Suddenly (Angry Anderson song)

"Suddenly" is a song recorded by Australian singer Angry Anderson for his debut solo album, Beats From a Single Drum. The track was first released via Mushroom Records in Australia during July 1987. It was written by Anderson, Andy Chicon and Kevin Beamish, with the latter serving as the song's producer. "Suddenly" was used in the Australian soap opera Neighbours during an episode which featured a wedding. It was selected by Neighbours cast member Kylie Minogue, who thought the song was lyrically "beautiful". The song's release coincided with the broadcast and it reached number two on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Suddenly" peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. In addition the song also charted in the European countries Ireland, Belgium and Netherlands. In 2012, Anderson stated that "Suddenly" is the best song he has ever written.

"Suddenly"
Single by Angry Anderson
from the album Beats From a Single Drum
ReleasedJuly 1987 (Australia)
1988 (UK)
Recorded1986
GenreRock Ballad
Length3:50
LabelMushroom Records
Food for Thought
PWL
Songwriter(s)Angry Anderson, Andy Chicon, Kevin Beamish
Producer(s)Kevin Beamish
Angry Anderson singles chronology
"Suddenly"
(1987)		 "Bound for Glory"
(1990)

Background and release

"Suddenly" was produced by Kevin Beamish and written by Angry Anderson, Andy Chicon and Beamish.[1][2] It was recorded at Rhinoceros Studios in Sydney, Australia for his debut solo album "Beats From a Single Drum".[1][3] The song is a ballad that marked a departure from Anderson's usual heavy rock sound. He later reflected in a "I've helped write some monster rock and roll songs and I'm just as proud to take credit for co-writing a beautiful love song."[4] In 2012, Anderson told a reporter from TV Week that "Suddenly" is the best song he has ever written.[3] Anderson has stated that the song "is about a man coming to a point in his life when he says 'I know who I am, and I don't mind revealing myself and being vulnerable.'"[3] Another inspirations for the song's lryics was Anderson's daughter and being a good father. He later explained that "it was about that all consuming love that we have for our children. This song was liberating, and was about what I was in the past and who I was about to become."[5] A music video was filmed and released to promote the single. It featured various camera close ups of Anderson's face.[6]

The song was famously used in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, during the wedding of the characters Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan) and Charlene Mitchell (Kylie Minogue).[7] "Suddenly" was released via Mushroom Records in July 1987 to coincide with the broadcast of the wedding episode.[8][9] One misconception about the song is that it was written especially for Neighbours, but Anderson wrote it long before its use on the show.[3] Minogue was also partly responsible for selecting music to feature in the wedding episode. Mushroom Records also supplied music to Neighbours and gave her choices from their catalogue. Anderson has claimed that Minogue was "adamant" that "Suddenly" was used for the wedding.[3][10] Anderson has stated that Minogue wanted to use the song because she understood its meaning and thought it was lyrically "beautiful".[3] The director of the episode Rod Hardy disliked the song after his producer Reg Watson finalised its use. Despite advising against its use, Hardy later reflected that "Suddenly" became a "huge hit" and has forever been synonymous with the wedding.[11]

Critical reception

Wendy Tuohy from The Age branded the song as "another el soppo effort from the now not-so-aggressive-but-still-relatively-tough Mr Anderson." She opined that it sounded like a cross between a Joan Sutherland and Frankie Avalon song.[8] Tuohy added that he sings "oozingly" over piano music and what she thought to be the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She concluded that this "could be the doughy result of too much head-banging."[8] Rod Quinn from the publication branded it a "romantic ballad".[12] Jon O'Brien writing for Metro said that Anderson's "ridiculously bombastic power ballad Suddenly proved to be the perfect fit" for the Neighbours wedding episode.[13] Thomas Mitchell from TV Week branded it a "nostalgic power ballad".[14]

Ben Fenion from HuffPost positive review and stated that "the song that has those that know it lip-synching and air-grabbing for their lives."[15] Kevin Wuench from the Tampa Bay Times described "Suddenly" as a "uncharacteristic power ballad" for Anderson, adding it was a "soap opera hit".[6] The song's legacy saw it become a popular wedding song.[5] In 2011, it was featured on the Now! series release titled "NOW That’s What I Call a Wedding", a compilation of famous wedding songs.[16]

