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Fairground Attraction

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Fairground Attraction
left to right: Reader, Dodds, Edwards, Nevin
left to right: Reader, Dodds, Edwards, Nevin
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active
  • 1987–1990
  • 2024-present
LabelsRCA
Members
Websitewww.fairground-attraction.co.uk

Fairground Attraction are a London-based folk and soft rock band. They are best known for the 1988 hits "Perfect" and "Find My Love", both from their debut studio album, The First of a Million Kisses. The band won two Brit Awards in 1989, but broke up the following year to pursue solo careers. They reformed in 2024.

Career

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Fairground Attraction were formed in London in the mid 1980s, consisting of Mark Nevin, singer Eddi Reader, Simon Edwards and Roy Dodds. The sound they developed together blends elements of folk, jazz, country, and cajun styles.

In 1987, they were signed to RCA Records. Their first single, "Perfect", was an immediate success and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.[1] It was also nominated for the prestigious Ivor Novello 'Best Song Musically and Lyrically' award.

The album The First of a Million Kisses followed in 1988, with all but one of its songs written by guitarist Nevin. It entered the UK Albums Chart at #3 and peaked at #2, eventually being certified double platinum. RCA released three other singles from the album: "Find My Love" (which reached #7), "A Smile in a Whisper", and "Clare". At the 1989 BRIT Awards, "Perfect" won Best British Single, and The First of a Million Kisses won Best British Album.[1]

The group found an especially devoted following in Japan, where they toured in 1989.

The band split up in January 1990 whilst in the midst of recording a follow-up album; Reader and Nevin do not agree on what prompted their disbanding. The album Ay Fond Kiss was released by RCA in June of that year, but it was not the intended second album the band had been working on. Instead, it was a compilation of B-sides and other material recorded alongside their first album, many being collaborations by just two band members. A cover of Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" was released as a single and became a minor hit.

Nevin later recorded material intended for the original second album with Brian Kennedy, and released it under the name Sweetmouth in 1991. He later worked with Morrissey, co-writing most of the Kill Uncle album.[2] He also worked with Kirsty MacColl again, before embarking on his own solo career. Reader continued to perform as a solo artist,[1] occasionally working with Nevin over the years.

In December 2023, Reader announced on her Facebook page that Fairground Attraction would reform for a Japanese tour in 2024.[3] The band subsequently announced new music[4] and a UK tour on the band's Facebook page.[5] They debuted a new single, "What's Wrong With The World ?" on March 24th 2024, and followed suit on June 12th with the title track of the forthcoming album, "Beautiful Happening". Both songs featured a brand new music video and earned rave reviews.[from whom?]

Personnel

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  • Eddi Reader – vocals, acoustic guitar, concertina
  • Mark E. Nevin – electric and acoustic guitars
  • Simon Edwards – guitarrón
  • Roy Dodds – drums, percussion

Tour personnel

  • Roger Beaujolais – percussion
  • Graham Henderson – percussion, accordion, acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano

Discography

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Studio albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[6] 		AUS
[7] 		AUT
[8] 		CAN
[9] 		FIN
[10] 		GER
[11] 		NED
[12] 		NZ
[13] 		SWE
[14] 		SWI
[15] 		US
[16]
The First of a Million Kisses
  • Released: 16 May 1988
  • Label: RCA
 2 9 17 57 13 38 29 19 6 18 137
Ay Fond Kiss
  • Released: 18 June 1990
  • Label: RCA
 55 — — — — — — — — — —
Beautiful Happening
  • Released: 20 September 2024
  • Label: Absolute
 — — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

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  • The Collection: Fairground Attraction, featuring Eddi Reader (1994)
  • Perfect: The Best of Fairground Attraction (1995)
  • The Very Best of Fairground Attraction, featuring Eddi Reader (1996)
  • The Masters (1997)
  • 80s Eternal Best: Fairground Attraction Best (1998)
  • The Very Best of Fairground Attraction (2004)

Live albums

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  • Kawasaki Live in Japan 02.07.89 (2003)

Singles

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Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[18] 		AUS
[19] 		AUT
[20] 		BEL
[21] 		GER
[22] 		IRE
[23] 		NED
[24] 		NZ
[25] 		SWE
[26] 		SWI
[27] 		US
[28]
1988 "Perfect" 1 1 19 4 5 1 5 4 2 5 80 The First of a Million Kisses
"Find My Love" 7 86 3 24 22 6 30 34 — — —
"A Smile in a Whisper" 75 — — — — — — — — — —
1989 "Clare" 49 — — — — — — — — — —
1990 "Walking After Midnight" 97 — — — — — — — — — — Ay Fond Kiss
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Videos

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  • The First of a Million Kisses (1990)
    Collection of music videos: "Perfect", "Find My Love", "A Smile in a Whisper", "Clare"
  • Live at Full House (1990)
    Live performances from German television show called Live at Full House:

Awards and nominations

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Year Awards Work Category Result
1988 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party Themselves Most Promising New Act Nominated
1989 Silver Clef Award Best Newcomer Won
Ivor Novello Awards "Perfect" Best Song Musically & Lyrically Nominated
BRIT Awards Best British Single Won
The First of a Million Kisses Best British Album Won

References

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  1. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 448–9. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  2. ^ "Morrissey : Kill Uncle". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Eddi Reader Facebook post". Facebook. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Fairground Attraction - What's Wrong With The World?". Slinky.to. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Facebook". Facebook.com. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  6. ^ "UK Albums". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Australian Albums". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Austrian Albums". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Canadian Albums" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961". Suomenlistalevyt.blogspot.co.uk (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  11. ^ "German Albums". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Dutch Albums". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  13. ^ "New Zealand Albums". Charts.nz. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Swedish Albums". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Swiss Albums". Hitparade.ch.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  16. ^ "US Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Fairground Attraction – 'The First of a Million Kisses: Expanded Edition' reviewed » We Are Cult". We Are Cult. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  18. ^ "UK Singles". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  19. ^ Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
  20. ^ "Austrian Singles". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Belgian Singles". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  22. ^ "German Singles". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Irish Singles". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  24. ^ "Netherlands Singles". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  25. ^ "New Zealand Singles". Charts.nz. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  26. ^ "Swedish Singles". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  27. ^ "Swiss Singles". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  28. ^ "US Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  29. ^ "Archived copy". www.bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. ^ "Swedish Single Certifications 1987-1998" (PDF). Ifpi.se. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
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