Today’s POP RESCUE from an unknown fate, is the 1986 debut album from one-hit wonder Owen Paul – ‘As It Is…’. Is this album something you’d be Pleased To Meet, or just a Waste Of Time? Read on…

Most (read: pretty sure this is really ‘all’) of you will only know him from his hit cover of My Favourite Waste Of Time.

The singles stand out – like the album’s opener Pleased To Meet You which was the follow-up single to that big single. However, this flopped in the UK single chart – reaching #78 just 3.5 months after his huge hit.

Some album tracks like Just Another Day don’t really go anywhere. This track quietly fades out before hitting 5 minutes long. If this was the vinyl version of the album, then it would have been the final track on Side One, and would probably have made more sense. Here though, as a CD, it’s an awkward mid-album come-down.

Just Another Day, thankfully gets followed by the third single One World which has much more life to it (and again, would have made a good opener to Side Two of the vinyl version). Sadly this single continued Owen’s slide down the UK charts, stalling at #87.

Penultimate track Pharaoh, is reassuringly 80s, complete with clap, saxophone, and big vocals – ‘Pharaoh, Pharaoh we’ve come this far’ he sings… but sadly I’ve no idea what he’s actually singing about. Perhaps a trusty labrador.

The album, closes with Bring Me Back That Spark which has some life to it, and is almost like something that you’d find in the 90s from Cast or Ocean Colour Scene (apart from the ending, which is a pure 80s-fest). This track was the final single from the album in 1987.

Where is Owen Paul now?

Having had a resurgence in the early 00s under his full name of Owen Paul McGee, he released his second album, and went on to write and record with Mike and The Mechanics.

He continues to record and perform.

Verdict

This album is a like a capsule of 1980s power pop. He’s got the guitars and drums, and is clearly aiming to stand up with his 1986 contemporaries – Bon Jovi, Sting, Duran Duran or a-Ha in vocal style.

I think you could probably take this entire album, slap Craig McLachlan‘s name on the front, and nobody would ever question it.

As wastes of time go, this one wasn’t my favourite.

• POP RESCUE 2014 RATING: 2 / 5
• 1986 UK CHART POSITION: Not known.
• POP RESCUE COST: £3.99 from a Cash Converters store.