena Zavaroni and Her Music - Hollywood Romance!". YouTube. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  56. "Episode #1.2". IMDb.com. 30 May 1979. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  57. "Lynsey De Paul – Tigers And Fireflies (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  58. "Vinyl Album – Lynsey De Paul – Tigers And Fireflies – Polydor – UK". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
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