Background

Minutes was Elkie's first contemporary album since 1979's Live and Learn. A&M wanted her to stick to the winning formula of the Pearls albums but Brooks had other ideas and recruited her own choice of producer and band to create what would become an experimental album for the time. A mixture of solid pop tunes and dark 80s rock, A&M had little faith in the product and held back promotion focusing on her forthcoming album, the safer and more commercial Screen Gems.

Two singles were released and with no promotion, neither charted. Feeling disheartened, Brooks undertook a massive tour to increase sales. However, by the time the tour had begun A&M were ready to release her next album. To date, Minutes has never been available on CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Elkie Brooks and Duncan Mackay; except where indicated

1. "Minutes" (Mackay, Hill, Brooks, Zal Cleminson
   Zal Cleminson
   Alistair "Zal" Cleminson is a Scottish guitarist, best known for his prominent role in The Sensational Alex Harvey Band during the 1970s.-Career:...
   
   )
2. "Driftin'" (Bruce Woolley
   Bruce Woolley
   Bruce Woolley is an English writer, performer, record producer and composer.- Early years :Bruce Woolley was born in Loughborough, England on 11 November 1953 and was educated at Loughborough Grammar School where he learned electric guitar, began to write songs and where he met his future wife,...
   
   , Simon Darlow)
3. "Night Run" (Mackay, Brooks, Zal Cleminson)
4. "Take Your Freedom"
5. "Growing Tired"
6. "Born Lucky" (Mackay, Jo Partridge)
7. "I've Been In Love Before"
8. "Too Heavy, Too Strong"
9. "Crossfire" (Mackay, Brooks, Zal Cleminson)
10. "Work Pay"

Single Releases

• "Minutes" (1984)
• "Driftin'" (1984)

"Minutes" reached number 35 and remained in the UK charts for 7 weeks.

Personnel

• Elkie Brooks
  Elkie Brooks
  Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
  
   – vocals
  Human voice
  The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
  
  
• Duncan Mackay – piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , keyboards
  Electronic keyboard
  An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
  
  
• Zal Cleminson
  Zal Cleminson
  Alistair "Zal" Cleminson is a Scottish guitarist, best known for his prominent role in The Sensational Alex Harvey Band during the 1970s.-Career:...
  
   – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  s, backing vocals
• John Giblin
  John Giblin
  John Giblin is an internationally renowned session bassist who has worked with the following artists:*Eric Clapton, Sting, Mark Knopfler, Phil Collins * Peter Gabriel...
  
   – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , backing vocals
• Graham Jarvis – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Duncan Kinnell – percussion
• John Etchells – engineer
• Chris Sheldon
  Chris Sheldon
  Chris Sheldon is a record producer, particularly of rock music, based in London, UK. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Feeder, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize and Pixies amongst others...
  
  – engineer
• Chris Goreham – engineer
• Paul Rabiger – engineer