North of a Miracle
North of a Miracle is the debut solo album by English singer-songwriter Nick Heyward. It was released on 28 October 1983 through Arista Records and spent 10 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 10.
The album produced four UK singles, "Whistle [Down the Wind (song)|Whistle Down the Wind]", "Take That Situation", "Blue Hat for a Blue Day" and "On a Sunday".
In the United States, the album peaked in the Billboard 200 at number 178 and remained on the chart for 4 weeks. On the Cash Box album chart, it spent a total of eight weeks, peaking at number 170. The single "Whistle Down the Wind" peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in early 1984.
Recording and production
The album was recorded from May to June 1983 at Abbey Road Studios and produced by Geoff Emerick. The original U.S. vinyl pressing significantly altered the running order of the songs, with only 3 songs maintaining their original positions.Track listing
Remastered track listing (2010)
A 2-disc remastered version of the album was released in 2010 on Cherry Red Records.Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.- Nick Heyward – record producer, vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, brass arrangements
- Pete Beachill – trombone
- Stuart Brooks – flugelhorn, trumpet
- Andrew Brown – bass guitar
- Paul Buckmaster – string arrangements
- Brian Gascoigne – piano
- Ian Laws – guitar
- Bill Le Sage – piano
- Tony Maronie – bongo drum, percussion
- Dave Mattacks – drums
- Steve Nieve – organ, piano
- Pino Palladino – bass guitar
- Morris Pert – marimba, percussion
- Andrew Powell – conductor, orchestral arrangements
- Tim Renwick – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin
- Danny Schogger – accordion, organ, piano
- Chris White – saxophone
- Geoff Emerick – record producer, engineer
- Jon Jacobs – assistant engineer
- David Botterell – photography, management