Music CD Cover

Performer: Ph.D
Edition: Vinyl
Music Label: Atlantic

Free Music Notes for Ph.D (12",33rpm, Vinyl Record)

Free Music Review: "Diamond" in the Rough!
Hit: 5 Stars

This is probably one of the rarest records in the western world. I had the right connections to get this LP. I'm surprised it's even here.
PhD are Scottish crooner Jim Diamond and classically trained Tony Hymas. They came together in late 1980 and signed to wea Records (Atlantic in the US). They recorded this LP, simply titled "PhD". It took a while to catch on in the UK, Europe, and Australia. It went nowhere in the Americas. "I Won't Let You Down" was a hit in several countries. The album came out again with the cover you see here, though it's not supposed to be dark red. It was to tie in with the single. "Little Suzi's on the Up" had a video that looks like a parody of "Strictly Come Dancing", and was covered in 1986 by hair metal band Tesla (They played it when I saw them at the State Fair last year). Some songs like "War Years" and "Poor City" seem more relevant now than in the early '80s. It's almost as if a real Ph.D. wrote the lyrics!
There's little guitar and no bass. What separates this from most of the synth-pop of the day was the use of real drums instead of a Linn or Fairlight. Here, they're mainly from Simon Phillips, a seasoned veteran session player with hundreds of credits. He was in Jeff Beck's band with Hymas and later in Toto.
A second album followed in 1983; "Is It Safe?", featuring the ballad "I Didn't Know", which was a minor hit in some of Western Europe. Diamond caught Hepatitis A and PhD couldn't promote the album. He would have a solo career ("I Should Have Known Better"), and Hymas would play with Frank Zappa and go back to his roots in jazz and classical music.
One year, I received an e-mail from Diamond saying that a new PhD album was to be recorded and that the two LPs would be reissued with bonus tracks by Rhino/Warner UK. Now they will be reissued by Voiceprint instead any day now, along with a new album. I guess Ph.D. weren't a priority with Warner. Figures! It could also be they lost the masters, so the reissues may be derived from vinyl like another certain album with Phillips.
It's about time that these records were taken out of obscurity. I spent a few pennies getting them. Only The Beatles and Queen have I spent more on (on collectible material).

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Ph.D (12",33rpm, Vinyl Record) Poster

Ph.D include: I WON'T LET YOU DOWN & THERE'S NO ANSWER TO IT. OTHER SELECTIONS INCLUDE: LITTLE SUZI'S ON THE UP, WAR YEARS, OO SHA SHA, POOR CITY, UP DOWN, HOLLYWOOD SIGNS, RADIO TO ON,

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