Hazel O'Connor -

Hazel O’Connor (born May 16, 1955) is an English new wave singer and actress who starred in the 1980 rock-drama Breaking Glass. She wrote and performed the soundtrack album, followed months later by the album Sons and Lovers, recorded with her band Megahype for A&M. Two further albums appeared on Albion and RCA between 1981 and 1984, after which she concentrated on theater and television work.

Background

She was born Hazel Thereasa O’Connor on May 16, 1955, in Coventry; the daughter of an Irish autoworker and WWII veteran from Galway.

At sixteen, Hazel attended Coventry Art College and befriended future figures of the city’s ska revival. During her young adulthood, she painted in Amsterdam and did street theatre in Paris. After an abortive stint in Morocco, she joined a French dance troupe that performed in Tokyo and Beirut, then on the brink of civil war. In mid-1974, she trekked across the Sahara and landed in London, where she worked as a nude figure model and Soho club dancer.

Early musical activities included band stints in Germany and France, where she witnessed that nation’s distinct embrace of punk (“They don’t have the same sociological reasons for punk as they do in England.” Shelton, 33).

By 1978, she settled in London, where she formed Hazel & the Unknowns and sat in with her brother Neil’s band, Coventry pop-punks The Flys, which released two albums on EMI and charted with “Love and a Molotov Cocktail.” Hazel herself plastered 500 Unknowns promo posters throughout London. Her image intrigued Albion Records (999, The Edge, Ian Gomm, Sore Throat).

Before she made her vinyl debut, a casting agent at one of her concerts asked her to audition for Breaking Glass, an intended ‘punk’ version of Rock Follies. She won the part, which assumed a more earnest theme of a singer plucked from obscurity who finds herself thrust into the dark sides of the entertainment industry. Meanwhile, she recorded her first single.

Breaking Glass (OST)

In August 1980, Hazel O’Connor released Breaking Glass, the A&M Records soundtrack to the British musical drama of the same name.

The album blends tense new wave energy with stark, dramatic vocals and brooding arrangements. O’Connor’s lyrics mirror the film’s narrative of artistic conflict and societal unrest, while the instrumentation combines sharp guitar and saxophone motifs with icy synthesizer textures and martial rhythms.

O’Connor wrote all twelve songs and performed lead vocals and keyboards. The backing band features producer Tony Visconti (vocals, keyboards), guitarist–keyboardist Bob Carter, saxophonist Wesley Magoogan, bassist Rick “Pinky” Ford, and drummer–percussionist Andy Duncan.

The material moves between confrontation and reflection. “Eighth Day” recounts a mechanized creation myth where humanity’s inventions overtake their makers. “Will You?”—the album’s most emotive piece—pairs a somber vocal with an extended alto saxophone solo by Magoogan. “Big Brother” and “Who Needs It” address censorship and media manipulation, while “Writing on the Wall” and “Monsters in Disguise” introduce themes of paranoia and personal control. The closing “If Only” retreats into resignation and loss.

A1. “Writing on the Wall” (3:20) — opens the album with foreboding tension as O’Connor warns of political complacency
A2. “Monsters in Disguise” (3:22) — portrays hidden social aggression beneath civilized veneers
A3. “Come Into the Air” (3:42) — a yearning piece that offers brief respite from the surrounding hostility
A4. “Big Brother” (3:04) — critiques surveillance and control, echoing Orwellian imagery
A5. “Who Needs It” (3:09) — confronts corruption and hypocrisy through clipped phrasing and pointed delivery
A6. “Will You?” (4:49) — the album’s reflective centerpiece, inspired by a 1974 bombing incident; noted for Magoogan’s extended sax solo

B1. “Eighth Day” (3:11) — allegorical narrative likening industrial progress to a modern creation myth
B2. “Top of the Wheel” (3:15) — explores the fleeting nature of success and its moral compromises
B3. “Calls the Tune” (3:00) — depicts manipulation within the music industry
B4. “Blackman” (3:44) — addresses racial prejudice through fragmented rhythm and stark tone
B5. “Give Me an Inch” (3:08) — laments exploitation and personal boundaries
B6. “If Only” (4:15) — closes with exhaustion and self-doubt, signaling the collapse of idealism

Sessions occurred at Good Earth Studios in London with Tony Visconti producing and engineering, assisted by Kit Woolven and Gordon Fordyce.

