A Single Man is the twelfth studio album by the British musician Elton John. Released in 1978, it is the first album for which Gary Osborne replaced Bernie Taupin as lyricist. It is also the first of two (the second being Victim of Love) John albums that, on the original cut, have no tracks co-written by Taupin.
Production
A Single Man is the first of Elton John's albums to not include work by lyricist Bernie Taupin, and the first since his 1969 debut, Empty Sky, without producer Gus Dudgeon. The returning members of the Elton John Band are percussionist Ray Cooper and guitarist Davey Johnstone; the latter "Song for Guy" was written as a tribute to Guy Burchett, a young messenger employed by John's record label Rocket Records, who was killed in a motorcycle accident.
The staff and players of Watford Football Club, of which John was chairman at the time, provide backing vocals on "Big Dipper" (which notably includes a lyric implying homosexuality)
|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
|rev2Score = C
| rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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| rev4 = Rolling Stone
| rev4score = (negative)
In the U.S., A Single Man was certified gold in October 1978 and platinum in November of the same year by the RIAA. As with many of John's releases of the late 1970s and the 1980s, it received generally mixed reviews from critics.
Later releases
The 1998 reissue has five bonus tracks, the first two being the 1978 flop single "Ego" and its B-side "". The next two tracks are the of "Part-Time Love" and "Song for Guy" ("I Cry at Night" and "Lovesick" respectively), and the last track, "Strangers", originally the of his 1979 disco-album title track, "Victim of Love".
Promotion and live performances
At the time of release, John performed some songs from the album on shows such as Bruce Forsyth's Big Night (performing "Part-Time Love"), Countdown (miming "Georgia" and "Madness"), The Old Grey Whistle Test (performing "Shooting Star" and "Song for Guy"), The Morecambe & Wise Show (performing "Shine on Through"), Parkinson (performing "Song for Guy"), Rockpop (miming "Return to Paradise" and "Part-Time Love") and Top of the Pops (miming "Part-Time Love" and performing "Song for Guy"). He performed two solo sets: one for MCA personnel at the Century Plaza Hotel on 14 October 1978 (performing "Shine on Through", "Return to Paradise" and "Song for Guy") and the other at a RTL studio on 20 October 1978 (performing "Part-Time Love", "Shooting Star" and "Song for Guy"). He also toured in support of the album in 1979.
In subsequent years, only "Song for Guy" from the album is known to have been performed.
Track listing
- Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–11 on CD reissues.
Personnel
Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.
Musicians
- Elton John – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 8), piano (1, 4, 11), acoustic piano (2, 3, 5–7, 9, 10), clavinet (3), harmonium (7), church organ (7), Fender Rhodes (8); Mellotron, Polymoog synthesizer, ARP synthesizer and Solina String Synthesizer (11)
- Tim Renwick – acoustic guitar (2, 3), electric guitar (4–6, 9), Leslie guitar (7), mandolin (7)
- Davey Johnstone – lead guitar (6), backing vocals (6)
- B.J. Cole – pedal steel guitar (7)
- Clive Franks – bass guitar (1–7, 9, 11)
- Herbie Flowers – bass guitar (8)
- Steve Holley – drums (1–9), motor horn (4)
- Ray Cooper – tambourine (1, 3–7, 9), marimba (2), shaker (2, 8, 11), vibraphone (5), congas (6, 9), timpani (9), wind chimes (11), rhythm box (11)
- John Crocker – clarinet (4), tenor saxophone (8)
- Jim Shepherd – trombone (4)
- Henry Lowther – trumpet (2)
- Patrick Halcox – trumpet (4)
- Paul Buckmaster – orchestra arrangements (1, 3, 5, 6, 9), arrangements (2), ARP synthesizer (10)
- Gary Osborne – backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 6)
- Vicki Brown – backing vocals (3, 6)
- Stevie Lange – backing vocals (3, 6)
- Joanne Stone – backing vocals (3, 6)
- Chris Thompson – backing vocals (3, 6)
- The South Audley Street Girl's Choir – backing vocals (4, 7)
- Watford Football Club – backing vocals (4, 7)
Production
- Producers – Clive Franks and Elton John
- Supervising producer – Mike Gill
- Engineers – Phil Dunne, Stuart Epps, Clive Franks and Peter Mew
- Mixing – Phil Dunne, Stuart Epps and Clive Franks
- Mastered by Ian Cooper at Utopia Studios (London, UK)
- Digital remastering – Gus Dudgeon
- Coordination – David Croker and Alex Foster
- Sleeve design – David Costa
- Graphic design – Mike Storey
- Photography – Terry O'Neill
- Liner editor – John Tobler
- Liner notes – Chris White
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1978–1979)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| align="center"| 8
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)
| align="center"| 13
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| align="center"| 74
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)
| align="center"| 12
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1978)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| align="center"| 33
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1979)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| align="center"| 43
|-
! scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
| align="center"| 82
|}