Sons and Lovers

Sons and Lovers is the second album by English singer Hazel O'Connor, released in November 1980 by Albion Records. It was reissued on CD with bonus tracks on 30 March 2018 by Cherry Red Records. Background and release Earlier in 1980, O'Connor had starred in the film Breaking Glass as well as writing and singing the soundtrack album. Both were extremely successful, thrusting O'Connor into the limelight. However, afterwards, O'Connor wanted to differentiate herself from her character, Kate, in the film and make a clean break as a singer. The album was produced by Nigel Gray, known for his work with the Police and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Three singles were released from the album: "Time" failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart, but did peak at number 30 on the Indie Chart; "Waiting" was only released in Australia by Liberation Records; and "D-Days" was the album's biggest hit, peaking at number 10 on the Singles Chart. The album itself was intended to be released in January 1981, however it was finished early, so was released at the end of November 1980 to coincide with the start of O'Connor's first major British tour. Because of the calibre of the producer and the top-ten hit single, it was expected that the album would have some success commercially. However, the album failed to chart on the UK Albums Chart, although it did peak at number 4 on the Indie Chart. The album's success may have been hindered by the fact that A&M Records were still promoting Breaking Glass, which is also something that could be said for O'Connor's following album Cover Plus.