Hazell Dean - Love Pains

Hazell Dean has often been hailed as the "Queen of NRG" and this claim may have some grounding. Born in Essex on October 27, 1958, Hazell had hits all over the world with her brand of pop music throughout the 80s, , and it was especially popular in the gay clubs, not least because much of it was written and produced by the dynamite trio Stock, Aitken and Waterman.

Hazell started her career back in the 1970s. Then known as Hazel Dean (with only one L), she released a few singles which didn't manage to chart, including "I Couldn't Live Without You For A Day" (Which competed in A Song For Europe in 1976) and "Look What I've Found At The End Of A Rainbow", but it wasn't until 1984 when Hazell stuck gold.

Hazell (now with 2 L's - seemingly the change in name was due to Hazell's belief in numerology - the number 10 being lucky) had her first chart hit in 1984 with "Jealous Love/Evergreen" which reached the dizzy heights of #63, but it was her next single that propelled her to stardom. "Searchin' (I Gotta Find A Man)" became a massive hit, and a gay anthem, and reached #6 in April 1984. She then teamed up with SAW on her next release "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" which made #4 in July of the same year. An album, "Heart First" was released in 1984.

She continued to release singles over the years, including "Back In My Arms (Once Again)", "No Fool (For Love)" and "They Say It's Gonna Rain", but it wasn't until 1988 when Hazell would grace the top 40 again. "Who's Leaving Who" started a trio of hits in 1988 when it peaked at #4 in April 1988, followed by "Maybe (We Should Call It A Day)" (#15 in June 1988) and "Turn It Into Love" (a cover of the Kylie Minogue track - #21 in September 88). All these tracks appeared on Hazell's second album "Always" in 1988.

After this, Hazell left EMI records and signed with Lisson Records, and released a further 2 singles "Love Pains" and "Better Off Without You". Since then, Hazell hasn;t had a chart hit, but has written tracks for the likes of Bad Boys Inc. and Sinitta's mum, Miquel Brown.

Hazell continues to perform all accross Europe, and still has a bug following on the gay scene!

"Love Pains" made #47 in August 1990, and is a cover of the 70s track by Yvonne Elliman (of "I Can't Have You" fame. It was also covered around the same time by Liza Minelli. Hazell's version of the track is an uplifiting typical late 80s/early 90s sound, which was produced by Harding & Curnow, from the PWL stable. I regard it as one of my favourite tracks from that era, and I hope you enjoy it too!