Friday 11 June 2021

MUSIC REVIEW: Debut single from Stephen Donald: Man In The Moon.



At the age of 16, Stephen Donald (perhaps best known as Carl Banks on Brookside), wrote the lyrics to this song, after "pondering about the nursey rhyme of the same name"; and now, some 40 years' later, Donald has taken those lyrics and collaborated with some very high profile music friends to create his debut single.

To mention just a few who have helped Donald with the arrangement, playing and backing vocals, are David Stevens (keyboardist with The Foundations), Trevor Murrell (Wham etc), Randy Hope Taylor (Jamiroquai, Sade etc), Tim Cansfield, Ian Thonpson, and Caroline Stevens. 

Donald spoke of the music as an antidote to our times of lockdown and isolation. It's a "feel-good happy song", and it most certainly is. The catchy tune and repeated phrases (both musically and vocally) help us to immediately relate to the song, and it is certainly one you can't sit still to.. you have to bop and tap your feet! Yes, it's a throwback retro song to the heady days of the late 1950s / early 1960s, replete with all the monikers of that era... a female close-harmony backing chorus, a catchy refrain, banal but happy lyrics (not designed to make you think too much, just put a smile on your face), and an upbeat contemporaneous dance beat. 

Further, Donald's articulate and easy-to-listen-to vocals make the song easy to understand, whilst his effulgent persona breaks through. 

Yes, this is definitely the year and the time for a happy song. More like this please!

The track will be available on all digital platforms from 2nd July.


Reviewer: Alastair Zyggu
on - 11.6.21

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