I DON´T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT - EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL - (1988)
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL (often shortened EBTG) is a two-person English band formed in Hull during 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn (born 26 September 1962) and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt (born 6 December 1962). Watt and Thorn are also a couple; they are very private about their relationship and personal life. It was not a publicised fact for some time that they were a couple, or that they had married subsequently. The duo have professed a strong desire to raise their three children with as much privacy as possible.
Everything but the Girl - Early career
EBTG's debut single, a cover version of Cole Porter's "Night and Day", was released during June 1982.[1] After steady sales and exposure from the Pillows & Prayers compilation album, the single was re-issued during August 1983. Their first album was released during 1984 in the UK as Eden.[1] During 1984 they also released the singles "Mine", and "Native Land" in the UK. Their first UK successful single, "Each and Every One", had a jazzy sound, and EBTG was considered part of the jazz/popular music style known as "sophisti-pop" that included other British acts like Sade, Matt Bianco, and The Style Council, on whose Café Bleu album they guested. EBTG and Sade both worked with record producer Robin Millar and engineers Ben Rogan and Mike Pela for their debut albums.
Although Eden was released in the UK, a different recording, Everything But the Girl, was released in the United States. The U.S. release contained about half the tracks from Eden, along with some different tracks, including "Mine" and "Native Land".
Subsequent releases underscored EBTG's versatility and range. Their 1985 album Love Not Money included a cover version of The Pretenders' song "Kid" (although this was not on the original UK release).
The next year they released the self-produced Baby the Stars Shine Bright, an album of original popular music songs recorded with an orchestra. They revealed the album's inspiration by their choices of B-sides for its single releases: songs from Bacharach and Jimmy Webb on the 12" versions (as well as a cover version of Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces"). The first single album was "Come On Home", followed by "Don't Leave Me Behind".
During 1988, EBTG released Idlewild, a collection of songs that began a trend towards "middle-of-the-road", adult-oriented contemporary music. A cover version of Danny Whitten's "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (previously a success by Rod Stewart) was released as a single album; it achieved a strong position in the UK Singles Chart and was added to the latter issues of the album. Around this time, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions asked Thorn to contribute vocals to the song "Big Snake" on their final studio album Mainstream.
