I Hear Talk (song) - Background

Background

Released on 15 December 1984, the single coincided with a much-publicised coach crash the group experienced earlier in the week. While the group were returning from a gig in Newcastle, their tour bus collided with road works and careened off the road and injured the members of the group as well their entourage. Member Mike Nolan was badly injured and the group were inactive for several months. As a result of this, promotion for the single was minimal and the song failed to chart as highly as had been expected, reaching No.34 in the UK Charts, despite it being seen as one of their strongest ever songs by fans. Reviewing the single for Number One magazine, pop group Bananarama made positive comments about the song, saying that it had "something that their last few singles didn't". Member Cheryl Baker has also commented that it is one of her favourite Bucks Fizz songs.

The song's lyrics centre on a man's jealousy within his relationship, after hearing rumours that his partner has been cheating on him. The lead vocalist for the song is member Bobby G, while the middle 8 section is performed by Cheryl Baker alone. The B-side of the single, "Pulling Me Under" was written and performed solely by Bobby G, while an extra track on the 12" single, "Invisible" featured member Jay Aston on lead. This latter song was a planned single for the group back in 1983, but was replaced at short notice by "London Town". It featured here in a remixed form, although the original was later released on the compilation, The Lost Masters in 2006. The song was co-written by Mike Batt, the only song Bucks Fizz recorded of his.

The group had completed a promotional video for the song before the accident, which was studio-bound and depicted the group walking around in a snowy location. Later, the group are seen performing the song against a black background. Bucks Fizz had also recorded a performance of the song for TV show Razzamatazz on 11 December, the day of the coach crash, which was transmitted some weeks later. The single entered the charts in the last week of 1984, and rose to No.34 in January 1985. The single stayed at that position for three consecutive weeks, but failed to climb further. The second of these weeks saw TV show Top of the Pops feature a clip of the video in its "breakers" section - which was the first-ever edition of this section, which ran for many years afterwards.

"I Hear Talk" in a slightly different mix, was featured on the group's album of the same name, released a month earlier. A 12" version of the song was also released. The single cover featured the same photograph as the album, but against a white background rather than black. A limited-edition poster calendar for 1985 was included as well. Over the next two years, the song became a popular Club hit and featured on the Billboard Club Charts - the group's only American success. Due to this renewed interest in the song, another remix was featured on the group's 1986 album Writing on the Wall.

The song was later covered and released as a single by girl-group Teen Dream, but failed to chart.

On 24 May 2010, The Original Bucks Fizz released a jazz-style reworking of "I Hear Talk" as their debut single. The song was performed on their 2009 tour in this style. The new arrangement was devised by Cheryl Baker's husband, Steve Stroud, who also plays bass on the track. A promotional video of the group performing on tour was also compiled for the release.