Today’s POP RESCUE from a loveless fate is the 1986 eponymous debut album from actor Nick Berry. Will Nick Berry make your heartbeat, or does it miss that perfect combination? Read on…

This 10 track LP opens with The Winds Of Change, which slides into action gently with piano and guitar, alongside a simple beat. Nick is soon on the mic with his soft vocals, and he’s joined by some vocal harmonies to help lift the chorus which sees the song gather momentum quite nicely. Guitars and saxophone join in here, giving us a nice warm little start to the album from songwriter and album producer Mike Batt (Wombles, Steeleye Span, Elkie Brooks, Bonnie Tyler).

Next up is the unmistakable piano intro to his debut and hit single Every Loser Wins, and undoubtedly the song that resulted in this album existing off the back of his heart-throb EastEnders role of Simon Wicks. I really like this as a song, although Nick’s vocals are perhaps too soft for it. I remember it being in the charts for what felt like an age and gave him his only #1 UK single to date. Simon May goes to town with the composition with the drama drums towards the end, which seems to energise Nick’s vocals a little before the heartfelt ending. Today though, it is the kind of song that turns up on Worst Songs or One-hit Wonder tv listing shows and generally induces a cringe from those who hear it.

Too Close To Heaven follows this and it bursts in with orchestra, including a ton of sax, but then it takes a minimal turn and gives us an almost different sound for the verse. Nick’s vocals here feel a bit timid for the song which could probably be an absolute belter with a harder or rockier sound. An electric guitar is rolled out but that doesn’t seem to inspire the harder vocals either. The song teases the build up for the chorus all the way through but never seems to quite get there.

The electric guitar leads straight into The Smile, and this time we’ve got a mysterious sounding song, where it’s flanked by some really nice strings and bass guitar. Nick’s vocals sound a bit more comfortable here in this more playful narrative song (perhaps that’s the actor shining). The key change makes me imagine Boney M singing this for a fun moment.

Side One closes with If You’re Right and we’re safely into lovely whispery ballad territory. Piano and strings gently lead us along as Nick gets to put in some more heartfelt soft vocals. It’s a really nice gentle ending to this first side.

Side Two opens with the nice acoustic guitar of The Walls Of The World. Here, a gentle beat sits perfectly against Nick’s warm vocals creating a flood of instruments and vocal harmonies. The song ambles along nicely, giving echoes of David Essex’s A Winter’s Tale (also Mike Batt).

So Easy follows that, and it hints at a blast of up-beat energy as the shuffling percussion and guitar arrives. The song stands out from the rest of the tracks heard on this album so far – the most pop-ish, and could quite easily have been a single. Nick briefly delivers some vocals that edge close to those of George Michael. This is a really nice song.

The up-beat percussive sound continues for Down At The Club (not ‘the Vic’) – a cover of a song which was released by The Drifters in the 1960s. Here, Nick sounds like he’s having fun here and it’s probably this song that would influence the direction of Nick’s later songs and albums, and it almost foretells his long TV career in 1960’s policing series Heartbeat. The track hops along nicely and Nick seems in his element.

That leads on to It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, which is a wonderfully stylised song that sounds like it belongs in the 19-somethings with its slow and dreamy vocals. The strings swell round Nick’s soft slow vocals perfectly as it wafts along.

The bass gives way to the racing drums of the closing track The Cool Jerk. Again, it’s another 1960s cover, this time recorded amongst others by The Capitols (1966). Nick once again seems to be having a load of fun with the ’60’s style music and vocal harmonies. The track is an assured foot-tapper and it feels like it is galloping along as Nick challenges the musicians and vocalists to join in. It’s a fun ending to the album.

Verdict

Over all, this album has quite a few nice songs, but whilst it is musically good, vocally it is sometimes a little weak.

The collaboration with Mike Batt usually means that you’re in for a fairly solid album, and between him and Simon May’s compositions it works well, but the album plods a fairly dreamy line between teen heart-throb vs nice young man off the telly to suit the hormone affected teens and the loving grandmother types who’d enjoy the older songs. This seeming target audience results in lovestruck ballads and 60’s sounds and it’s an odd combination for a mid-80’s album.

Still, there are some great performances here – Cool Jerk, If You’re Right, Every Loser Wins, and the should’ve-been-a-single So Easy lead the way, but alongside those are some weaker tracks too with Too Close To Heaven being the weakest point.

On paper, the BBC (whose label ‘BBC Records and Tapes’ it is on) clearly saw the £££s off the back of his role on EastEnders, but in reality it was a hit single, and an okay album without a wider plan.

• POP RESCUE 2023 RATING: 3 / 5
• 1986 UK ALBUM CHART PEAK: #28
• POP RESCUE COST: £1.00 from a Marie Curie store.