Paul Young’s tail was up in 1986. Now aged 30, engaged, wealthy and established; confidence was telling him to branch out from being mainly a covers artist. He co-wrote all bar two of the offerings on Between Two Fires, his third album, recorded in Milan, and dispensed with the stability of producer Laurie Latham in order to take a slice of the job for himself.

Young’s earnest baritone delivers an imploring verse and joyous multi-tracked chorus on opener Some People, while War Games has a nice disco feel to it and Wonderland – the only hit single – is a lyrically sanguine slowburner, with the drums finally gatecrashing things, noisily, after more than three minutes.

A distinct aim is to be less blue-eyed on chunks of this album, and In The Long Run, fiercely guitar-driven and the most upbeat effort here, shows an urge to rock out. The melodious Prisoner Of Conscience and the smouldering A Certain Passion are more reserved, but still have a good go.

A bit whiffy is Why Does A Man Have To Be Strong?, an unsuccessful choice as single. The title track is lovely, though; musicians are almost introduced one by one as the vocal lends itself to a barstool, clicking fingers. Between Two Fires peaked at No.4 in the UK and went Platinum.

Written by Matthew Rudd

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