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Sinitta!
Studio album by
Sinitta
Released14 December 1987
Recorded1983–1987
GenrePop, dance-pop
Length46:38
LabelFanfare Records
ProducerStock, Aitken and Waterman
Trevor Vallis
James George Hargreaves
Paul Hardcastle
Sinitta chronology
Sinitta!
(1987) 		Wicked
(1988)
Singles from Sinitta!
  1. "Cruising"
    Released: 1984/1985
  2. "So Macho"
    Released: 1985/1986
  3. "Feels Like The First Time"
    Released: September 1986
  4. "Toy Boy"
    Released: July 1987[1]
  5. "GTO"
    Released: November 1987[1]
  6. "Cross My Broken Heart"
    Released: February 1988[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Number One[4]
Record Mirror[5]
Smash Hits8/10[6]

Sinitta! is the debut studio album by British singer Sinitta, released in 1987. It features her biggest and best-known international hit single "So Macho".

Background

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In 1987, Simon Cowell, then a talent scout, became closely associated with record producer Pete Waterman and would spend time with Waterman at his PWL studios complex, being mentored by him and learning about the effective running of a successful music business.[7]

Around this time, Cowell was desperate for writing and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) to work with Sinitta. "Feels Like the First Time", Sinitta's follow-up single to "So Macho", had charted low (UK number 45) and had only spent 5 weeks on the chart, whereas, in contrast, "So Macho" had been on the UK chart for 28 weeks in 1986, where it had peaked at number 2. Initially Waterman declined to work with Sinitta, claiming that SAW were too busy.[7] In the end though, SAW did work with Sinitta and her first single with the Hit Factory was "Toy Boy".

Critical reception

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A review in Music Week magazine was critical of Sinitta!, saying that "it would be churlish to totally denigrate this debut LP" and while it praised Sinitta's vocal performance, it blamed the songs for sounding "like chanting nursery rhymes or Seventies-flavoured disco songs". It concluded that the album "doesn't have the aplomb of Mel and Kim or the tiny appeal of Bananarama, but kids in the eight-13 age bracket will love it".[8] By contrast, Nancy Culp of Record Mirror gave the album four stars of five, saying that Sinitta's "silly, fluffy bits of nonsense are the business" and that the light lyrics as well as the fact that SAW reuse the same riffs do not really matter. She added that the songs are "plain and simple, and just good fun" and concluded that the album "has to be the Christmas party record for wallies of all ages".[5] Ron Wynn of AllMusic noted that the album "didn't have a song as clever or naughty as "So Many Men, So Little Time", recorded by Sinitta's mother Miquel Brown, and added that the singer's "crushed, coy voice made the point in a cutesy manner".[3] By contrast, retrospectively, in a 2015 review, the Pop Rescue website gave the album four stars out of five, saying it was "fantastic... pumped with energy, and the hits kept rolling, with little pause for a duff track. It's a perfect 80's pop romp".[9] Richard Lowe of Smash Hits praised the tracks produced by SAW, but found those by Paul Hardcastle "a wee bit dull", and concluded: "It's quite smashing. Honestly!"[6]

Singles

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"Cruising", "So Macho" and "Feels Like the First Time" were the three first singles from the album. The fourth one, "Toy Boy" was a massive hit, reaching number four in the UK in July 1987 and staying on the charts for 14 weeks. The song was the 27th best-selling single of 1987 in the UK, selling more than some number ones from that year, including Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett's "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" and Steve "Silk" Hurley's "Jack Your Body". Two further singles were released from Sinitta!: "GTO" (UK number 15 in December 1987) and "Cross My Broken Heart" (UK number six in March 1988).