Chart performance

"Suddenly" entered Australia's ARIA Charts at number thirty-four.[17] It peaked at number two in its fourth week the chart.[18] The song spent sixteen consecutive weeks on the chart's top forty.[19] The Neighbours episode it featured in was watched by twenty million viewers in the United Kingdom.[20] It was released in the UK as a 7" vinyl single via Food for Thought records. It also featured a b-side track titled "Falling".[21] It subsequently charted at number three on the UK Singles Chart and spent thirteen weeks on the chart.[22] Following its release in Ireland, the song peaked at number three and spent seven weeks on the chart.[23] In 1989, the song peaked at thirty-one in Belgium and sixty-nine in the Netherlands.[2]

Cover versions

The Australian singer Sam Clark covered the song for his first studio album, Take Me Home.[24] Clark's version was used in Neighbours episode 5998 broadcast on 25 August 2010 (13 October 2010 in the UK), as his character, Ringo Brown, married Donna Freedman (Margot Robbie).[25][26] Clark released his version of "Suddenly" in the United Kingdom as a double A-side with "Devastated".[27]

Track listings
  • Australian and UK 7" single[2]
  1. "Suddenly" – 3:50
  2. "Falling" – 4:20
  • Austrian 7" single[2]
  1. "Suddenly" – 4:04
  2. "Winni Mandela" – 4:48

Charts
Charts 1987-89 Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 2
Belgium[2] 31
New Zealand (RIANZ) 11
Ireland (IRMA)[23] 3
Netherlands (Nationale Top 100)[2] 69
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[22] 3
gollark: OH BEE
gollark: OH BEE
gollark: Why don't they just use Rayon?
gollark: ↑ it is that
gollark: !time

References
  1. Suddenly (Liner Notes [7" vinyl]). Angry Anderson. Food for Thought. 1988. 5016583511371.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "Angry Anderson - Suddenly". Ultratop (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. Burfitt, John; Miller, Erin; Walker, Lucy (7–13 April 2012). "One moment in time". TV Week (14): 9.
  4. Adams, Cameron (14 April 2011). "Four Minutes with Angry Anderson". Herald Sun. (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  5. Parnell, Kim (30 March 2018). "Rose Tattoo - ready to rock Hervey Bay - Blood Brothers 2018 tour". whatsonfrasercoast.com.au. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. Wuench, Kevin (3 November 2015). "Why so angry, Anderson? Perhaps because this tune was a soap opera hit". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. Rachel, Browne (17 October 1999). "TV - this is your life". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Tuohy, Wendy (17 July 1987). "Singles reviews". The Age. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Speelman, Paul (25 June 1987). "Neighbours: never ending story". The Age. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Benson, Jenna (1 March 2020). "Angry Anderson Reveals How Kylie Minogue Chose His Song 'Suddenly' For Scott And Charlene's Wedding On Neighbours". 101.7 WSFM. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  11. Idato, Michael (3 July 2017). "Scott and Charlene's 30th wedding anniversary: "the heartbeat of two people in love."". The Newcastle Herald. (Australian Community Media). Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  12. Quinn, Rod (25 October 1988). "Brain". The Age. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. O'Brien, Jon (3 July 2017). "It's been 30 years since Scott and Charlene's Neighbours wedding: 10 things you may not know". Metro. (DMG Media). Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  14. Mitchell, Thomas (31 August 2018). "Remembering Scott and Charlene's iconic Neighbours wedding". TV Week. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  15. Fenion, Ben (20 April 2016). "'Neighbours' Memories - Why My Future Wedding Will Be Like Scott and Charlene's". HuffPost. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  16. "NOW That's What I Call a Wedding". Now That's What I Call Music!. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  17. "Singles chart". The Age. 23 July 1987. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Singles chart". The Age. 13 August 1987. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Singles chart". The Age. 5 November 1987. Retrieved 25 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Kylie's Neighbours days on DVD". Metro. (DMG Media). 5 June 2009. Archived from the original on 19 January 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  21. "Suddenly / Falling [7" Vinyl]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  22. "Angry Anderson". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  23. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  24. "Sam Clark New Album Details". Orble. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  25. Knox, David (25 August 2010). "Suddenly… a Neighbours wedding". TV Tonight. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  26. Knox, David (August 2010). "Neighbours hits 6000 episodes". CitySearch. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  27. "Sam Clark's Suddenly to hit UK". Holy Soap. Channel Five. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 10 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
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