Sheena Easton -

Sheena Easton is a Scottish singer who emerged with the 1980 EMI hits “Modern Girl” and “Morning Train (Nine to Five),” followed by the 1981 albums Take My Time and You Could Have Been With Me, released around “For Your Eyes Only,” her ballad theme for the James Bond movie.

She followed her initial flurry of hits and press with the 1982/83 albums Madness, Money and Music and Best Kept Secret, landing further hits with “Machinery,” “Telefone,” and the Kenny Rogers duet “We’ve Got Tonight.” Prince wrote her risque 1984 hit “Sugar Walls,” included on her fifth album A Private Heaven, a hi-tech set opened by the assertive dance anthem “Strut.”

Easton re-teamed with Prince for his 1987 hit “U Got the Look,” a blueprint for her subsequent Hi-NRG hits “The Lover in Me” and “What Comes Naturally.” After her 1991 promotional rounds, she refashioned as retro-jazz singer and stage actress.

Background

She was born Sheena Shirley Orr in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on April 27, 1959, the youngest of six children (and the fourth girl) borne to Annie and steel labourer Alex Orr, who passed away when she was 10.

Sheena’s singing ambitions stemmed from her experience with the 1973 romantic-drama The Way We Were, where she felt overtaken by co-star Barbra Streisand’s delivery of the title-theme during the opening credits.

She earned a scholarship to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, where she majored in speech and drama. At night, she sang in a local club band called Something Else. In 1979, she married Sandi Easton. Though they divorced after eight months, she kept his surname.

That year, she auditioned for the BBC program The Big Time, which followed young hopefuls in their reach for success in various fields. Her episode, “Sheena Easton – Pop Singer,” It chronicles her initial forays into the music industry, where she sings for Lulu and Dusty Springfield, poses for photographers, and makes her first recording.

By the time her episode aired (7/2/80, Series 3, Ep. 3), she’d released her first two singles on EMI: “Modern Girl” b/w “Paradox” (Feb. 1980, No. 56) and “9 to 5” b/w “Moody (My Love),” released in May. After the show aired, “9 to 5” shot to No. 3 and “Modern Girl” climbed back up the charts, giving her two simultaneous positions in the UK Top 10.

In February 1981, EMI launched Easton in North America, where “9 to 5” was retitled “Morning Train (Nine to Five)” to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton’s then-current hit of the same name. It topped the US Billboard and Canadian RPM charts.

Take My Time

Sheena Easton released her debut studio album, Take My Time, on January 19, 1981, on EMI.

The UK sequence contains twelve titles, including the singles “Modern Girl,” “9 to 5,” “One Man Woman,” “Take My Time,” and “When He Shines.” Easton recorded the album with guitarist Phil Palmer, bassist Andy Brown, drummer Peter Van Hooke, percussionist Frank Ricotti, and a five-keyboard group (Derek Austin, David Cullen, Billy Lyall, Ian Lynn, Peter Vale). Cullen supplied the string arrangements; Tony Hall and backing vocalists Sharon Campbell, Alan Carvell, Kim Goody, Frank Musker, and Christopher Neil round the cast.

“Modern Girl” runs on a burbling, lightly disco arrangement beneath Easton’s confident lead. “Morning Train” claps through hand accents, swooning backing voices, and an ebullient lead. “When He Shines” rises from exposed vocal phrasing into a fuller dramatic crest. “Prisoner” gives the album its harder edge. “So Much In Love” softens into smooth, light vocal phrasing. “Calm Before the Storm” settles around piano and an airy sweep. “No One Ever Knows” closes the supported set with heightened dramatic phrasing.