Track listing

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Original vinyl edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Toy Boy"Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman3:25
2."Who's Gonna Catch You (When You Fall)"Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman3:20
3."Cross My Broken Heart"Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman6:50
4."G.T.O."Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman3:30
5."Rock Me Slow"
  • Bob Mitchell
  • Nick Graham
Trevor Vallis4:54
6."So Macho"James George Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Mick Parker
3:25
7."Oh Boy (You've Got a Lot to Learn)"Paul HardcastleHardcastle5:15
8."If I Let You Go"HardcastleHardcastle7:09
9."Feels Like the First Time"Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Parker
3:50
10."Cruising"Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Parker
5:04
Original CD edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
3."Cross My Broken Heart" (single version)Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman3:43
7."Oh Boy (You've Got a Lot to Learn)" (edit)HardcastleHardcastle3:30
8."If I Let You Go" (edit)HardcastleHardcastle4:35
Expanded edition CD1 bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
11."Showdown"Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Parker
 
12."Never Too Late" (special US mix)Hargreaves
 
13."I Could Be" (special US mix[b])Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Ajai-Ajagbe
  • Haakon Brenner[a]
 
14."So Macho" (extended club mix[b])Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Parker
 
15."Toy Boy" (the extended Bicep Mix)Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman 
16."G.T.O." (Modina's Red Roaring Mix)Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman 
17."Cross My Broken Heart" (Cupid's Avenging Mix)Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman 
Expanded edition CD2
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Cruising" (original 12" mix[b])Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Parker
 
2."So Macho" (12" remix)Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Parker
 
3."Toy Boy" (brand new megamix)Stock Aitken Waterman
  • Stock Aitken Waterman
  • Pete Hammond[a]
 
4."Cross My Broken Heart" (extra Pulsing Beat Mix[b])Stock Aitken Waterman
  • Stock Aitken Waterman
  • Hammond[a]
 
5."Feels Like the First Time" (special extended club mix)Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Parker
  • Les "Mix Doctor" Adams[a]
 
6."Oh Boy (You've Got a Lot to Learn)" (extended version)HardcastleHardcastle 
7."If I Let You Go" (extended version[b])HardcastleHardcastle 
8."Never Too Late" (special extended US mix[b])Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Ajai-Ajagbe
  • Benitez[a]
 
9."I Could Be" (special extended US mix[b])Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Ajai-Ajagbe
  • Brenner[a]
 
10."Showdown" (special dance mix[b])Hargreaves
  • Hargreaves
  • Parker
 
11."Cross My Broken Heart" (Dave Ford mix)Stock Aitken Waterman
  • Stock Aitken Waterman
  • Dave Ford[a]
 
12."Toy Boy" (instrumental[b])Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman 
13."G.T.O." (instrumental)Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman 
14."Cross My Broken Heart" (instrumental[b])Stock Aitken WatermanStock Aitken Waterman 
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Indicates a remixer.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Indicates tracks appearing on CD for the first time.[10]

Charts and sales

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References

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  1. ^ a b "pwl-empire.com". Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  2. ^ pwl-empire.com Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Wynn, Ron. "Sinitta! Review by Ron Wynn". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  4. ^ Bell, Max (30 January 1988). "Albums". Number One. p. 33. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b Culp, Nancy (12 December 1987). "Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 16. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved 31 October 2023 – via World Radio History.
  6. ^ a b Lowe, Richard (13–26 January 1988). "Albums" (PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 10, no. 1. p. 42. ISSN 0260-3004. Retrieved 14 November 2023 – via World Radio History.
  7. ^ a b Cowell, Simon (2004). I Don't Mean To Be Rude But.... Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-189828-1.
  8. ^ "LP Reviews" (PDF). Music Week. 26 December 1987. p. 17. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  9. ^ "REVIEW: "SINITTA!" BY SINITTA (CD, 1987)". Pop Rescue. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Sinitta – Cherry Red Records". Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. p. 276. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Sinitta". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 235. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Japanese Charts-The Archives". Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  14. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 28 February 1988. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  15. ^ OfficialCharts.com
  16. ^ Gilles, David (10 October 1988). "Fanfare for the uncommon" (PDF). Music Week. p. 20. Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  17. ^ "British album certifications – Sinitta – Sinitta!". British Phonographic Industry.
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