- EIGHTH WONDER I’m Not Scared (Epic)
- Week Ending 19th March 1988
- 2 Weeks At #1
Credited to her band Eighth Wonder, the absolute pop classic that is I’m Not Scared was, of course, really a Pet Shop Boys record fronted by Patsy Kensit. Epic Records had been trying for an age to get Eighth Wonder a hit, any kind of hit, but without any success whatsoever.
Step forward messrs Tennant and Lowe, with one of their finest compositions. A song they would go on and “cover” themselves later in 1988, on their Introspective album. Pet Shop Boys were in the middle of their Imperial Phase, with a pair of recent UK chart-toppers about to be joined by a third in the shape of Heart. Stars collide, planets align, and pop genius meets pop wannabe, with sublime results. It really doesn’t get much better than this.
La Kensit’s breathy intonations and sex-kitten routine suddenly works a treat in this environment, the try-hard irritations of the usual Eighth Wonder fare are avoided by the PSB’s involvement and the song’s utter perfection. Could they have combined for a whole album, or even half of one? Ultimately we’ll never know, as I’m Not Scared proved a glorious one-off.
The Boys went back to their own devices, before teaming up with some genuinely iconic female singers in 1989. Patsy and her band managed to score another Top 20 UK single with Cross My Heart (the same song recorded by Martika) and an okay-in-places album Fearless. None of its other tracks were even in the same orbit of brilliance as I’m Not Scared, obviously.
Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes 
I am a little bit late, but I wish you a Happy New Year and all the best for 2021. I have always liked “I’m Not Scared” by Eighth Wonder. They were a “One Hit Wonder” over here.
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Thanks Robert! A big thanks to everyone who’s checked out the blog during the last year, and been kind enough to give feedback and leave comments. It’s always appreciated.
Blog visits were up 50% in 2020, with some of the longer articles proving very popular. Those seem to be the ones people enjoy the most!
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[…] Devices was one of the unquestioned triumphs of that period. Plus, if you count the perfect pop of I’m Not Scared as effectively a Pet Shop Boys record (which I do) then that’s three #1s on my chart in 1988 […]
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