A1. “Don’t Send Flowers” (3:02) – Pickett
A2. “Cry” (3:32) – Musker, Murphy
A3. “Take My Time” (2:39) – Bliss, Palmer
A4. “When He Shines” (3:56) – Bugatti, Palmer
A5. “One Man Woman” (3:06) – Leeson, Vale
A6. “Prisoner” (3:34) – Cooper, Lance, Riparetti

B1. “9 to 5” (3:20) – Palmer
B2. “So Much in Love” (3:04) – Bugatti, Musker
B3. “Voice on the Radio” (3:18) – Palmer, Vale
B4. “Calm Before the Storm” (3:28) – Neil, Vale
B5. “Modern Girl” (3:37) – Bugatti, Musker
B6. “No One Ever Knows” (3:47) – Leeson, Vale

Sessions occurred in 1979–80 at AIR Studios, Montserrat. Christopher Neil produced the album, and Nick Ryan engineered the album. Tony George, Simon Hurrell, and Brett Kennedy assisted the sessions. Remix work took place at Audio International Studios in London.

Peter Shepherd designed the sleeve, and Brian Aris photographed the cover image. The front cover shows Easton in a head-and-shoulders portrait against a red background, with script lettering at the top and lower center of the frame.

EMI lifted “Modern Girl” as a February 1980 single (b/w “Paradox”), which reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. “9 to 5” followed in May 1980 (b/w “Moody (My Love)”) and placed No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.

EMI issued “One Man Woman” in October 1980 (b/w “Summer’s Over”), then issued “Take My Time” in January 1981 (b/w “Calm Before the Storm”). “One Man Woman” reached No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart, and “Take My Time” reached No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart.

“When He Shines” followed in April 1981 (b/w “Right or Wrong”) and placed No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. EMI America issued “Morning Train (Nine to Five)” in January 1981 (b/w “Calm Before the Storm”), and the retitled single reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

Take My Time reached No. 17 on the UK Albums Chart. The North American Sheena Easton version reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200 chart.

“For Your Eyes Only”

Easton entered the James Bond franchise in 1981 with “For Your Eyes Only,” the title song from the Roger Moore film of the same name. Christopher Neil produced the single, which sets lyrics by Mick Leeson to music by Rocky composer Bill Conti.

The ballad blends a warm, atmospheric opening with a more traditional pop-orchestral arrangement. Penned from a distinct feminine perspective, the lyrics explore themes of deep romantic vulnerability and exclusive intimacy, framing the singer’s emotions as a secret bond shared only with a single, trusted partner. By casting this connection as a private sanctuary, the song mirrors the classic 007 motif of solitary devotion while stripping away the bravado for a more grounded, emotional core.

“For Your Eyes Only” plays over the film’s main title sequence after the pre-credit helicopter scene and places Easton inside Maurice Binder’s credit design. The sequence uses close shots of Easton singing, with her face and mouth placed among silhouettes, water imagery, and title graphics. A credit-free version served as one of the song’s videos, while Steve Barron directed a separate promotional clip.

“For Your Eyes Only” reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart, and the song received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

You Could Have Been With Me

Sheena Easton released her second studio album, You Could Have Been With Me, on September 21, 1981, on EMI.

Easton recorded You Could Have Been With Me with Christopher Neil and a reduced rhythm-and-keyboard team built around returning players Lynn, Palmer, Brown, Van Hooke, and Ricotti. Lynn supplies keyboards, synthesizers, and string arrangement; Alan Carvell, Christopher Neil, and Tony Rivers form the backing-vocal group. North American editions alter the A-side order and replace “Isn’t It So” with “When He Shines.”

“You Could Have Been With Me” swells around piano-lined drama, broad vocal climbs, and overt emotional delivery. “A Little Tenderness” belongs with the album’s brighter uptempo material. “Just Another Broken Heart” presses the same polished up-tempo lane with heavier production. “I’m Not Worth the Hurt” fits the slower-set material where Easton gives the lead more range.

“A Letter From Joey” stays in the album’s softer dramatic lane. “Telephone Lines” carries the lighter rhythmic color heard across the uptempo cuts. “Isn’t It So” adds the album’s verified string arrangement to the closing stretch. “When He Shines” replaces “Isn’t It So” on the North American edition and returns to the exposed-to-fuller dramatic treatment heard on Take My Time.

A1. “A Little Tenderness” (3:44) – Leeson, Vale
A2. “Savoir Faire” (3:10) – Palmer, Vale
A3. “Just Another Broken Heart” (3:29) – Leeson, Vale
A4. “I’m Not Worth the Hurt” (3:00) – Van Hoy, Allen, Struzick
A5. “You Could Have Been With Me” (3:48) – Maalfrid

B1. “A Letter from Joey” (3:44) – Bugatti, Musker
B2. “Telephone Lines” (3:22) – Kipner, Christian
B3. “Johnny” (3:33) – McKitty
B4. “Trouble in the Shadows” (3:12) – Maalfrid
B5. “Isn’t It So” (2:50) – Floyd

North American editions changed the A-side order and replaced “Isn’t It So” with “When He Shines.”

Sessions occurred in 1981 at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado. Christopher Neil produced the album, and Nick Ryan engineered the album. Greg Edward assisted the sessions.

Cream designed the sleeve, and Brian Aris photographed the cover image. The front cover shows Easton before a red background in a dark blue jacket, with blue script lettering at the upper right and the album title at the lower-left corner.

EMI lifted “Just Another Broken Heart” as a September 1981 single (b/w “Savoir Faire (He’s Got)”), which reached No. 33 on the UK Singles Chart. “You Could Have Been With Me” followed in November 1981 (b/w “Family of One”) and placed No. 54 on the UK Singles Chart.

EMI America issued the title track in October 1981 (b/w “Savoir Faire”), and the single reached No. 15 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. EMI issued “A Little Tenderness” in Japan in February 1982 (b/w “Right or Wrong”) after the song entered a Noevir Cosmetics television campaign.

You Could Have Been With Me reached No. 33 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 47 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album also reached No. 7 on the Oricon Albums Chart.

Madness, Money and Music

Sheena Easton released her third studio album, Madness, Money and Music, in September 1982 on EMI.

Madness, Money and Music contains twelve titles, including an early issued version of “Wind Beneath My Wings” and the first issued version of “You Do It.” Easton also covers Janis Ian (“In the Winter”). Returning players Palmer, Van Hooke, Ricotti, and Lynn appear with guitarist Micky Moody, bassist Mo Foster, pianist Bias Boshell, two saxophonists (Tony Hall, Chris Hunter), trumpeter Guy Barker, and backing vocalists Alan Carvell, John Kirby, and Christopher Neil.

“Weekend in Paris” surges through impassioned lead lines, faint announcer detail, and stirring guitar figures. “Are You Man Enough” quickens with a softer verbal stance and a firmer vocal edge. “I Wouldn’t Beg for Water” steadies the lead between vulnerable phrasing and a more resolved line. “Machinery” glints with burbling synth motion, horn effects, and playful vocal turns. “Ice Out in the Rain” darkens around spare arrangement space and a pensive lead. “I Don’t Need Your Word” coils through quiet tension and controlled intensification.

“Madness, Money and Music” pivots through large rises and sudden drops. “There When I Needed You” simmers with brass, subtle rhythmic sway, and high-reaching vocal climbs. “Wind Beneath My Wings” holds its vulnerable text in a controlled, pointed lead. “You Do It” opens on twinkling figures, then settles into a chilled bassline and seductive vocal placement. “In the Winter” pares the setting to piano and a clear melancholy line.

A1. “Weekend in Paris” (4:10) – Quinn
A2. “Are You Man Enough” (3:28) – Livsey, Lyle
A3. “I Wouldn’t Beg for Water” (4:16) – Leeson, Vale
A4. “Machinery” (3:01) – Downes
A5. “Ice Out in the Rain” (4:46) – Leeson, Vale
A6. “I Don’t Need Your Word” (3:22) – Leeson, Vale

B1. “Madness, Money and Music” (3:54) – Black, Chatton
B2. “There When I Needed You” (3:01) – Parker, Kipner
B3. “Wind Beneath My Wings” (4:04) – Henley, Silbar
B4. “You Do It” (3:41) – Allen, Struzick
B5. “In the Winter” (3:10) – Ian
B6. “Please Don’t Sympathise” (3:33) – Thompson

Sessions occurred at AIR Studios in Montserrat. Christopher Neil produced the album, and Nick Ryan engineered the album. Steve Rooke mastered the record at Strawberry Mastering in London.

Madness, Money and Music appeared in a sleeve designed by Cream and Roy R. Guzman with photography by Brian Aris. The cover places Easton in a straw hat and white top inside a green border, with her name in script above the photograph.

