Song:Fool (If You Think It's Over)
Album:Hard To Find 45s on CD Vol. 8: Seventies Pop Classics
In North America, Fool (If You Think It's Over) was British singer songwriter Chris Rea's only big hit. He's a much bigger star in England and Europe and since the 80s has concentrated on his fanbase there. He was born Mar. 4, 1951 in Middlesborough, North Yorkshire, England. He first surfaced in 1973 as lead singer of Magdalene replacing David Coverdale who would go on to form Whitesnake. Rea left to start his own band Beautiful Losers but then he signed a record deal with Magnet Records. Magnet was also the home for Alvin Stardust and was owned by future politician Michael Levy. He sold Magnet to Warner Bros. in 1988. Rea's debut solo album Whatever Happened To Benny Santini? was released in 1978. The title refers to a stage name that Magnet wanted him to use. The album was produced by Elton John's producer Gus Dudgeon. United Artists picked up the album for distribution in the US and Fool (If You Think It's Over) reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It actually didn't do that well in England until it was a hit in the US. The sax solo is by Steve Gregory of Georgie Fame's band. Though the song was a hit, Rea was not happy with the final mix. So he went back and re-recorded Fool (If You Think It's Over) in 1988. That's the version you will get on all Chris Rea comps. The original 1978 single is on this various artists comp from Eric Records. He was dropped by UA after his second album Deltics. Rea looked at himself as a blues artist and was annoyed that Dudgeon tried to turn him into a pop star. In the 80s, Rea concentrated on establishing his European fanbase. This paid off when his 1989 album The Road To Hell became his first #1 album in England. Atco released it in the US but it went nowhere. And he's still popular in England and has a new CD set for 2011 release. But in North America, Chris Rea is perceived as a one hit wonder. Here's Chris Rea performing Fool (If You Think It's Over) 1978.
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