It was a cold and rainy Monday as I entered HMV.
The timing was just right, the new singles were on display.
And there it was that morning: I took the single off the shelf.
I looked at the back cover and this is what it said:
Written by Barry Stone. Produced by Belvedere Kane & Julian Gingell.
Instantly, my interest was piqued. Both Stone and Gingell had worked at PWL in varying musical capacities, and Gingell was by this time working with Stock & Aitken (at Stock’s post-PWL Love This venture), so this was enough to persuade me to take a punt on a track I had not heard.
The single was Never Felt As Good and the artist was Belvedere Kane (aka Barry Stone). One of the best “blind” record buying decisions I ever made.
The track had me at first listen. From its slightly spooky opening to its life-affirming chorus, this 90s’ Romo-styled tale of love & karma is an absolute belter. Stone & Gingell’s arrangement and production is off the charts - they threw everything but the kitchen sink in and it works beautifully - with the added bonus of a dramatic string arrangement courtesy of amazing producer and Fairlight wizard Ian Curnow.
I can best describe Belvedere Kane by asking you to imagine that Pet Shop Boys & Erasure had a child, who went to a school where Pete Burns was the headteacher and Benny & Bjorn from ABBA were the music teachers.
Never Felt As Good unbelievably missed out on a Top 75 chart placing, but the potential was there.
Until Belvedere Kane was dropped by their record label, that is. After which Stone went into a very successful songwriting, production and remixing career with Gingell (as Jewels & Stone, and latterly The Alias), leaving those of us who did discover the single to wonder what could have been…
2026.
… until now.
Barry Stone has revisited his old recordings and demos, and has remade & remodelled them to finally give us the long awaited debut album from Belvedere Kane, Such Trying Times.
My expectations were high based on Never Felt As Good but I can genuinely say this amazing album has been worth the wait.
It’s full-on synthpop from end to end. Retaining the original 90s sound of Belvedere Kane whilst subtly updating it for the 2020s, with the odd tip of the hat to the 80s.
Legends (Forever Young) opens the album with bombast, cleverly incorporating an unused vocal recording of Pete Burns into a completely new song. We get a new (but authentically recreated) version of Never Felt As Good, which adds a missing verse and is probably even better than the original version. Getting Away With Murder will be stuck in your head for days. Magazines is the best Visage tribute I've ever heard. I Want You I Want You sees Stone channel Phil Oakey in this Pet Shop Boys-esque track. The slinky Sleeping Dogs takes us into ballad territory, with the added bonus of Cathy Dennis on backing vocals. Such Trying Times is Barry Stone’s take on the Marlene Dietrich standard, with an Army of Lovers influence. Could This Be Love? is another cover, this time of an early 90s cult dance track, which shows another side to Belvedere Kane. Isabella Rossellini is a very fun, tongue in cheek pop romp with a fab chorus. Never Said Goodbye is a more thoughtful track, with a lovely melody and a heartfelt vocal. The final track of the main album tracklist is We’re Not Lovers, which is also probably my fave of the new tracks. It’s like The Beloved covering Tomorrow Never Knows.
(I realise I’ve made a lot of comparisons to other artists above, but this is not intended to diminish Barry’s own talents, or those of his collaborators. He takes these influences and fuses them with his own original ideas to create something which is unique to Belvedere Kane).
It goes without saying that if you like 80s / 90s synthpop, then you’ll love this. I recommend it wholeheartedly. Check it out on Spotify, or even better, treat yourself to the CD or vinyl.
PS Barry, you can’t leave it there! Can we have a follow up please? :-)
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