A&M promoted Breaking Glass with five singles. “Writing on the Wall” appeared first in May 1980 (b/w “Animal Logic”). “Eighth Day” followed in August 1980 (b/w “Monsters in Disguise”) and reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. “Give Me an Inch” appeared in October 1980, followed by “Will You?” in May 1981 (b/w “Sons and Lovers”), which also reached No. 8 and earned silver certification. “Calls the Tune” closed the run in January 1982, charting at No. 60.

The success of Breaking Glass established O’Connor as a prominent figure in the UK’s post-punk scene and led directly to her follow-up albums Sons and Lovers and Cover Plus.

Film Synopsis — Breaking Glass (1980)

Breaking Glass is a British musical drama written and directed by Brian Gibson and co-produced by Dodi Fayed.

The story follows Kate Crowley (Hazel O’Connor), a defiant singer-songwriter whose politically charged music attracts the attention of Danny (Phil Daniels), a struggling promoter eager to break free from his corrupt boss. Danny assembles a new band around Kate—Breaking Glass—with guitarist Tony (Mark Wingett), bassist Dave (Gary Tibbs), drummer Mick (Peter-Hugo Daly), and partially deaf saxophonist Ken (Jonathan Pryce). Their early gigs in hostile pubs and fringe venues test both their ideals and endurance.

As Danny pushes for recognition, the group’s confrontational songs draw police harassment and media controversy. After securing a record deal, the band’s success comes at the cost of creative freedom and internal cohesion. Pressure from executives and the manipulative producer Bob Woods (Jon Finch) isolates Kate, who spirals into dependence and paranoia as her music is diluted for mainstream appeal.

The climactic concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre shows Kate physically and emotionally breaking down during the performance of “Eighth Day.” The film ends with her institutionalized, visited by Danny, who brings her a synthesizer in silent tribute to their shared dream.

The film premiered in September 1980 through GTO Films and was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Its soundtrack reached No. 5 in the UK and earned gold certification.

Sons and Lovers

Hazel O’Connor released her second album, Sons and Lovers, in November 1980 on A&M and Ariola.

The album expands on the taut, theatrical new wave of Breaking Glass with a brighter pop production and tighter rhythmic focus. O’Connor maintains her declamatory vocal style while exploring sharper, more concise song forms rooted in post-punk minimalism and synth-accented pop.

O’Connor wrote all twelve songs apart from the traditional closer “Danny Boy,” which she arranged, and the live bonus cover of David Bowie’s “Suffragette City.” Her brother Neil O’Connor plays guitar alongside keyboardist Andy Qunta, saxophonist Wesley Magoogan, bassist Gary Tibbs (Roxy Music, Adam and the Ants), bassist Wild Oscar, drummer Eddie Case, and backing vocalist Lizzie Donovan.

The material alternates between satire and introspection. “D-Days” (“Decadent Days”) depicts London nightlife as a parade of affectation and excess, its martial rhythm echoing her cinematic sensibility. “Zoo” and “Gigolo” explore themes of exploitation and status, while “Waiting” and “Who Will Care?” turn inward with more personal unease. The title track “Sons and Lovers” invokes generational tension, drawing loosely on D.H. Lawrence’s novel, while “Do What You Do” and “Glass Houses” caution against hypocrisy and betrayal.

A1. “D-Days” (3:10) — portrays the pretensions of London’s fashion elite; later remixed for single release by Tony Visconti
A2. “Waiting” (2:33) — captures restlessness and disillusion in clipped phrasing
A3. “Who Will Care?” (3:13) — questions empathy amid urban isolation
A4. “Zoo” (4:32) — likens entertainment culture to confinement and voyeurism
A5. “Gigolo” (2:41) — skewers transactional relationships and vanity
A6. “Do What You Do” (4:36) — advises self-reliance and moral autonomy

B1. “Sons and Lovers” (4:38) — reflects generational distance and the loss of innocence
B2. “Glass Houses” (3:19) — cautions against duplicity and moral blindness
B3. “Ain’t It Funny” (3:57) — muses on the fickleness of fame
B4. “Danny Boy” (2:30) — adapts the Irish folk standard “Londonderry Air” with sparse, solemn arrangement
B5. “Bye Bye” (3:18) — closes the main sequence on a note of detachment
B6. “Time (Ain’t on Our Side)” (3:17) — reflects on urgency and impermanence

Sessions occurred in October 1980 at Good Earth Studios, London, with Nigel Gray producing and Pete Buhlmann engineering.

