Radio Musicola is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was originally released in October 1986, on the label MCA Records, just under two years after Kershaw's previous album, The Riddle. It was the first album to be produced by Kershaw. It features guest backing vocalists, including Icehouse's Iva Davies, and Night's Stevie Lange, and Miriam Stockley. The album was released to critical acclaim, but wasn't as successful as Kershaw's previous albums. It peaked at #47 on the UK Albums Chart, marking the beginning of a downturn in Kershaw's fortunes on the album charts. Four singles were issued from Radio Musicola: "When a Heart Beats", "Nobody Knows", "Radio Musicola", and "James Cagney", but none of them reached the Top 20, a first for Kershaw. However, Kershaw did find some minor success with the aforementioned single "When a Heart Beats". The track "Running Scared" was dismissed as title track of the film "Running Scared". The album remains Kershaw's last album to make the Top 75, and was his last to receive a certification, being certified silver by the BPI. After the original release, the album remained out-of-print on any format for many years. However, the album became available via online MP3 download on major sites such as Amazon, and iTunes.
Background
The album showcased Kershaw's frustration at the time, with subjects of integrity – media scepticism, privacy, insecurity and mass-produced run-of-the-mill pop music. The subject is reflected in the cover artwork's concept. The LP record release featured 1950's style spoof advertisements with the song titles woven in, some of which were replicated in the compact disc's booklet.
Release and chart performance
The album's first single in the United Kingdom was "When a Heart Beats", which peaked at #27 upon its release, the first time that a lead single from a Kershaw album failed to hit the Top 20 in the UK. It became a bigger hit in Ireland, peaking at #14. Further singles from the album were "Nobody Knows" and the title track "Radio Musicola", which peaked at #44, and #43 respectively. When Kershaw was asked about the poor sales of the album he said:
"I didn't keep their attention – two albums in nine months was a stupid idea because the next one took two and a half years and a lot of people lost interest and went elsewhere, which is fair enough. And the music changed a little bit as well and I produced it myself so that might have been a reason."
