"Fool (If You Think It's Over)" | ||||
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Single by Chris Rea | ||||
from the album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? | ||||
B-side | "Midnight Love" | |||
Released | July 1978 | |||
Format | 7" vinyl | |||
Recorded | 1977 at The Mill | |||
Genre | Soft rock | |||
Length | 3:39 (single version) 4:47 (album version) |
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Label |
Magnet (UK) United Artists (US) |
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Writer(s) | Chris Rea | |||
Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon | |||
Chris Rea singles chronology | ||||
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"Fool (If You Think It's Over)" | ||||
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Single by Chris Rea | ||||
from the album New Light Through Old Windows | ||||
B-side | "Loving You Again (live)" | |||
Released | October 1988 | |||
Format | 7" vinyl | |||
Genre | Pop rock, soft rock | |||
Length | 4:03 | |||
Label | Magnet | |||
Writer(s) | Chris Rea | |||
Producer(s) | Chris Rea, Jon Kelly | |||
Chris Rea Dutch singles chronology | ||||
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"Fool If You Think It's Over" | ||||
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Single by Elkie Brooks | ||||
from the album Pearls | ||||
B-side | "Givin' It Up For Your Love" | |||
Released | December 1981 | |||
Format | 7" vinyl | |||
Recorded | 1980 at The Mill | |||
Genre | Pop rock, soft rock | |||
Length | 3:55 (single version) 4:58 (album version) |
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Label | A&M | |||
Writer(s) | Chris Rea | |||
Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon | |||
Elkie Brooks singles chronology | ||||
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"Fool (If You Think It's Over)" is the title of a popular song from 1978 by the British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. Rea also wrote the song, which appears on his 1978 debut album, Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?
"Fool (If You Think It's Over)" was the lead single from Rea's debut album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? which was recorded at producer Gus Dudgeon's Thames Valley recording studio The Mill. The song's inspiration was the experience Rea's younger sister Paula had had some years previously of being devastated at losing her first boyfriend, "Fool..."'s lyrics being the advice (real or imagined) with which Rea had responded to his sister's experience. Rea would recall that he had written "Fool..." as a song which Al Green might record: (quote:) "I’d always seen it as a Memphis [soul] song [but] I never had the chance to voice my opinion about what I thought about the production" of his own recording of the song of which Rea has elsewhere stated: "[It was in the] wrong key. It ended up being this huge California thing [see California Sound]. It’s the only track I never played guitar on which tells you something about the spirit of it. On top of that, it was just a huge hit. So there was nothing I could do. It was like: 'This is not me!'" Rea did play keyboards on "Fool..." with the track's background vocals provided by Read and the Mill's assistant engineer Stuart Epps.
Unsuccessful in its initial UK single release in March 1978, "Fool..." was afforded a June 1978 release in the US where it entered the Top 40 of the Hot 100 singles chart in Billboard magazine in July 1978 to reach a #12 peak on the Hot 100 dated 16 September 1978, then being in the second week of a three-week tenure at #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. On the strength its US success Rea was invited to perform "Fool..." on the 28 September 1978 TOTP broadcast which evidently facilitated a belated UK chart run for the single with a 28 October 1978 peak of #30.