Bright Lights & Back Alleys

Bright Lights & Back Alleys is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Smokie, released on 29 September 1977 in continental Europe[2] and 7 October in the United Kingdom[3] by RAK Records. Recorded primarily at Whitney Recording Studios in Glendale, California, from March to April 1977, it was produced by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, as were the band's all previous albums.

Bright Lights & Back Alleys
Studio album by
Smokie
Released29 September 1977
RecordedMarch — April 1977
StudioWhitney Recording Studios
(Glendale, California)
Genre
Length39:08[nb 1]
LabelRAK
Producer
Smokie chronology
Greatest Hits
(1977)		 Bright Lights & Back Alleys
(1977)		 The Montreux Album
(1978)
Singles from Bright Lights & Back Alleys
  1. "It's Your Life"
    Released: June 1977
  2. "Needles and Pins"
    Released: 30 September 1977
  3. "Baby it's you (for Racey)"
    Released: July 1978
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."It's Your Life"Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman3:33
2."I Can't Stay Here Tonight"Chris Norman, Pete Spencer4:05
3."Sunshine Avenue"Norman, Spencer3:09
4."Think of Me (The Lonely One)"Norman, Spencer4:41
5."In the Heat of the Night"Chinn, Chapman4:45
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Needles and Pins"Jack Nitzsche, Sonny Bono2:43
7."No One Could Ever Love You More"Norman, Spencer2:30
8."The Dancer"Leo Sayer, David Courtney3:50
9."Baby It's You"Norman, Spencer3:49
10."Walk Right Back"Norman, Spencer5:29
Total length:39:08
2007 remastered edition bonus tracks[nb 2]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Now You Think You Know"Terry Uttley3:28
12."Lay Back in the Arms of Someone"Chinn, Chapman4:05
13."Here Lies a Man"Norman, Spencer3:28
Total length:49:58
2016 remastered edition bonus tracks[nb 3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Alone in a Cell"Norman, Spencer, Alan Silson, Uttley4:48
Total length:54:50

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's 1977[nb 4] and 2016[nb 3] liner notes.

Smokie
Additional musicians
Technical personnel
  • Mike Chapman – production
  • Nicky Chinn – production
  • Pete Coleman – engineering
  • MM Sound Digital Mastering Studios – 2016 remastering
  • Jimmy Haskell – string arrangements (on tracks 1-3 and 5)
  • Phil Dennys – string arrangements (on tracks 4 and 8)
  • Cream – sleeve design
  • Gered Mankowitz – photography

Charts
Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 36
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[5] 6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[2] 6
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[6] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 3

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[8] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
Notes

^ "Baby It's You" was recorded in July 1976 at Decca Studios (Paris, France), and "Think of Me (The Only One)" — in August 1977 at Bovema Studios (Heemstede, Holland).

  1. Ariola 261028-217
  2. 7T's GLAM CD 39
  3. Sony Music 88985321942
  4. RAK SRAK 530
Citations
  1. Guarisco, Donald A. Smokie: "Bright Lights & Back Alleys" > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  2. "Offiziellecharts.de – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  3. Hendriks, Phil (2007). Bright Lights & Back Alleys (booklet). Smokie. London: 7T's Records (GLAM CD 39). p. 4.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 279. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. "Austriancharts.at – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  6. "Norwegiancharts.com – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  7. "Swedishcharts.com – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  8. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Smokie; 'Bright Lights & Back Alleys')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  9. "British album certifications – Smokie – Bright Lights & Back Alleys". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 October 2016. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Bright Lights & Back Alleys in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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