Human Racing

1984 studio album by Nik Kershaw

Human Racing

Studio album by

Nik Kershaw

Released

27 February 1984 (1984-02-27)

Recorded

Summer 1983

Studio

Sarm East (London)
Sarm West (London)
Marcus Music (Los Angeles)
Cherokee (Los Angeles)^[1]

Genre

Pop
new wave
synth-pop
pop rock

Length

39:39

Label

MCA

Producer

Peter Collins

Nik Kershaw chronology

Human Racing
(1984)

The Riddle
(1984)

Singles from Human Racing

"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
Released: 9 September 1983
"Wouldn't It Be Good"
Released: 20 January 1984
"Dancing Girls"
Released: 2 April 1984
"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Re-release)"
Released: 4 June 1984
"Human Racing"
Released: 3 September 1984

Human Racing is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released on 27 February 1984 by MCA Records. Several songs like "Drum Talk" were based around improvisation; other songs, like "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", had a political message.

Kershaw's most commercially successful solo album, it peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and reached the top 10 in several other countries, including Germany, Finland, and Norway. The album spawned four charting singles in the United Kingdom. "Wouldn't It Be Good" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart; "Dancing Girls" peaked at No. 13; "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" at No. 2; "Human Racing" at No. 19. Human Racing was the 22nd best-selling album of 1984 in the UK and received a nomination for Best British Album at the Brit Awards 1985.^[2] The album has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The album was re-released on 27 February 2012,^[3] on Universal's new Re-presents imprint featuring rare bonus content. The reissue is a 2-CD set with the original album digitally remastered from the original 1/2" mix tapes; the bonus content consists of associated 12" mixes and B-sides including a previously unreleased version of "Bogart", a special brass mix of "Shame on You" and a live version of "Cloak and Dagger" recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
Billboard	Favourable^[5]
Record Mirror	^[6]
Smash Hits	^[7]

Smash Hits magazine gave the album a highly negative review, awarding it 1 out of 10, and calling it "Competent but relentlessly dull synthesised meanderings of no importance to anyone but Mr Kershaw himself (and even he doesn't sound that interested)."^[7] Reviewing retrospectively for AllMusic, critic Scott Bultman wrote of the album: "His debut, although rough around the edges, showed talent and promise."^[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nik Kershaw

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dancing Girls"	3:46
2.	"Wouldn't It Be Good"	4:32
3.	"Drum Talk"	3:10
4.	"Bogart"	4:38
5.	"Gone to Pieces"	3:11

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Shame on You"	3:33
7.	"Cloak and Dagger"	4:55
8.	"Faces"	4:05
9.	"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"	3:23
10.	"Human Racing"	4:26
Total length:		39:39

Additional tracks

Bonus tracks on 2012 release

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dancing Girls" (extended 12" remix)	8:05
2.	"Bogart" (extended 12" remix)	4:29
3.	"Monkey Business"	3:30
4.	"Shame on You" (additional brass mix)	3:40
5.	"Drum Talk" (extended 12" remix)	5:00
6.	"Faces" (extended 12" remix)	4:40
7.	"Dark Glasses"	4:16
8.	"Wouldn't It Be Good" (extended 12" remix)	6:52
9.	"Human Racing" (extended 12" remix)	5:24
10.	"She Cries"	3:48
11.	"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (extended 12" remix)	6:33
12.	"Cloak and Dagger" (live at Hammersmith Odeon 1984)	5:07

Original track listing
The master tapes for Human Racing are shown in the booklet that accompanies the 2012 re-release. They show the original track listing of the album was:^[8] Side 1 "Drum Talk" "Wouldn't It Be Good" "Bring on the Dancing Girls" "Bogart" "Gone to Pieces" Side 2 "Shame on You" "Cloak and Dagger" "Faces" "Wide Boy" "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down" "Human Racing" "Wide Boy" was dropped before the album's official release, but was later released on Kershaw's next studio album, The Riddle (1984). The master tapes also show that the album was completed in November 1983. The master tapes were later baked for preservation purposes.^[9] Side 1 was baked on 15 September 2011, and Side 2 on 23 February 2005.

Original track listing

The master tapes for Human Racing are shown in the booklet that accompanies the 2012 re-release. They show the original track listing of the album was:^[8]

Side 1

"Drum Talk"
"Wouldn't It Be Good"
"Bring on the Dancing Girls"
"Bogart"
"Gone to Pieces"

Side 2

"Shame on You"
"Cloak and Dagger"
"Faces"
"Wide Boy"
"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down"
"Human Racing"

"Wide Boy" was dropped before the album's official release, but was later released on Kershaw's next studio album, The Riddle (1984).

The master tapes also show that the album was completed in November 1983. The master tapes were later baked for preservation purposes.^[9] Side 1 was baked on 15 September 2011, and Side 2 on 23 February 2005.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[10]

Musicians

Nik Kershaw – lead and background vocals; vocal percussion and effects; guitar; bass guitar; keyboards; percussion
Paul "Wix" Wickens – keyboards; Fairlight CMI
Charlie Morgan – drums
Reg Webb – keyboards
Nick Glennie-Smith – keyboards
Don Snow – keyboards
Paul Westwood – additional bass guitar on "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
Martin Ditcham – percussion
Jerry Hey – horns
Gary Grant – horns
Larry Williams – horns
Bill Reichenbach – horns
Kim Hutchcroft – horns
Sheri Kershaw – backing vocals on "Faces"
Lynda Hayes – voice-over on "Bogart"

Production and artwork

Peter Collins – producer
Julian Mendelsohn – engineer; mixer
Stuart Bruce – assistant engineer
Keith Finney – assistant engineer
Bob Kraushaar – assistant engineer
Roger Howorth – assistant engineer
Nick Campey – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Human Racing*
Chart (1984)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[11]	35
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[12]	19
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[13]	13
European Albums (Music & Media)^[14]	14
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[15]	8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[16]	8
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[17]	32
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[18]	7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[19]	38
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[20]	12
UK Albums (OCC)^[21]	5
US Billboard 200^[22]	70

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *Human Racing*
Chart (1984)	Position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[23]	64
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[24]	44
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[25]	22
UK Albums (Gallup)^[26]	22

Certifications

Certifications for *Human Racing*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[27]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[28]	Platinum	300,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Kershaw 2012, p. 2–3.
^ "Shows". Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
^ "Nik Kershaw To Release Expanded Reissue Of 'Human Racing'". thisisnotretro.com. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
^ ^a ^b Bultman, Scott. "Human Racing – Nik Kershaw". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^ Billboard magazine - Reviews: albums - April 21, 1984 - page 60
^ Hills, Simon (3 March 1984). "Albums". Record Mirror.
^ ^a ^b Cranna, Ian (1 March 1984). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. Vol. 6, no. 5. p. 37.
^ Kershaw 2012, p. 14-15.
^ "Nik Kershaw talks 80s pop and Human Racing 28 years on". Superdeluxeedition.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^ Human Racing liner notes. MCA Records. 1984.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 165. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6785a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 1, no. 19/20. 13 August 1984. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Charts.nz – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Nik Kershaw Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Top 100 Albums of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41, no. 17. 5 January 1985. p. 8. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1984" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^ "Top 100 Albums (January 3–December 29, 1984)" (PDF). Music Week. 26 January 1985. p. 42. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". Music Canada. 1 August 1984. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
^ "British album certifications – Nik Kershaw – Human Racing". British Phonographic Industry. 8 October 1984. Retrieved 26 May 2022.