White Feathers

This article is about the Kajagoogoo album. For other uses, see White feather (disambiguation).

White Feathers is the debut studio album by the English new wave band Kajagoogoo, released on 18 April 1983 by EMI Records. The album contains their most successful single, "Too Shy", a UK No. 1 hit in February 1983, as well as two other UK Top 20 hits: "Ooh to Be Ah" and "Hang on Now". It is the band's only album with Limahl as the lead vocalist.

White Feathers
Studio album by Kajagoogoo
Released	18 April 1983
Recorded	1982–1983
Studio	Chipping Norton (Oxfordshire) Utopia (London)
Genre	New wave
Length	34:53 (original 1983 release) 73:12 (2004 CD reissue)
Label	EMI (UK) EMI America (US)
Producer	Nick Rhodes Colin Thurston Tim Palmer Kajagoogoo
Kajagoogoo chronology
White Feathers (1983) Islands (1984)
Singles from White Feathers
"Too Shy" Released: 10 January 1983 "Ooh to Be Ah" Released: 21 March 1983 "Hang on Now" Released: 27 May 1983[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Smash Hits	[2]
AllMusic	[3]

Background

White Feathers was produced by Nick Rhodes, of Duran Duran, and Colin Thurston, who was Duran Duran's producer at the time. The sole exception is the self-titled instrumental track "Kajagoogoo", produced by Tim Palmer and the band. This track song was featured as the opening title song in the 1984 John Hughes movie Sixteen Candles.

After the band was featured on the VH1 program Bands Reunited in 2003, renewed interest in Kajagoogoo prompted the band's original label EMI to re-issue White Feathers on CD in the UK for the first time in 2004 (although it had been available on CD in Japan and the U.S. since 1993). Originally containing 10 tracks, the 2004 version of the album contained eight bonus tracks, including four B-sides and four remixes, two of which are of "Too Shy" (both an extended and instrumental version).

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nick Beggs & Limahl, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"White Feathers"	Beggs	3:28
2.	"Too Shy"		3:44
3.	"Lies and Promises"		2:51
4.	"Magician Man"	Limahl	3:42
5.	"Kajagoogoo" (Instrumental)	Kajagoogoo	3:10

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Ooh to Be Ah"	Limahl	3:14
7.	"Ergonomics"		3:12
8.	"Hang on Now"		3:26
9.	"This Car Is Fast"	Limahl	3:32
10.	"Frayo"	Limahl	4:15
Total length:			34:53

2004 CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Too Shy" (Instrumental Mix)		4:01
12.	"Take Another View"	Kajagoogoo	4:33
13.	"Interview Rooms"	Beggs	3:24
14.	"Animal Instincts"	Beggs	2:39
15.	"Introduction"		5:09
16.	"Too Shy" (Midnight Mix)		5:27
17.	"Ooh to Be Ah" (The Construction Mix)	Limahl	6:37
18.	"Hang on Now" (Extended Version)		6:19
Total length:			73:12

• There are two 12-inch mixes of "Too Shy", both confusingly called the "Midnight Mix" (although sometimes erroneously billed as "12-inch Extended Version"). The UK version has a running time of about 5:27, while the American version, available on the compilations Too Shy: The Singles and More (1993) and Maximum 80's (2000), is around 5:44. The 2011 So80's compilation contains both mixes.

Personnel

Kajagoogoo

• Limahl – Lead vocals
• Stuart Neale – Keyboards, programming, backing vocals
• Steve Askew – Guitars
• Nick Beggs – Chapman stick, bass guitar, backing vocals
• Jez Strode – Drums, percussion

Technical

• Colin Thurston – co-producer, engineer
• Nick Rhodes – co-producer
• Tim Palmer – co-producer ("Kajagoogoo", "Animal Instincts", "Introduction"), engineer ("Kajagoogoo", "Animal Instincts")
• Kajagoogoo – co-producer ("Kajagoogoo", "Animal Instincts")
• Femi Jaya – producer ("Take Another View")
• Shoot That Tiger! – art direction, design
• Ian Hooton – front cover photography
• Eric Watson – liner sheet photography
• Toni & Guy – hair
• Nigel Reeve – reissue project coordination
• Kathy Bryan – mastering
• Hugh Gilmour/The Red Room – re-issue design

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1983) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[4] 53 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[5] 15 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] 46 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 3 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 7 Japanese Western Albums (Oricon)[9] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] 36 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] 17 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 7 UK Albums (OCC)[13] 5 US Billboard 200[14] 38

Year-end charts Chart (1983) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 36