A&M and Ariola promoted Sons and Lovers with three singles. “Waiting” appeared first in late 1980 (Australia only). “Time” followed in December 1980 (b/w “Ain’t It Funny”), reaching No. 30 on the UK Indie Chart. “D-Days,” issued in March 1981 (b/w “Time Is Free”), became the album’s signature hit, peaking at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 11 in Ireland.

The 2018 Cherry Red reissue adds five bonus tracks, including the live Dominion Theatre versions of “Ain’t It Funny” and Bowie’s “Suffragette City” (featuring Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran), plus alternate mixes of “D-Days” and the 1979 recording of “Time Is Free.”

Cover Plus

Hazel O’Connor released her third album, Cover Plus, in August 1981 on A&M.

The album continues her post-Breaking Glass trajectory with a polished new wave sound shaped by producer Tony Visconti. It blends autobiographical songs with reimagined covers, uniting theatrical phrasing and tight ensemble interplay led by her touring band Megahype: saxophonist Wesley Magoogan, guitarist Neil O’Connor, keyboardist Andy “Roots” Qunta, bassist Steve Kinch, and drummer Eddie Case, with backing vocals by Lizzie Donovan and Mary Hopkin.

O’Connor wrote eight of the album’s twelve tracks. She also covers songs by The Stranglers (“Hanging Around”), Lou Reed (“Men of Good Fortune”), and Jimmy Webb (“Do What You Gotta Do”), adapting the latter’s lyrics to a female perspective. The album closes with “That’s Life,” written in the chanson style of Édith Piaf.

Lyrically, O’Connor draws on formative experiences—childhood trauma (“Ee-I-Addio”), youthful rebellion (“Runaway”), and social observation (“Animal Farm (We Will Be Happy?)”)—while “Not for You” explores personal boundaries in romance. The title track recounts a youthful loss of innocence, and “Hold On” and “So You’re Born” expand on the album’s recurring themes of survival and identity.

A1. “Cover Plus (We’re All Grown Up)” (4:04) — Refers to childhood discovery and the loss of innocence.
A2. “Hanging Around” (4:11) — A cover of The Stranglers’ 1977 song about urban boredom and disillusionment. Group-written by Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black. O’Connor dated Cornwell at the time.
A3. “Ee-I-Addio” (3:42) — Reworking of O’Connor’s 1979 debut single “Ee-I-Adio,” addressing childhood domestic abuse, its title drawn from the nursery rhyme “The Farmer in the Dell.”
A4. “Not for You” (2:45)
A5. “Hold On” (4:28)
A6. “So You’re Born” (3:26)

B1. “Dawn Chorus” (4:00)
B2. “Animal Farm (We Will Be Happy?)” (4:05) — Thematically linked to Orwell’s novel, exploring the illusion of social equality.
B3. “Runaway” (3:20) — Inspired by O’Connor’s own flight to Amsterdam at age sixteen.
B4. “Do What You Gotta Do” (Jimmy Webb) (3:47) — Written by Jimmy Webb, first recorded by Johnny Rivers (1967) and later a 1968 hit for Al Wilson and Nina Simone; O’Connor reverses the gender roles in her rendition.
B5. “Men of Good Fortune” (Lou Reed) (3:10) — From Reed’s 1973 album Berlin.
B6. “That’s Life” (4:34) — Performed in Piaf-inspired cabaret style about accepting heartbreak without regret.

Sessions took place at Good Earth Studios, London, during May–June 1981 with producer Tony Visconti and engineers Gordon Fordyce and Chris Porter.

Album design features artwork by Edward Bell, depicting O’Connor in a transitional image between punk austerity and a glam-inflected, Bowie-esque persona.

Albion promoted Cover Plus with four singles. “(Cover Plus) We’re All Grown Up” appeared in July 1981 (b/w “White Room”) and reached No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart. “Hanging Around” followed in September, peaking at No. 45. “Men of Good Fortune” appeared as a Flexipop! magazine flexi-disc, and “That’s Life” was issued in April 1982.

Cover Plus reached No. 32 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 4 on the UK Indie Albums Chart.

Discography: