A Private Heaven
Encyclopedia
A Private Heaven, released in 1984, was the sixth album release by Scottish
singer Sheena Easton
. Released by EMI America, the album featured the US Top 10 hit singles "Strut"
and "Sugar Walls
." A third single, "Swear
", reached #80. The album itself reached US #15 and sold one million copies, earning a US RIAA platinum certification. Also in Canada the album went platinum.
"Alexander Nevermind". The track and its accompanying video were banned in some regions due to its sexually risque lyrics and was one of several songs cited by Tipper Gore
on her Filthy Fifteen list in her efforts to introduce mandatory warning labelling of explicit musical albums.
Easton's association with Prince would continue for the next few years, though A Private Heaven remains the most successful byproduct of the collaboration. In terms of sales and hit records, it also remains the most popular release of her career in the US. Converse to this, in the UK it was her first album not to chart, while none of the singles released made the Official top 75.
In 2000
, New York
-based One Way Records released a remastered version of A Private Heaven with bonus tracks and b-sides.
Side Two
The CD re-issue featured the following bonus tracks:
!align="left"|Country
!align="center"|Certification
!align="center"|Sales
|-
|align="left"|United States
|align="center"|Platinum
|align="center"|1 million
|-
|}
Cashbox Magazine, October 1984
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
singer Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop...
. Released by EMI America, the album featured the US Top 10 hit singles "Strut"
Strut (Sheena Easton song)
"Strut" is a song written by Charlie Dore and Julian Littman which was a Top Ten hit single for Sheena Easton in 1984.Easton had been sent the demo for the song by Christopher Neil who had been Easton's first producer...
and "Sugar Walls
Sugar Walls
"Sugar Walls" is the second single from Sheena Easton's 1984 album A Private Heaven that spent 9 weeks on the pop chart.A top ten hit in the United States on both the pop and R&B charts, the song was composed by Prince, utilizing the pseudonym "Alexander Nevermind"...
." A third single, "Swear
Swear (song)
"Swear" was a 1980s pop song by Tim Scott and released by Sire Records in 1983. The music video to promote the song was a campy/tongue-in-cheek music video of a hippy-based pagan/black mass set in a church...
", reached #80. The album itself reached US #15 and sold one million copies, earning a US RIAA platinum certification. Also in Canada the album went platinum.
Background
The album marked a conscious effort by Easton to change her image to that of a sexy pop singer after cultivating a "sweet and innocent" image since the launch of her career five years earlier. Easton collaborated with Prince on controversial track "Sugar Walls," written by Prince under the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Alexander Nevermind". The track and its accompanying video were banned in some regions due to its sexually risque lyrics and was one of several songs cited by Tipper Gore
Tipper Gore
Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore , née Aitcheson, is an author, photographer, former second lady of the United States, and the estranged wife of Al Gore...
on her Filthy Fifteen list in her efforts to introduce mandatory warning labelling of explicit musical albums.
Easton's association with Prince would continue for the next few years, though A Private Heaven remains the most successful byproduct of the collaboration. In terms of sales and hit records, it also remains the most popular release of her career in the US. Converse to this, in the UK it was her first album not to chart, while none of the singles released made the Official top 75.
In 2000
2000 in music
See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based One Way Records released a remastered version of A Private Heaven with bonus tracks and b-sides.
Track listing
Side One- "Strut"Strut (Sheena Easton song)"Strut" is a song written by Charlie Dore and Julian Littman which was a Top Ten hit single for Sheena Easton in 1984.Easton had been sent the demo for the song by Christopher Neil who had been Easton's first producer...
(Charlie DoreCharlie DoreCharlie Dore is an English singer-songwriter and actress.-Career:Although best known as one of the UK's most respected singer-songwriters, Dore has a multi-faceted career that includes acting in film, TV and radio, comedy-improvisation and composition for film and TV...