EMI lifted “Machinery” as a 1982 single (b/w “So We Say Goodbye”), which reached No. 38 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Steve Barron directed the “Machinery” video, which pairs Easton with actor Gorden Kaye as an on-screen boss.

“Are You Man Enough” followed as a 1982 UK single (b/w “Loner”). EMI America issued “I Wouldn’t Beg for Water” on October 30, 1982 (b/w “Some of Us Will”), and the title reached No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Madness, Money and Music reached No. 44 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 85 on the Billboard 200 chart.

“We’ve Got Tonight”

Kenny Rogers recorded “We’ve Got Tonight” with Easton in 1983 for the Rogers album of the same title, released on Liberty. The duet adapts the Bob Seger song as a close vocal exchange, with Rogers in the lower register and Easton answering in a higher, cleaner line.

“We’ve Got Tonight” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 2 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. The single placed Easton inside Rogers’ country-crossover run between “Love Will Turn You Around” and the Dolly Parton duet “Islands in the Stream.”

Best Kept Secret

Sheena Easton released her fourth studio album, Best Kept Secret, in August 1983 on EMI.

Best Kept Secret places Easton in Los Angeles sessions with producers Greg Mathieson and Jay Graydon, whose Airplay colleague David Foster plays acoustic piano on “Almost Over You.” Richard Page sings backing vocals with Steve George on “I Like the Fright,” “Devil in a Fast Car,” and “Don’t Leave Me This Way.”

Her support roster includes percussionist Lenny Castro, string arranger Jeremy Lubbock, guitarists Paul Jackson Jr. and Michael Landau, bassists Leland Sklar and Nathan East, and keyboardists Michael Boddicker, Robbie Buchanan, Steve Porcaro, and Steve Kipner.

“Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)” hurries through a steady up-tempo beat and bright synth line. “I Like the Fright” extends the same electronic party tempo. “Almost Over You” centers piano and strings beneath a wounded lead. “Devil in a Fast Car” drives through a mid-tempo cut with a sharper electronic edge. “Don’t Leave Me This Way” broadens the cover treatment with Latin-tinted accents. “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie” rides dense electronic figures. “Just One Smile” slows into a longing vocal turn. “Sweet Talk” bounces on a compact beat. “Best Kept Man” creeps through slinky, stealthy phrasing.

A1. “Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)” (3:41) – Mathieson, Veitch
A2. “I Like the Fright” (3:49) – Bliss, Kipner
A3. “Almost Over You” (3:41) – Kimball, Richardson
A4. “Devil in a Fast Car” (4:01) – Kimball, Richardson
A5. “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (4:57) – Pennington

B1. “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie” (4:31) – Emmanuel, Kipner
B2. “(She’s in Love) With Her Radio” (3:36) – McBride, Roth
B3. “Just One Smile” (4:48) – Newman
B4. “Sweet Talk” (3:39) – Kimball
B5. “Best Kept Man” (3:48) – Shefts

Sessions occurred in 1983 at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles and Garden Rake Studios in Studio City. Mathieson produced tracks one, three, four, five, seven, nine, and ten; Graydon produced tracks two, six, and eight. David Leonard engineered Mathieson’s tracks, and Graydon and Ian Eales engineered the remaining tracks.

Best Kept Secret appeared in a sleeve with art direction by Henry Marquez, design by Roy Guzman, and photography by Brian Aris. The cover shows Easton in black beside a large wall shadow, with the album title set vertically along the right edge.

EMI America lifted “Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)” as an August 20, 1983 single (b/w “Wish You Were Here Tonight”), which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Steve Barron directed the “Telefone” video, produced by Simon Fields; the clip casts the song inside a Gothic scenario drawn from Frankenstein screen imagery. EMI issued the single in the UK in 1983, and the title reached No. 84 on the UK Singles Chart.

“Almost Over You” followed in November 1983 (b/w “I Don’t Need Your Word”) and reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. EMI America issued “Devil in a Fast Car” on April 14, 1984 (b/w “Sweet Talk”), which reached No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Best Kept Secret reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200 chart, No. 99 on the UK Albums Chart, and No. 4 on the Oricon Albums Chart.

