The Secret of Association is the second studio album by the English singer Paul Young. Released in 1985, it reached number one on the UK album charts and the Top 20 in the US. The album spawned the hit singles "Everytime You Go Away" (A cover of Hall & Oates' 1980 song), "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down", "Everything Must Change" and "Tomb of Memories".
| The Secret of Association | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 25 March 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1984–1985 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:29 (LP) | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Laurie Latham | |||
| Paul Young chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Secret of Association | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
The album has been certified Double Platinum (600,000 copies sold) by the BPI in the UK and Gold (500,000 copies sold) in the US by the RIAA.
The album followed the pattern of Young's debut album, No Parlez, combining cover versions with original songs written by Young and keyboard player Ian Kewley. However, on this album the Young/Kewley partnership was better represented with five of their compositions featuring.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Paul Young and Ian Kewley; except where indicated.
- "Bite the Hand That Feeds" (Billy Livsey, Graham Lyle) - 4:31
- "Everytime You Go Away" (Daryl Hall) - 4:24
- "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" (Earl Randle) - 5:05
- "Standing on the Edge" (Andrew Barfield) - 4:38
- "Soldier's Things" (Tom Waits) - 6:21
- "Everything Must Change" - 5:35
- "Tomb of Memories" - 3:53
- "One Step Forward" - 3:42
- "Hot Fun" - 4:26
- "This Means Anything" - 3:13
- "I Was in Chains" (Gavin Sutherland) - 5:42
- "Man in the Iron Mask" (Billy Bragg) - 3:13 (Not included on vinyl record or U.S. releases.)
Note: some cassette releases feature "Man In The Iron Mask" as track 6 and replace tracks 2, 3, 6, 9 and 11 with extended remix versions.
The Secret Of Association was re-released as a 2 x CD album in 2007 under licence on Edsel (EDSD2006) and contained a second CD containing 12" remixes and live tracks. "The Man In The Iron Mask" was excluded from the first CD but was instead featured on the second CD.
CD2 Listing
- "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (special extended mix)"
- "Everything Must Change (12" mix)"
- "Give Me My Freedom"
- "Everytime You Go Away (12" mix)"
- "Tomb Of Memories (12" mix)"
- "Man in the Iron Mask"
- "Bite the Hand That Feeds (live at Hammersmith Odeon)"
- "No Parlez (live at Hammersmith Odeon)"
Personnel
- Paul Young – lead vocals, backing vocals, arrangements
- Ian Kewley – acoustic piano, Hammond organ, Yamaha DX7, Oberheim OB-Xa, Fairlight CMI, E-mu Emulator, arrangements
- Steve Bolton – guitars
- John Turnbull – guitars, electric sitar (2)
- B. J. Cole – pedal steel guitar
- Matt Irving – keyboard bass
- Pino Palladino – bass guitar, Chapman stick
- Mark Pinder – drums, Simmons drums, LinnDrum, Roland TR-808, percussion
- Marc Chantereau – percussion
- Laurie Latham – effects, arrangements
- Nick Payn – saxophone (7)
- Paul Nieman – trombone (5)
- Jim Paterson – trombone (9)
- Mark Feltham – bass harmonica (11)
- Graham Preskett – violin (11)
- Jimmy Chambers – backing vocals
- George Chandler – backing vocals
- Ged Doherty – backing vocals
- Tony Jackson – backing vocals
- Kim Lesley – backing vocals
- Maz Roberts – backing vocals
- Chris Difford – backing vocals (7)
- Glenn Tilbrook – backing vocals (7)
Production
- Producer and Engineer – Laurie Latham
- Additional Engineers – Stewart Barry and James Illes
- Mastered by Tim Young
- Art Direction and Design – Rob O'Conner
- Cover Photography – Simon Fowler
- Inner Sleeve Photos – "Everyone"
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart (1985) | Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] | 107 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] | 27 |
| French Albums (IFOP)[21] | 20 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] | 54 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11] | 84 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] | 18 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] | 11 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[14] | 32 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] | 47 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[26] | 10 |
| US Billboard 200[27] | 66 |
| US AOR (Radio & Records)[28] | 85 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[29] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[30] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[31] | Gold | 30,254[31] |
| France (SNEP)[32] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ)[33] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[34] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[14] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[35] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[36] | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||