, Julian Littman) 4:05 - "Sugar WallsSugar Walls"Sugar Walls" is the second single from Sheena Easton's 1984 album A Private Heaven that spent 9 weeks on the pop chart.A top ten hit in the United States on both the pop and R&B charts, the song was composed by Prince, utilizing the pseudonym "Alexander Nevermind"...
" (Alexander Nevermind) 4:01 - "Hungry Eyes" (Greg Matheison, Trevor Veitch) 3:42
- "It's Hard to Say It's Over" (Adrienne Anderson, Gino Cunico, Tom Saviano) 4:24
- "Swear"Swear (song)"Swear" was a 1980s pop song by Tim Scott and released by Sire Records in 1983. The music video to promote the song was a campy/tongue-in-cheek music video of a hippy-based pagan/black mass set in a church...
(Tim Scott) 3:43
Side Two
- "Love and AffectionLove and Affection"Love and Affection" is a song by Joan Armatrading. Her fourth single, and her third for A&M Records, it was her first chart success. It reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1976. One of her best known recordings, it has been described as a "deceptively feisty ballad... an instant...
" (Joan ArmatradingJoan ArmatradingJoan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
) - "Back in the City" (Greg Mathieson, Lee RitenourLee RitenourLee Mack Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist who has recorded over 42 albums, appeared on over 3000 sessions, and has charted over 30 instrumental and vocal contemporary jazz hits since 1976. One of his most popular songs was the smash hit, “Is It You” in 1981. Ritenour is considered to be a...
, Trevor Veitch) 3:46 - "You Make Me Nervous" (Mark Holding, Tom Nevil, Duncan Pain) 3:53
- "All By Myself" (Steve LukatherSteve LukatherSteve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
, Trevor Veitch) 4:24 - "Double Standard" (Steve Kipner, Ben Petterson) 3:50
The CD re-issue featured the following bonus tracks:
- "Letters from the Road"
- "Straight Talkin'"
- "Fallen Angels"
- "Strut" (Dance Mix)
- "Sugar Walls" (Dance Mix)
- "Sugar Walls" (Red Mix)
- "Swear" (Dub Mix)
Personnel
- Drums, Percussion: Lenny CastroLenny CastroLenny Castro is an American freelancing percussionist in the studio recording industry in the Los Angeles area.-Early life:Castro is a percussionist of Puerto Rican descent and was born and raised in New York City. His father, Hector Castro, played the keyboard in a Latin style and gave his son...
, Carlos Vega - Bass: Abraham Laboriel Jr.
- Guitars: Michael LandauMichael LandauMichael Landau is a prolific session musician and guitarist who has played on a large number of albums since the early 1980s with artists as varied as Seal, James Taylor, Helen Watson, Richard Marx, Steve Perry, Pink Floyd and Miles Davis...
, Steve LukatherSteve LukatherSteve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
, Lee RitenourLee RitenourLee Mack Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist who has recorded over 42 albums, appeared on over 3000 sessions, and has charted over 30 instrumental and vocal contemporary jazz hits since 1976. One of his most popular songs was the smash hit, “Is It You” in 1981. Ritenour is considered to be a... - Keyboards: Michael BoddickerMichael BoddickerMichael J. Boddicker , is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. Three times N.A.R.A.S. Most Valuable Player "Synthesizer" and MVP Emeritus, he was awarded a Grammy as a songwriter for Imagination from Flashdance in 1984...
, Greg Mathieson - Additional Vocals: Steve George, Tom Kelly, Richard Page
- Horns: Gary Grant, Gary Herbig, Jerry HeyJerry HeyJerry Hey is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Thriller and the distinctive flugelhorn solo on Dan Fogelberg's hit Longer....
, Bill Reichenbach Jr., Larry Williams
Certifications
{| class="wikitable"!align="left"|Country
!align="center"|Certification
!align="center"|Sales
|-
|align="left"|United States
|align="center"|Platinum
|align="center"|1 million
|-
|}
Reviews
Virtually unlimited talent, Sheena Easton is at her absolute best. A Private Heaven is solid, punchy, techno-pop production with dramatic ballads. A dazzling new album.Cashbox Magazine, October 1984