Donna Summer - Another Place And Time

Another Place and Time is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, entering the UK chart on March 19, 1989. The album was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman after a suggestion by Donna's husband Bruce.

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"I was in Europe in 1987 and my husband Bruce said I should work with these guys, but I didn't really know who they were. I then heard Rick Astley's songs and I loved the production so a meeting was set up with SAW and we hit it off immediately. They had a good sense of who I am, a good sense of the market and they know what my career has been. I felt very secure with them."

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Although the term "comeback" may not hold relevance in the long-spanning career of an artist of the calibre of Summer, it's fair to say that she reclaimed her status as the reigning "Queen Of Disco" as soon as THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL hit the airwaves in early 1989. The lead single ingeniously combined elements of her disco classics with a refreshingly youthful structure which secured her a largely expanded audience amongst pre-teen and teen aged listeners.

THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL was released on February 13, 1989. Like the rest of the album, the song was written and produced by the Stock Aitken & Waterman team, though Summer also had a hand in writing this song, as well as two others on the album.

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"They have a vision and their vision cannot be completed if it is dissipated by a lot of other people's ideas."

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The song was a worldwide smash success.

It became Summer's biggest hit in the UK since the 1970s (during which time she had been the most popular female disco artist), reaching number three in the UK and spending a total of 14 weeks in the Top 75, longer than any of her other singles. It also reached number 7 in both the US (where it was certified Gold) and Canada and hit the Top 10 in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Norway.

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The album was released in the UK in March1989 and peaked at number 17. It also hit the Top 30 of many charts throughout Europe. In the US it peaked at number 53 which was in part due to record label problems over there.

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The second single release in the UK was I DON'T WANNA GET HURT. Released on May 15th 1989 the song was remixed from the album version for the release. The song peaked at number 7 and spent 9 weeks on the chart. It was also a hit throughout Europe but was not released in the US. The video did not feature Donna, again due to her trying to solve label problems back home.

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"It's a very 80's sounding song but it's the closest thing to my big hits with Giorgio Moroder."

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LOVE'S ABOUT TO CHANGE MY HEART was the third release in Europe and the second in the US. A fan favourite due to her strong vocal performance and the fact that it had a slow beginning, reminiscent of several of Summer's disco hits of the 1970s, the song was remixed from the album version becoming a solid Top 20 hit in the UK. In the US it was a number 3 Dance Chart hit but only made 85 on the Pop Chart.

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WEA continued to promote the album throughout Europe with another release, WHEN LOVE TAKES OVER YOU. A slightly slower pace than the previous singles, the track is no less captivating. The accompanying lighthearted video featured Donna trying on various outfits and hairstyles showing different facets of her personality. Despite it's lowly chart position of number 72 the tune remains a favourite of many long time fans.

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The final track lifted from the set was BREAKAWAY which had already been released as a single in the US where it sadly failed to chart despite a beefed-up remix by Tony Humphries. It was released in the UK in January 1991 following the re-release of the 1982 hit STATE OF INDEPENDENCE, as a brand new remix by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow and made the UK Top 50. Even though the single wasn't very successful in most English-speaking countries, it proved to be surprisingly well received in Latin America, where it charted in countries such as Peru and Argentina. In Brazil, the single was her 7th number one in the country.

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In the UK, ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME gave Donna her first Gold record in ten years. The album remains to this day one of the most popular of all SAW produced albums, in fact a 2020 poll among SAW fans voted ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME as the ULTIMATE SAW ALBUM and THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL as the ULTIMATE SAW SINGLE. It's tempting to imagine what Summer and SAW might have come up with for a follow-up had their working relationship continued. All three members of SAW have agreed that Donna was an amazing artist to work with. We finish with this quote from Mike Stock:

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"SAW did not work too often with established artists. Donna’s class and legendary vocal ability were well known to me when I first put her behind the mic. Having written the tune I had to sing it to her! I was nervous, perhaps she knew. My tune came back at me with brass knobs on. She was such a great vocalist and it was one of my best experiences in a studio. I will never forget that."