About Face is the second solo studio album by the English singer and musician David Gilmour, released on 5 March 1984 by Harvest in the UK and Columbia in the United States, a day before Gilmour's 38th birthday. Two singles were released: "Blue Light" peaked at number 62 in the United States, while "Love on the Air" failed to chart. Like Gilmour's eponymous debut solo studio album, About Face was certified gold by the RIAA. A remastered reissued CD was released in 2006 on EMI in Europe and Columbia for the rest of the world.
Recording
The album was recorded with engineer Andy Jackson at a time when Pink Floyd's future was uncertain. It was mixed by James Guthrie at Mayfair Studios in London, England.
Gilmour said he wanted to take his time and make "a really good album" and "get the best musicians in the world that I could get hold of to play with me". Musicians on the album include drummer Jeff Porcaro, bassist Pino Palladino, Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord, backing vocalists Roy Harper and Sam Brown, orchestral arranger Michael Kamen (who had also worked on The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, The Final Cut, and The Wall), and keyboardist Steve Winwood. He asked Roy Harper, and separately Pete Townshend, to supply lyrics, but felt that those provided were not messages that he could relate to. Harper subsequently used the tune, with his lyrics, as "Hope", on his 13th studio album, Whatever Happened to Jugula? (1985).
Gilmour was later interviewed by Dallas-based disc jockey (DJ) Doug "Redbeard" Hill, on the radio programme In the Studio with Redbeard, during which the focus was his 2006 third solo studio album On an Island. He commented on About Face saying that "looking back on it, it has some great moments on there but the whole flavor of it is too '80s for my current tastes".
"Murder" was an outcry by Gilmour about the murder of John Lennon, a longtime musical peer and inspiration to him. Gilmour embellished the song with a solo fretless bassline (played by Pino Palladino), adding an edgy funk groove to the acoustic beginning of the song, leading to an instrumental bridge, where the song picks up in the speed of the beat with more electric instruments. Gilmour collaborated with Townshend on the songs "Love on the Air" and "All Lovers Are Deranged", as Gilmour recalled: "I sent him three songs and he sent back three sets of lyrics. Two of them suited me well. One didn't. He did the two on About Face and he did the other one ['White City Fighting'] on his White City album."
Release
The album featured the single "Love on the Air", with lyrics by Townshend, and the disco-style single "Blue Light", later remixed by François Kevorkian; The album was released on 5 March in the UK, and on 6 March in the United States (coincidentally on Gilmour's 38th birthday).
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Writing for AllMusic, critic Tom Demalon wrote of the album: "The songs on About Face show a pop sensibility that Pink Floyd rarely was concerned with achieving", adding that "About Face is a well-honed rock album that is riveting from beginning to end."
Track listing
Personnel
;Main personnel
- David Gilmour – lead vocals, guitar, bass, production
- Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion
- Pino Palladino – bass
- Ian Kewley – Hammond organ, piano
;Additional personnel
- Steve Winwood – Hammond organ on "Blue Light", piano on "Love on the Air"
- Anne Dudley – synthesisers
- Jon Lord – synthesisers
- Bob Ezrin – keyboards, orchestral arrangement, production
- Steve Rance – Fairlight CMI programming
- Kick Horns – brass
- Luís Jardim – percussion
- Ray Cooper – percussion
- Roy Harper – backing vocals
- Sam Brown – backing vocals
- Vicki Brown – backing vocals
- Mickey Feat – backing vocals
- The National Philharmonic Orchestra
- Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangement
;Technical personnel
- Andy Jackson – engineer
- Kit Woolven – engineer
- James Guthrie – mix engineer; remastering
- Eric Tomlinson – orchestration recorder
- Doug Sax – mastering engineer
- Mike Reese – mastering engineer
- Storm Thorgerson (credited as STd (Storm Thorgerson Design)) – cover design
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!align="left"|Chart (1984)
!align="left"|Position
|-
|align="left"|Germany Media Control Charts
|align="left"|24
|-
|align="left"|Norway VG-lista
|align="left"|10
|-
|align="left"|Sweden Sverigetopplistan
|align="left"|13
|-
|align="left"|Switzerland Swiss Hitparade
|align="left"|15
|-
|align="left"|US Billboard Top 200 Albums
|align="left"|32
|}