A Private Heaven

Sheena Easton released her fifth studio album, A Private Heaven, on September 21, 1984, on EMI America.

Easton recorded A Private Heaven with Greg Mathieson as sole producer and a revised Los Angeles roster. Prince wrote “Sugar Walls” under the Alexander Nevermind credit and appears on synthesizer, electric guitar, and Linn LM-1 programming.

Returning players include Landau, Vega, Castro, Boddicker, Herbig, Page, and George. New support includes bassist Abraham Laboriel and guitarists Lee Ritenour and Steve Lukather. The horn section places saxophonist Larry Williams, trombonist Bill Reichenbach Jr., and trumpeters Gary Grant and Jerry Hey, who arranged the section.

“Strut” starts with bongo accents, locks to a keyboard figure, and breaks into processed layered vocal replies. “Sugar Walls” slinks through a tight electronic rhythm while Easton moves from low phrases to piercing climactic notes. “Hungry Eyes” threads an East Asian-colored synth figure through the opening and return lines. “Hard to Say It’s Over” climbs from high full-belt verses into a closing breakdown. “Swear” hammers a jagged riff and sends Easton into rapid spoken sections.

“Love and Affection” settles her lead into lower-set lines and self-answering vocal replies. “Back in the City” saunters through horn charts and warm night-time phrasing. “You Make Me Nervous” tightens sultry verse lines against syncopated beats and rising belts. “All by Myself” surges to a bridge guitar solo after broad vocal rises. “Double Standard” hardens the lead against a sweetened return phrase.

A1. “Strut” (4:05) – Charlie Dore, Littman; takes aim at a groomer/suitor and his attempts to mold her into a replica of his pouting come-hither ex.
A2. “Sugar Walls” (4:01) – Nevermind; the title is a metaphor for labia.
A3. “Hungry Eyes” (3:42) – Mathieson, Veitch
A4. “Hard to Say It’s Over” (4:24) – Anderson, Cunico, Saviano
A5. “Swear” (3:43) – Scott

B1. “Love and Affection” (4:06) – Armatrading
B2. “Back in the City” (3:46) – Mathieson, Ritenour, Veitch
B3. “You Make Me Nervous” (3:53) – Holding, Nevil, Pain
B4. “All by Myself” (4:24) – Lukather, Veitch
B5. “Double Standard” (3:50) – Kipner, Petterson

Sessions occurred in 1983–84 at The Sound Factory and Sunset Sound in Hollywood. Mathieson produced and arranged the album, David Leonard recorded and mixed the album, and Wally Traugott mastered the album at Capitol Mastering in Hollywood.

A Private Heaven appeared in a sleeve with art direction by Ria Lewerke, logo design by Sue Reilly, photography by Brian Aris, and background photography by Moshe Brakha. The cover places Easton seated barefoot in a gray outfit against a red-and-gray triangular composition with white feather accents and two dark circular forms.

EMI America lifted “Strut” as an August 25, 1984 single (b/w “Letters from the Road”), which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The “Strut” video opens on a darkened stage and keeps Easton in direct address to the camera as the band plays behind her. Bruce Hornsby makes a pre-fame cameo on keyboards and gets a spotlight during the middle-eight, where his shaded profile stares. Hornsby and bassist Joe Puerta, a fellow Ambrosia alumnus, played in Sheena’s 1983/84 touring band before their formation of The Range,

EMI Japan issued “Hungry Eyes” in 1984, and EMI issued “Back in the City” as an October 1984 UK single (b/w “Letters from the Road”).

“Sugar Walls” followed in December 1984 (b/w “Straight Talking” in the US; b/w “Double Standard” in the UK) and reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, and No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance/Disco Club Play chart. The “Sugar Walls” video did not carry the same controversy in its images, but some broadcasters withheld the clip because of the lyric content. EMI America issued “Swear” on March 23, 1985 (b/w “Fallen Angels”), which reached No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

A Private Heaven reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 32 on the Canadian albums chart. The RIAA and Music Canada certified the album platinum.

Discography: