Portrait
Studio album by
The Nolans
Released19 March 1982
Recorded1981–82
GenrePop
LabelEpic
Producer
The Nolans chronology
Making Waves
(1980)		 Portrait
(1982)		 Altogether
(1982)

Portrait is a 1982 album by pop group The Nolans.[1] It featured the UK top 20 singles "Chemistry" and "Don't Love Me Too Hard" and reached No.7 in the album charts. It was released earlier as Don't Love Me Too Hard in Japan with a slightly different track-listing, where it became one of the first 50 albums to be released on Compact disc.

Background

By early 1982, The Nolans had had a run of success in the UK which included three UK top 20 albums and seven top 20 singles as well as achieving major success in Japan.[2] Many of the tracks for this album had been recorded in 1981, but their touring schedule was preventing them from finishing it. With just one day before the deadline, the record company urged the group to work through the night to complete vocals for the remaining tracks. With a cheque for £25,000 to each of them, they did so and Portrait was released in March 1982.[3] Featuring the top 20 hits "Chemistry" and "Don't Love Me Too Hard", the album itself was a success also by reaching No.7 in the album charts.[4]

This, however, signalled the end of their peak, as a third single, "Crashing Down" proved to be aptly titled.[5] The song not only became their first to fail to enter the top 20 this decade, but failed to make the charts at all. Somewhat curiously (and uniquely) it featured on the 'Bubbling Under' section of the chart for five consecutive weeks, without ever entering the top 75.[6] Portrait finished as one of the top 100 selling albums of 1982 in the UK and was certified gold by the BPI.[7]

The album, like its predecessor, was produced by Ben Findon and Nicky Graham separately. Both producers were now giving the songs a heavy disco sound such as "Don't Let it Go By" (by Findon) and "Chemistry" (by Graham). For this album, a third producer was added, Robin Smith, who was Coleen's boyfriend at the time. Two of the songs were co-written by member and lead-singer Bernie Nolan ("Are You Thinking of Me" and "Every Little Thing"), while closing track "Amy" was written for (former member) Anne's daughter, to whom the album was also dedicated. The album was a hit also in their biggest market, Japan, where it had been released as Don't Love Me Too Hard some months prior to the UK.[8] A fourth single was released there also; "How Do I Survive" (which had been a big hit for Amy Holland in 1980 from her self-titled debut album).[9] The album was significant in that it became one of the first 50 pop albums ever to be released on Compact disc, when it was released on the format in Japan in October 1982.[10]

The album was later re-released on CD with bonus tracks in September 2010 by Cherry Red Records.[11]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Don't Love Me Too Hard"
  • Ben Findon
  • Mike Myers
  • Robert Puzey
Findon3:43
2."Chemistry"
Graham3:32
3."Don't Let It Go By"
  • Findon
  • Myers
Findon3:43
4."I'm Never Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again"
  • Ken Gold
  • Michael Denne
Graham3:58
5."A Simple Case of Loving You"
  • Graham
  • Smith
3:46
6."Crashing Down"
  • Findon
  • Myers
  • Puzey
Findon3:24
7."Are You Thinking of Me"
Graham4:19
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."How Do I Survive"Paul BlissGraham4:00
2."If It Takes Me All Night"
  • Mick Leeson
  • Bliss
Graham3:15
3."Every Home Should Have One"
Graham3:38
4."Every Little Thing"
  • Smith
  • B. Nolan
  • Graham
  • Smith
4:33
5."Take It Through the Night"SmithGraham3:46
6."God Knows"
Graham3:39
7."Amy"
  • Smith
  • Graham
Smith1:49
2010 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Dragonfly"
Friese-Greene3:37
16."Dressed to Kill"
  • Smith
  • Bradley James
  • Stewart James
Smith3:55
17."It Could Have Been Your Love"
Smith4:09

Chart performance

Release date Single title UK Chart position[12]
July 1981 "Chemistry" 15
February 1982 "Don't Love Me Too Hard" 14
May 1982 "Crashing Down" -
Release date Album title UK Chart position[13]
March 1982 Portrait 7
Release date Album title Australian Chart position
April 1982 Portrait[14] 54

References

  1. ↑ Encyclopedia of Popular Music with brief bio and album star ratings Archived 25 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ OfficialCharts.com | The Nolans UK Chart discography
  3. ↑ The Nolans – Survivors, Pan Books, pg 101
  4. ↑ OfficialCharts.com | Portrait UK Chart run
  5. ↑ Coleen Nolan official website – recording biography
  6. ↑ "Index of /UK/1982". scans.chartarchive.org. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  7. ↑ BPI Certifications – Nolans
  8. ↑ "The Nolans – Don't Love Me Too Hard". discogs. October 1982. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Denise Nolan official website – The Nolans biography, Portrait information Archived 13 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Interesting objects: The first CDs were dismissed on 'Tomorrow's". The Independent. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  11. ↑ Cherry Red – The Nolans Portrait Archived 28 July 2012 at archive.today
  12. ↑ "nolans | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  13. ↑ "portrait | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  14. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 219. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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